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2002 Ancient / Classical History Features
12/24/02 - Review - "The Shadow Women"
Unlike "The Red Tent," which was based on a tiny episode from the Bible, "The Shadow Women" provides a convincing context for the entire book of Exodus.
12/10/02 - Seven Kings of Rome - Romulus
Romulus was the first king of Rome and the founder of the city of Rome. The legend and some of the puzzles.
11/28/02 - Review - "Caesar's Legion"
A thorough text about Roman military life in the time of Caesar, a legionary's point of view about Caesar's Gallic and the civil wars, and what happened to the legions following Caesar's death.
11/21/02 - Review - "A Mist of Prophecies"
In the ninth of the Roma sub rosa series, by Steven Saylor, the sleuth, Gordianus the Finder, sets out to find which of the prominent Romen women of late Republican Rome murdered the seer Cassandra.
11/14/02 - Review - "A Body in the Bathhouse"
Review of Lindsey Davis' Falco murder mystery set at the Roman palace construction site in ancient Britain that is now an archaeological excavation site near Chichester.
11/07/02 - Solon's Salaminian Descent
Guest feature by Michael Bakaoukas. Diogenes Laertius and Diodorus Siculus present evidence that Solon, the lawgiver of Athens, was actually from Salamis.
10/31/02 - Hipparchia - The World's First Liberated Woman
Guest feature by Maria Jamil Fasolo on Hipparchia of Maroneia, who married the Cynic philosopher Crates and encouraged ancient Greek women to seek greater freedom.
10/24/02 - Before You Send out an SOS For History Research
While members of the Ancient / Classical History forum are pleased to help those who need help with historical research, there are steps you should take before you post your question.
10/17/02 - Review - "One Virgin Too Many"
Entertaining Roman murder mystery, by Lindsey Davis, with surprisingly interrelated twists and turns, featuring Falco as the luckless sleuth whose fortunes appear to be changing at long last.
10/10/02 - Guest Review - "Daughter of Lazarus"
Irene Hahn reviews "Daughter of Lazarus," a work of historical fiction, by Albert A. Bell, Jr., which takes place during the reign of Domitian.
10/03/02 - Review - "The Course of Honor"
Marcus Didius Falco author Lindsey Davis wrote an historical fictional biography of Vespasian's mistress, Caenis, before she started the familiar "Sam Spade of the ancient world" series. Find out about this true love story.
09/25/02 - Guest Review - "Pharaoh"
Irene Hahn reviews "Pharaoh," the conclusion to the fictional biography of Cleopatra, written by Karen Essex.
09/18/02 - Guest Review - "A Mist of Prophecies"
Irene Hahn reviews "A Mist of Prophecies," the latest historical fiction in the Roma sub rosa mystery series by Steven Saylor.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.comlibrary/prm/blhanconquesta.htm > 09/11/02 - Chang Ch'ien and Han Conquest
Chang Ch'ien's far-ranging diplomacy laid the groundwork for Han conquest -- and the link between East and West. By John Hood for Military History Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blpersianmiragea.htm > 09/04/02 - Rome's Persian Mirage
Rome's six-hundred-year struggle for control of the ancient world was one of the earliest tests of East versus West. By Barry S. Strauss for MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History Magazine.
08/31/02 - Review - "All Roads Lead to Murder"
An engaging story, which breathes life into the Roman Empire of the first century and the story of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, while showing the conflicts inherent in period social customs.
08/28/02 - Review - "The Lock"
Benita Kane Jaro's book about the fifteen years and ultimately unsuccessful campaign by Cicero to avert the fall of the Roman Republic by fighting legally against Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey, on the one hand, and the lawlessness of Clodius on the other.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blcityofthedeada.htm > 08/20/02 - City of the Dead
A trip to Petra, the city of the dead, yields an impressive sight for the living. By Tom Huntington for Historic Traveler Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blarmeniana.htm > 08/13/02 - Armenian Christians Take Up Arms
Armenia, the first country to become Christian officially, had to fight a mighty, neighboring empire that wanted it to revert to an older religion. By Antranig Chalabian for Military History Magazine.
08/06/02 - Review - "Last of the Amazons"
Screenwriter/novelist Steven Pressfield ruined a perfectly lovely story about growing up under Amazon tutelage by obsessing about violence, blood, and gore.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blissusa.htm > 07/30/02 - Upset at Issus
King Darius III had cut off the Macedonian upstart who had dared invade his mighty empire-but then Alexander moved to slash his way out of the trap. By Harry J. Maihafer for Military History Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blbelisariusa.htm > 07/23/02 - Belisarius' Bid for Rome
As Byzantine Emperor Justinian revived the Eastern Roman empire, he sent his greatest general west to retake Rome. By Erik Hildinger for Military History Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blalexandersfirstgreatvictoryside.htm > 07/16/02 - Alexander's Feint Attack: A Reappraisal
Why did Alexander the Great use the strategy of opening the Battle of the Granicus with a feint attack? By John R. Mixter for Military History Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blissusside.htm > 07/09/02 - Introducing Oblique Order
Using the oblique order, a commander weakened one portion of the line so as to have massive superiority elsewhere. By Harry J. Maihafer for Military History Magazine.
