Societas Via Romana - Discussion Archives

Hi,
I joined SVR on 06 Jan, after finding "another place" not to my liking. I've been into the Roman Empire and Republic since I read The First Man In Rome a few years ago. I revisited the novel a couple of months ago and thought is wasn't as good as I thought it was. I really like anything Roman, the more you know about them the more you realise that our culture has been influenced so much by what they did. This country has never recovered since they left in 410 ad.
In real life I'm a Signaller Manager, in charge of the people who operate railway signals in the Liverpool and North Cheshire area. I 'm a Linux enthusiast (I also stray into FreeBSD and other Unix types occasionally) and write tutorials and SF. I read lots, play guitar badly, and speak decent French. I enjoy learning foreign languages, I know enough Spanish to make sense of written articles and learned some latin because I liked Spanish so much. I have an interest in Russian and can manage some German, but I don't really enjoy it.
I have a 23 year old Kawasaki 750 for wandering about on, I buy French cars and believe that England should be a republic.
Anyway , that's enough about me. Nice to be here,
valete,
Gaius Cornelius Severus

Salve Gae Severe

Welcome to our societas.
First Man in Rome sounds familar, a novel on the end of the Republic? I am not one to read fiction but am trying Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis. Since you mention reading a good deal, can you give me an idea of what else you've recently?

Welcome again, good to see the Cornelii try to take on the Dionysii in here.

Vale optime

Salve,
I've got through the following during autumn:
The First Man in Rome is Colleen McCoullogh, and deals with the years when Gaius Marius was consul. There's a whole series of books, taking the story through Sulla to Pompey and as far as the death of Caesar and the ascendancy of Octavius. The later books are better, IMHO.
The Eagle In the Snow (Wallace breem) is a few years old, it contributed ideas to the movie Gladiator (the huge fight against the Germans) and concerns a roman officer's attempts to motivate a reluctant border town to defend themselves against a German invasion. It's a good war story and an interesting account of what it was like to be a faithful pagan in a christian society.
Pompeii by Richard Harris is the story of a water engineer who attempts to maintain the water supply after an earthquake breaks the aquaduct. Then the vocano explodes. It's nice to see a novel about ordinary romans. Well researched and has nice details on the Vesuvius eruption. Dramatised on Radio 4 recently.
I'm reading Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything" at present. Before that was The Devil's Chaplain, a colection of essays by Richard Dawkins. After, I'll probably work my way through "Unix Power Tools".
You did ask.....
vale
Gaius Cornelius Severus

Salve Gai Corneli,

Welcome to the SVR. I hope you will find this place (and its regulars) to your liking. Welcome aboard!

Vale,
Draco