Vibius Tiberius Costa

Bam! I'm back to those who thought I was gone. Anyway, more importantly I have a lot of questions for the ol' book. I'll number and break them up because there are quite a few. If anyone can answer thanks in advance. 153bc Senate s1. I have my own leading fictitious-ish senators but who do you think were the leading senators/orators in 153 bc - onwards say 4 years s2. Who were the leading generals and what was their popularity within the senate and with the masses (metellus, scipio and mummius interest me here) s3. The number of senators at this point is it 200ish s4. The general consensus of the senate, arguing aside this is a strong period would it be to push forth in terms of the wars s5. The senate's opinions of Carthage change I know in the coming years but as of early 153 what is the feel s6. Is Rome rich? s7. As this senatehouse is pre fires/destruction etc. was it different to the current one did they sit on stone arcs with the two consuls sitting centrally (I currently have made my own style but it does read like modern politics a bit) People in Rome p1. General views are always hard to say but along with the generals and senators aforementioned do we know of particularly fashionable Gods, curses and clothing. p2. Is one area of Rome a little dodgy, I know the majority lived in Aventine but perhaps it is documented the Oppian hill has troubles p3. Can I assume everything Is bartered no ticket prices p4. Can a few read/write p5. Do senators live in the lesser regions still. p6. Would it be fair to assume some people have never left the city p7. Is Hannibal still a big talking point amongst the people (senate too) Legion l1. Were you paid in arrears monthly or some specific way l2. Did/could you buy your equipment from the legion smithy l3. Were fancy engravings common on armour or was most extremely similar l4. Once levied did you have time to go home and pick up your things l5. If levied in Rome were you trained en route to destination. As recruits did you stay in legionary contubernium tents while en route l6. Were there barracks at most major cities for troops. l7. Was chainmail a luxury Miscellaneous m1. Beards and long hair, I'm under the impression both are frowned upon, beards are to Gallic and barbarian and long hair to Greek, yes? m2. Were there well documented popular wines - Vesuvian, Sicilian m3. Were there higher alcohol level drink available like fortified wines, mead, non-grape m4. Do we know what the curse-words or phrases beyond our usual ones are eg. Gods Below, Jupiter's Beard rather than cac m5. Could I nickname someone by turning there name from Antonius to Antonio, Anto etc. (to many -ius' make it hard sometimes for readers to differentiate) m6. The majority of slaves would have been from what nationalities m7. Like Venus was sort of the symbol of the Julii, did the rest of the families have a defining symbol or stamp, like Octavian's sphinx I've got stacks more but its 2am, they'll have to wait Thanks again vtc

Absolutely fantastic stuff caldrail, I shall construct from there TY vtc

Hi Viggen You might remember me, I've just read your past few extracts and in my opinion you are doing great, its a state of mind not body that you shoudl watch out for. I cannot preach on losing weight but I can on battling past the mental walls. This place is as good as any for moral support. vtc

Just what i thought was a good idea for the site I always find when I'm here that I post lists of questions in almost bullet point style. I was wondering if it would be possible to perhaps have a permanent topic or even subforum where everybodys easy to answer bullet point style questions could be accumulated. Example, if i asked (which i have) where the dagger is placed on the body of a typical roman soldier? hopefully there is one answer (the direct front i believe) Then the question and answer would be posted or added to an existing post by a moderator to the topic I know the info is on the site somewhere and most definitely the internet, but if i could search a whole topic just for my small batch of questions quickly and efficiently it might ease the traffic or stop repetition or even not waste some peoples time. One disadvantage of this is of course that spurrious debate cannot arise from trivial things. Its a half-idea maybe worth a thought. vtc ps if it were a forum or in a specific existing forum each topic could be reserved for similar or subjected questions

Only really 2 other 'history's for me and its the 2nd and 3rd crusades, especially Salah ad-dins battles at Jerusalem and Arsuf and the whole arc of Richard the lionhearted. and Carthages birth and the 3rd punic war vtc

Okay from memory its 4 in a tent 8 to a contubernum i was wondering how a tent would really be laid out, a minor question i know. Would the 4 or 8 be in each corner? Would the shields and gear be propped outside or inside at the soldiers feet perhaps? Feet to feet or head to head. Would there be anything inside the tent tent? I know I can just ram 'em in anywhere, anyhow but guidance would be great. as usual a levied army at about 150bc vtc

I don't know about odd but I like a huge range of music, I love my rock and radio rock/pop as my staple but i have swathes of jazz, orchestral, operatic and for a 20-ish yo lots of 60s 70s and 80s rock. vtc

Indeed, you are correct the book pretty much fell away in importance around about the same time i stopped reguarly visiting here. Now I'm back though, so is the book vtc

As far as ironic how about King Richard the Lionhearted (compeletely French couldn't speak a single word of English) battles his French brother for the crown of England, in between crusading for the Pope who has no idea who Richard belongs to alongside Austrians who he is also at war with, and he warred with France too if I remember, this was an essay i wrote 6 years ago so i would research most of that but i'm pretty sure its all true just check if this is for something serious. vtc

I would think (as this is my era) that the sacking of Corinth in 146 should be there. -Every man to the sword -Every woman and child to slavery -Then set fire to the place Lucius Mummius got 'a medal' (cognomen) for it too. I know it was war but the battle was won, I am still trying to see the motive of the sacking maybe that needs a new topic. I might put the slavery thing as a whole in as well, vtc

What a split in opinion here, I am amazed. In my opinion to get into that elite bracket reserved for heroes you need to be doing your cause for morally, socially and fundamental good and not for personal gain. This is where for me Caesar drifts out of being a hero, a conqueror will always be hated by many, a liberator loved. He was a conqueror and tactician on both sides of battle and is a true great in history. A villain, he is not. He did not seem to have an agenda against a race like the typical villains we know, it was more of a conquest for power. If I had a choice over the two: Hero vtc

Believe it or not I am back and have many more questions to ask and maybe answer this time around. Hopefully a few people rember me from 2006 (wow time flies). Anyway nice to be back vtc

I'm back. I expect nobody knew i was missing but nevermind. Well I'm at uni and its been approximately two years since i have even touched my book but after battling depression and uni in equal measures I'm ready to get back into the full flow of writing. As ever the blog will be for casual readers who are interested in my goings on, both book related and life. Meanwhile the usual list of questions will inevitably hit the forum. I might start posting galleries of art i draw and the stuff i get up to too. Heres a little section of my book i thought I'd post, criticisms and advice muchly appreciated as i don't quite like the way this section reads A distressed woman of about forty with dishevelled hair was being held up by the arms by a legionary. She flailed and writhed, bawling herself senseless, until finally she broke free and ran at the crowd that had gathered by her villa

While waiting for better options from Neph and other UNRV members, what about "Veritas Victrix"? Thats cool, translates something like 'truth the victor' correct me if i'm wrong never took latin. I'll have to run it by the lads but keep em coming. TY vtc