Religion in the Ancient Mediterranean World

The Teaching Company: I see the Teaching Company is offering an extensive new lecture series on ancient religions in the Mediterranean World:

"How did ancient people cope with the overwhelming mysteries of the universe? This course uses ancient texts and archaeological evidence to explore the religious cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world, from the earliest indications of human religious practices during prehistoric times to the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity in the 4th century of the Common Era.

You will be introduced to the religious traditions of a wide range of civilizations, including the ancient kingdom of Egypt; ancient Mesopotamia; ancient Syria-Palestine, including Israel and Judah; Minoan civilization on the island of Crete and the successive civilizations of the Greek mainland; and the city of Rome, whose empire dominated the entire Mediterranean world at the end of the ancient era."

Roman armor adapted from conquered peoples

I saw an interesting program last night entitled "What the Ancients Knew" featuring contributions by the Romans. It was pretty good but some comments were made that I wondered about. For example, it said that the Romans' lorica segmentata was adapted from a Celtic armor design. I've never heard that before.

This excerpt from a webpage on Roman armor prepared by Legio XXIV doesn't acknowledge a Celtic origin either:


"This classic armor of the Roman Army, came into use during the early First Century AD. Its origin is unknown. To the average person, this style of cuirass denotes the Roman Legionary Soldier. The term applied by the Romans to this armor is now lost to us; however, "Lorica" is Latin for armor and "Segmentata" is a medieval or modern term adopted to describe the system of segments or plates assembled with leather straps and buckles or bronze or iron hooks and eyes along with internal leather straps, hence the current name of Lorica Segmentata. The term "Laminata" is now coming into use in leu of "Segmentata" to describe this type of body armor. The plates were not laminated in the sense that there were two layers of metal laminated together. "Lamina" was the latin term for metal and thus the separate segments were termed as "Lames". The terms "Lamina" and "Lames" were also applied to "scale" or "Squamata" armor as well.

The first types of this armor were termed "Corbridge A or B", based on several partial examples found as a part of the so-called Corbridge Hoard, near Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, England. The Type "A" was connected together by internal and external leather straps and bronze buckles. The Type "B" still utilized internal leather straps to connect the individual plates, but substituted bronze or iron hooks and eyes, in instead of external straps and buckles, to secure the shoulder units to the torso girdle sections."

http://www.legionxxiv.org/loricapage/

This article by the Legio IX Hispana acknowledges the Celts as designers of Lorica Hamata (chain mail) but does not indicate that they were the originators of the Lorica Segmentata:

"Lorica Hamata is Latin for a type of armor made up of interlinked rings, also known as mail (or, inaccurately as chainmail). Lorica Hamata was a standard armor of the Roman Military from the early Republic until the fall of the Empire. It evolved over this period of time, changing with the times and as the situation demanded. The scope covered here is the Lorica Hamata from the late Republic to the height of the Empire (roughly late 1st Century BCE to the 2nd Century CE)

The true origins of mail are unknown, and it seems unlikely they will ever be known. It is estimated that it was developed by the Celtic Gauls around 300 BCE. It took an inventive people with a superb mastery of metal working to develop such a creation, and the Celts were known as the great ironworkers of the ancient world. Even though the Celtic distaste for armor is known, they are credited with developing mail into its most successful form. "

http://www.legio-ix-hispana.org/hamata.html


The program also stated that the helmet was adapted from an Etruscan helmet. I don't think I've ever heard that before either. This article mentions that the crest featured on helmets from the 4th century BCE to the 1st century C.E. can be seen on early Greco-Etruscan pottery:

"The earliest form of helmets appear to have only had centrally mounted plumes but in the early Imperial period late 1st BC to early 2nd century AD fittings have been found indicating that removable crest boxes might have been used. The evidence for crest boxes are mainly ?U? shaped crest holders which could be attached to fixing points in the centre of the crown and at the back of helmets. The lack of other non-metal remains indicates that crest boxes may have mainly been made out of wood so have rotted away over time. There also appear normally to have been either plume or possibly feather holders positioned on either side of the helmets. If feathers were used then these might have been goose feathers as sacred to Juno.
The purposes of these plumes or crests are thought to have been either for decoration, unit identification or as an indication of rank. Evidence from sculpture and monuments indicate that by the 2nd Century AD the crests were not used during combat and are mainly depicted only in use for parades or festivals. Vegetus is quoted as stating that centurions had a different form of crest and some sculptures of centurions show them with crests mounted transversely across their helmets, while representations of legionaries normally have the crest running from the brows towards the nape of the neck.

