The Tale of Rome

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 43 — The Appian Way – Part Two. — “One more step, to your left!” The boy, holding the heavy groma, and some 40 paces away from the surveyor, didn’t hear the order. And so — he didn’t move. — “To the left, I told you,” the surveyor yelled. The boy, now startled, jumped to his left. The poor apprentice couldn’t get a single word, because of the strong gale blowing east from the sea. — “A single step, I told you!” The surveyor was running out of time and patience. “What a stulte, this boy,” he muttered to himself. Stulte was the word for “slow” in Latin, especially when someone was — sort of, slow to understand things. In plain English, it would also mean dumb, or dim-witted. So when the boy tried to get back to where he thought the man wanted him to stay, he tripped on a rock. As he tried to avoid the fall, he held on to the groma, and its ferrous tip bent into an awkward angle. And to make matters worse, one of the handles of the groma broke off, as the apprentice tried to hold on to it. The main pole hit the ground, and so did the boy. Like that, the groma was useless. […] Miles and miles of swamps, infested with cattails, frogs, mosquitoes and the ocasional corpses of animals and men, that just couldn’t make it through the land. Here, I would like to add two things. One one hand, the Appian Way wasn’t built in all its length in the year 312 BC. That year, it only got to Capua. And later on — in the year 291 BC, to be more precise, the road would reach the locality of Venusia. We are still some 20 years away from that. And then — another 10 years later, the Appian Way would finally reach Tarentum. By that time, we will be dealing with a whole new topic. The upcoming wars against Pyrrhus of Epirus. And then — after that, the Appian Way will go all the way to the heel of Italy. That is Brundisium. And after that, the road will make a giant U-turn, and snake its way to the other end of Italy. The point where the continent is at its nearest with the island of Sicily. Centuries later, under the reign of Emperor Trajan, the Appian Way will become a true masterpiece for its times. OK, and on the other hand, I need to make a short list of Roman roads — or ways, rather, that ALREADY existed before the construction of the Appian Way. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 42 — The Appian Way. No other road, path, or route of communication has changed the history of the western world as much as the Appian Way, today also known as the Old Appian Way. Natural passage points, or itineraries, that people used by land — such as the Silk Road, the Amber Road, and their maritime counterparts — such as the Strait of Gibraltar — they all can claim their own importance, and yes, they did their fair share, to alter history in their own ways. As another example, we have the pathway between the locality of Marathon and Athens, which was traveled by a Greek soldier in record time, so that he could pass the news, that the Persians had been defeated. Of course, the mere concept of this distance proved of so much importance in our western world, that today we have an Olympic sport, bearing the name and the distance, of that very pathway. Marathon! But — all these are not proper routes — properly designed, planned, traced out, and set up. The Silk Road was never marked along the whole way. Yes, there were milestone points, and there were knots where people just had to pass through, but those were mostly dictated by nature, or by a government. Not by a designer. And the Silk Road has never been methodically curated, kept up, and renovated, not by any stretch of the imagination. It served its purpose, sure. But the purpose was very different. So, when we talk about a road, a cobbled road — and, to make it more specific, a Roman road, this road — the one we are talking about today, truly changed the course of the history of Rome. Not only because it was the first of its kind, but also because until today, it still remains being the most famous one. And that’s just one of the reasons. So, today we are dedicating our entire episode to the reasons behind this road. And to why a Roman Censor, named Appius Claudius, a man of Sabine origin, was pushing so hard through the political system, to get this road done. And — last but not least, we also wanna learn that this man wouldn’t be stopped from building this road, even as total blindness set in, during the last 15-or-so years of his illustrious life. So much so, that we will know him as Appius Claudius, the Blind. And since we will be talking of this man, we should not forget the other masterpiece of his, the just as famous Aqua Appia — in other words, the first aqueduct that brought clean water to Rome, from the mountains. Yes — it was a subterranean waterway, but the merit still stands. But before we go talk about Appius Claudius, and the Appian Way, or the Aqua Appia, I want to tell you guys about the dilemma I had to face this week. When it was time to pick a celebrity phrase, to put it as some kind of GRAND SUBTITLE, for the Appian Way, I found out I had way too many choices. Too many strategists, generals, writers, historians — past and present, had their say about the Appian Way, and so — it really wasn’t easy to make a choice. So… In the end, I picked what a certain Publius Papinius Statius said about the Appian Way, around the year 69 after the birth of Christ. It was the year when this man — Statius, moved from Neapolis to Rome, and this is what he said: APPIA LONGARUM — TERITUR REGINA VIARUM […] How many times did Romans have to march from Rome to Capua, during the last — say, 10 years? Yep. I didn’t count, but for sure — many, many times. It becomes clear — almost immediately, that — rather sooner than later, someone would show up, and say, hey — we can’t keep dragging ourselves through the swamps that lay between Rome and the south. — Let’s do something about it! And this man, was Roman Censor Appius Claudius. And yes — this was not a matter of “if” the road was going to be built some day. It was a matter “when.” Besides, those swamps along the Italian coast were a breeding ground for disease. Those swamps, called the Paudine Swamps, also known as the Pontine Marshes, were very characteristic of the region, where rivers were often short, and had not enough drag to make it through the lowlands, west of the Apennines. That created large areas of marches. Breeding grounds for mosquitoes. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Sanya, in the south of China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome. Episode 41 — The End of the Great War. We are in the year 435 of the Founding of the City. By our accounts, that is the year 319 BC. Early morning. It’s the first day of the year. Not the first day of the Julian Calendar — that would come centuries later — but, the first day of the Calendar, as it was set by Romulus, and Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome. And the business of this first day of the year, was to elect the two new Consuls for the year. Serious business. Senators old and young, were hurrying to the building of the Curia, for — two really important decisions, depended on today’s vote. On one hand, somebody would have to deal with the consequences of what happened at the Caudine Forks. And, on the other hand, there was a law that was going to — either pass, or not pass. And that law, had nothing to do with war, or the humiliating defeat at the Caudine Forks. That law, if passed, would take away one certain power from Consuls, and would give it to the new guys in town. The Censors. That’s right — if today’s law passed, Censors would become the ones, who would have the power to remove someone from the Senate, and there was a myriad of reasons why this could happen. So, anyways. Before we get into the nitty-gritty of what was going on, I would like to read a short list of six items, on how a Senator’s day went on, when it was time to pass new laws, welcome new Senators into the house, and other (smaller) business at hand. ONE — Before the start of any important session, Senators would go to the Augurs, or Oracles, and see if the day in question, was actually good for passing new laws, or any other business. At that time, there were four guys with sufficient authority in all of Rome, to decide whether the day was auspicious or not. We’ll talk more about this further down the line. TWO — Before any voting, there were speeches. Always. Even if the voting was as trivial as the naming of a street, a speech was to be had. THREE — Sometimes these speeches went really long. And I mean, long! […] A huge army from Tarentum showed up on the horizon, just as Romans and Samnites were about to get running into each other’s throats. Their trumpets stopped everyone, and the Tarentines announced that this battle was being ordered, canceled. That’s right! Canceled! And the Tarentines even said that whoever made a move to attack the other side, the army of Tarentum would immediately join the other side, and make the aggressors lose the whole fight. Right away, the Romans called up their oracle, and checked on their sacred chicken. The chicken said — well, they didn’t say a thing — the oracle said, the gods were totally in favor of a frontal, brutal, battle, and that Rome was not to be afraid of the new arrival. And so — they made their battle formations, and started to walk forward. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 40 — Livy and Virgil. Virgil and Livy — Livy and Virgil. At the end of the day, the order of these two names doesn’t really matter. However — I felt like sharing why I chose to name this episode, the way I did. Our podcast started with a story where a guy named Aeneas was fleeing from a city called Troy. This was obviously brought to us by Virgil. Still — I decided to put Livy’s name first, on the cover of the episode. And no — the reason is NOT their looks. I can promise you that. This is not a beauty contest! But, after I picked the two pictures that would illustrate this episode’s cover, I ended up having Livy — full front, and Virgil, seen from a side. So… Had I placed Virgil on the left side of the cover, he would be facing away from Livy. Not nice! And since we — and when I say “we,” I mean the vast majority of readers in the western world — since we usually write from left to right, the title ended up being “Livy and Virgil,” because — well… Livy was on the left, and Virgil was on the right. All right, that’s sorted out! And now, let’s start this story, and let’s start it this way… We are in the year 18 AD — AD, as in ANNO DOMINI, or “after the birth of Christ.” A ship was arriving in Rome’s port. And I am not talking about the port of Ostia, the one built by the fourth king of Rome — Ancus Marcius. I am talking about another port — a few hundred miles south. Portus Julius. […] SIX — While Livy would sometimes write up to 20 pages a day, Virgil had days where not even a single sentence was created. Furthermore, if it wasn’t that Virgil’s death wish was deliberately disobeyed, today we would not have his works. Nothing. That’s right. The whole Aeneid would have been burned. That was the wish of Virgil, on his deathbed. And what’s even more curious, Virgil never considered his Aeneid as a complete work of art. On a personal note, that’s understandable. Artists are often like that. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 39 — State of the Union – 320 BC. This is our third episode of the State of the Union, and as I said in our episode 13, at this time we already have many of the styles, and other standards set, for this type of episodes. Slowly, but surely, these episodes — every 13th episode, will become tradition in this podcast. Alright. We find ourselves in the year 320 BC. just after the shameful defeat at the already famous Caudine Forks. So during this episode, we’re going to divide our time into three sections, as follows: ONE — let’s see what happened to those troops on their way to Rome, and what were the next events before closing that year. TWO — we’re going to give our typical eagle flight around the world of Rome, just as we did in our episodes 13 and 26. AND THREE — let’s do a quick review of the people who ruled Rome’s fates, between the years 390 and 320 BC. just like we did last time. And as always, during this episode we won’t have our segment of the Latin Word of the Week, so that’s going to be left for our next REGULAR episode. Let’s start now! […] He says that Alexander gave his ring to Perdicas, a bodyguard of his, nominating him as a successor, by doing so. Anyway, Perdicas did never try to get the throne, and instead, he said that the heir should be Roxanne’s son, if he was born male. He also said, that the baby would have Crateros, Leonnatus, Antipater, and himself, as guardians, until the boy would grow up, and then govern by himself. Obviously, that plan was rejected. Perdicas was killed two years later. The unity of Macedonia collapsed, and 40 years of war erupted among the successors. These successors were now known, as the Diadochi. And at the end of that period, four clear blocks emerged. And for a time being, these blocks maintained some stability: Egypt belonged to the Ptolemy’s. Mesopotamia became part of the upcoming Seleucid Empire. Anatolia went to Lysimachus. And finally, Macedonia went to Antigonus. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 38 — The First Gladiators. If last episode’s thing was closure — or loss, then today’s episode thing is SHAME. Yep — SHAME. Last episode we had closures. The Latin War. Decius Mus. Villages and peoples of Italy. Marcus, the Gladiator. And his mother, Aeliana, who died less than a month after Marcia. In this episode, the topics are shame and humiliation, and we’ll see why. In Rome, news arrived that the troops got caught at the Caudine Forks. No-one knew exactly, how many were caught, and all the details of the event, but this was more than enough for an emergency session at the Senate of Rome. And even before that EMERGENCY SESSION went into gear, the Senators dispatched orders. A new army would be raised, because they didn’t know what exactly happened. For all intents and purposes, the army could be dead by now. All of them. Less than a week later, however, fresher — and more reliable news broke. And that’s when the entire city felt the humiliation of the event. Unbearable shame. 