Notes on a graft-hybrid

Recently Mr. Osborne, the fruit expert in the Agricultural Department, handed me an apple of which one-half was typical Roman Beauty and the other as surely Senator. There was no blending ; the division was longitudinal through the median plane and as clearly defined as it was possible to be. The apple was grown in the orchard of Mr. Bourne, Premaydena, South-East Tasmania. The following note is sent with it from Mr. Ward, assistant fruit instructor:— "The apple was picked from a Roman Beauty tree which had been grafted on a Senator stock. The tree is young, as far as I know seven or eight years old. This was the only apple of its kind on the tree." Judging from its history and appearance there seems little escape from the conclusion that this is a genuine case of graft hybridism. Reversion would not have given us a fruit with such a well-marked distinction of character in the two halves. Cross-fertilisation has not yet demonstrated more than at most a slight general influence

Who was Watching Whom? A Reassessment of the Conflict between Germanicus and Piso

Despite Tacitus’ insinuations to the contrary, Cn. Calpurnius Piso (cos. 7 b.c.e.) was no friend and loyal supporter of Emperor Tiberius. The emperor offered Piso the command of Syria in an effort to win over the political support of this prestigious-but-recalcitrant senator. As a safeguard should Piso attempt something treacherous in this powerful command, Tiberius gave Piso the province at a time when Germanicus Caesar—the emperor’s loyal adopted son and heir—would be in the East resolving a number of economic problems in the eastern provinces. Thus Piso was not sent to watch the prince, but to be watched by him

Herodes Atticus and the Athenians

Herodes Atticus (Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes) was a sophist, benefactor, Roman senator and one of the richest men of his time. His behavior often aroused a lot of controversy. He was often in conflict with the Roman officials and even emperors. The aim of this paper is to present complicated relation of Herodes with part of the Athenians. The author tries to explain the reasons for distrus and even dislike of the Athenians to Herodes. The most important part of the paper is an attempt to present the circumstances that led to the famous trial in Sirmium in 174 AD. This is a revised and supplemented version of the paper originally published as Herodes Attyk i Ateńczycy, “Klio” 2015, vol. 33 (2), pp. 3–32, DOI: 10.12775/KLIO.2015.016

Sallust’s Account of Corruption and Its Western Accomplices

The axiom, ‘it takes two to tango’ may fittingly describe how corruption thrives. While demonstrably endemic in and seemingly generic to Africa, the ancient history of corruption depicts active participation of Western accomplices; collaborators, who perpetrated and advanced their political interests with the proceeds of sleaze. This article, using the Roman historian Sallust’s Bellum Iugurthinum (The War with Jugurtha), employs interpretive approach to highlight how an African monarch was spurred on by corrupt leading Roman senator, who treated public assets as personal property, to recklessly pursue his political ambition. The article highlighted how Roman soldiers introduced the use of money in seeking power to Jugurtha and the stages of the former’s duplicity in the prolonged African conflicts. With evidence to support Jugurtha’s description of Rome in her corrupt state as ‘urbem venalem et mature perituram, si emptorem invenerit’ (a city for sale and doomed to speedy destruction if it finds a purchaser- Sallust, Jugurthine War 35.10), the conclusion is: the African ruler got in the Roman senate a viral school of bribery. Interestingly, the episode of corruption ended when the will of the corrupt Roman senators was thwarted. Therefore, mitigating corruption could begin from the West that hosts its influential accomplices.Key words: Africa, Corruption, Sallust, Western Collaborator

The Roman senate and the post-Sullan res publica

This article assesses the significance of the modifications to Sulla’s constitution introduced during the 70s. It argues the post-Sullan senate was in effect divided into two groups, those who sought and held imperium-bearing magistracies and those who did not: the latter group’s experience of senatorial status was of jury service and senatorial debate. The 70s seemed to mark the decisive triumph of the former group within the Senate, but as the membership of the Senate remained unchanged the Senate’s overall weakness within the res publica persisted

Truth Contests and Talking Corpses

In diverse fictions from the second century Roman Empire, two parties with competing claims to truth hold a formal contest in a public place where, after a series of abrupt reversals, the issue is finally decided by the evidence of a dead, mutilated, or resurrected body. We can ask these corpses to tell us about the ways Roman society constructed truth. Furthermore, can we learn from the abrupt reversals in these narratives anything about the way Romans experienced shifts in truth-paradigms in “real life”? (This is, of course, a question of paramount importance for appreciating the religious change propelled by Christianity)

Membership of the 109th Congress: A Profile

[From Summary] This report presents a profile of the membership of the 109th Congress. Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members. This includes data on party affiliation; average age and length of service; occupation; religious affiliation; female and minority Members; foreign-born Members; and military service

The Portrayal of Roman Gladiators and Slavery in Film

This thesis project will endeavor to examine how prominent historical films set in the Roman Empire deal with slavery and gladiators, said research to inform a corresponding creative project. In studying and analyzing Ben-Hur (1959), Spartacus (1960) and Gladiator (2000), the three most prominent films that deal with the topics of slavery and gladiators in ancient Rome, I hope to uncover how films treat the topic, how the films are influenced by more modern values, and how accurate the films are. I will also identify commonalities between all three films, and supplement my discoveries with observations from two less successful but more modern films, Pompeii (2014) and Ben-Hur (2016). Based on my findings, I will write a portion of my own film script influenced by the common events and themes regarding slavery and gladiators, as observed in the films stated above. In addressing similar thematic elements and dealing with a similar conflict, the creative portion of the research seeks to fit into the same genre of epic, historical film