Sunday walk ✝️

⚫️ FELIX “And now that the Marsic war was coming to an end, another great civil war arose in Rome, stirred up by Sulla and the young Gaius Marius, son of that Marius who had been seven times consul. In this strife many tens of thousands of men perished, until at length Sulla prevailed; and being created dictator, he called himself Epaphroditus {Felix}. This boastful title was not wholly inappropriate, because he prospered in all his wars, and died a natural death after his victories. But Marius, although he behaved with great gallantry in the war against Sulla, was at length routed, and fled with fifteen thousand men to Praeneste, where he was besieged for a long time. At length, being totally deserted, and seeing no way of escape, he earnestly entreated one of his faithful slaves to help him put an end to the misfortunes that surrounded him. After much persuasion, the slave at one stroke put an end to his master's life, and then immediately killed himself. And so at length ended this civil war. However, some remnants of Marius' party continued to give Sulla trouble for a while longer, until they too were suppressed, like the others.” Diodorus Siculus

🟡 THE SIEGE OF ATHENS “Two Athenian slaves in the Piræus -- either because they favored the Romans or were looking out for their own safety in an emergency -- wrote down everything that took place there, enclosed their writing in leaden balls, and threw them over to the Romans with slings. As this was done continually it came to the knowledge of Sulla, who gave his attention to the missives and found one which said, "To-morrow the infantry will make a sally in front upon your workers, and the cavalry will attack the Roman army on both flanks." Sulla placed an adequate force in ambush and when the enemy dashed out with the thought that their movement would completely surprise him he gave them a greater surprise with his concealed force, killing many and driving the rest into the sea. This was the end of that enterprise. When the mounds began to rise Archelaus erected opposing towers and placed the greatest quantity of missiles on them. He sent for reënforcements from Chalcis and the other islands and armed his oarsmen, for he considered himself in extreme danger. As his army was superior in number to that of Sulla before, it now became much more so by these reënforcements. He then darted out in the middle of the night with torches and burned one of the tortoises and the machines alongside of it; but Sulla made new ones in ten days' time and put them in the places of the former ones. Against these Archelaus established a tower on that part of the wall.” Appian, the foreign wars

🔶 NOSTALGIA “Preparations for a contest were in consequence made on both sides; and when the Romans, having entered Asia, had reached Troy, mutual gratulations took place between the Trojans and the Romans; the Trojans observing that "Aeneias, and the other leaders that accompanied him, had gone forth from them;" the Romans telling them that "they were their children;" and such joy was among them all as is wont to be between parents and children met after a long separation. The Trojans were delighted that their descendants, after having conquered the west and Africa, were now laying claim to Asia as their hereditary domain, remarking that "the ruin of Troy had been an event to be desired, since it was so happily to revive again." On the other hand, an insatiable longing to gaze on their ancient home, the birth-place of their ancestors, and the temples and images of the gods, had taken possession of the Romans.” Justinus

🔴 LIVY ON CINCINNATUS “Now I would solicit the particular attention of those numerous people who imagine that money is everything in this world, and that rank and ability are inseparable from wealth: let them observe that Cincinnatus, the one man in whom Rome reposed all her hope of survival, was at that moment working a little three-acre farm (now known as Quinctian meadows) west of the Tiber, just opposite the spot where the shipyards are today. A mission from the city found him at work on his land - digging a ditch, maybe, or ploughing. Greetings were exchanged, and he was asked - with a prayer for God's blessing on himself and his country - to put on his toga and hear the Senate's instructions. This naturally surprised him, and, asking if all were well, he told his wife Racilia to run to their cottage and fetch his toga. The toga was brought, and wiping the grimy sweat from his hands and face he put it on; at once the envoys from the city saluted him, with congratulations, as Dictator, invited him to enter Rome, and informed him of the terrible danger of Minucius's army.” Livy, The History of Rome, Books 1-5: The Early History of Rome

🔘 OLD ENEMIES MEET AGAIN “A rope was cast about his neck and he was led to the prison of Minturnae on the order of its duumvir. A public slave of German nationality was sent with a sword to put him to death. It happened that this man had been taken a prisoner by Marius when he was commander in the war against the Cimbri; when he recognized Marius, giving utterance with loud outcry to his indignation at the plight of this great man, he threw away his sword and fled from the prison.” Velleius Paterculus, Roman History

🔵 “THEIR BLADE HAS NO POINT” “The Tribunes accordingly gave out the spears of the Triarii, who are the last of the three ranks, to the first ranks, or Hastati: and ordering the men to use their swords only, after their spears were done with, they charged the Celts full in front. When the Celts had rendered their swords useless by the first blows delivered on the spears, the Romans close with them, and rendered them quite helpless, by preventing them from raising their hands to strike with their swords, which is their peculiar and only stroke, because their blade has no point. The Romans, on the contrary, having excellent points to their swords, used them not to cut but to thrust: and by thus repeatedly hitting the breasts and faces of the enemy, they eventually killed the greater number of them. And this was due to the foresight of the Tribunes:” Polybius, histories