50,000 Roman soldiers surrendered — without ever drawing a single sword, to a guy called Gaius Pontius. […] Well, to make a long story short, our old Marcus, knew that his next fight might as well be his last one. And because of that, he invited his nephew, to watch him die. —”Spurius,” Marcus said, as they walked past markets and shops, “Rome will soon be the master of this whole region. Not just Capua, but the whole south of Italy. And I don’t want to be alive, by the time that happens.” —”What are you trying to tell me,” Spurius asked. —”In seven days I get to face Croccus,” Marcus said. — “Croccus — The lion killer?” — “That’s right.” […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 37 — The Caudine Forks. During our last episode, we saw the end of many things. Many, many, things. The end of Publius Decius Mus, for he sacrificed himself on the battlefield. The end of Titus Manlius Torcuatus, in the books of Livy, for Livy banned him from his books, after the sacrifice of his own son. The end of the war against the Latins. The end of many peoples of Italy, such as the Sidicines, the Auruncians, the Volsci, and the Campanians, as free people. Yes, some lived on — under the strict yoke of Rome. It was also the end of the Latin League. And, yes — I was also the end of a respected Senator from Tusculum. Latin landowner and aristocrat Annius saw the end of his life, when he rolled down the stairs, at the very Roman Senate. We also saw the end of the Athenian resistance against King Philip II of Macedon, who just married yet another wife — a girl named Cleopatra of Macedon. I think, she was like, his sixth or seventh wife. And finally, I sadly announce that today we have yet another loss — this time from Ostia. In an event that happened all too often in Rome, and in cities built by Romans, the three-story insulae, where our good old slave lived, burst into flames, on a moonless night. Our slave had no time of getting down the stairs from his third floor, and while people were trying to get themselves to safety, a woman slipped on the stairs and — grabbing her husband, she dragged them both to their death. The fire devoured the entire block by the port of Ostia. […] Well, before the Romans entered the valley through the narrow pass, the Consuls sent troops ahead, to go see if something was amiss. The soldiers returned saying that everything seemed just fine, and that the valley was completely empty. But when the Roman troops began to march through the gorge, the Triarii, the most veteran soldiers, began to sense that something, was wrong indeed. It was just too calm, and they didn’t like it at all. And just when the last regiment of the Romans passed through the canyon, and just when the first part of the forces reached the exit of the canyon, they found it blocked with rocks and logs. Noticing they were trapped, they quickly began to walk back, but by then, the first entrance was blocked, too. Samnites were standing there, watching the Romans from above. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 36 — Death by the Volcano. — “You snake!” — “You are the snake!” — “Coward!” — “I’ll show you who’s the coward!” — “I dare you!” When Decius he wanted to step forward, his heart beating like a drum, he hit the dry, hard floor next to the bed. With an insult, the Consul was now really awake from his sleep. The dream was gone. And in that dream, the volcano was talking to Decius. The volcano was taunting him, all the while spewing fire serpents, and eating up the entire Roman army. — “One of the two will die before sundown,” he heard the volcano say. A bit later, he told Manlius Torquatus about the dream. […] ONE — Just as the trumpets sounded, and as was customary in the Roman legion, the oracles of the army threw food at the sacred hens, and they confirmed what everyone feared. A whole Roman flank, and one of the consuls of Rome, would end up dying. TWO — Decius Mus rode out on the left side of the Roman army, and Torquatus on the right side. In other words, Decius was on the slope of the volcano, and Torquatus on the side to the sea, being that they were facing in a south-southeast direction. THREE — Latins began to tighten the ranks on both sides, but during the first clash neither of the two side gave up a single yard. One of the flanks of Torquatus was deployed about a hundred meters behind, due to some irregularities of the terrain, while the troops of Decius were face to face with the Latins. FOUR — the Sidicines, who, fearing a night attack, did not get a lot of sleep, were the first to fall. This allowed Torquatus to create a wider row, while maintaining the depth of his Phalanx. But to Decius, this was neither an advantage nor a disadvantage, and his troops began to break for two reasons. The end of the row was in difficulty with the slope of the volcano, and the cavalry of the Latins threatened to break the row of the Hastati, a lot sooner than they both anticipated. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 35 — Alexander of Epirus. Last week we left off with five open topics, which we will cover in this episode. They are — as follows: ONE — Our weekly report from Ostia, brought by our loyal slave, who spends entire days on the docks and markets of the port of Rome. This way we get to know what is going on in Greece, since we are in the times of Alexander the Great, and events are too important, to just let them “hang in there” until our episode of the State of the Union. TWO — The tactics of the Phalanx, at the time of the Roman King Servius Tullius. As a side note — at the time of Romulus, Romans fought using a system of just one strong leader, leading his equally strong warriors into hand-to-hand fights. No Phalanxes there, whatsoever. THREE — The continuation of the situation between Rome and the Latins, after the Roman Senate rejected what they asked from Rome. FOUR — The continuation of our family saga, now that we know the whereabouts of Marcus, Falvius, and Spurion, the son of Spurious. AND FIVE — The part where Alexander of Epirus, the uncle of two famous nephews, arrives in Italy, does his thing, and ends up dying in Italy. […] But, just in case, I might as well explain it — briefly. We already know that the people in southern Italy were somewhat peculiar, and we have already seen how the Campanians turned against Rome, after Rome helped them against the Samnites, in the First Samnite War. Well, these people — the people of the Greek colonies in Italy, they were made of the same cloth. After all the help that Alexander of Epirus gave them — they began thinking that the man would suddenly get ideas of making himself some kind of a king in the region. Without even checking, if these were facts or fake news, the people of the city of Tarentum created a huge alliance with all the other cities in the south — and they all went up, against Alexander. What a turn of events! […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-034 The Tale of Rome, Episode 34 — From Crete to Campania. If the ship is to be saved, every man must do his duty, While the ship is still unscathed. The efforts are futile when the ship sinks. So, as for Athens, my proposals are ready. We must make complete preparations for the war. Athens, at least, must do his duty. This was part of the oratory of the Athenian Demosthenes, during his speech in what we now know, as the third Philippic, in the year 341 BC. And it wasn’t strange to compare cities to ships, in those days, I think. Now, in the year 340 BC, Demosthenes continued to incite Athenians, against the father of Alexander the Great, King Philip the Second. Alright. We are in the year of the consulship of Titus Manlius Torcuatus and Publius Decius Mus. Yes, I’m talking about the same Publius Mus, who won the Grass Crown, a few years earlier. And now, first let’s go to our new segment — News from Ostia. This will soon become a custom in our podcast — at least for a couple of decades, so let’s see what our slave has learned from merchants, and other people who roamed the streets and docks of Ostia. […] Latins, who sought equality, ended up getting even less equality from Rome. But we will also see that Rome was not that unfair, at the time of distributing punishments and rewards, because when war ended, Rome began to judge the actions of the Latins, town by town. ? Those who joined Rome will become Roman citizens with full rights, including the right to vote. ? Those who started out against Rome, but then put themselves on the side of Rome, would get basic rights, that is, the right to trade, and the right to inter-marry, but not the right to vote. ? Finally, those who fought up to the last drop of blood, were simply wiped off the map, and sold as slaves, or as gladiators. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 33 — Latins and Romans. In those days, news did not travel to Rome — or any other city, they way they do today. News travelled with the travelers of the time, and of these, the three best known were merchants, soldiers, and prisoners of war. And I dare to say — in that exact order. And as we are now entering a pivotal time in the history of Greece, Persia, and Macedonia, we are going to send one of our slaves, down to Ostia. That’s right, we’ll get him a place to live, near the port, if possible on the street that goes along the docks. His place will consist of a simple room, on a third floor — the worst, in one of the newly built so-called “islands.” Romans called their buildings islands, or in Latin — INSULAE. They were horrible to live in, and at this time, the tallest ones were three floors high. I should also mention that these buildings were not exactly fireproof. And, on a side note, this road near the house where our slave will reside, will probably have a milestone somewhere close, too. Romans used milestones everywhere, letting travelers know what road they were on, who built the road, and even the name of the local curator for any particular piece of the road. Travelers would sometimes also get to know how far they were from the nearest rest stop, and the total distance from Rome. Well — anyways. That employee of ours will have to spend some time in Ostia, and his job will be to simply hang around the docks, and get news, for us. This means, he will wake up at the earliest hour, get down from his third floor — staircases had no railings at that time, and direct himself to the small square that lay between the forum of Ostia, the marketplace, and the street that leads to the docks. There, he will try to see if anything worth letting us know, happened during the night. A fire. A murder. Perhaps someone important might have arrived during the night, on his way to Rome. Anything. Our slave will then have his brief breakfast. A round loaf of bread, and some olive oil. Not bad, actually. In winter it might be stew, with lettuce or cabbage. He will hang around the docks until the evening hours, and he’ll be on the lookout for news that ships bring. More precisely, of what is going on between Alexander the Great, and the Persian Empire. And since these next few years, we expect big changes — our slave will be busy. And this means, that at the beginning of each episode, or somewhere in the middle, we’ll have a short segment about “NEWS FROM OSTIA” just like we have our “Latin Word of the Week.” I think this way, we can keep track of both Rome, and Alexander the Great, for the while being. […] When peace was signed between the Samnites and the Romans in the year 341 BC, the Samnites immediately went to attack of their favorite victims: the Sidicines. These, seeing what Campania did a few years earlier, sent a delegation to Rome to do the same as Capua. Submit to the authority of Rome, and force the Samnites to find someone else to bully. But, when this delegation arrived in Rome, the senators told them that by seeing that hostilities between the two peoples were already in full march, it was too late to ask for such a favor. The truth was, that Rome did not see much interest in the lands the Sidicines occupied, and the Romans allowed the Samnites to continue bullying them. That’s when the Sidicines went to ask the Campanians for help. These, still angry about the Samnites, agreed to help. They even convinced the Latins to join in the fight. Of course, the Latins did not need much convincing, because they were already pissed at Rome. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-032 The Tale of Rome, Episode 32 — Marcus Valerius Corvus. The year 342 was hotter than others, and the legionaries garrisoned in Campania felt it firsthand. Unlike the inhabitants of Capua, and other cities, in the soft and fertile plains of Campania, Roman soldiers lived with the hard life of a legion, as their job — given to them by means of their oath, was to protect the people, and to defend Roman territory, and not necessarily in that order. And that was what the soldiers were doing — day in, day out. Left there, to garrison the southern fringes of this new Roman land, they all fulfilled their duties, but inside they all wanted to be in Rome. Yep. Further north. Where it’s not so hot, by Mercury! That’s right. While some of them left for Rome, where they would get a triumphal march, this group of soldiers from both Valerius and Cossus, were practically left all alone there, right outside of Capua. Entertainment was nil. Contact with the locals was almost non-existent. And so, very soon, these soldiers decided it was not fair that the people of Capua, a bunch of weaklings who could not even defend themselves from the Samnites, were having all the fun, while they — hard-working legionaries had to babysit them. And, worse, they were not getting any of the fun. In less than a storm needs to gather, and build up some dark clouds, the ringleaders of the two halves — the guys left by Valerius, and the guys left by Cossus, began to hatch a plan. A plan of rebellion. […] The Gaul almost fell right there, but he soon got back on his feet. The black crow just wouldn’t go away! An then, one second later, the animal made another attack, and this time he tried to get his beak into one of the eyes of the Gaul. Valerius did not waste any time, and he crouched down, pulled his sword, and he placed the short sword between two ribs of the giant. The huge warrior now had to worry about the crow, watch his eyes, and he had to fend off the boy. Bleeding from his stomach, the Gaul ran towards the boy, but again, the raven began to flutter both wings in the face of the barbarian. That’s when Valerius saw the opening for the second hit. Another move, and Valerius had his sword half inside the giant’s abdomen, while the raven was still trying to gauge one eye out. There was no need for a third hit. The giant fell to his knees, and Valerius let his sword stay there, deep in the giant’s body. And when the giant fell — face down, the tip of Valerius’ sword came out of the giant’s back. Three long seconds of silence, and then the Romans began to scream. […]

