Silanus, a fool
My money is very cool
I will conquer all
Villain Cicero
Plotting his rise to power
I must destroy him
Julius Caesar
Is a king of the people
Long live Julius
“Nefas!” is shouted
Who else if not Longinus
He is on our side
Brutus should be gone
He betrayed his Roman friend
We will have revenge
Most similar to a Game of Thrones-style TV show, Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010-2013) is a gruesome, erotic, cinematographic masterpiece. With hundreds of fight scenes, this Starz production is not for the faint of heart. However, for those who can bear it, Spartacus: Blood and Sand provides an excellent portrayal of the Romans and their culture through non-Roman eyes. This post will focus on Season 1 of the series, providing both a summary and reflection.
Under the threat of Mithradites invading, Claudius Glaber and the Romans attempt to persuade Spartacus and the Thracians to join their fight. The Thracians tentatively agree under the condition that they defend against the Getae, who have raided Thracian lands for years. An agreement is struck and the fighting ensues. The Thracians occupy the auxiliary, which is defined as support personnel; however, in the context of a Roman legion, an auxiliary army comprised of non-Romans is considered lesser. As such, Spartacus and the Thracians are forced to be on the front lines, given limited rations, and are generally disrespected. Over the course of the battles, the Spartacus and the Thracians grow tired of the Romans’ ulterior agenda to defeat Mithridates and so they disobey Claudius Glaber’s orders so that they can go back to their village and defend their families grom the Getae. Once Spartacus returns, Claudius Glaber tracks him down and kidnaps Spartacus and his wife. And so begins Spartacus’s life as a Slave.
Glaber sent Spartacus to the Gladiatorial Arena of Capua to be executed and his wife was sold off to a Syrian far away. At the end of the Gladiatorial games in Capua, a Ludus, or school, owner by the name of Batiatus spares Spartacus’s life and recruits him to join his Ludus for training as a gladiator. Spartacus then undergoes rigorous training for some time under the hope that one day he will see his wife, Sura, again. Spartacus meets the raining Champion Crixus as his training progresses. The two have a testy, competitive relationship. They finally meet in battle at Spartacus’s first games. Crixus bests Spartacus and his life is spared; however, he is disgraced and sent to fight in the pits. Spartacus fights his way back out, and in the next games, Crixus and Spartacus must fight together against Theokoles, a legendary gladiator. Crixus is badly hurt and Spartacus was crowned the new Champion of Capua. Spartacus then learns from Batiatus that Sura is on her way to the Ludus; however, once Sura’s caravan driver arrives, it was revealed that they were attacked on the road. Sura, being fatally injured, dies in Spartacus’s arms.
With newfound bloodlust, Spartacus turns his attention to the next Gladiatorial contest. He continues training hard and winning in the Arena. Throughout this time, Crixus recovers, new recruits are purchased and trained, and we begin to see the devious nature of the Roman citizens. After much time, the shocking truth about Batiatus is revealed. Spartacus finds out that Batiatus had his wife killed so that he could keep Spartacus in his Ludus and focused on winning. Upon finding out, the only thing keeping Spartacus from taking revenge on his master is the retribution that may come to his friends. Thus, Spartacus leads a slave revolt against Batiatus setting all the surviving gladiators free. This marks the beginning of the Third Servile War.
In reflection, while the portrayal of Spartacus and his journey as a gladiatorial slave is romanticized, I believe that the brutality of life as this specific type of slave may in fact be accurate. Moreover, the corruption and devious nature of the “honorable” Romans like Batiatus and his wife really provides a much-needed perspective on how honorable some Romans were. I would highly recommend watching Spartacus: Blood and Sand.
After being assigned Crassus as my character for the Crisis of Cataline I decided to listen to a podcast about his life. I learned many things from how he grew up to how he eventually died. What I can now say after listening to the podcast is that Crassus was not a nice guy and deserved to die the way he did.
He grew up with little wealth and was a a follower of Sulla. He becomes well known as an army general after assembling an army and fighting against the Marians to give power back to the Sullans. After defeating the Marians, Crassus obtained the properties of the Sullans victims. This leads Crassus to be extremely wealthy.
This is where Crassus loses all respect from me. Once he acquired this power and wealth he started the first roman fire brigade except it was not a typical fire brigade. Crassus would show up to burning houses and negotiate to buy the burning building and in return would save the people and the house. If the house owners were not willing to sell he would let it burn to the ground and claimed the house. He then used slave labour to rebuild the burned houses and would sell them and keep the profits.
Crassus ends up becoming a significant political figure as a part of the first triumvirate but his greed for wealth and power gets him and his army killed.
