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Showing posts from August, 2007

America and Rome, Part II

If I didn't think I would write Part I of this post, I certainly didn't expect to find myself writing Part II. However, my blogfriend Judith Weingarten stopped by to comment . I began responding in that thread, but it was getting so long that I decided to make it a new post. She writes, "OK, I know it's facile but one parallel with ancient Rome gives me nightmares: an over-mighty mercenary military. Think Septimius Severus, the 3rd century, and onwards." What an image! GHW Bush counseling GW and Jeb Bush with his dying breath, "Keep the army happy and ignore the rest." My money's on GW as the Caracalla of that scenario, but I may be underestimating Jeb. American military leaders might wish they held that kind of sway over the executive. Though I'll gladly defer to Judith's expertise, it seems to me that the Roman army and American military have less in common than some other analogous institutions. Aside from the American military's

"Oldest known" Irish ringfort found

The Irish Examiner has an item about the discovery of a 20-acre ring fort in County Cork, Ireland: Radiocarbon dating shows that the ringfort was constructed about 1200BC, confirming it as the oldest known prehistoric ringfort in Ireland, according to Prof William O’Brien of University College, Cork. This puts its importance on a par with prehistoric sites such as Dún Aengus on Inishmore and Mooghaun, Co Clare. Hat tip to Archaeoblog .

Under new management

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are the new owners of a French vineyard that supplied ancient Rome. Château Val-joanis is located near the old Via Domitia , and the remains of the Roman villa are supposedly visible on "the lower part" of the property. I'm not sure whether that means "topographically lower" or "south." Here's the modern winery on Google Maps. I can't see anything that's obviously the villa site, but the image resolution varies over the area. Maybe a more discerning eye can spot it.

The America and Rome post

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I decided some time ago that I wasn't going to write a post like this one, but the "U.S. as Rome" meme, which had recently begun to fade, has been given fresh legs by the imprimatur of David Walker, the Comptroller General of the United States . Here's an excerpt from Walker's speech at an August 7 meeting of the Federal Midwest Human Resources Council and the Chicago Federal Executive Board: There are striking similarities between America’s current situation and that of another great power from the past: Rome. The Roman Empire lasted 1,000 years, but only about half that time as a republic. The Roman Republic fell for many reasons, but three reasons are worth remembering: declining moral values and political civility at home, an overconfident and overextended military in foreign lands, and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government. Sound familiar? I got tired of the steady stream of "U.S. as Rome" comparisons months ago, not only because the b

Maximus the Confessor

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Seventh century Byzantine theologian Maximus the Confessor is the subject of today's featured article on Wikipedia.

Hadrian colossus, redux

Last week's discovery of a huge Hadrian statue in Turkey has filtered down to the mainstream news outlets. Here is National Geographic's take, and here's the Beeb. All the hubbub inspired Tony Keen to reflect upon our modern perceptions of Hadrian . Update : Yet more coverage at The Independent .

Set of HBO's Rome destroyed by fire

An overnight fire at Rome's Cinecitta Studios has destroyed the sets of the recently-completed HBO/BBC television series, "Rome." The older areas of the studio, where "Ben Hur" was filmed, were undamaged. On a mostly unrelated note, the show's storyline ended in 30 BC, but it wasn't until AD 6 that Augustus got around to establishing a fire brigade ... Update : The original link to the Times story has vanished, but here's ABC News to the rescue. Also, a clarification on the supposed destruction of the "Rome" sets: The main set of "Rome," which includes a mock Roman forum, wasn't destroyed, but other parts were heavily damaged, said HBO spokeswoman Mara Mikialian.

Nomads, then and now

Today's New York Times has a piece by Ilan Greenberg ( accessible without registration via the IHT) on how the ancient social order of nomadic societies in central Asia weighs upon their present political realities: Scientists are discovering that nomadic cultures are flexible, switching between transient and more sedentary ways of life, and assimilating and inventing new ideas and technologies. Nomads created durable political cultures that still influence the way those countries interact with outsiders or negotiate internal power struggles. While reading this, I was reminded of Mark Whittow's observations about the Eurasian steppe peoples in his 1996 book, The Making of Byzantium . While noting that "the potential of steppe nomad states was enormous," Whittow writes that social underpinnings based on small tribes and familial connections didn't do much for the stability of those states: The closer to its roots a nomadic society was, the more likely it was to

Giant Hadrian statue found in Turkey

Via rogueclassicism , this astonishing find from Turkey: fragments from a 5-meter statue of the emperor Hadrian . As the RC notes, there's no English coverage yet, but here is a brief item in French. Pardon my rough, paraphrased translation: A team of archaeologists from the KUL has discovered fragments of an exceptional statue of the Roman Emperor Hadrian during an excavation in Sagalassos, Turkey , reports the VRT (Belgian state TV). Part of a leg was found with sandals, which indicate that the wearer is an emperor. Part of a thigh and a nearly intact, 70 cm head were also found. The complete statue would have measured 4-5 meters in height. It appears to date to the second century. According to professor Marc Waelkens , who leads the team, it is one of the most beautiful representations of the Emperor Hadrian. For comparison, here's a bust of Hadrian from the Capitoline Museum in Rome. Update : Archaeology Magazine now has an online feature on the find. Update #2 : L