Partial Transcript Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 31 — The Grass Crown. We are in the year 343 BC. Or — if you prefer, the year 411 since the creation of Rome. It was also known as the year 166, if you would rather count from the founding of the Republic. But if we want to count years the way Romans did, then we are in the year of the Consulships of Aulus Cornelius Cossus and Marcus Valerius Corvus — that is, the year 343 BC. And here, we just made a roundabout with years, and numbers, and dates, and we’re still in the year 343 BC. Saticula, Campania. High summer – an hour before dawn. When young Lucius finally saw the troops running towards the camp, and when he saw that – in fact, the Tribune was at their head, his heart went into overdrive. He ran up the staircase of the tower, trying to see if his brother was among them, but it was still too dark. Only silhouettes in the dark. At that moment Marcus joined in. — “Did you see Publius?” — “Not yet! But they are running. Maybe the Samnites are behind them. Sound the alarm,” Lucius replied. — “Open the gates!” When Decius and the boys ran through the gate, and when the gates safely closed behind them, the entire legion burst into screams of joy. After they did a recount, everyone realized that Publius Decius Mus, the Military Tribune of Aulus Cornelius Cossus, had not lost one single man, and even the Centurion of the legion came down to meet Decius, still trying to understand how everyone made it alive, from there. […] When Corvus ordered his soldiers to march to Suessula, Cornelius Cossus was still two days away, so Valerius Corvus had only one option left. The Romans were going to march so lightly that everything – and I mean, everything that was not absolutely essential, was to be left behind. And, it turns out, that this decision of his, had consequences that not even Corvus himself imagined, because, when the Romans arrived in the vicinity of Suessula, and once they set up their military camp, the building materials were so scarce that the camp ended up being physically much smaller, than a typical Roman camp. Samnites spies, seeing the size of the Roman camp, informed their chiefs that the Roman unit was not a whole legion — perhaps a third of a Legion, and all decisions the Samnites made from that point on, were based on that mistaken idea. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 30 — The Samnite Mountains. The famous Roman poet Virgil would sometimes write three sentences in a whole day, and then he would delete them, not happy with his work. This is what one day, he wrote in his famous work, known as “The Aeneid.” Remember, Roman, it is for you to govern the nations. This will be your task, impose the ways of peace, forgive the vanquished, and tame the proud. I’m pretty sure the day he wrote this, he didn’t feel bad about himself. During the next one hundred years we are going to see how Rome will go from a small — let’s call it, regional power — to becoming the undisputed powerhouse of Italy. Less than 40 years ago, everyone within striking distance joined in on the fun of kicking Rome, thinking Brennus left the city dying. But soon, no tribe in Italy will be causing headaches for Rome, and when they will do it again — some 150 years down the road, it will not be to defy the power of Rome, but to beg to be included — as citizens of Rome. But, of course, we’re not there yet, so let’s take is easy. […] The envoys from Capua, smart old men, already knowing that that’s exactly what they were going to get for an answer, then said something like this: — “Well, given that Rome cannot help us, since Rome is obliged to respect her peace treaty with the tribes that are threatening us with death and with slavery, a Treaty we totally understand and respect, we are left with no other choice but to submit Campania, Capua and all our surrounding cities and fields, entirely under the command of Rome. “ — “What?” The Roman senators must have wondered, if what they were hearing was possible. — “That’s right. Sadly — for the people of Capua, and all of Campania, we have come to the conclusion that it is better to die under the protective wings of the power of Rome, than to live under the yoke and abuse of the Samnites. “ — “Hold on, hold on!“ Another senator interrupted. “Let me get that straight. Are you guys saying that everything that Campania has, and produces, would be under the command, and at the full — I mean, full disposal of Rome?” — “These were my words, o Senator!” Immediately, Roman senators asked for a brief recess, to discuss this issue, this totally new offer, totally out of the blue — opportunity of a lifetime. [...]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 29 — The First Plebeian Consul. We are in the year 368 BC. A young man of high stature, named Lucius Sextus Lateranus, dismounted from his horse in front of the Senate building. Three big parchments of paper were rolled under his shoulder. Lucius Sextus Lateranus was a Tribune of the Plebes. In other words, he was automatically an enemy of 100% of Rome’s Patricians, and nothing that was in his possession was welcome in the Senate. Much less, three parchments, containing laws that would change Rome. When Lucius Sextus Lateranus walked up those stairs, he was conscious that all Rome was staring at him. Three of his projects were about to become laws, and this time, not even Camillus himself would get in the way. The first law ruled all that all moneys paid in the form of interest, became the capital of a debt, and thus the payment of debts would no longer be like a treadmill, or a mule tied to a post, endlessly turning and grinding grain. The second law forbade any person, Patrician or Plebeian, to possess more than 300 acres of unused land, within the confines of Rome. It also forbade having more than 100 cows, or goats, using public lands surrounding Rome. The third law — the most important one, said that one of the Consuls elected every year in Rome, was to be of Plebeian origin. Patricians knew they were going to lose, and they sent for Marcus Furius Camillus to save them, once more. So, while the deliberations of all that began, secret messengers went at full speed toward Camillus’ residence. […] If you look at any chronological map of the history of Rome from the 4th Century BC, the first two things you will notice is — ONE — the year 390 — the year of the looting, and — TWO — a gap that goes from 375 to 370 BC. Yep. A gap of five years. There were no Consuls, or Tribunes in Rome during those years, according to Livy. It’s like Rome skipped those years. A total vacuum. And to explain this — as always, there are two versions. On one hand, Livy used those years to reconcile his own dates, that is, the stuff that he has been writing in his first five books, with the reality of what was happening, because now the chronicles were true, and impossible to hide, deny, or invent. So, he found that his tale was some five years — off record. So, a gap. The other version is that, here there was a space where certain Plebeian Tribunes blocked votes in the Roman Senate, to the point where they gave a veto to each and every one of the decisions taken by Senators. […]