Montefortino Helmets

The earliest forms of helmets were called ?Montefortino?, after the first major find site and were the type of helmets that the early Republican consular armies would have used. These ranged from the 4th century BC to the 1st century AD. These helmets were made from brass and domed in shape, with a small extension at the back as a neck guard. They normally have a plug-in plume holder on the crown of the helmet, which was conical in shape and in the earliest forms with a scalloped decoration on the plume holder."

It goes on to explain other helmet developments:

Coolus Helmets

The second known group of helmets, was the ?Coolus? variety, which covered the period 3rd century BC to at least 79AD. These were based on a Gallic form of helmet made in the Coolus district of Marne. In form they were a simple hemispherical bowl made out of bronze with a reinforcing peak running horizontally across the brow and with a larger extension at the back as a neck guard. Most have a simple spike as a plug-in plume or crest holder.

Imperial-Gallic Helmets

The third group of helmets was the ?Imperial-Gallic?, based on the type of helmet used by the Gaul?s. These were more decorated than earlier varieties with embossed ?eyebrows?, had a re-enforced peak and a ridged extension at the back as a neck-guard. These were initially probably made by Gallic smiths so retained the original influence in construction and design and stretched in use from the late 1st century BC through to the early 2nd century AD. These helmets were mainly made of iron with recesses for the ears and brass decoration including small circular bosses on the helmet and the cheek pieces. The crest holder consisted of a right-angled foot that slid into a tube on the crown of the helmet, although some versions found also have additional decorative plume holders at the ends of the peak.

Imperial-Italic Helmets

The final major group, were the ?Imperial-Italic?, which were in shape similar to the Imperial-Gallic but because of their simplicity of construction technique and lack of decoration Russell Robinson placed them as being made by Italian smiths and probably based on the Greco-Etruscan and Italian helmets of the Republican period. They were in use from the late 1st BC to early 3rd century AD. Several types used twist on crests that were held in a ?T? shaped holder on the crown. The earliest known versions of these helmets have no archaeological provenance but are claimed to have been found in Herculanium, so may have been used by the Urban Cohorts or the Praetorians."

The program attributed the shield to the Samnites. (The shield depicted on the program was the oval type and did resemble the shield shown used by Samnite gladiators.) and pointed out that the pilum was uniquely Roman. However, this article attributes the oval shield to the Gauls and the pilum to the Etruscans:

Little is known about the armament of these early Roman horsemen, but a wall painting found at Paestum seems to indicate that they were armed with lances, round shields, a bronze cuirass or breastplate, and a helmet (Warry, 108). Though this image is of a Samnite, it is probable that Roman horsemen were similar because of the trading of military ideas between warring tribes and nations. The first class could afford what seems to have amounted to a Greek panoply. These units fought in the traditional phalanx formation used since the end of Dark Age Greece. These units were armed with a Greek hoplon or round shield, helmet, Greek sword, greaves or leg protection, a cuirass and a long pike that was used in the defensive manner of the phalanx. The second class was armed with helmet, greaves, and a scutum or Italian shield. The third was armed with helmet shield and spear. The last two classes were apparently skirmishers whose job was to tie up the more cumbersome enemy units. The fifth class were armed only with shields and spears, while the sixth went into battle with little more that a javelin or sling (Hackett, 136).

This army, which was effective during the sixth century BC when Rome was still fighting to break Etruscan power to the north, had difficulty fighting the many hill tribes to the east who used javelins and shields. The javelin throwers could easily outrun and outflank the cumbersome phalanx (Hackett, 137). The phalanx was already being replaced when in 390 BC, Rome suffered one of its worst defeats by the Gauls or Celts at the battle of Allia. The Romans, with all of their war experience, did not know how to react against this fierce enemy. The Roman army at that time was used to phalanx and javelin battle, where the attack often came from in front. The Gauls surprised the Romans because of their outlandish dress and battle frenzy, but the defeat of the Romans most likely occurred because the Gauls were armed with long slashing swords unknown to the Romans (Hackett, 138). The round hoplite shield proved inadequate against these attacks from the side and from above. Having no way of properly defend themselves, The Roman army was decimated and the city of Rome was sacked. Luckily for Rome, the Capitol remained untouched because of its formidable fortifications and according to the ancient historian Polybius, after several months the Gauls accepted tribute and left the city (Lewis, 79). This defeat marked the creation of new tactics and especially weapons and armor.