🟣 THE KINGDOM OF DA QIN “The Kingdom of Da Qin (the Roman Empire)- is also called Lijian. As it is found to the west of the sea, it is also called the Kingdom of Haixi (Egypt).? Its territory extends for several thousands of li. It has more than four hundred walled towns. There are several tens of smaller dependent kingdoms. The walls of the towns are made of stone. They have established postal relays at intervals, which are all plastered and whitewashed. There are pines and cypresses, as well as trees and plants of all kinds. The common people are farmers. They cultivate many grain crops and silkworm-mulberry trees.* They shave their heads, and their clothes are embroidered. They have screened coaches (for the women) and small white-roofed one-horse carts. When carriages come and go, drums are beaten and flags and standards are raised. The seat of government (Rome) is more than a hundred li (41.6 km) around. In this city are five palaces each ten li (4.2 km) from the other. Moreover, in the rooms of the palace the pillars and the tableware are really made of crystal. The king goes each day to one of the palaces to deal with business. After five days, he has visited all of them. A porter with a sack has the job of always following the royal carriage. When somebody wants to discuss something with the king, he throws a note in the sack. When the king arrives at the palace, he opens the bag, examines the contents, and judges if the plaintiff is right or wrong. There is a government department of archives. [A group of] thirty-six leaders has been established to meet together to deliberate on affairs of state. Their kings are not permanent. They select and appoint the most worthy man. If there are unexpected calamities in the kingdom, such as frequent extraordinary winds or rains, he is unceremoniously rejected and replaced. The one who has been dismissed quietly accepts his demotion, and is not angry. The people of this country are all tall and honest. They resemble the people of the Middle Kingdom and that is why this kingdom is called Da Qin [literally, 'Great China'].” Book of the later Han

⚪️ STRABO ON THE MAURI “Here dwell a people whom the Greeks call Maurusians, and the Romans and the natives Mauri — a large and prosperous Libyan tribe, who live on the side of the strait opposite Iberia.” (Mauretania, Morocco). “However, it is agreed by all that Maurusia is a fertile country, except a small desert part, and is supplied with both lakes and rivers. It is surpassing in the size and in the number of its trees, and is also productive of everything; at any rate, this is the country which supplies the Romans with the tables that are made of one single piece of wood, very large and most variegated.” “Now a little before my time the kings of the house of Bogus and of Bocchus, who were friends of the Romans, possessed the country, but when these died Juba succeeded to the throne, Augustus Caesar having given him this in addition to his father's empire. He was the son of the Juba who with Scipio waged war against the deified Caesar. Now Juba died lately, but his son Ptolemy, whose mother was the daughter of Antony and Cleopatra, has succeeded to the throne.” Strabo

🟢 PLINY ON THE NILE RIVER “The country has reason to make careful note of either extreme. When the water rises to only twelve cubits, it experiences the horrors of famine; when it attains thirteen, hunger is still the result; a rise of fourteen cubits is productive of gladness; a rise of fifteen sets all anxieties at rest; while an increase of sixteen is productive of unbounded transports of joy. The greatest increase known, up to the present time, is that of eighteen cubits, which took place in the time of the Emperor Claudius; the smallest rise was that of five, in the year of the battle of Pharsalia, the river by this prodigy testifying its horror, as it were, at the murder of Pompeius Magnus. When the waters have reached their greatest height, the people open the embankments and admit them to the lands. As each district is left by the waters, the business of sowing commences. This is the only river in existence that emits no vapours.” Pliny the Elder

⚫️ DESECRATION “In the meantime (82BC), the most eminent persons in Rome were put to death on false accusations. Even Scaevola, the pontifex maximus, who had the highest reputation amongst the citizens, came to an unworthy end. The Romans were fortunate only in one thing, that this venerable priest did not withdraw into the most sacred precinct {the temple of Vesta}. For the cruelty of the murderers was such, that they would have laid him upon the very altar, and cut his throat there, so that by his own blood he would have extinguished that fire, which religious devotion has ceaselessly kept burning ever since ancient times.” Diodorus Siculus

🟡 HOW OFTEN DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE The "Roman Empire hype" was a 2023 social media trend that started with a Swedish (Saskia Cort) influencer's question about how often men think about the Roman Empire. This question spread rapidly, especially on Instagram and TikTok, revealing that many men think about it surprisingly often. The trend then evolved, with people using the phrase "my Roman Empire" to describe something they think about frequently or are deeply interested in.