I learned a lot from this podcast about my character unfortunately I listened with a fellow classmate and he used the information he learned about Crassus against me in the game.
The movie starts with a war being fought between two large armies. The Romans and the Barbarians battle and it appears to be a dominant victory for the Romans. After the Romans win the war the emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius tells the main character Maximus that he wants him to take his place once he passes away. Maximus is a general in the roman army and is loved for his great bravery and leadership. The hope is that Maximus will turn Rome back into a republic and give power to the senate.
The only problem with this plan is that Marcus Aurelius son Commodus believes he should be taking his fathers place. Once Commodus finds out this fathers plan to make Maximus emperor he kills his father before Maximus can be appointed and Commodus is now emperor. Maximus escapes death, has his family killed, and is exiled. He becomes a slave in North Africa and eventually fights as a gladiator. With all of his experience as a general, he becomes famous for his performances. He eventually becomes so famous that he gets back into Rome and fights Commodus in the last scene. He kills Commodus and gives power back to the senate making Rome a republic again. Maximus dies from his last fight but has fulfilled his request from Marcus Aurelius.
Overall we really enjoyed watching this film. The opening scene gave us an idea of how wars were fought in live action rather than just reading about them. We were a bit surprised at how little loyalty was shown from Commodus when killing his father. We also did not expect Commodus to be in love with his sister. In The end we thought the story line of Maximus losing his family and starting from nothing was very sad but his rise back to power was inspirational and our favorite part of the film.
Last night I watched Spartacus with a friend (see post picture). We enjoyed watching the inspiring tale of a slave revolt led by a man portrayed as loving freedom and fighting honorably for its acquisition.
Spartacus begins with an introduction to the main character, Spartacus, who is a Thracian slave. After biting the ankle of one of his superiors, he is left out to starve as an example to the other slaves. He is saved, however, when a gladiator trainer comes and purchases him. He is brought off to gladiator school, where he and the other gladiators are trained. This is where he meets his love interest and future wife, Varinia. When they first meet, however, it is because the gladiator school gives women to the gladiators they like the best as a reward. Spartacus decides not to treat Varinia as a piece of sexual meat when she is given to them because his captors are watching and want to see him act like an animal (which he refuses to do). They then take Varinia away and torment him by keeping her from him, but their love grows after this.
Eventually, Crassus comes with Glabrus and some women who want to see a private gladiator fight to the death (which the gladiator trainer never does because it’s bad for morale). A steep price is offered, however, and the gladiator trainer consents. Spartacus is chosen to be one of the gladiators to fight, but even though his opponent bests him, his life is spared when said opponent then turns and attacks the spectators. For this, he is strung up dead to rot in the slaves’ barracks as a warning to the others. This makes all the gladiators uneasy, and a revolt subsequently breaks out during a meal. Spartacus and his fellow gladiators overrun their captors and begin pillaging. When Spartacus sees the others treating Romans the way they had previously been treated, he stops them, calls them to be the bigger men, and releases the Romans who were being forced to fight to the death. He then leads his people on their revolt, setting slaves free and building an army of freed slaves. Glabrus, having been given command of Rome’s garrison, takes six cohorts to go squash the slave rebellion. Because he seems them as mere slaves, he is careless and doesn’t build a moat and blockade. He is therefore easily overrun, and returns to Rome in shame. Crassus eventually takes control of the army and goes to crush the revolt, making deals to ruin their plans to escape by sea on pirate ships. The two armies face off, and Spartacus’ army is defeated. He is later crucified along the road to Rome with all the other survivors.
I enjoyed this movie and found it very moving. My friends and I got a good chuckle out of the outdated effects used to make it look like a man’s arm was cut off. I also found it interesting to hear the conversation between Glabrus and Crassus about how Crassus refused to march on Rome. He said he wanted to save Rome and its traditions, and not violate Rome in the process. In this conversation, Glabrus brings up Sulla, and Crassus denounces Sulla’s actions as bringing infamy to Sulla’s name. This demonstrates the Roman conception of infamia.
Having never seen it before, I decided to watch the 2000 film Gladiator. As I had never seen it, Gladiator seemed like a natural choice. The film follows the protagonist, Maximus, and shows his redemption arc. Though he once started out as one of Rome’s top generals and was a close friend to (and heir apparent of) the emperor Marcus Aurelius, his whole life was turned upside down when Marcus Aurelius’s hotheaded son, Commodus, kills his father and wishes to have Maximus dead too. Maximus escapes, but ends up getting sold into gladiatorialship. Through noble fighting, Maximus works his way back to Rome, eventually taking on Commodus in a fight that he finds himself victorious but mortally wounded in. He does not die in vain, however, and his death (and the killing of the unpopular Commodus) bring about positive political change to Rome.
