Tag Archives: Ancient Rome

Can History Ever Be Simple?

I’m literally dreaming about Cleopatra and Mark Antony these days… images of them, in splendid garb imitating their respective gods, Dionysius and Isis, dining on the Egyptian Queen’s floating barge fill my slumbering mind. You see, I’m knee-deep in preparation for this month’s exciting panel on the Battle of Actium, arguably one of the most

Written on March 7, 2022 at 5:28 pm, by Anya Leonard

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Categories: Dialectics

Tags: Ancient Rome, Augustus, Barry Strauss, Battle of Actium, Ceasar, Cleopatra, Lover's Coin, Mark Antony, the war that made the roman empire, William M Murray

Patricians and Plebeians in Ancient Rome

by Kevin Blood In the Roman citizenry there existed two distinct social classes or orders. The patricians (patres – fathers) and the plebeians (plebs – multitude). To understand the political, social, economic and military developments that happened in the Roman Republic, it is important to understand how early republican society functioned and was organised according

Written on October 19, 2021 at 10:44 pm, by Sean Kelly

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Categories: Culture

Tags: Ancient Roman Religion, Ancient Rome, Patricians, Plebeians

Petronius – one of the first novelists and a victim of Nero

Written by Ed Whelan, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom Petronius was one of the world’s first novelists and an important cultural figure in his day. He was influential in the Rome of Nero, but this would ultimately lead to his death. Biography of Petronius The chief source for the life of this fascinating character is the

Written on July 7, 2021 at 5:19 pm, by Whelan

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Categories: People

Tags: Ancient Rome, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gaius Petronius Arbiter, Nero, Praetorian Guard, The Great Gatsby, The Satyricon

Patriotism in the Ancient World

Written by Ed Whalen, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom While patriotism is associated with the modern world, scholars now believe that it was very common in the Classical world. Patriotism—which can be defined as a love of one’s country that conditions one’s behaviors and beliefs—played a major role in both Roman and Greek society. There, it

Written on July 2, 2021 at 6:45 am, by Whelan

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Categories: Traditions

Tags: Ancient Greek and Roman tradition, Ancient Greek history, Ancient Greek Military History, Ancient Rome, Patriotism, Roman military, traditions

Megalesia: Rome’s Shocking Religious Festival

Written by Ed Whalen, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom Religious festivals played a very important role in Rome and one of the most remarkable was the Megalesia, which was celebrated in the Republican and Imperial era. Dedicated to a goddess known as Magna Mater (Latin, literally ‘great mother’), the event was to many a shocking affair

Written on June 29, 2021 at 7:32 am, by Whelan

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Categories: Traditions

Tags: Ancient Roman History, Ancient Rome, Cybele, Megalesia, Mystery Religion

Locusta the Poisoner: Ancient Rome’s First Female Serial Killer

Written by Ed Whalen, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom Ancient Rome was a brutal place where life was cheap. Romans accepted violence and oppression as part of everyday life, evidenced by their terrible treatment of slaves. However, in the first century AD, even they were appalled by the murders and practices of a woman known as

Written on June 22, 2021 at 7:21 am, by Whelan

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Categories: People

Tags: Agrippina the Younger, Ancient Rome, death, Locusta, Locusta the Poisoner, Nero, Pax Romana, Plants

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