"The Romans began to realize the ineffectiveness of the traditional round hoplon. It was soon replaced almost entirely by the scutum. This shield was oval in shape with a metal rim and central iron boss held on by rivets that also served as a handgrip. The wood used was similar to plywood, as it was layered (Warry, 135). It was lighter and more maneuverable than the bronze hoplon and its similarity to the Gallic shield made it more effective against the three foot long slashing swords carried by the Celts. The Greek short sword that had been used was replaced by the gladius Hispiniensis (Hackett, 154), a double-edged sword with a blade length of approximately twenty inches with an eight inch handle (www.museumreplicas.com). It was a more effective weapon because of its use with the throwing spear or pilum.

The use of the pilum was instrumental in Roman infantry warfare. This weapon is thought to be of Etruscan origin. It proved highly effective against enemy shields."

http://www.barca.fsnet.co.uk/Rome-weapons-armor.htm

Physical Modelling and Human Survival in Pyroclastic Flows (Based on Vesuvius)

Natural Hazards: "Volcanic eruptions increasingly present catastrophic natural risks with hundreds of millions of people now living in areas of active volcanism and major conurbations around active eruptive centres. Interdisciplinary studies in disaster reduction have an important role in volcanic emergency management through advancing our understanding of the physical impacts of eruptive phenomena and the causes of death and injury in explosive eruptions. Numerical modelling of pyroclastic flows, amongst the most destructive of eruptive phenomena, provides new opportunities to improve the evaluation of the potential destructiveness of volcanic events and their human impacts in densely populated areas. In this work, the results of numerical modelling of pyroclastic flow propagation at Vesuvius have been analysed in terms of the physical parameters (temperature, ash in air concentration, and dynamic pressure) that are most critical for human survival. Our numerical simulations of eruptions of Vesuvius indicate that a large area exists where total destruction may not be inevitable in small to medium scale events, a finding that has prompted us to explore further the implications for human survival as part of an interdisciplinary approach to disaster reduction. The lessons of modelling at Vesuvius should be integrated into civil protection plans for other urban centres threatened by volcanoes."

Roman-period synagogue mosaics to be exhibited in Brooklyn

Artdaily.com : "Twenty-one extraordinary Roman-period mosaics from the first archaeological ruins of an ancient synagogue to be discovered in modern times will be on view September 9 through November 20, 2005, at the Brooklyn Museum. This exhibition will examine the role of these mosaics, acquired by the Museum in 1905, in the development of synagogue decoration in the late Roman Empire. Approximately thirty-eight related artifacts, such as contemporaneous textiles, marble statues, gold jewelry, and bronze ritual objects, will be included.

Tree of Paradise: Jewish Mosaics from the Roman Empire will investigate the origins of synagogues, the development of Jewish art in the Roman period, female patronage in the ancient synagogue, the differences between early Christian and Jewish symbolism in art, and the relationship between ancient and modern synagogues.

Twelve of the mosaic panels that will be on display were part of the sanctuary floor of the synagogue in Hammam Lif, Tunisia (the ancient Punic city of Naro, later the Roman Aquae Persianae), the primary subjects of which are Creation and Paradise. The Latin inscription on the floor panels indicates that Julia of Naro gave the floor to the community. Two menorahs flank the inscription. Included are depictions of a tree in Paradise, sea animals and birds in a scene portraying Creation, and symbolic birds and baskets that relate to the themes of Creation and the coming of the Messiah. Decorative motifs include birds and fruits. The remaining nine panels come from other rooms in the building and other nearby buildings. They depict animals, a male figure, and a female figure.