The movie is certainly likable. Being a big-budget Hollywood movie, the production is of high quality. The cinematography of Gladiator is excellent, and in contrast to plenty of other movies from this time period, the computer generated imagery still holds its own today. These two aspects of the movie help to give the viewer a feel of ancient Rome. Sure, the ruins of many ancient Roman buildings still exist today (and some are very well preserved), but as a whole it is difficult for the average person to imagine what ancient Rome actually looked like. Gladiator does this well, and though it certainly isn’t a perfect recreation of Rome it’s difficult to not be inspired by the Rome that the movie puts on screen.
But how does it hold up as a Roman film? A common criticism of many action movies aiming to be historically accurate is that they often sacrifice facts for a stronger storyline. A quick Google search reveals that the movie’s director, Ridley Scott, actually wanted Gladiator to be mostly historically accurate, and Scott even hired historians to help him achieve this goal. That said, Gladiator is still a Hollywood movie, as such, has some ideas that simply wouldn’t have held water if this movie was trying to be truly realistic.
I’ve seen lists of historically inaccurate movies and noticed Gladiator was on there (this is one of the reasons why I haven’t had much interest in watching it before), but facts aside, perhaps the most glaring is the plotline itself. Most audiences love a good redemption arc, but Maximus’s simply would have been extremely far-fetched. Maximus would likely have been properly killed or exiled early on, and if the latter happened it would have been difficult for him to get back into Rome. The chances of him being sold into gladiatorship would have been slim, and though the idea of him fighting his way back to Rome certainly sounds nice it’s unlikely that this would have happened. If he had managed to stay alive as a gladiator, it’s more likely that he would’ve ended up in the same boat as Proximo and trained future gladiators. And, of course, during Commodus’s death, it’s likely that he would have simply been killed earlier by his guards had they been distasteful in him, rather than refusing to assist him during his fight with Maximus.
At the end of the day, however, Gladiator doesn’t actually need to be historically accurate. It just needs to be interesting, which it definitely is. Similar to other historically inaccurate but engaging action movies (such as Saving Private Ryan, Pirates of the Caribbean, and 300), movies like Gladiator, in having a compelling story, get people interested in historical topics they might otherwise not come into contact with, and for that reason I think Gladiator is an excellent film.
I made eggs with honey, which is a Roman dish called Ova Spongia Ex Lacte, which more directly translates to honey omelet. I eat eggs almost every morning, and I never really change up the steps that I take. I really enjoyed making these eggs in a different way because it was nice to change up my routine. The roman recipe translates to “Four eggs in half a pint of milk and an ounce of oil well beaten to make a fluffy mixture. In a pan, put a little oil and add the egg preparation without letting it boil. When one side is done, turn it out to a platter. Fold it, pour on honey and sprinkle with pepper.” I do not usually eat 4 eggs, so I split the recipe in half, and I also added a little bit less milk because I generally don’t like my eggs to be too heavy. It was a little bit difficult to follow the roman instructions on flipping the omelet; I just made it the way I have been taught. I had the eggs for breakfast, so I also had some sausage with them. I had never thought to put anything sweet in an omelet because it sounds like the flavors would not mesh well. However, I was very pleasantly surprised by the taste of the eggs. I also usually do not put pepper on my eggs, but to my surprise, it actually tasted better with the pepper. The combination of the honey and pepper really worked, and the flavor profiles contrasted quite nicely. Usually, I don’t like when savory elements are added to sweet ones, such as in salted caramel or salted chocolate, but I think that this combination worked pretty well for me. In looking around the internet, I found that some translations of the recipe involve putting cinnamon on the eggs as well. I tried that, but it was just too much for me. The eggs before the cinnamon were not the greatest, but definitely edible, but after the cinnamon, it was hard to get them down. If I had to do this again, I would not have added cinnamon to the eggs.
I had my friend Jasmine try the eggs as well, and she thought that they were pretty bad. In general, she is a pretty picky eater, so that was expected, but I did not expect the extent to which she disliked them. She immediately threw them out and went to brush her teeth and rinse out her mouth. Overall, she rated the eggs a 1.3/10, only giving points for the texture of the eggs.
I flew home to Southern California 3 days ago, and when looking for movies to watch on the long plane flight home, I came across Ben Hur, the perfect movie to kill a whopping 4 hours of flight time, all while doing something productive (writing this summary/reaction!).
This movie kicks off with the “Overture”, in which a narrator explains the Judean pilgrimage to Jerusalem. After this explanation, the birth of a baby is seen, in a scene oddly similar to nativity scenes at Christmas-time, with the narrator promising this baby would bring them salvation.
