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Germanicus
07-22-2013, 01:45 AM
I pretty much hate the Romans but I do like some stuff about them. Like they have a better way of thinking than the sneaky and cowardly Greeks. For example Greek thinking makes the Trojan Horse thing an oh so clever idea. To a Roman it is a sneaky and cowardly and dishonest way to enter a city. Romans were much better than the cowardly and clever Greeks. Greeks were effeminate compared to Romans.

My favourite Roman is Gaius Marius. The best Roman and easily the least pathetic Pleb.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Marius

After Gaias Marius I like Germanicus. The coolest Patrician. He was one of the few Romans that kicked the hell out of the Germanic barbarians. He could have conquered Germania if he had been given the chance. He seemed to be a man and very unPatrician. its no wonder they murdered him.

After Germanicus I like Julius Ceasar. A man of the people. A Patrician that did not have a silver spoon in his ass. He could relate to the pleb. Ceasar did a huge amount for the public and the common good.

After Ceasar I like Scipio Africanus. He was another guy that was not your typical patrician. He was a great general and he made the most important gains of the Republic period.

Do you have a favourite?

Germanicus
07-22-2013, 01:47 AM
I love reading about Roman History. It surprises me how much Western Society has been and is still influenced by what the Romans did. One of my favourite pieces of Roman history/myth is the story of Gaius Mucius Scaevola. He was a Roman youth who's bravery became legend.

In 508 BC the Romans were at war with Clusium. The Clusian king Lars Porsena laid siege to Rome and the Romans showed no sign of fighting them off. Mucius took matters into his own hands and crossed over into the Etruscan camp. He tried to assassinate the enemy King but messed up and killed the Kings secretary by mistake. He was seized and dragged before the shaken King.

Mucius told the King that Rome had declared war not on the people of Clusium but upon Porsena personally. Muscius told the King that he was just the first of a long line of Roman assassins and they would not stop until the King was dead.This freaked the King out and he ordered Mucius to be burnt alive.

What happened next is awesome. Muscius stuck his right hand into a fire and unflinching,he allowed it to burn. He declared that this is the regard that Roman men have for their bodies and told the King to remember what was in store for him.Obviously this freaked the King out further. Not wanting to live his life under a death sentence from a bunch of psychotic patriot Roman assassins,he commended Mucius for his bravery and allowed him to go free. The King then lifted the siege and made peace with Rome.How cool is that?

Nobody is sure if this story is myth or history but it says alot about the Romans. What it is to be a man. To be a good Roman. To be a patriot. What is a patriot today? I think that all good Romans would be ashamed of what we have all become. Good Romans were committed and ready to die for Rome. Roman society valued bravery. They valued sacrifice for ones country. They valued honour. They valued the common good of Rome. The common weal.

en.wikipedia.org... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_good)
gaplauche.com... (http://gaplauche.com/docs/romepaper.pdf)

What do we value today? It seems that we value ourselves.We value what we can get. We value self preservation. We value vulgar displays of wealth. We value greed. We celebrate stepping over the next person to get what we want/can. I know Rome lost its way and that many at the top were just like us but I honestly think we have taken it to a new level. We are all very poor Romans. I wish we could all be more like Mucius. I wish society valued the things that are important. I wish we all cared more for the 'common good'.

edit- Mucius Scaevola was super cool but I think his story is more myth than fact like much of the early Roman 'history'.

Common
07-22-2013, 01:51 AM
I like nero he reminds me of some of our resident right wingers :)

Germanicus
07-22-2013, 01:54 AM
Mike Duncan History of Rome podcasts are the best place to hear about Roman history if you ask me. Mike Duncan is awesome. HELLO!
http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/
He is a funny guy. I hate all the arrogant Roman History in books like the one from Gibbons. These books written by these crusty old western propagandists must be taken with a grain of salt.

Germanicus
07-22-2013, 01:54 AM
HA! He was pretty cool.

Germanicus
07-22-2013, 10:08 AM
# Caesar. You know who I mean. (:

Chris
07-22-2013, 10:37 AM
I pretty much hate...

You seem to hate a lot of things.

The Sage of Main Street
08-10-2013, 05:00 PM
I like nero he reminds me of some of our resident right wingers :)

Elagabalus was more like them. And he was religious too!

The Sage of Main Street
08-11-2013, 03:12 PM
I like Cato the Elder. We need leaders like him instead of the Chickenhawks and appeasers we've been stuck with for the past 24 years.

Another policy that made the Roman Republic far more democratic than we have ever been was proscription. One way we could get out of this economic mess is confiscation of all the private assets of those who benefited from the bubble that caused it, especially the Bankensteins.