Ancient Rome: #MeToo

[Insidious Von]

Cicero is known today as a statesman, lawyer and poet who defended the dying Roman Republic to the bitter end. His poetry collection was lost when the Vandals sacked Rome and burned The Library to the ground in 456. As for Cicero, he was beheaded on order of Marc Anthony and his head and hands were displayed in the Roman Forum. Some of his legal precedents survived to the present day. He should have known better, defending his rich gumbas with vested interest.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/...t-shook-ancient-rome?utm_source=pocket-newtab

 

[mandrill]

Have you ever read the Steven Saylor series of mystery novels about ancient Rome?? Extremely good.

They are set in a slightly earlier period than the Triumvirates and Saylor features Catiline's advocacy skills in 1 of them, not Cicero's. But same idea. Lawyer getting rich client's off.

 

[Valcazar]

I remember reading about this a year or two ago. (I think it was the same article.)

oagre - I may have to check those books out. I like historical settings like that.

 

[jcpro]

Also known for denying due process to his fellow citizens and executing them without a trial. Pater patriae, indeed.

 

[Insidious Von]

Ancient Rome: The power of the deplorables.

I'm starved for good Italian content, I started watching My Brilliant Friend. I had to follow the sub-titles during the first episode, my Napolitan is in disuse. Halfway through the second, I caught on, no longer needing them. In the second episode Elena isn't sure that she wants to attend middle school without her best friend Lila. So the School Mistress tells her the story of the Gracchi (Tiberius and Gaius). She tells them that they were representatives of the plebs and that Lila is a pleb, "mean and nasty people who deserve nothing".

It's not that simple but the decline of the Roman Republic started with the fall of the Gracchi in the mid-second Century BC. They were concerned that the patricians were buying up too much land relegation the plebeians, whom they represented, into poverty. The wanted to change how The Republic should be governed but did not understand the power of the mob - they were both assassinated. It was a precedent that would not be ignored by future despots like Sulla and Julius Caesar.

Gene Roddenberry was an admirer of the Gracchi Brothers going so far as to give the name to his lead character: James Tiberius Kirk.

 

[Insidious Von]

The crushing of the Gracchi revolution nearly caused Rome's vanquish. The first Germanic invasion was an even bigger threat than Hannibal.

 

[mandrill]

IV, how many regional dialects are there in Italy and how difficult is it for them to understand each other?

 

[mandrill]

I remember reading about this a year or two ago. (I think it was the same article.)

oagre - I may have to check those books out. I like historical settings like that.

If you have any of your own reading suggestions, please toss them my way.

The lockdown is giving me way too much free time!

 

[Insidious Von]

IV, how many regional dialects are there in Italy and how difficult is it for them to understand each other?

The official language of Italy is Florentine, it was the first written Italian. As for different dialects, take a look at this regional map.I can barely understand Milanese.

 

[Valcazar]

The whole evolution of the Roman Republic and Empire is fascinating stuff. We get such a simplified version in basic pop culture.

oagre - There's a book called "The Discovery of France" which talks about how the many many dialects of "French" slowly became one version (and how because they were more centralized, it worked better than the still-more fractured Italian.) It's may or may not be up your ally.

Last Historical fiction I read was "The Western Wind" which is kind of a mystery in a small English town in the middle ages. It has some beautiful writing but the main story was a bit too esoteric and intellectual for me. I wanted it to be a bit more fun and a little less thoughtful.

 

[mandrill]

The whole evolution of the Roman Republic and Empire is fascinating stuff. We get such a simplified version in basic pop culture.

oagre - There's a book called "The Discovery of France" which talks about how the many many dialects of "French" slowly became one version (and how because they were more centralized, it worked better than the still-more fractured Italian.) It's may or may not be up your ally.

Last Historical fiction I read was "The Western Wind" which is kind of a mystery in a small English town in the middle ages. It has some beautiful writing but the main story was a bit too esoteric and intellectual for me. I wanted it to be a bit more fun and a little less thoughtful.

Thank you for the suggestion. I am fascinated by accents and dialects, having grown up in the UK. I always wondered why some countries - i.e. Britain or Germany - had numerous accents and other countries (such as France) seemed to have none.

 

[mandrill]

The official language of Italy is Florentine, it was the first written Italian. As for different dialects, take a look at this regional map.I can barely understand Milanese.

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Are you from the South, IV?