Did the Romans Invent Christmas?
Did the first Christian Roman emperor appropriate the pagan festival of Saturnalia to celebrate the birth of Christ? Matt Salusbury weighs the evidence.
Spartacus Mythistoricus: Winning Spartacus into the Mythical
The Spartacus represented in these media is not the same Spartacus that the ancient sources wrote about. The representation of Spartacus’ history has changed dramatically over the course of time and has, in fact,
Intrigue, Blood, and Naked Breasts: Strategies of the Epic Series on Premium Cable
The epic, in particular the sword-
Wine, Slaves, and the Emperor at Villa Magna
The project began with a geophysical survey of the site which generated a surprisingly clear vision of the buildings scattered along two low ridges of the Monte Lepini.
AD 312 – Milvian Bridge: Rome's Great Battle for Empire and Church
Ancient military historian Ross Cowan explores the victory that made Constantine emperor and Christianity the imperial religion.
Augustus and the Evolution of Roman Concepts of Leadership
Most will agree with the observation that Augustus was a master of what shall we call it? Spin? There will be disagreement as to the integrity of his claims. I prefer to follow the teachings of Edwin Judge that Augustus was so much in control of language that he could bend its specificity to say precisely what he wanted to say and to say what could not be gainsaid.
The Coinage of Rues
The aim of this study is to re-examine the earlier work on this series, and to offer an alter- native interpretation of the enigmatic RVES/RVIIS legend. It will seek to establish the likely phasing of the different issues relative to Tasciovanos’s main series, and in the process examine potential models, both classical and Celtic, which may have inspired the iconography of these coins. Finally, it will examine what regional trends, if any, are shown up by the distribution patterns.
Philosophies of Imprisonment in Late Antiquity
In order to understand how the conceptual perception of prisons changed with different social groups, one must first understand what prisons were meant to be and what they actually were. Prison structure was governed on logic, with different types of prisons to separate the accused from the condemned. From the structure, scholars can understand the purpose of the prison, and current scholarly debate revolves around the intention of the law-makers.
Flavian Visual Propaganda : Building a Dynasty
In addition to demonstrating the application of the three themes in these instances, I would like to draw particular attention to the interrelation of the following: the misunderstood significance of the Temple of Isis in the Flavian triumph; the refiguring of Nero
Can One Believe the Ancient Sources That Describe Messalina?
One of the primary sources that discusses Messalina in the most depth is The Annals, by Tacitus. However, Tacitus?s account of Messalina is questionable in several ways. First, Tacitus seems to have distinct motives for writing about Messalina that call into question the accuracy of his depiction.