Partial Transcript Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 28 — The Tarpeian Rock. Last week we saw the end of our trilogy of Rome’s darkest hour, so far. The attack, the siege, and the plunder of Rome. We saw how the Gauls finally left Rome, and how Camillus became the person who truly led the city’s destiny. And here, I think it’s a good time to tell you guys, what Livy wrote on the front page of his sixth book, that gigantic work he did, called Ab Urbe Condita, or “From the Founding of the City” in English. I am reading this from the first page, Book 6: The transactions of the Romans, from the creation of the city of Rome to the capture of it, first under Kings, then under Consuls and Dictators, Decenvirs and Tribunes with consular powers, their wars abroad, their dissensions at home, all of this, I have exposed in five books. Themes and events were obscured, both because of their great antiquity, as if they were objects that from their great distance I can hardly perceive, as well as because in those times the use of the letters, the only faithful guardian of the memory of events, was inconsiderate and rare. Moreover, what was contained in the remarks of the Pontifex, and other public and private records, was all lost during the fires that our city had to endure. Henceforth, from this second origin of the city, which was born from its own ashes, this time healthier and more vigorous, the achievements of Rome — within Rome and abroad, will be narrated with more clarity and authenticity. OMG. I believe that even Livy himself must have smiled the day he wrote that. […] And this is where Manlius saw an opportunity. Although Manlius came from a family of Patricians himself, he began to help Plebeians. He first began by telling them that the treatment that Plebeians were getting for not being able to repay their loans on time, was not fair, and then he began to create agitations along the streets of Rome. On one occasion, in the year 387 BC, a Centurion was being arrested for this same cause, and as people started to gather protesting, Manlius showed up at the scene, and paid the debt of the Centurion, out of his own pocket. The government of Rome decided that Manlius was creating too much mess in the city, and they arrested him the day after that. But then the people of Rome made an even bigger protest, and the Senators of Rome had no other choice, than to let Manlius go free. Manlius even sold some of his properties, with the purpose of helping people in situations like that. But the Patricians saw this whole thing with twisted eyes, because during the agitations that Manlius created among the Plebes, he began to mention that Rome didn’t really need a Senate. Well — that was a crime! […]