🔶 BRITANNICUS AND AGRIPPINA MINOR “Agrippina herself was dignified by the title of Augusta. When the transaction was over, no one was so devoid of pity as not to feel compunction for the lot of Britannicus. Stripped little by little of the services of the very slaves, the boy turned into derision the officious importunities of his stepmother, whose hypocrisy he understood. For report credits him with no lack of intelligence, possibly with truth, or possibly through the sympathy inspired by his dangers he has retained a reputation which was never put to the proof.” “Agrippina, on the other hand, in order to advertise her strength to the provinces also, arranged for the plantation of a colony⁠ of veterans in the Ubian town (modern day Cologne) where she was born. The settlement received its title from her name; and, as chance would have it, it had been her grandfather Agrippa who extended Roman protection to the tribe on its migration across the Rhine.” Tacitus

🔺 THE CAMPANIAN PROPOSEL “When these nations which lie between us are subjugated - and your courage and fortune are a guarantee that this will soon come about - you will have an unbroken dominion up to our frontier. Painful and humiliating is the confession which our fortunes compel us to make; but it has come to this, senators, we Campanians must be numbered either amongst your friends or your enemies. If you defend us we are yours, if you abandon us we shall belong to the Samnites. Make up your minds, then, whether you would prefer that Capua and the whole of Campania should form an addition to your strength or should augment the power of the Samnites.” Livy

🔘 HUSBAND OF AGRIPPINA MINOR “Passienus Crispus, a native of Visellium, began his first speech in the senate with these words: "Conscript fathers and you, Caesar," and was in consequence highly commended by Tiberius, though not sincerely. He voluntarily pleaded a number of cases in the court of the Hundred, and therefore his statue was set up in the Basilica Julia. He was twice consul. He married twice: first Domitia and then Agrippina, respectively the aunt and the mother of the emperor Nero. He possessed an estate of two hundred million sesterces. He tried to gain favour with all the emperors, but especially with Gaius Caesar (Caligula), whom he attended on foot when the emperor made a journey. When he was asked by Nero in a private conversation whether he had commerce with his own sister, as the emperor had with his, he replied "Not yet"; a very fitting and cautious answer, neither accusing the emperor by denying the allegation, nor dishonouring himself with a lie by admitting it. He was slain by the treachery of Agrippina, whom he had made his heir, and was honoured with a public funeral.” Suetonius

🔵 THE ROMAN CALENDER It was originally a lunar calendar with ten months, beginning with March and ending with December. This left a significant portion of the year unaccounted for. King Numa Pompilius is credited with adding January and February, bringing the total to 12 months. The Roman calendar was unique in its method of counting days within a month. Each month had three key markers: the Kalends (the first day of the month, the Nones (the fifth day of most months, the seventh in March, May, July, and October), and the Ides (the thirteenth day of most months, the fifteenth in March, May, July, and October). Days were counted backwards from these markers. For example, the day before the Kalends of March would be called "pridie Kalendas Martias." The Roman calendar struggled to accurately align with the solar year, leading to the occasional insertion of extra days to correct the discrepancy. Julius Caesar reformed the Roman calendar in 45 BC, introducing the Julian calendar, which was a significant improvement in accuracy.

🟣 STRABO ON THE SUB-SAHARAN AFRICANS “The Aethiopians live on millet and barley, from which they also make a drink; but instead of olive-oil they have butter and tallow. Neither do they have fruit trees, except a few date-palms in the royal gardens. But some use grass as food, as also tender twigs, lotus, and reed-roots; and they use meats, blood, milk, and cheese. They reverence as gods their kings, who generally stay shut up at home. Their greatest royal seat is Meroê, a city bearing the same name as the island. The island is said to be like an oblong shield in shape. Its size has perhaps been exaggerated: about three thousand stadia in length and one thousand in breadth. The island has both numerous mountains and large thickets; it is inhabited partly by nomads, partly by hunters, and partly by farmers; and it has mines of copper, iron, gold, and different kinds of precious stones. It is bounded on the Libyan side by large sand-dunes, and on the Arabian side by continuous precipices, and above, on the south, by the confluence of the three rivers — the Astaboras, and the Astapus and the Astasobas and on the north by the next course of the Nile, which extends to Aegypt along the aforesaid windings of the river. In the cities the dwellings are made of split pieces of palm-wood woven together, or of brick. And they have quarried salt, as do the Arabians. And, among the plants, the palm, the persea, the ebony, and the ceratia are found in abundance. And they have, not only elephants to hunt, but also lions and leopards. They also have serpents, the elephant-fighters, as also many other wild animals; for the animals flee for refuge from the hotter and more arid regions to those that are watery and marshy.” Strabo (Note: In ancient Greek and Roman times, "Aethiopians" was a broad term used to describe people of sub-Saharan Africa. It wasn't a specific ethnic group but rather a geographical and sometimes racial designation.)