Rome
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Historical Inaccuracies in Gladiator
I can understand why creative license is taken in film and television. We just do not know every tiny detail that happened throughout history. Sometimes creative license is taken to condense the events to fit into the relatively short time frame of movies and television. However, sometimes there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to why major changes were made. Things have been unchanged needlessly and the real story is not given its due. Gladiator was a box office hit with all-star cast as well as being loaded with fighting, action and blood galore; a mixture for pure success. But what happens when that particularly popular movie tells…
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Caesarion- The Poison of What If
The son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra VII Philopater is one of the most tantalizing what ifs in history. If he inherited a fraction of the good qualities from his famous parents, he would have been a force to reckon with in the ancient world and a thorn in Augustus Caesar's side. However, his potential remains a question mark because to paraphrase George R R Martin, when you play the game of thrones, you win or die.Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar was born to Cleopatra VII Philopater du [...]
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Hestia
Hestia was the Greek Goddess of the hearth, family, and domestic life. Her Roman equivalent was Vesta. Her name meant both a house and a hearth, symbolising the home and its residents. She also represented the coalition and relationship between the colonies and the mother cities. She was the first born child of Kronos and Rhea who was swallowed by her father at birth. Zeus would later force their father to disgorge his children. As the first to be swallowed she was also the last to be disgorged, and so was named as both the eldest and youngest of the six Kronides. When many of the gods sought for her…
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THE ASSASSINATION OF JULIUS CAESAR
It is the 15th March 44 BCE and Julius Caesar has declared himself dictator for life. There are many who are unhappy with this move and are seeking to end his leadership and his life. Caesar had led his army across the Rubicon River into northern Italy plunging the Roman Republic into a civil war. Caesars army defeated the army of his rival but not before Pompey managed to escape to Greece. Caesar chased his man down defeating his armies as he went before finally catching up with him in Egypt, well, not the man himself but his severed head, which was delivered to Caesar, instead of an extended hand…
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Claudian Invasion of Britain
The Romans had been lusting after Britain for quite some time. Julius Caesar had made two passes according to Dio Cassius in 55 and 54 BCE, but did not make much headway. The first only established a beachhead, but the second established a king friendly to Rome. However, Caesar had bigger fish to fry and headed back to Rome and glory leaving Britain alone in the mists. Caligula had tried again in 40 CE, and had a lighthouse built in preparation at Gesoriacum, modern Boulogne-sur-Mer. However, according to the tale told by Suetonius in The Twelve Caesars, he made less progress than Caesar. According to this story, he had the…