The discovery of these mosaics, last on view in Brooklyn in 1998, ushered in the birth of synagogue archaeology on February 17, 1883, when the French army captain Ernest de Prudhomme ordered soldiers under his command in Hammam Lif, Tunisia, to prepare his backyard for a garden. Instead of planting vegetables, Prudhomme and his men unearthed the first archaeological ruins of a Roman-period synagogue. Eventually, synagogue archaeology would revolutionize modern understanding of ancient Jewish life and religion. "

Lecturer says Nabateans fortified Petra's Great Temple to Fend off Romans

The Daily Star : "'We now know that the Great Temple represents one of the major archaeological and architectural components of metropolitan Petra, Jordan,' lecturer AUB Trustee and Brown University Professor Emerita Martha Joukowsky said recently at an illustrated lecture at the American University of Beirut Museum.

What is interesting is that some carvings in the temple columns have given archaeologists an insight into the Nabataean culture which was dominant at the time of the temple's construction.

'Interestingly, beautiful and unusual elephant heads were elaborately carved into the columns of the triple colonnades, brilliantly showcasing the wrinkled skin and relatively small ears of the Indian elephant,' she said. 'The appearance of this exotic animal in a major building in the Nabataean capital is yet another indication of the wide-ranging imagination and eclectic tastes of this remarkable people.'

At about the first century A.D., the city went through a secular phase, leading archaeologists and historians to believe that the temple was transformed into an 'agora' where people would meet for business, marketing or gossip. Alternatively, the temple may have served as a law court or royal audience hall, seating 600 people.

Later, in the second century A.D., Joukowsky said that the temple underwent an attack by Roman general Cornelius Palma, thus causing the temple to be transformed into a defendable fortress. Nearly two centuries later, in 363 A.D., the temple suffered through a series of earthquakes, which finally led to its destruction and 'disappearance beneath desert sands.' "

Cardini's Finds While Excavating The Palatine to be exhibited.

Roman ruins dig up debate I see that the controversial discoveries of Italian archaeologist, Andrea Carandini, will be the center of a new exhibit in Rome this summer:

"Carandini's most recent discoveries have not yet been published formally -- a fact that in itself raises some scholarly eyebrows. But over the last two years, he has uncovered what he says is a giant aristocratic house, with two big wooden beams, a banquet hall, seats, pottery and a large courtyard. Just outside the palace, he says, are other important and related discoveries, notably a house that he thinks held the household fire of the Virgins of Vesta, the goddess of the early Romans."

Humble Beginnings, Glorious Destiny: A Look at Roman Art

By Moya K. Mason

Humble Beginnings, Glorious Destiny: A Look at Roman Art: "'Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori'; 'it is a lovely and a splendid thing to die for one's country.'(1) As Rome began her glorious rise to world dominance, it never forgot Horace's now famous words. Rome's roots were in the fields of Latium and based on the ideology of 'mos maiorum', or respect for the old ways and ancient customs, and included all aspects of Roman culture. Even when the Empire was at its height, those ideals of patriotism, hard work, and frugality were still held in high regard, if not practiced. The Roman people had their origins in a philosophy in which the individual was subservient to the state and to the all-important state religion and when duty called, the peasants and rural aristocracy answered. It has long been suggested that Rome's greatness and strength was based on the fact that the majority of its military men came from the Roman agricultural class which was used to long hours and hardships.(2) From the ousting of Tarquinius Superbus, the last Etruscan king of Rome in 509 BC, through the terrible years of war with Hannibal, to the never-ending imperialistic battles on their borders, the Roman citizens were called to duty for the sake of their country. Cicero wrote, 'the strength of Rome is founded on her ancient customs as much as on the strength of her sons.'"

History class brings ancient warfare to life

Western Courier:

Western Illinois University professor Lee Brice gives students a taste of what ancient warfare was really like in his History 430 class:

"The students in the class were assigned to design makeshift Greek and Roman armor out of whatever they could find; no purchasing of materials was allowed. Participants made their armor out of everything from cardboard beer boxes and tin foil to license plates and loose change, and were given plastic pipes and long wooden rods in place of spears.

Brice then walked his two armies through a series of ancient military maneuvers pausing often to ask students questions such as 'who would win this battle and why?'

'(Brice) keeps it at a logical level and teaches people living in 200 B.C. were just as smart as we are today,' said David Egler, history professor.

