Peter Jones – Arthur Hofn

A Lot To Discover

Personally speaking I’m glad I’m not a Roman, no offence is meant to modern natives of the Italian capital. Shockingly I’ve only been there once and I do need to visit again, and when I say I need to, it’s a burning desire that demands to be soon quenched (although of course that’s easier said than done). The reason? For as much as I’m glad I’m not a Roman, I find the history fascinating; and although there’s plenty of it where I grew up in England, I do want to see it properly in Italy.

Of course when I say Roman I mean the ancient Republic / Empire and any of the inhabitants living from the cold wet island in the west to the Caspian Sea. Growing up it was one of those things that we were indoctrinated into believing was boring, the assumption that we had to learn about it because “sorry it’s on the syllabus”. It wasn’t until after I left school and I realised how much I loved history that the real importance of the age became apparent. I knew names such as Nero and Constantine as well some of the other Emperors (the shock when I learnt that Julius Caesar wasn’t counted as Emperor!) along with the likes of Cleopatra, Mark Antony or even the Colosseum or Pompeii, but it was all just vague information that didn’t piece together. Where does Hadrian’s wall come into things? Or even this fighting woman I was supposed to know all about, Boudicca? What does crossing the Rubicon mean? Who was Hannibal?

The fact that much of the history is so well known it’s always assumed that people already know it and therefore they aren’t told. I found myself in this situation, I could give you a list of Roman names and things, I knew they had a meaning but I wouldn’t have been able to tell you much more. So after deciding I did want to do something about this I turned to books to teach me, and all these years later I still have a great interest the subject.

All this proved nicely useful when I also realised I loved Shakespeare; the third play I saw at the Globe was Antony and Cleopatra, although I was going straight to the airport afterwards so had to sit with all my luggage with me, it was so uncomfortable by the time we’d got to the asp scene I was just wishing she’d get on with it as I couldn’t feel my legs at that point. Regardless the span of Roman history covered by Shakespeare’s cannon covers several research projects in themselves and although I would have enjoyed the plays, knowing the history from our point of view and comparing it with the fictional version presented back in the Bard’s day is an interesting dimension to add to the experience.

I could tell you all the books I read in my youth that informed me, but instead I’m going list two more recent publications. The first is Veni Vidi Vici by Peter Jones (he’ll crop up in later blogs). I only read this book last year and although its designed to be a beginner’s guide to the Roman Empire I still enjoyed it immensely. Starting at the mythical Trojan war (yes that is important) and working its way chronologically through 1,200 years this really gives the big picture and well as a lot of detail. Written in nice sized chunks so it doesn’t feel so heavy there is wealth of information I really wish I could just recall at the appropriate time.

The problem with a group of people who accept impossible myths as their truth is how do we differentiate? Here the author is able to give their perspective and at the same time keep it as a factual as best as possible. Far from being dry history this is very readable.

“Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the European mainland. The name may derive from the Oscan dialect fesf, ‘smoke’, or perhaps from Veiovis, a mysterious early Roman god. The volcano’s base is 30 miles (48 km) in circumference and it is 4,000 feet (1,219 m) high. Before it obliterated Pompeii in AD 79 it was perhaps twice as high as it is now.”
― Peter Jones, Veni Vidi Vici

For a more detailed look at one of the many stories in the era I found a copy of The Spartacus War by Barry Strauss. I knew of the story but couldn’t really tell you how or if what I thought I knew was accurate and that was only last year, proof of the rich history of the age.

To me Spartacus was the legendary enemy of Rome, the leader so loved that everyone was willing to sacrifice themselves for the chance to save him. Barry Strauss’ account of the life of this warrior certainly does it’s best to give you the as much history as it can, a difficult task as not everything is proven and a lot when it comes to Spartacus is guesswork. History is certainly different to the Hollywood versions that some people think keep accurately to reality. Sadly a lot of what we assume happened may have been exaggerated or plain invented. That doesn’t stop this being a absorbing read. The author keeps things simple and chronological, so it’s easy to keep up with. When your subject matter is from so long ago (mainly about 73 to 71 BC) keeping things true and reliable is hard; history is written by the winners and in this case Rome lasted longer than Spartacus did, even if it’s Republican form was soon to end. Strauss is honest and when it’s supposition he shows the workings regardless of if it’s his conclusion or not. If you want to know the truth, as best as possible, about this notorious defier of Rome this is a good place to go.

“Gladiators didn’t have friends. They had allies, rivals, bosses, hangers-on, punks, spies, suppliers and double-crossers. The new gladiator learned whom to trust and whom to watch out for, who would cover his back and who would steal his food… One night a man shared a pre-combat meal with his comrades, the next day he killed his table-mate, and shortly after arranged for the victim’s tombstone.”
― Barry Strauss, The Spartacus War

Sometimes it can be a bit daunting taking on something like the history of Rome, then when we try and find good guides the number and variety can make things more overwhelming, however these are just two of a number of excellent works (and if you do get a chance to read I, Claudius and Claudius The God I’d recommend them very highly).

So what I learnt was whilst I love learning about the history of the Roman Empire, for all it’s civilisation, life was cheap and the average person, and therefore the slaves too, didn’t have the easiest of times to put it mildly. I like learning and reading about Rome, but I’m so glad I didn’t live there.

Buy Veni Vidi Vici by Peter Jones
Buy The Spartacus War by Barry Strauss