Last week we saw Brennus and Quintus Sulpicius holding meetings to decide the fate of Rome. Both sides were exhausted, both sides had dead piling up on a daily basis, and both sides had an ego larger than the Seven Hills of Rome, combined… But here, one of the two sides had a slight advantage, and that advantage was the hope that Camillus would arrive with his troops, any time now. In the meantime, I want you to imagine the city of Rome. The Circus Maximus, which still only possessed some disposable wooden grades, had become a temporary morgue, and the stench coming from the place, let everyone know where the Gauls decided to pile up and and burn their dead warriors. To make matters worse, that year had an extremely temperate winter — as if goddess Cloacina, goddess of Rome’s sewers, had decided to clog the drains of the city. And it was as if Poena, goddess of punishment, and Tempesta, goddess of the storms, had decided to work hand in hand, and between the two of them, they decided to not to unleash a single winter storm during that year. A storm would at least help get rid of some of the deadly particles, flying in the air. Yes, the Gauls got the shorter end of the straw, that year. From the cattle market, just south of the city bridge, all the way to the Porta Capena, in the southeastern corner of Rome, everything was burning, melting, and otherwise getting spoiled. This was the Rome, that Marcus Furius Camillus was about to save, according to the version the Romans described. […] But Rome… Rome had no cure. That’s right, after the citizen grabbed and seized bricks and rocks, and after they built their new homes, Rome was beyond any fixing. Streets went in zig-zag, they crossed each other in angles that defied any logic, and even sidewalks were of different width as you would walk along one same street, depending on the whim of the homeowner that just built that sidewalk. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 26 — State of the Union – 390 BC. Last week we saw how the Gauls of Brennus arrived at the gates of Rome — gates that no one bothered to even close… This week we’re on our episode 26, which means two things: ? ONE – We are going through our second STATE OF THE UNION episode, which this time finds us in the year 390 BC, ? AND TWO – We’re at 26 episodes, which is roughly half a year of accrued value. One year – 52 weeks; Half a year – 26. Right? Alright. This episode, since it’s going to be a little longer, is going to be split in three main parts. First, we’ll see what was going on in Rome itself. From there we’ll go to see the world around Rome, taking out usual eagle’s flight, just like last time. And just like last time, we’ll do that in a clockwise fashion. Northern Italy first, then Dalmatia, Macedonia, Greece, Asia minor, Syria and the future Palestine, Egypt, Carthage and North Africa. From there to the Iberian Peninsula, the Gauls, and then back to Rome, seeing if there is anything worth mentioning in the Mediterranean islands: Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia. If any region did not go through any real major changes, then that region will not be mentioned in our eagle’s flight, and a good example of this would be Germania and the Netherlands, where there hasn’t been any big changes, this time around. Last, we’ll see a brief list of the rulers of Rome — from our last State of the Union, to this State of the Union. That means, we’ll see a list of Consuls, Decemvirs, and Military Tribunes who managed the destinies of Rome during these last 119 years. Not all of them, but the ones that really mattered. Alright. Shall we? […] ? 495 BC. Appius Claudius Sabinus, along with Publius Servilius Priscus. That was when Plebeians withdrew from Rome, and walked to the Mount Sacro, protesting for the differences between Patrician and Plebes. ? 494 BC. Valerius Maximus was erected Dictator. Reason: The conflict of the Orders. ? 488 BC. Gaius Julius Julus. All right — let me say that again… Gaius Julius Julus — not Julius! He was consul when the Volsci attacked Rome under the command of Coriolanus, the guy whose mom convinced him to stop the attack. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 25 — Here come the Gauls. Last week we saw how Marcus Furius Camillus was exiled from Rome, after having conquered Veii, and after having doubled Rome’s landmass. As for Veii, the city became a ghost town. The peasants around Veii — who were initially not disturbed by Rome, were quickly absorbed by a few patrician senators, who took their farms, livelihood, and anything else they had left. In fact, most of Rome’s new lands fell into the hands of a really small group of Patricians, and Rome felt like the king of the heap. But — as the saying goes, the higher you fly, the harder you fall, and this was no exception to the rule. […] And then, something that wasn’t supposed to happen, happened. One of the Roman ambassadors, to be more exact, Quintus Ambustus put a sword in the guts of a Gaul. The Gaul turned out to be one of Brennus’ own counselors. I can imagine blood swelling out of his guys’ chest like a Roman fountain, until the tall, thick guy finally collapsed on the floor. Dead. Everyone stopped for an instant, and Brennus himself jumped back. After a pause that must have felt like a whole century, Brennus withdrew from the Hall, and all his Gauls followed suit. People still did not understand what exactly happened, but the only thing everyone understood, was that the chief of the Gauls was more furious than a caged lion, in a city that had its lion games banned, by imperial decree. Immediately, the three brothers left the Senate, and embarked on their way back to Rome, at full speed. The diplomatic mission failed, and the brothers — as ambassadors, they were supposed to be totally neutral, failed as well. A day later, envoys of Brennus arrived at the gates of Rome, and they were immediately escorted to the Senate of Rome. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 24 — Marcus Furius Camillus. “Father.” Even though Lucius’ voice was firm and audible, old Marcus did not move a single muscle, in his bed. Lucius tried again, placing a hand on the old man’s shoulder. Very gently, for he feared to cause him pain with his touch. “Father Marcus!” Slightly, Marcus opened his eyes, and a smile showed on his face. “Did you beat them, boy?” “Yes, Father,” said Lucius, proudly. “We destroyed them, Father. And I got you this.” Lucius raised a few scrolls at the height of his father’s eyes, so that he could see them. Without waiting for the old man to ask, Lucius explained that the parchments were blueprints of machines to stretch leather and animal hides, such as they had never seen them before. The Etruscans, it turned out, were much more technologically advanced than the Romans, and part of the loot was of immense value to Roman scientists and engineers. From how to build arches with three center points, all the way to how to improve their sewers systems. From how to deal with leaking water in pipes, to how to hoist ship sails with the strength of a single man, almost everything in Veii was entirely new to the engineers of Rome of those times. “Father! This machine can even stretch reindeer leather,” said Lucius, excited. “We’ll have soooo much work,” the young man figured. “Ah, the reindeer,” said old Marcus. “There won’t be reindeer in a few more years, son. You’ll see… “ And the old man was right. In less than two generations the climate slowly began to return to temperatures like those that reigned in Rome, before. Reindeer, alpine lions, and the long winters, they all began to disappear from Rome. Never again, did the river Tiber freeze over. It should add here, that alpine lions were the flowers that we know today as the Edelweiss, and I’m not talking about the African felines. Lions, as such, had been gone from Italy — and from almost all of Europe, for more than a thousand years now, and the flowers, named Leontopodium Alpinum, or Alpine lions, were now also vanishing from the vicinity of Rome. “Tell me, son. With all that science, how did you guys manage to get into Veii?” […] Disgusted with the teacher’s stupid idea, Camillus ordered him tied up on the spot, and then tortured with wooden sticks under his fingernails, and other parts, that I don’t even want to mention here. After that, Camillus went to Falerii, and told the citizens what just happened, and Camillus returned all the innocent children unharmed, and he also gave them the sneaky, stupid teacher. The people of Falerii were so grateful for Camillus for his attitude, that they immediately cancelled all plans of war, and submitted to Rome, without any conditions whatsoever. Personal comment: I don’t even want to imagine what that teacher went through, after Camillus was gone. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-023 The Tale of Rome, Episode 23 — Don’t Cry for me, Veii. It’s not for nothing that there is a saying like “Home Sweet Home,” in the English language. I do not believe — not even for a minute that there is any language in the world, that does not have a phrase or expression along those lines, and I think, this also applies to the ancient Rome. But, as we will see in this episode, this also counts for the enemies of Rome, and today we speak of two of Rome’s enemies: Fidenas and Veii. The first was the only city south of the river Tiber, and the second was the most well-known Etruscan city, and probably the strongest city, in the entire Etruscan confederation. Firstly, let’s remember that Veii and Rome were something like an image reflected in a mirror, each having power on one side of the Tiber, and each holding a small piece of land on the other side of the river. The Etruscan holdout on the southern side of the Tiber, was some 5 miles upstream from Rome. The Romans, meantime, kept control of the northern side of the Tiber, right in front of their own city gates. […] The main Roman camp was commanded by Verginius, who refused to help unless Sergius actually asked for help. Sergius — much too proud to do that, was finally forced to retire, and return to Rome. The other guys, now alone, also had to other choice but to flee back to Rome. Good job, you two! Needless to say, both idiots were fired from their posts once the Senate heard the news. Anyways, let’s go on. Nothing of importance happened in the years 401 and 400 BC. But in the year 399 BC the Capenats and the Faliscans made a second attempt to get rid of the Romans. But, this time around, the Romans worked as a true team, and while the enemies attacked the Roman trenches, they were attacked by the Romans from behind, and they were forced to flee. They suffered a second defeat, when they stumbled upon a Roman assault team, as they were returning home. And then again, the next two years nothing of importance happened. Finally, the year 396 BC was different. Really different! Marcus Furius Camillus was named dictator, and this is a name we need to keep in our memory, because our next episode bears his name. [..]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-022 The Tale of Rome, Episode 22 — Decades of Death and Plagues. When we talked about the life and death of Lucius Quinctius Cinncinatus, we saw a time when Rome was standing at the gates of one its greatest and most challenging centuries, even though Rome couldn’t know it. And Rome did not know that for a good reason, because things were not going well in Rome. And when I say “things” I mean the following five aspects: ONE – from the south of Italy, commercial caravans were showing up with less and less frequency, and the ones that did, were not bringing good news to Rome. A new tribe — well, new in our podcast, and relatively new to the ears of common Romans, began to cause troubles in what we today know as the Italian Campania. I’m talking about the Samnites — the tribes from the hills. Campania spread all the way to the south of our well known Latium, and went all the way to the Apennine Mountains in the east. To the south it went to the bay of what we know as Naples, next to the famous volcano, Mount Vesuvius. Among those bad news, as we will see, was the fall of a city called Capua, which fell after a long, long siege, set by the Samnites. But we’re not there yet, so let’s go to the next point. TWO – The climate has begun to decline for reasons that the Romans had no way of understanding. Today we know this as a wave of climatic variation throughout Western Europe, which stretched to the center of the Mediterranean Sea. Although scientists today have a very well-defined name for this brief period of temperature drops, in ancient times this was interpreted as a bad omen from the gods, who had surely put themselves against Rome itself. And believe me, every citizen of Rome had a personal explanation of why the gods abandoned Rome. […] Popular belief was that if they slept one night inside the temple, they would get a dream, which would give them an interpretation of what they had to do, in order to cure themselves of whatever disease they had. But, if they had no dream during that first night, patients used to stay up to three consecutive nights in the temple, after which, the priests generally told them to go home, because obviously the gods did not want to communicate with them, and that meant that even the gods wanted them dead. FIVE – While many bibliographic sources only cite the year 441 BC as a year of famine in Rome, these same sources do admit that many other hunger waves followed. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-021 The Tale of Rome, Episode 21 — Saturnalia and Christmas. Since humans left the warm lands of Africa — somewhere between 200,000 and 50,000 years ago, one of their greatest foes has always been winter. In winter, food disappears. Cold brings sickness and death. Days get shorter. Animals perish, and the vast majority of trees lose their green. Since before humans began to celebrate the midpoint of that season of distress and scarcity, which we know as the Winter Solstice, civilizations always tried to create celebrations around that day, and around that very night — the longest night of the year. And so, today we are going to talk about two of the festivities that are set around this Winter Solstice. […] The streets of Rome were generally dark and quite dangerous at night after sunset, because Rome never used a lighting system, financed by the city itself. But during these festivities, huge candles and oil torches were put on all the major streets of Rome, at intervals of 20 meters each, and that was something that even the Romans who hated the celebration itself, were always going to enjoy for a night or two. Everyone could walk at night in Rome, and the Romans did it with so much enthusiasm, that in Rome there were jokes and metaphors such as “happier than Saturn himself,” or “Why are so happy? Is it Saturnalia yet?” Today there is a debate if that phrase was pronounced as “IO Saturnalia” or “YO Saturnalia”, but nonetheless, people used it so often, that some Romans were already sick and tired of hearing it, especially when every drunkard gave you the same greeting. Alright. We also have to mention the dinner that followed. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-020 The Tale of Rome, Episode 20 – Lucius Quinctius Cinncinatus. — “Marcia! When father told you what happened to your mom, did he tell you what a certain Appius Claudius did? “ — “You mean, To Mom?” — “No, not to mom. He didn’t do anything to mom, personally. I mean, what he did in general, in Rome. “ Marcia and Aunt Julia stayed up late that night, something very unusual in ancient Rome, where people — especially Plebeians, went to sleep right after sunset, and rose way before sunrise. Aunt Julia told her the story of the wicked Decemvirs, those ten men elected by the Senate, and how they schemed together to stay in power, and not to return that power to the Senate of Rome. They didn’t care they swore an oath for one, and only one year. Actually, truth be told, they DID need two years for the Twelve Tables to be written and polished, because every single bit of these laws was analyzed by the Patricians, especially the old Patricians, who used to gather in forums and discuss piece of law by piece of law. […] Between the two dictatorships combined, he did not rule Rome for a single month. His example inspired the name of the American city of Cincinnati, in the state of Ohio. That name was given in honor of the Society of the “Cinncinatus,” which honored George Washington. Washington was considered to be a true “Cinncinatus” by this society, back in the days of the American Revolution. His symbols were the plow and the toga, instead of the sword and the fasces. Even though he was incredibly good at using the sword, and incredibly righteous at the use of the fasces. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-019 The Tale of Rome, Episode 19 – The Battle of Mons Algidus. Last week we saw the arrival of the Twelve Tables. Written laws so that all Romans could be tried and treated the same way. And we also saw how all over Rome people learned those laws by heart. Among them, the oh-so-eager eight-year-old boy in our little family saga. To give you a few more examples of what these Tables contained, lets check out a few of these laws: Killing an intruder in one’s own house, if it was nighttime, was OK. No punishment, not even a case. But if it was daytime, the homeowner had to get the intruder to a magistrate for trial. If the court called a person to appear in front of a judge, and if that person was incapacitated in any way, the court would out send four soldiers, and four slaves to bring the man to the courthouse. But if the person’s issue was an infectious disease, the date of the trial was postponed until above mentioned infection had passed, up to a period of six months. During those six months, the other person, the accuser, had the right to go to the defendant’s house every three days, stand in front of the house of the accused, and yell in a loud voice, reminding the accuser that a trial awaited him. The purpose, of course was to embarrass the entire family by this way. When a lawsuit began, the judge gave two options to the opposing parties: ONE – To agree and resolve the problem without any involvement from the judge, and TWO – To not to agree, and go the nearest forum of the court in question, on the next working day. A debate would start there. That debate usually began around sunrise, and by obligation, a judge had to resolve the case before sunset. […] After a crippling march, the Roman army arrived at the height of the mountain. They arrived at night. Cinncinatus sent the people in Tusculum a secret message, so that the Romans who were trapped inside the beleaguered city knew, they would be free soon. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-018 The Tale of Rome, Episode 18 – The Twelve Tables. Last week we saw the installation of a new office in the Republic of Rome: the Plebeian Tribune. I also mentioned of a Roman general, who — in my personal opinion, was a cowardly general, by the name of Gaius Marcius Coriolanus, and we will see what that man did in the year 491 BC. But first we will see the general panorama of Rome, now that Rome defeated the Latins, and now that supposedly Rome wasn’t going to have problems, no more. Well, if you think like that, you’re wrong. Rome’s troubles are about to begin! As a very general picture, Rome was now surrounded by three enemies. The Etruscans to the north, with the city of Veii as its main protagonist. The terrible Volsci to the south, and the Aequi to the east, right where the hills begin. […] In fact, everyone was learning those laws by heart. Lawyers and magistrates, defendants and accusers, debtors and tax collectors, children and the elderly, all were busy memorizing pieces of Roman law. The tables contained several laws, some very logical, and some somewhat strange to our day and age. As an example, not appearing in front of a judge, or lying to a judge during a trial, deserved a death penalty. Another law said that throwing a gun into a crowd, carried the conviction that the person who threw the gun had to pay a sheep to every injured person. I’m going to list more laws in the next episode, but as for the historical account of these tables, here’s what Livy tells us: ? Tables I, II, and III contained civil procedural law. ? Tables IV, V were entitled to family and inheritance. ? Tables VI, VII were entitled to obligations, in other words, legal businesses of the time, and real estate rights. ? Tables VIII, IX dealt with the criminal law of the time. ? Table X contained the Sacred Law, a series of rules referring to the order of the inner life of the city. ? and finally, tables XI and XII, also called the Unfair Tables, dealt with several criminal and civil problems. […]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-017 The Tale of Rome, Episode 17 – The Conflict of the Orders. Last week we kicked the Latin League’s behind, in a battle that lasted far too long into the afternoon, and we all got hungry and ended up missing lunch. Partly by superstition, Roman legionaries carried two types of food with them, at all times. Bread and olives. They also carried water, but during a battle, water would be both a waste and a discomfort, so olives just had to do, to make a soldier’s bread feel not too dry. Did I mention that Romans were super superstitious? Well, in case I didn’t say it, here’s another one of their ideas: Romans considered even numbers to be bad luck, and odd numbers to bring good luck. Oh yeah. Just about half of the days in a month were no good to get married, offer sacrifices to the gods, provoke a battle, start a major business, a long journey, or even an affair, outside of one’s own home. But, well, let’s get back to our reality, and the fact that Rome beat the Latins, together with that old Tarquin the Proud. A year later, Tarquin will move from Clusium, where — after the death of gold ole’ King Lars Porsenna, people in Clusium kinda’ didn’t like him anymore. Tarquin found lodging in another Etruscan town, where he lived for another year, before dying in exile. Without a throne, without a lot of money, and without that last son-in-law of his, who was killed during the battle at lake Regillus. The name of the locality were Tarquin the Proud finally died was Cumae, and Cumae was ruled by another despot of the time, named Aristodemus. […] The Roman Senate, thankful for the help of Latins, returned some 6000 prisoners of war to the Latins, and in exchange for that attitude, Latins sent a golden crown to be placed inside the temple of Jupiter in Rome. The day the Crown was set in the temple, a large crowd joined the event, and that included those liberated Latin prisoners, who were—obviously grateful to Rome for their freedom. […]

