When Attila was a young boy his mother would have told him the story of an ancient Scythian sword that was forged by the Gods for Scythian kings. During his childhood, the Sword of God was that of legend since it had been lost, and the children would often hear the elders exclaim “Look for […]
Category: Rome
Spartacus
Do you know why we love the story of Spartacus? And why it is told and retold over and over again in television, movies, and literature? I bet you do, but I’m going to say it anyway because I absolutely have to. Spartacus is the ultimate underdog. It’s like a militant rags to riches fairytale […]
Publius Vergilius Maro aka Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro was born of peasant stock in 70 BCE, but managed to rise into the upper echelon of Roman society by the time of his death in 19 BCE. He is best known for his epic poem The Aeneid, which was unfinished at the time of his death. It was this epic commissioned […]
Augustus Gaius Octavius and the Lex Iulia et Papia Poppaea
”If we could survive without a wife, citizens of Rome, all of us would do without that nuisance; but since nature has so decreed that we cannot manage comfortably with them, nor live in any way without them, we must plan for our lasting preservation rather than for our temporary pleasure.” Augustus in a speech […]
Emperor Titus Flavius Vespasian
No one in their right mind would have predicted that Titus Flavius Vespasian would ever be anything more than an eccentric senator. They were an obscure family from the small village of Reate. His father had been a banker and his mother from a family of modest means. However, according to Sutonius’ Life of the […]