The mock combatants were able to see firsthand the advantages to the Roman short sword used for stabbing rather than slashing and long shield, which provided optimal protection. They also observed the highly effective long spears the Macedonians used, and even re-enacted the famous battle of Marathon.

Under windy, cool conditions the Greek army was instructed to start at the University Union and run down in formation all the way past the library toward their barbarian adversaries who in return threw waded up paper at them in place of arrows. According to Brice, the purpose was to give the students some idea of what it was like for the Greeks to have fought that battle running at full speed in 70 pounds of armor."

Roman Empire comes to Stratford-On-Avon

I see that our lucky British members or any visitors to Stratford-On-Avon have a chance to enjoy two plays in which the Roman Empire stands in for Jacobean society:

"Sejanus: His Fall [published by Ben Jonson in 1605] really gives you a sense, albeit in metaphor, of what Jacobean London was like," says Doran, "the police state in which they were operating, the severe censorship that was going on and the paranoia in society. Believe What You Will [by Massinger] is about a Middle Eastern leader, who comes out of a hiding to lead his people. The Roman Empire regards him as a terrorist and hounds him from state to state."

Israel Museum Displays Ancient Painted Venus Staue

Newsday.com: Israel Museum Displays Ancient Venus Staue: "A centuries-old statue of Venus, headless but vibrant with color and detail, went on display Wednesday at the Israel Museum, a decade after it was discovered in northern Israel.

The life-size marble work represents one of the most important discoveries of Roman sculpture in the world, said James Snyder, director of the museum.

The statue was discovered in 1993 in an ancient bathhouse during an archaeological dig in Beit Shean, a small city near the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee. The Hebrew University archeologists who excavated the Venus sculpture uncovered several works also intended to decorate the lavish bathing area, including Dionysus, a goddess Athena, a headless emperor and a nymph.

The flesh-toned pink figure of the Venus strikes a sensuous pose against a back wall as the last exhibit in a long hall of archaeological treasures at the museum.

With locks of hair curling around the collarbone of the headless sculpture, the figure is modeled after a stance called the 'timid Venus,' particularly striking because the sculpture's missing hands reveal parts of her female body that the artist intended to partially hide. A winged Eros as a pudgy child riding a dolphin supports her left leg. "

Scholars to delve into mystery of ?the spirit within,?

The University of Chicago Chronicle"Leading scholars from around the world?from as close as Northwestern University and the University of Michigan to as far away as Royal Holloway University of London and the University of Florence?will come together with an interdisciplinary cross-section of Chicago faculty to grapple with the same question: When and where did the idea of the indwelling demon emerge?

Although the history of the indwelling demon is well documented in the common era?demons appear in the New Testament, when Jesus casts a spirit called Legion out of a mentally deranged man, and in the work of such Roman-era authors as Lucian and Plutarch?its precise origins remain obscure, explained conference organizer Christopher Faraone, Professor in Classical Languages & Literatures and the College.

Since the Greeks in pre-Roman times generally thought demons caused illness by attacking their victims from the outside by striking or strangling a person, and since the first reports of exorcism occur in the Levant and Anatolia, classicists have generally assumed that the idea of an indwelling demon?one blamed for stroke, epilepsy, mental illness and the like?is borrowed from the Near East in the first century. However, Biblical and Near Eastern scholars point out that one cannot trace this idea in the East prior to the late Hellenistic period.

?As a classicist, I?ve always thought the idea comes from the East, but my friends who study the Hebrew Bible say that it doesn?t really appear in the Near East until after the Greeks arrive. So we really have no idea where this comes from,? Faraone said. ?That?s why we?re having this conference, so we can figure it out. As of now, nobody has a good answer.?

Faraone?s own work focuses specifically on a bizarre idea that arose in the Mediterranean under the Roman Empire?that a woman?s womb needed to be exorcized as if it were an indwelling demon. This idea is apparently adapted from an earlier theory, found first and most famously in Plato but also to some degree in the Hippocratic doctors, that the womb could freely wander about the body and cause illness by colliding with other internal organs. In the Roman period, however, women who suffered from stroke or mental illness, Faraone explained, were believed to have a demonic womb that willfully attacked their internal organs. The womb eventually began to be addressed in the same way a demon is with a formula for exorcism. Thus in the Roman period, amulets inscribed with the command ?stay where you belong, womb? began to be used and were said to prevent the demonic womb from moving and attacking the other organs in the body. "

Romans blamed for loss of science during "Dark Ages"

I see that a recent paper by two Coastal Carolina University scholars blames the Romans for a loss of medical knowledge that occurred in the fifth century, pointing out that Romans did not appear to take much interest in wholesale translation of scientific works from Greek to Latin.

