Rome ... pure barbarism

[phantom309]

Originally posted by: EGGO
Did you know the term "barbarian" came from how they heard foreigners?

They always heard "ba ba ba" if they didn't speak their language.

=0)

That's where the word "babble" comes from too.

 

[samgau]

Originally posted by: raildogg

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
random thought? Or did someone find the discovery/history channel?

nah. i've been interested in Rome for many years, just watched some show tonight and it was so amazing to me. i knew these people were barbaric and yet to creative and one of the most advanced societies ever.

ive read about Spartacus a while ago. amazing stories

I think the correct term would be decadent.... not barbaric... Since everything was below them, they could do what they wanted... Absolute power...

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: raildogg

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
random thought? Or did someone find the discovery/history channel?

nah. i've been interested in Rome for many years, just watched some show tonight and it was so amazing to me. i knew these people were barbaric and yet to creative and one of the most advanced societies ever.

ive read about Spartacus a while ago. amazing stories

Have you seen the new series 'Rome' on HBO? I've watched the first two, it's pretty interesting actually.

 

[chcarnage]

The Old Rome had culture, too. Poets, rhetoricians, drama writers and so on. I do know because I've had the pleasure to read some in Latin at school 😉

 

[Horus]

Originally posted by: Whisper
The emperors were mostly only in existence towards the ending of the empire (IIRC; I could be wrong), so it's possible that as things in Rome as a whole became more unstable, the emperors sought to placate the people by making the games more drastic.

Also, towards the end of Rome as a republic (i.e. right before Caesar began his rise to power), violence as a whole became a LOT more prevalent, especially in the Senate. Between Sulla breaking the sacred pact of never marching an army on the capital, Gaius causing a huge rift and a rather large civil war, and other senators/officials such as Clodius hiring gangs of young men to loose violence when necessary, it was definitely pretty barbaric back then.

So the people as a whole didn't have as much of a problem with death, I'd imagine. Assassinations and assassination attempts were a fairly common occurrence.

However, I do believe that for most of the history of the gladatorial games, it was more about the sport than death. Once Christians began being slaughtered by lions, things started to shift a bit.

The emperors started into power in the mid 1st century BCE. Starting with Octavian(Caesar Augustus). Some emperors liked the games (Nero, Claudius), while some hated them, and summarily banned them (Marcus Aurelius).

 

[Gulzakar]

we aren't much better.

civil rights...and today will still try and exert control over the rest of the world...

gladiator arenas? ever heard of the ghetto?

 

[BooGiMaN]

the history channel has had a series of shows all week about the romans, yesterdays show about the roman legion and how the army was run liek a moden army was very enlightening...no wonder they conquered so much land

also watch the show on HBO 'ROME'

 

[raildogg]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: raildogg

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
random thought? Or did someone find the discovery/history channel?

nah. i've been interested in Rome for many years, just watched some show tonight and it was so amazing to me. i knew these people were barbaric and yet to creative and one of the most advanced societies ever.

ive read about Spartacus a while ago. amazing stories

Have you seen the new series 'Rome' on HBO? I've watched the first two, it's pretty interesting actually.

nope. i would like to see it however. when is it on again?

Originally posted by: samgau

I think the correct term would be decadent.... not barbaric... Since everything was below them, they could do what they wanted... Absolute power...

so right. they were one of the most decadent, perverse societies. i think thats one of the reasons for their downfall. that and their rulers didnt always make the wisest decisions

 

[maddogchen]

Man some of the History Channel's shows on the Romans this week has been very eye-opening. Like out of a series of Emperors, only one was totally heterosexual, the others were all bi. Or how their wives and daughters went around having sex with slaves and gladiators and people lining up at brothels. Casting doubt on the heredity of some of the Roman emperors.

 

[BooGiMaN]

Originally posted by: maddogchen
Man some of the History Channel's shows on the Romans this week has been very eye-opening. Like out of a series of Emperors, only one was totally heterosexual, the others were all bi. Or how their wives and daughters went around having sex with slaves and gladiators and people lining up at brothels. Casting doubt on the heredity of some of the Roman emperors.

i couldnt believe it when they said the roman army built most of the great structures like the aquaducts and palaces...basically if you were in the army and there was no war you worked all day on whatever needed to be done

also they had medics, field doctors and regular doctors at the barracks for the regular soldiers, something that was unheard of in those times for other armies, they treated their investements (the roman soldiers) good because it cost a lot to train them, pay them for service, and house them.

 

[Kevin1211]

also, what i found somethign new was that the coliseum was funded through the relics looted from Jewish temples during their campain, and all the workers were jewish people who were conquered through that campaign .

 

[Aquaman]

what animals did they wipe out of existance?

Cheers,
Aquaman