The movie then cuts to the time period where the rest of this movie is set in, where Ben0Hur meets with an old friend, Messala. Messala is now a powerful man in Rome, and Ben Hur sees rather quickly that he is no longer the man he became friends with, and refuses to work with him, leading to them becoming enemies. A parade is held in the city, during which tiles fall from Ben Hur’s roof, injuring a man. This is all Messala needs, and he condemns Ben Hur to prison. In prison, Ben Hur collapses one day, and is given water by a man who is presumably Jesus.
Ben Hur toils away, imprisoned for a long period of time, where he eventually ends up being one of many men rowing a battleship. A large battle ensues, and the ship is sunk. Ben Hur is unshackled due to him proving his trust previously, and manages to swim free in a scene with surprisingly good practical effects for the late 50’s. Hur survives with his captain/commander, and the two are eventually rescued, leading to Hur being a hero once again in the eyes of the people. He is freed by his commander, and adopted.
Ben Hur travels back to seek revenge on Messala, and along his travels is taught how to chariot race by a wise old man. He arrives back in Judea, and ends up facing Messala in a chariot race, the ultimate battle between two foes. This race is full of action, with Messala piloting a chariot equipped with bladed wheels. Ben Hur wins, as one would expect, and Messala is left in tatters. Before he passed away, he reveals to Hur that his mom and sister are in fact still alive, and have leprosy. Hur goes through a slew of emotions with familial issues, and eventually walks through the city, which is eerily empty. He eventually finds the trial of Jesus, and aids him much as Jesus helped him in the desert. Jesus is crucified on the cross, and miraculously his mother and sister are healed.
Overall, I enjoyed this movie, but it was far too long. If I wasn’t on an airplane with not much else to do, I probably wouldn’t have lasted through the entire movie. The depictions of Roman life were surprisingly good given the film’s age, but not enough to override the immense length and unsatisfying plot.
When I visited my family in Rome in January and March, I saw many important Roman sites, but none were as impressive as the Pantheon. Attached is a picture I took of it, and although I snapped many awe-inspiring pictures of it I do not have a selfie with it. That said, I do have a picture with my father at the Piazza Navona, which is about a thousand feet away, which I’ve also included in this actum.
The Pantheon in my picture was made in the second century AD, and was built by the emperors Trajan and Hadrian. However, prior to the construction of the Pantheon, there was another Pantheon on the same site that was built by Marcus Agrippa, who was one of Augustus’s closest allies. Hadrian decided to keep the inscription honoring Agrippa as a result of this. The current building sits on top of that old foundation, and though the basic structure was built by the Romans in the second century, the building was converted into a church and the current interior was built during the Renaissance.
Like many of the ancient Roman buildings that still survive, the Pantheon is made largely out of stone, but much of the dome is made out of concrete. The most noteworthy feature of the Pantheon is its dome, which to this day is the largest freestanding concrete dome in the world – and it’s nearly 2,000 years old! This awe-inspiring dome has an oculus in the middle that lets ample natural light in, and is part of the dome’s structure.
Being a massive stone building, the Pantheon is displayed exactly where it was built two millennia ago. However, as the city of Rome has evolved, it has found itself nestled snugly into the buildings built up around it, and from the street isn’t visible from more than a block or two away.
Perhaps the most obvious Roman theme that the Pantheon embodies is the general design of it. Being one of Ancient Rome’s most impressive structures, the Pantheon is a poster child for Roman architecture. Domes are a common Roman feature on buildings, and the corinthian columns are also of classic Roman design. In fact, these columns came from Africa – the Romans shipped them to their capital city. The engineering and logistics required to bring them thousands of miles from Egypt to Rome is a marvel in and of itself, and serves as a marker to the ancient Romans’ ability to pull off seemingly unthinkable feats. The logistics of transporting hundreds of tons of stone are something that would have been impossible until only recently.
The dome itself also stands as a testament to the unmatched engineering prowess the Romans had in the ancient world. They successfully made the largest concrete dome in history, and only recently have domes made out of modern materials exceeded the size of the Pantheon’s.
Additionally, the Pantheon stands for the opulence and prowess of Ancient Rome. The building is a massive masterpiece of engineering, and few other ancient societies could produce a structure as large, complex, and well-made as this one. The fact that it’s been used almost continuously since its construction (and is still mostly the original building) stands testament not just to the architectural and engineering abilities of the Romans, but also more broadly to their ability to make a structure in antiquity that was useful for centuries after Rome fell. Its longevity and usefulness has stood the test of time, and the Pantheon is a building emblematic of Ancient Rome: gone, but still very much integrated in our society today.
