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The Roman Empire: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|'''Reg (leader of the People's Front of Judea):''' ''All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us? ''
'''PFJ member:''' ''Brought peace?''
'''Reg:''' ''Oh, peace - SHUT UP!''
|'''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian]]'''}}
{{quote|''To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace."|'''Tacitus''', Roman historian}}
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In terms of sheer nastiness, little matches crucifixion in the capital punishment field. It was designed to be as painful and humiliating as possible. The Romans themselves considered it so barbaric that Roman citizens usually couldn't be sentenced to crucifixion.
To go into further detail about crucifixion: The nails, which were 5-7 inches long, were driven into the wrists and ankles. How the nails were driven in depended on the shape of the cross, which was I, T, X, Y or the traditional cross shape. Then ropes are tied, so the Romans can pull up the cross. The ropes cut into the skin as the cross is raised. Then the person is essentially left to die. Times passes on, the person literally gets baked by the sun. Crows start to come and peck on the eyes on the hung, if that person has no family or friends. The hung man must struggle with all of his might to get one tiny breath in, as his lungs are constricted. If he's lucky, he'll get a bitter tasting wine as a painkiller. In terms of waste removal, there was none. This further adds to the humiliation and infects any wounds below the waist. After that, there's not much left as the prisoner gets no food nor drink. Jesus lasted the good part of a day before passing on, but there are cases of men who lasted
* Now imagine this happening to 6,000 people at the same time, on the same road.
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* The double-headed eagle - Dating to the splitting of the empire, though the symbol is much older.
* Eagles in general - As they are associated with Jupiter/Zeus and are a symbol of strength. Their status as "King of the Birds", combined with the special Roman relationship with birds in general (avian activity was the primary form of state omen-reading), gave them particular importance to the Romans.
* The laurels and S.P.Q.R. - As seen at the top of the page, it stands for 'Senatus
* The fasces - An axe, handle thrust through a bundle of reeds or sticks, the fasces was a symbol of authority. Originally a republican symbol of strength in unity (one reed or stick breaks, a bundle doesn't). It was resurrected by the fascists, specifically [[Benito Mussolini]]. So not everything was ruined by Hitler.
** Not even Mussolini could ruin this one: the French and American republics, which intentionally attempted to recall Rome, used the fasces in their symbolism long before Mussolini. The French Fifth Republic still uses the fasces with an axe in its [[wikipedia:National Emblem of France|semi-official emblem]], and the fasces are still found in many American symbols: the [[wikipedia:Seal of the United States Senate|Seal of the Senate]] has crossed fasces with axes, while the [[wikipedia:Mace of the United States House of Representatives|Mace of the House]] and the armrests in the [[wikipedia:Lincoln Memorial|Lincoln Memorial]] are axeless fasces.
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* ''[[The Roman Mysteries]]'' by Caroline Lawrence. Started in 2001.
== Live
* ''[[I, Claudius]]'', based on the novel by Robert Graves.
* ''[[The Roman Mysteries (TV series)|The Roman Mysteries]]'': The TV adaptation of the book series.
* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episodes "The Romans", "The Fires of Pompeii" and "The Pandorica Opens".
==
* A few plays by [[William Shakespeare]]:
** ''[[Cymbeline]]'': Set in Britain, but during the reign of [[Emperor Augustus]].
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Hollywood History]]▼
[[Category:Historical Domain Character]]
▲[[Category:Hollywood History]]
[[Category:Useful Notes/Italy]]
▲[[Category:The Roman Empire]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Empire, The}}
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