Partial Transcript http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-016 Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 16 – The Battle of Lake Regillus. Last week we left off with the siege of Rome, and how Mucius gave King Porsenna the scare of his life, by telling him that the romans were going to kill him sooner or later. Instead of burning him alive, Porsenna set Mucius free. Two hours later, as soon as the sun came out, a delegation of Etruscans marched towards Rome, bearing their standard flag aloft, meaning peace. They were on foot, and kept a continuous step. The signing of a peace treaty took place an hour later. […] We know that in the year 503 BC, Publicola died. Publius Valerius Publicola died in Rome at an unestablished age, in relative poverty, but loved by his people. The burial of Publicola was paid for by the city of Rome, as his family did not possess the means, financially speaking. His body was put on that same promontory next to the place where once people suspected him of trying to become a king of Rome. […]

Partial Transcript http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-015 Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 15 — King Lars Porsenna. Last week we had that Tarquin the Proud managed to convince the king of a city called Clusium to invade Rome with his forces. That king’s name was Lars Porsenna. […] Finally, Valerius also ordered the Roman Senate to gather on the very next day, and to vote for the missing consul, because he had no intentions of being the only consul of Rome. So. The Senate voted, and decided that the consul replacing late Junius Brutus would be a man called let’s see if you guys can repeat this name after hearing it once, … it would be a man called Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus. I can imagine you are having trouble pronouncing that name, just like it did. But it doesn’t really matter, because that Senator died four or five days after he was elected. What a lucky Senator! They elect him Consul and the guy dies! […]

Partial Transcript http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-014 Two weeks ago we found ourselves in the middle of the battle of the Arsian forest. On one side, we had the forces of former King Tarquin, together with forces of the Etruscan city of Veii, and on the side there were the forces of Rome, directed by Junius Brutus and Publius Valerius. When Arruns saw that the army of Rome being commanded by Brutus, he exclaimed “That’s the man who kicked us out of Rome!” Watch how he proudly advances, adorned with our flag! O Gods, Avengers of Kings, help me! As was custom and honor at that time, both Arruns and Junius Brutus threw their horses at full gallop, one towards the other, knowing that if they could just hurt the other, the entire battle would shift to a side, just like crooked salt vendor’s scale in a Roman forum. But, they both managed to sink the spears and penetrate the other’s shield, and both fell off their horses in the very same instant. They died the next instant, spears deeply nailed in their torsos. Historically speaking, although these types of duels probably contain a strong mythical element, scholars of ancient Rome say that this kind of personal combat represented a very common aspect of war within the Roman military system, and should not be discounted as a far-fetched tale. The long tradition of the so-called spolia opina, which involves a Roman commander defeating an enemy commander in a hand-to-hand combat, insinuates that this type of events did indeed happen, every so often. […] But if you take a closer look, and if we take the interpretation of the priestess at Delphi seriously, it was neither Arruns nor Titus who ruled Rome after the old Tarquin was done ruling Rome. It was Junius Brutus. […]

Hello, this is Abel, in Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. http://www.thetaleofrome.com The Tale of Rome, Episode 13 — State of the Union – 509 BC. This is our first episode of the State of the Union, and just as many things that happened in Rome for the first time, this episode will have the honor and the duty to establish norms, styles, and other precedents for future editions of episodes of the State of the Union. If you heard our last episode, you’ll know that this week’s episode will be a little longer, and we won’t have our Word of the Week segment. So, let’s start right now, because we don’t have all day, and we have an eagle’s flight of many miles in circumference. Our eagle’s flight is going to start in Rome itself. We’ll see what is going on in Rome, Etruria, and Graetia Magna, which is the southern part of Italy. From there, we’ll see the three large islands near Italy. Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia. Then we’ll go to the north, and once we hit the Alps, we will give a gigantic clockwise turn, that will take us through all the parts that sooner or later will have an influence in the history of Rome. We’ll see Dalmatia, Macedonia, Epirus, and Greece. From there we’ll head over to Asia minor, and then to the lands of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, which at that time were under the yoke of the Persians. Then our flight will take a sharp turn towards the sunset, towards Carthage and the northern coast of Africa, and then we will fly over the columns of the Gibraltar, which depending on whom you’ve read, were either opened or closed by Hercules himself. This will take us back to Europe, where we shall see the peoples who inhabited what is now Spain and Portugal, and the Gauls. We will make a small detour to mention the British Isles, and from there we will return to Rome, flying over the villages of the Netherlands and Germania. Finally, two small penalty shots, just for kicks: India and China. What do you think? [...]

