Tag Archives: Roman history

by Ed Whelan, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom He is considered one of the fathers of the genre of biography. He is regarded as one of the most important writers of the Latin Silver Age in literature, and his collection of biographies of Roman emperors has been enormously influential. Yet who was Suetonius? What was the

by Andrew Rattray It’s hard to pin the ultimate ending of the Roman Empire to a single cause. Of course there is no single date we can point to but rather a gradual collapse over hundreds of years. In the 3rd century the Empire was split into East and West, and by the 6th century

by Andrew Rattray Where does history end and myth begin? It’s a question that often doesn’t have a clear answer. Even in ancient times, the answer could prove elusive. Such is the case of Horatius and his heroic stand against the Etruscans. It’s a story that has endured through the centuries, recurring in all sorts

Written by Jacek Czarnecki, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom  Fearless warriors battling each other to the death while providing entertainment to a blood-thirsty audience: that’s how most people envision the Roman gladiators. However, this image is shaped more by film than historical reality.  The first gladiator games took place in 264 BCE, although the origins go

By Cam Rea General Publius Ventidius is probably one of the most overlooked, if not completely forgotten, generals in military history. Maybe it is because Ventidius grew up poor like most Romans… Or perhaps it was due to the reports that he sold mules and wagons before joining the Roman army. Despite this, Ventidius would