07/04/02 - Delian League
Basic information about the beginning of the group of allies led by Athens.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/bljotapataa.htm > 07/02/02 - Forty Days at Jotapata
After five days of failure, Roman General Vespasian settled down for a long siege--and a seesaw battle of wits with his Jewish opponent, Joseph ben Matthias. By Mark Wayne Biggs for Military History Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/bljotapataside.htm > 06/25/02 - Joseph ben Matthias and Jewish Factional Infighting
Joseph united rival factions against the Romans. By Mark Wayne Biggs for Military History Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blbattlejoinedside.htm > 06/18/02 - The Trouble With Elephants
Carthage and the importance of elephants in military history. By Greg Yocherer for Military History Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blclassicbattlejoineda.htm > 06/11/02 - Classic Battle Joined
As Hannibal met Rome's strongest army at Cannae, Rome's vaunted tenacity and soldiery were expected to prove decisive despite the Carthaginians' recent victories. By Greg Yocherer for Military History Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/bldaytheworldtrembleda.htm > 06/04/02 - Rome vs. Carthage: The Day the World Trembled
The course of civilization was determined on the banks of the Metaurus River in 207 BC, when brilliant Roman and Carthaginian generals fought the perfect battle. By Lee Levin for Military History Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blsacredspring1.htm > 05/28/02 - Bath's Sacred Spring
At this ancient Roman bath and temple complex, cleanliness really was next to godliness. By Bruce Heydt for British Heritage Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blflagfen.htm > 05/21/02 - Bronze Age Riddle Uncovered at Flag Fen
Flag Fen is the site of some of the most recent and unusual discoveries of ancient British culture. By Bruce Heydt for British Heritage Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blkingherod1.htm > 05/14/02 - Bad King Herod
In 1998 Israel turned 50, so it is a relatively young country. But visitors there can find traces of events that occurred in the region some 2,000 years ago, when Herod was King of Judea. By Tom Huntington for Historic Traveler Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blkeystopast.htm > 05/07/02 - The Keys to the Past
The present gallery devoted to 'man before metals' shows items made by early man. By Gail Huganir for British Heritage Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/bldruids.htm > 04/30/02 - Druids Then and Now
Although it has become commonplace to associate England's most famous stone circle, Stonehenge, with the mysterious ancient order known as the Druids, in truth, the two have little or no historical connection. By Leigh Ann Berry for British Heritage Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/bltogaanddagger.htm > 04/23/02 - Toga & Dagger: Espionage in Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome is remembered as one of the greatest military powers in history, its fame derived from the fearsome reputation of the empire's legionnaires. Lost in the telling, however, is the important role that espionage played in Rome's ascent to empire. By Rose Mary Sheldon for MHQ: A Quarterly Journal for Military History Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blstonecircles.htm > 04/16/02 - Stone Circles: Stonehenge and Beyond
Who built them; why were they built, and what do they mean? By Leon Fitts for British Heritage Magazine.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blsocrateswar1.htm > 04/09/02 - Socrates At War
Despite his renown as one of the most famous personalities in the ancient world, few are aware of the great philosopher's military heroics. By Debra Hamel for MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History.
04/02/02 - A Day In Old Athens
The text of the University Of Minnesota's William Stearns Davis' 1910 look at daily life in Ancient Athens in the fourth century B.C.
03/26/02 - Six Ancient Greek Sculptors
Identification of six of the greatest Greek sculptors from the early Classical to the Hellenistic Period.
03/19/02 - Review - "Warrior Women"
Dr. Jeannine Davis-Kimball excavates the steppes and looks at artifacts around the world in her pursuit of the true and honored place of women in ancient societies.
03/12/02 - Famous Ancient Women
Historical women from antiquity whose reputations -- for good or ill -- have survived.
03/05/02 - Egeria
Possibly a member of a religious order, Egeria made a leisurely pilgrimage to the Holy Land and wrote down her observations in a book called Itinerarium Egeriae, or the Travels, somewhere between the fourth and seventh centuries.
< Former URL = ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/blalexandersfirstgreatvictory.htm > 02/26/02 - Alexander's First Great Victory
The Persians hoped to win the Battle of the Granicus by killing King Alexander III. But in his first major action in Asia, the Macedonian commander employed tactics that would win him an empire. Article by John R. Mixter for Military History Magazine.
02/12/02 - Review - "Achilles"
Elizabeth Cook's little story (barely over 100 pages for the story itself) gets to the heart of Achilles' participation in the Trojan War.
02/05/02 - Review - "Lovers' Legends"
Andrew Callimach's "Lovers' Legends - The Gay Greek Myths" puts together the major stories about Greek heroes' and gods' love affairs with other men.
01/27/02 - Latin and Greek Botanical Names
Linnaeus' binomial plant naming system uses Latin and Greek words.
01/16/02 - Construction of the Roman Aqueducts
Under Augustus, Rome conducted its greatest building projects. The second part of Al Schlaf's illustrated article on Augustan aqueducts looks at four restored and three newly built aqueducts.
01/09/02 - Aqueducts of Rome Under Augustus
Article by Al Schlaf on the waterworks program instituted in Rome under Augustus. To prevent sabotage by enemies, many of the early aqueducts were not the lofty structures we think of, but lined and covered trenches.
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