Partial Transcript Hello, this is Abel, in Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 12 — The First Two Consuls. Last week, we saw—finally, the final moments of the monarchy in Rome. We saw how Tarquin the Proud got locked out of his own city, after the rebellion started by Lucius Brutus and Lucius Collatinus. Without any soldiers left, and knowing that the gates of Rome would be blocked, he and the idiot of his son went into exile. Today we will see how that exile of his went on, and what exactly happened after Romans got to taste their very first hours without kings. The very first order of the Roman Senate was to publicly declare Tarquin as an Enemy of the State, and that Rome would never again be ruled by a king. Neither the king nor his wife Tullia would ever be allowed to put their feet within the city of Rome, and here I want to add that Romans sent a very strong message for Tullia, as a persona non-grata in their city. Do not come back to Rome, as you have killed your own father, back in the time when nobody could do anything about it. Even though that was decades ago, Romans did not forget. […] I don’t know if you guys realized, but both these guys were relatives of the king Rome had just kicked out. Excuse me? They kick a king out of their city, and they put two of his relatives as the first two Consuls of Rome? Yep. Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus was the ex-king’s cousin, and Lucius Junius Brutus was the ex-king’s nephew. That’s what I love about Rome. They kick each other, regardless of family lines, or family ties. So much for family love! […]

Partial Transcript http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-011 Hello, this is Abel, in Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 11 — Rome 1 – Athens 0. This episode has a rather soccer-type title name, because the Romans—let me repeat that, the Romans claim that their republic started in the year 509 BC. Personally, I don’t buy it, not even for a minute, but—since all we have are the records written by the Romans themselves, and since we do not have a time machine, we have to stick to their version. Romans didn’t like being second, especially when it came to a little word like DEMOCRACY. Turns out that, in the year 508 BC, and according to some historians—507 BC, something happened in Greece. A man named Kleisthenes, a noble Athenian made significant reforms to the constitution of ancient Athens, and so he set his city on a democratic footing in either 508 or 507 BC. So, then—the reaction of the Romans, actually, the reaction of those who rewrote the hsitory of Rome some centuries later, was to make a fine-tuning to their own history. Let us have Rome get their democarcy a year earlier. So, Rome’s demacracy arrived to the the Romans in the year 509 BC. A clever move, and a good goal. Partial score: Rome 1 – Athens 0. And please notice that I said “PARTIAL SCORE” because this game is far from over, and we are centuries away from the end-game whistle. Last week we saw that Tarquin the Proud was mistreating his people. The rich, the poor, and everyone in between, plus—the people around Rome, too. And we got to the point where Tarqin was busy setting up a siege to a city called Ardea, near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. But before we get to our Latin word of the day, I would like you to imagine this: Sping in Rome, really early in the morning, way before the Sun rises. As snow in the mountains melted, thawing rivers and streams to the east and north of Rome were feeding the plains around Rome, and many small, wooden bridges were carried away by the quiet, yet unrestrainable force of nature. Through this landscape, a horseman was riding on his black horse, at full speed. He was heading south, and he was avoiding village crossroads and bridges, trying not to be seen. Romans rose early, and this added to his haste. Rome was fading behind him, and a lapis lazuli sliver on the sky was announcing the first break of dawn. […] Lucretia died less than a few minutes later, but while she was dying she asked the three men to avenge her life, and to make sure that Rome was free of men like Tarquin the Proud, and that son of his. Needless to say, the three men decided to make sure, her dying wish was to be fulfilled, otherwise our story wouldn’t match now, would it? […]

Partial Transcript http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-010 Hello, this is Abel, in Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 10 — The Tyrant and the Sibyl. Last week we saw the end of Servius Tullius’ life, and how his son-in-law usurped the throne of Rome. And luckily, I already gave you guys a brief description of this kings’ character, so let’s go ahead and see the first part of his reign. […] The king was the law. His power over life and death, war and peace, rich and poor, were all undisputed. The Roman Senate, utterly ignored and completely laughed at by the king himself, became a bunch of old men who just went to work, and looked forward to going back home, having survived another day. They walked around the forum and their city in total fear when the king was around, and in total shame when the king was elsewhere, busy tormenting people outside of Rome. To put it in one sentence, Tarquin rendered the Senate totally anemic, and too weak to fight his power. Well, while the king’s reign progressed this way, and old woman arrived in Rome, and she immediately asked for an audience with the king. But according to historians we know that this old hag was no ordinary old lady, and that in fact, she was really one of the legendary ten Sibyls, and she came all the way from what is today’s Turkey. Sibyls were known to possess tremendous powers, and Romans—as well as Etruscans, knew better than crossing a Sibyl and her magic. […]

Partial Transcription http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-009 Hello, this is Abel, in Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 9 — Killed by his own Daughter. Last week we saw the end of Tarquin the Elder, and how Servius Tullius became the sixth king of Rome. This week, we’ll see how this Tale continues. The one thing we need to highlight again, is that the last three kings were the father—Tarquin the Elder, followed by his adoptive son—Servius Tullius, and then followed by his true blood son, Tarquin the Proud. […] The tale goes, that—and this is according to Livy himself, the very own daughter of Servius, took a chariot and drove over the dying body of her father, effectively finishing his reign. That’s right, Tullia, wife of Lucius, and daughter of Servius Tullius, carefully maneuvered the chariot so that the wheels sliced the old man’s body in two. […]

Partial Transcription http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-008 Hello, this is Abel, in Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 8 — Tarquin the Elder. Last week we saw the life of Ancus Marcius and Rome’s expansion to the Mediterranean Sea. This week we’ll see the life of Tarquin, aptly nicknamed “the Elder” –after he managed to send away the two sons of Ancus Marcius away from Rome, and have himself elected king of Rome by a more-than-willing-to-oblige bunch of Senators. And here I’d like to add that the tale of the Kings of Rome can be roughly divided into two big sections. The first one consisted of Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, and Ancus Marcius. So, first a fighter. Then a pacifist. Then another fighter, and finally another pacifist who saw himself forced to wage wars, and ultimately did just that. And so, today we are officially starting the second part of the tale of the Kings, because the three kings we haven’t seen yet, they all belong to one—the same family. The Tarquins. And first among these is Lucius Tarquinius Priscus. Then, we have Servius Tullius, an adopted son of Tarquin the Elder, and lastly, the real son of Tarquin, whom history named Tarquin the Proud, who took the throne by force, and who ended up being such a bad king, that the Romans kicked him out of Rome, and decided never again to have kings. […] Let’s quickly mention here, that this was not out of the customary, since kings often sat at the forum, and acted as judges in people’s differences and disputes. But then, when the king, too, was going to take his seat, one of the guys, ran to the king, and took out an axe that he had hidden in his robes. In a single stroke, he lodged the axe, blade-deep, into the head of the king. […]

Partial Transcription http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-007 Hello, this is Abel, in Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 7 — Ancus Marcius Founds Ostia. Last week we saw the life and death of Tullus Hostilius, the third king of Rome, and we also saw how Rome itself became a synonym of war. In fact, Rome—again, became all the things nobody wanted to have in a neighbor. This week’s episode deals with the fourth king of Rome, a man named Ancus Marcius. Ancus Marcius was a man with many different and sometimes contrasting aspects. For one, he was the son of Numa Marcius, who in turn was elected by Numa Pompilius to become Rome’s very first Pontifex Maximus, which we talked about in Episode five. […] We also cannot reliably assess all these events, and their dates. Anecdotes, above all, are to be read as a tale, and rather than taking them as pure facts, they serve the purpose of answering questions of the origins of Rome to the romans that lived centuries later, as well as trying to teach morals. As a perfect example of these quite incredible mess-ups with dates, we have that Numa Pompilius, the now well-known second king of Rome, was born on April 21st of the year 753 BC, which just so happens to be the day Rome was founded. Come on! Don’t make me laugh! The other thing that we can kind of be sure of, is that one of the major jobs Ancus Marcius had to do, was to transcribe all those documents left by Numa Pompilius, about the religious ceremonies of Rome, since the third king of Rome, Tullus Hostilius ignored that job completely. […]