HISTORY OF SCIENCE: "It is scarcely true that, in Cisne's words, 'the germ of...science barely made it through the Middle Ages.' On the contrary, from the 12th through 15th centuries, science and scientific medicine constituted two of the most vigorous disciplines pursued in universities across Europe (2). Most Greek scientific and medical literature surviving today from the ancient world was recovered during this period, the texts of Aristotle and Galen [HN7] being the best examples. In addition, new manuscripts were avidly sought and translated--both from Greek and Arabic--and these texts were commented upon in the university system that was itself a forum for discourse and disputation invented by medieval scholars (3). The sorry state of scientific studies at the close of the Roman Empire in the fifth century reflected Roman, not medieval, failures and shortcomings (4). Although the Latin language was capable of communicating scientific ideas, most Romans showed little interest in wholesale scholarly translations from Greek (5). The precipitous decline in Greek literacy among the Latinate population in the Western Empire by the 3rd century created a crisis in the transmission of scientific literature that was only corrected in the 12th century, after the many disruptions of the early Middle Ages had subsided and the secular school had been reborn (6). Cisne correctly guesses that the leap from papyrus to parchment [HN8] in late Antiquity was one crucial element in the survival of texts, but there were many others (7). Finally, high-to-late medieval enthusiasm for science suffered at the close of the Middle Ages, when humanists of the Renaissance turned away from scientific studies (3, 8). Many humanists impugned the scientific tradition derived from Islam, and only came to embrace science in the 16th century after leading theorist-practitioners had adopted the humanists' own classicizing methods."

Burano Horse

Telegraph : "Burano horses were a breed used by the Ancient Greeks and Etruscans in wartime to pull carts laden with battlefield and siege machinery. Their strength and enormous lung capacity enabled them to drag massive loads at speed over great distances without rest."

Rome explored in new Science Channel program WHAT THE ANCIENTS KNEW

The World's Most Influential Civilizations are Explored in The Science Channel's Three-Part Series, WHAT THE ANCIENTS KNEW, Beginning Monday, March 14: "On Monday, March 14, viewers travel the globe to see sites of some of the world's earliest inventions, beginning with those of ancient Rome. Roman scientists and engineers were the first to be deployed to conquered provinces, and it was their ingenuity that linked the vast Roman Empire together with sophisticated bridges and roads, solidifying Roman rule over a swath of territory that in its heyday extended from Scotland to Syria. Masters of incorporating innovations from the cultures they dominated, the Romans spread the concepts of clean water distribution and sewer systems -- as well as the ubiquitous Roman bath -- to far-flung outposts of the empire. The Romans used the aqueduct to distribute water, the catapult to defend their cities, and the hypocaust (the first radiant heat apparatus) to heat the Roman baths. They also invented double-pane glass, public bathrooms and one of the first prototypes of industrialization -- a water-powered flour factory that could feed a minimum of 12,000 people each day. The Romans used concrete to build almost everything and made use of a drum crane for building projects, which allowed them to use a measly four pounds of lifting pressure to lift an astonishing 4,000 pounds."

Trophies and tombstones: Commemorating the Roman soldier

by Valerie M. Hope

"Hundreds of tombstones and funerary monuments record the life and death of Roman military personnel, but the vast majority of these monuments appear to commemorate soldiers who died in camp rather than on the battlefield. How were the victims of warfare disposed of and in what ways were the graves marked and the loss of life recorded? In comparison with the Greek world there seems to have been little desire to record the individual sacrifices made in Roman warfare. Triumphs and trophy monuments were methods of recording victories but not the true carnage of battle. Here this public, cleaned-up image of warfare is placed alongside the practicalities of disposing of the dead and the sense of public loss. This paper also evaluates the extent to which individual identity (as celebrated by peacetime military tombstones) was subsumed to the state in times of conflict and then explores the few exceptional occasions when ?war memorials? that commemorated and named the dead were constructed."

