Rome didn’t rise in a day, nor in a year. The rise of Rome was a very long process. The Greek historian Polybius explored the rise of Rome in his Histories. In the preface he wrote: “For who is so indolent and so worthless as to not wish to know by what means and under […]
Book Review: Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King
June 6, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Feast of Sorrow is a brilliant work of Historical fiction which seamlessly interweaves fictional and historical characters and, in addition, provides an insight into how the Romans conducted their famous feasts, what foods they ate and how they were prepared. Apicius was a famous gourmand of first century A.D. Rome, the beginning of the Julio-Claudian […]
Book Review: The Daughters of the Palatine by Phyllis T Smith
March 7, 2016 By Leave a Comment
I loved I Claudius, but I would have to say that I found Phyllis T. Smith’s The Daughters of the Palatine a more plausible version of that happened to the Julio-Claudian dynasty during the reign of Augustus than Robert Graves’ version. The Daughters of Palatine Hill is narrated by three women, Livia, the Wife of […]
Book Review: Watchmen of Rome by Alex Gough
November 6, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Watchmen of Rome takes the reader to the mean streets of Ancient Rome during the reign of Tiberius. Elissa is a priestess of the Carthaginian deities Baal-Hammon and Tanit, having received training from her mother, religious lore passed down in secret since the destruction of Carthage some 180 years before. She has a plan to […]
Book Review: Augustus by John Williams
October 10, 2014 By Leave a Comment
John Williams’ Augustus is an epistolary novel-that is, a work composed of letters and memoires. Some of the letters are taken from actual correspondence by historical figures of the time, such as Cicero and Maecenas, and others are complete inventions of the author, speculating on what the character would have written if given the chance. […]
Notable Woman of the Roman Republic: Livia, the Wife of Caesar Augustus
August 18, 2012 By 1 Comment
Caesar Augustus’ wife Livia Drusilla was born in 58 BC during the closing years of the Roman Republic. Her father was Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus, who was born Appius Claudius Pulcher but was adopted as an infant by Marcus Livius Drusus. Rome, during Livia’s early years was marked by constant tumult and civil war. […]
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