Partial Translation http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-006 Hello, this is Abel, in Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 6 — Tullus Hostilius’ Holy Cow. Last week we saw how—after forty years of peace, Rome went back to its martial virtues. By the hand of King Tullus Hostilius, Rome went back to war, and it doesn’t seem strange to me, that the English word “hostile” or “hostilities” come from this king’s last name. Before we really dive into the rest of the life of Tullus Hostilius, I want to add a very short anecdote here. When the Sabines attacked Rome in the year 752 BC, because of the issue of their kidnapped women, Romulus organized a counterattack, as you might remember from Episode 3 of this podcast. You also might remember that the counterattack did not really bring any results, and that the Sabine women themselves solved the issue, at the end of the day. Finally, you also might remember how those Sabines took their time to carry out their attack, and so, almost a whole year had passed between the kidnapping and the actual attack of the Sabines. So. On the day of the attack, and while the two armies were stuck in a stalemate near the citadel of Rome, a warrior named Hostus Hostilius fought alongside Romulus and the other Romans. And at one moment during that fight, this guy Hostus Hostilius, singlehandedly went on the attack, and while he was holding his sword high in the air, he ran towards the Sabines, screaming and going berserk. Needless to say, a moment or two later, his companions joined in on the run. And even though they got nothing out of this whole thing, the lone act of brave, crazy warrior made the Sabines pull back for a moment, and this deserved him a thank-you-speech, given by Romulus himself, on the next day of the battle. Well… That was because Hostus Hostilius was one of the few casualties on that day. Why do I mention this? You see, Hostus Hostilius was also the grandfather of our third king of Rome, Tullus Hostilius. And as it seems, the itch to fight ran deep in the veins of the Hostilius family. Good. End of anecdote. Back to Tullus. We now know that the name of the king—Tullus, was an extremely rare name at the time, but his last name—Hostilius, not – so – much. We also know that there was a building that is said to have been built by this king, and the building was named the Curia Hostilia, and that THAT was the first building where the early senators of Rome used to meet and hold their sessions. […]

Hello, this is Abel, in Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 5 — Numa, the God Whisperer. Last week we talked about the end of Romulus, the first king of Rome. And then I went on a rant about, first—the seven kings of Rome, and then—how people like to get their history bits served in… well, bits. Finally, we got to the part where Rome was—for the first time ever, needing a successor to the throne. This successor, the second king of Rome, could not have been more different from the first one. He used to talk to the gods, and his name was Numa Pompilius. [...] Numa knew that the future of Rome would be filled with wars, as soon as he would be gone, and he knew that if a king would also be a Pontifex Maximus, religious services all over Rome would suffer, because such king would obviously give priority to war over all other things. So, Numa solved this by simply setting in stone that kings or any future type of supreme rulers of Rome could not be elected to the office of Pontifex Maximus, while they reigned with the city. He simply explained that the gods would punish Rome with plagues, floods, earthquakes, and all other kinds of disasters, if ever a king was elected to that office, and if ever the services to the gods were not properly done. And in fact, the office of the Pontifex Maximus was left in peace by rulers for centuries. It wasn't until the first emperor of Rome, Augustus dared to take the office of chief priest of Rome in his own hands, that Numa's rule was being respected. And that should speak volumes. Furthermore, the office itself still exists today. That's right, the institution created by Numa Pompilius is currently being exercised by the Vatican's Pope, as the head of the Catholic Church, and that's a tradition that's been unbroken for some 2,600 years, now. [...]

Hello, this is Abel, in Beijing, China. Welcome to my podcast. The Tale of Rome, Episode 4 — Throne of Thunders. Last week we saw how Romulus dealt with three top topics of the day: the army of Rome, the female population of Rome, and the Senate of Rome. This week we will see the rest of his life and how his life ends, not an ounce less mythological than his whole life before. But before we start, I would like to make something clear: Rome, the city on the Seven Hills, had Seven Kings. Right? Right. From the year 753 BC until the year 509 BC, Rome had a grand total of Seven Kings. That means, those Seven Kings ruled Rome for 244 years. Let's see. Seven Kings – 244 years. If I divide 244 by 7, I get 34.8, which means that each king must have ruled Rome for an average of 34 years and 9 months. Even though this is not a physical impossibility, I can tell you something right away. In the course of human history, there has not been any empire, or state, or nation, or even a private company or entity that has been so blessed to rule for so long, and have only seven rulers. The exceptional case of her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, is by far one of the longest reigns in recent history, but this cannot be seen as the norm. Yes, she has ruled since 1952 which means she held the crown for 65 years. But that will not be repeated two, three, or—let alone, seven times. [...] There is a very well-known saying out there, that says history is written by victors, not losers. That's about it… [...]

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to the Tale of Rome, Episode 3 — Roman M Seeking F. Last week we saw how, after many generations, Rome was established at the edge of the river Tiber, and we also saw how Romulus, Numitor's grandson—and son of Rhea Silvia and god Mars, became the first King of Rome. I think if for a common man there is nothing as sweet as having a home of his own, for a man the size of Romulus, there couldn't have been anything sweeter than having a city of his own. The only tiny problem for the moment was that his city was still not able to defend itself, and it also couldn't grow. So, we are going to see how Romulus addressed these two issues of high priority. ... After Romulus founded his city, it became pretty obvious that it would be necessary to attract people to the city. Rome needed new inhabitants. To that end, Romulus opened the gates of his city, but what happened next was that the first immigrants to the new city were, to put it in nice words, characters of a colorful past. OK, let's be more honest here! The first arrivals were people on the run from other places. Fallen or escaped gladiators, crooks and beggars, fugitive slaves and prisoners of war, people who owed too much money and people who used to collect too much money from others, pimps and smugglers, pickpockets and murderers, and a whole lot more. You name it, Rome had it! Anyone who offended any of men's laws or any of god's laws, moved to Rome to have a fresh start. ...

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to the Tale of Rome, Episode 2 — Immaculate Conception. http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-002 Last Week we saw how Aeneas managed to escape Troy, and how he finally settled on the western coast of Italy. And we saw how his son came to found a city named Albalonga. Today we will see how his grand-grandchildren prepare the stage for us, so that we get to see how Rome as founded. And to get there, today we've got it all. Traitors. Vultures bring messages from the gods. An amazing saving of two babies floating in a basket along a river. We even have a woman conceiving children in a rather miraculous way, something that people in the western civilizations call an "Immaculate Conception." ... After Ascanius, the kingship was passed from father to son for many generations, until we got to the 13th generation, and the power came to rest upon the shoulders of a man called Numitor. As Numitor became King of Albalonga, his brother Amulius watched, filled with jealousy and hatred. Soon enough, Amulius decided to take the throne all to himself, and by lying to the people of Albalonga, and by using false rumors, Amulius managed to chase Numitor out of the city. The sons of Numitor were killed without any mercy. But Amulius decided to spare the life of Numitor's daughter, a woman called Rhea Silvia, and instead of killing her, he ordered her to become a Vestal Virgin. By converting her into a Vestal, Amulius felt assured that she would not have any children, and there would be no threat to his own future generations. A Vestal Virgin, as historians explain to us, spent her whole life dedicated to the service of the goddess Vesta, goddess of the home and the heart. Vestals had to fulfill three conditions in order to be accepted in the temple of Vesta, where they would be in charge of keeping the divine flame on, for all eternities. One: they had to be virgin. Two: they had to come from a prominent family of the society. Three: they had to be incredibly beautiful. ...

Hello, this is Abel, speaking from Beijing, China. Welcome to the Tale of Rome, Episode 1 — Once upon a time. http://www.thetaleofrome.com/rome-001 Rome was founded in the year 753 BC, but to start our tale we need to do two things: ONE—I want to tell you a bit about this podcast, as a project, and TWO—we need to travel a little bit back in time. Some 500 years back, to the twelfth century BC. To the Trojan War, to be more exact. Alright, let's go with ONE, and let me sum up this podcast in exactly three sentences. I was born in what once was called West Germany, and being fond of the history of both China and Rome, I began writing historical fiction novels, one of them being set in Roman Egypt during the latter part of the 2nd century AD. I soon realized I needed more research to write my book, and after going through many other books, documentaries, maps, and podcasts, I decided I had to create my own account of what actually happened before I could continue with my writing. Knowing that podcasting was a totally new field to me, I first decided to delve into a narration of the story of Rome in Spanish language—a language I acquired in both Miami and Argentina, while always keeping an eye set on an English version of the same podcast, once the time was right. So, here we have it. Three sentences. The Spanish podcast is LIVE since April, and this—the English version, is coming to the world right now, as you are hearing me speak. And I guess, by now you know where my accent comes from, even though I lived for almost half my life in the States. And yes, I do live in China now, but that is stuff for some other footnote, in some other episode. Perhaps. I also like to say that I started podcasting as a way to talk about the things I like to talk about, such as ancient Rome. Now, let's go with TWO. Let's go to the last years of the Trojan War. ...