HBO's "Rome" offers realistic view of the ancient Roman world

A blow to the temples"At modern Rome?s fabled Cinecitta studios, the BBC and American TV giant HBO have joined forces to shoot an epic $100m television drama series that aims to topple the Hollywood image and set a new vision in its place.

Simply called Rome, the painstakingly researched show is shaping up as a vast, operatic, Grand Guignol drama. Its epic story will weave the lives of two ordinary Roman foot soldiers with historical celebrities such as Julius Caesar and Pompey in the last years of the Roman Republic. The show?s relatively unknown British stars - Kevin McKidd, Ciaran Hinds and Polly Walker - are likely to become household names.

In keeping with ancient Hollywood traditions, Rome will feature intrigue, spectacle and casual brutality. In a radical break with Hollywood traditions, though, it will also be jammed with cliche-busting surprises. There?ll be much more sex and paganism than we?re used to. We?ll see Julius Caesar as he really looked during his ceremonial triumphs (painted head to toe in Jupiter?s colour, red) and Cleopatra will not be a vamp or demi-goddess, but as Cicero saw her - a dinner-party bore.

HBO is putting up most of the money. The first 12 episodes are due to air late this year, and if all goes well a further four seasons are planned. So far, though, the show?s most spectacular feature is its jaw-dropping set, reckoned to be the biggest and most expensive ever built for television. On the backlot at Cinecitta, where Ben-Hur?s chariot race was filmed and where 500 slaves once dragged Liz Taylor into town atop a giant sphinx for Cleopatra, a spectacular new version of the ancient city has been built of steel and fibreglass. There?s a full-scale replica of the Forum, a warren of working-class streets, markets, villas and gardens.

It looks tremendous, but also weird, because this Rome is grubby rather than grandiose. Its temples don?t shimmer but are dirty and multicoloured. The set is smoky and covered with Latin graffiti, much of it obscene. On street corners there are candle-strewn shrines and drawings of giant penises. In one street there?s a typical Roman toilet: a latrine with planks with holes where men and women sit side by side and use the same fetid sponge as toilet paper. Grass grows between the flagstones on the Via Sacra. There?s mud everywhere.

Welcome to the new, realist, ?authentic? Rome: feral, vivid, jumbled, irregular. ?Third world Rome?, the show?s executives call it - a bracing, provocative antidote to a century of ?Hollyrome?.

Production designer Joseph Bennett, who built the set, says: ?People think of Rome as white and cold and beautiful, powerful but distant. But based on the research, I don?t think it was like that at all. If you go to Pompeii, you?re struck by how garish it is, even now. The temples and sculptures were all brightly painted. Rome was like Pompeii, but much bigger. And Rome was so noisy it was impossible to sleep. It was like hell. Think of it as a combination of New York and Calcutta, with insane wealth and insane poverty. It was pretty extreme.?

?We?ve taken everything from scratch,? says chief writer and executive producer Bruno Heller. ?We are disregarding what people might have seen before, and asking: what was it actually like at this moment in history? We?re trying to deal with the lives of ordinary people, the details of routine, everyday life, of unemployment, of disease. And we are trying to be very precise in the historical moment, very precise about the texture of everyday life. Everything flows from that. The Forum was about as grand as it got, but it was not, by any means, stupendous or stupefying. Once you know that the Tiber flooded regularly and the houses were constantly on fire because they were just made of wood, you know that there were fires and floods constantly. It was always smoky, grimy and dirty."

Pompeii: The Last Day

I was one of the millions who watched "Pompeii: The Last Day" last night on the Discovery Channel. I thought the visual effects were quite compelling and the acting quite good for a docudrama. I also did not realize that the pyroclastic surge that killed the remaining residents of Pompeii did not produce instant death. The narrator's description of the residents' three painful breaths, the first searing the lungs and producing fluid, the second creating a soft concrete like mixture with the inhaled ash, and the third and final breath one of suffocation, was quite poignant. It made the instantaneous death suffered by the inhabitants of Herculaneum's boat sheds seem merciful by comparison (even though their teeth shattered and their brains boiled afterwards).

I also didn't realize the last flow actually spanned the Bay of Naples and threatened the household where Pliny the Younger waited for his uncle's return. I wish it had included more information about Rome's relief efforts but it made it sound like relief was deemed useless because of the immensity of the disaster.

The second half of the presentation was a repeat of information provided in a documentary I had seen before about how the current authorities have planned for an evacuation of the area if (or should I say when) Vesuvius erupts again.

Of course I startled my husband when I commented that I hoped Vesuvius would hold off at least for a couple more months so I could visit Pompeii and return home safely in March. He didn't realize my plans included a visit the ruins.

Atlas Statue depicts lost Hipparchus star catalog

CNN.com : "The Farnese Atlas, a 7-foot tall marble work which resides in the Farnese Collection in the National Archeological Museum in Naples, Italy, has been found to hold clues to the long-lost work of the ancient astronomer Hipparchus.

What makes it important to scientists is not the titan's muscular form but the globe he supports: carved constellations adorn its surface in exactly the locations Hipparchus would have seen in his day, suggesting that the sculptor based the globe on the ancient astronomer's star catalog, which no modern eyes have seen.

'There are really very few instances where lost ancient secrets or wisdom are ever actually found,' said Bradley Schaefer of Louisiana State University. 'Here is a real case where rather well-known lost ancient wisdom has been discovered.'

Hipparchus, who flourished around 140-125 BC, is believed to have been one of the world's first path-breaking astronomers. Among other innovations, he put together the first comprehensive list of the hundreds of stars he observed, known as a star catalog.

This catalog no longer exists, and previously the only evidence for it came from references made to it by astronomers who followed Hipparchus, Schaefer said.

Another Hipparchus invention -- the idea of precession, which is the slow movement of the stars and constellations across the sky in relation to the celestial equator -- led Schaefer to believe that Atlas's globe referred to Hipparchus's star catalog."

Medieval Combat manuals indicate gladiators more showbusiness than slaughter

Scotsman.com News : "To thrill the crowds around the arena the combatants would 'display' broad fighting skills rather than battle for their lives, according to Professor Steve Tuck of the University of Miami.

'Gladiatorial combat is seen as being related to killing and shedding of blood, but I think that what we are seeing is an entertaining martial art that was spectator-oriented,' he said.

Prof Tuck focused on fighting methods used by pairs of gladiators in one-to-one combat, as opposed to mass battles or staged events, and examined 158 images that show combat, such as a gladiator pinning down his opponent, his shield and sword on the ground.

Such gladiatorial art adorns practically all Roman artefacts, from lamps, gems and pottery to large-scale wall paintings.

To try to ascertain more fully what these scenes show, Prof Tuck turned to the pages of fighting and martial-arts manuals produced in Germany and northern Italy in medieval and renaissance times. These provided instruction in everything from sword-fighting to wrestling. He argues that, as such, they are a good parallel for gladiatorial combat.
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Manfredi adapts "Memoirs of Hadrian" for the cinema

The Music Tiger:

Although Dr. Valerio Manfredi's take on Alexander did not make it in the race to produce an epic film about him, he is apparently busy collaborating with Dino De Laurentis and a couple of other historical projects:

"De Laurentis took an option on The Last Legion, Manfredi's novel which merges the last days of the Roman empire with Arthurian legend. Production should start next year, with Anthony Hopkins being talked of as a likely star. If anything, however, Manfredi is more enthusiastic about his own screenplay of another historical novelist's work, the widely acclaimed Memoirs of Hadrian, by Marguerite Yourcenar. It is going ahead, he explains, with Antonio Banderas as Hadrian and John Boorman directing.

Responding to occasional criticism from peers over his film involvement, Manfredi has observed in the past that 'a minority read books, while millions go to the cinema. You have to simplify, condense.' Mention Ernest Hemingway's famous comment about writing for the studios - 'You throw them your book, they throw you the money. Then you jump into your car and drive like hell back the way you came' - and he laughs. He would certainly have reservations about giving his work to certain directors, he says, although he regards his Memoirs of Hadrian screenplay as (relatively) safe in Boorman's hands - 'unless he has to make cuts ... But we have control of the screenplay.'"