After Action Report: August 2021 Remote Nova Britannia Chat

August 23, 2021, 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Participants: Gaius Claudius Quadratus

                       Aula Tullia Scholastica
                       Aulus Iulius Paterculus (Host)
   Once everyone had convened, there was some small talk, particularly about Hurricane Henri, which we suspected of having prevented at least,one additional person from joining us.
   Quadratus started off the Roman discussion with a review of the Arx Mercatura online store. He warned that the goods which they sold took an unreasonably long time to arrive, and in some cases were not even fabricated until they had been sold. He did say that the finished items were of fine quality, however, and showed us an acerra and lararium he had purchased from them in the past.
   Scholastica reported on the status of the election for Nova Roma's Board of Directors. She also reported having received an update on the castrum project undertaken by D. Marcius Vulpes in Maine.
   I asked whether anyone had recently done any interesting research. Quadratus answered that, while he had not recently done much research on Rome, he had done some on World War II. Quadratus summarized an insight or two from this reading, including the conclusion that most Germans were aware of the extent of Nazi atrocities before the end of the war.
   Scholastica stated that two sodalitates were up and running, while another two waited only for new pictures to be added to their front pages. Quadratus asked what would be necessary to form a Sodalitas Numismaticae - Scholastica referred him to the Lex Cassia de creatione sodalitatum, but summarized that a set of internal rules and a method of selecting leaders was needed.
   Scholastica commented on the fact that Quadratus had been instructed to learn a set of Latin texts as part of his augural duties, and offered help in studying if needed. Quadratus stated that his Latin skills should be up to the task, as he had translated the Res Gestae alone, but that he was still waiting to receive the texts in question.

A Hymn to Sol

Sol, Sol, Sol Indiges,
though nightly you concede
the world to holy darkness
Each morning you advance
once more past the horizon:
renewed and never conquered.

From your vantage point far at the apex
shadows shrink from sight
as your gaze illuminates
all that the skies cover.

You take the middle path,
though steering unruly horses,
not veering to cold distance
nor fiery closeness,
and daily you retreat
at just the proper time:
(clocks are set by you).

But each morning you advance
once more past the horizon:
renewed and never conquered.
Sol Indiges, Sol, Sol.

After Action Report: Remote Nova Britannia Chat

May 24, 2021, 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Participants: Marcus Quintius Clavus (Host)

                     Aula Tullia Scholastica

                     Aulus Iulius Paterculus

   Once all of us had succeeded in joining the call, the conversation started, mainly on personal topics.at first. Scholastica told us about some of the things which were keeping her busy, including the ongoing Senate session and the conclusion of her current Latin class.

   Scholastica pointed out that her students were getting a college-level education for free, and that the curriculum had been designed by the renowned Latinist Avitus, who was now adding to his impressive collection of languages by taking Sumerian, Akkadian, & Hittite as part of a Master's degree in ancient Middle Eastern studies.

   Quinius commented that Akkadian was the diplomatic language of the Bronze Age.

   I asked whether Sumerian was language of the Epic of Gilgamesh; Quintius confirmed that the earliest of several versions was in Sumerian. Quintius recalled having heard a man reading his own translation of the Babylonian version one day at the Worchester Art Museum.

   Scholastica asked whether Quintius was doing any re-enacting. Yes, even in 2020, he replied. Quintius also mentioned seeing some Medieval re-enactors at Fort 4.

   Scholastica said it seemed re-enactment was in decline, with the discontinuation of Roman Days being a prime example. Quintius pointed out that this was partly due to venue issues and that Legio XX had been focusing more on activities with the Virginia Junior Classical League. Quintius & Andy of Legio III had each submitted videos for the Virginia Junior Classical League's last meeting, which took place remotely.

   Scholastica remembered the Conventus in Rome, with Lentulus acting as a tour guide. Scholastica herself had provided translations of the inscriptions beneath some statues of Vestals for the benefit of some other attendees.

   Quintius then shared with us a book that he'd been reading, The Last Assassin by Peter Stothard. It was a nonfiction account of the hunt for the last of the

conspirators who had joined in the murder of Julius Caesar. Quintius was enjoying it up to that point, and said that it had a more journalistic than scholarly approach to the topic.

   Scholastica asked whether it was true that Julius Caesar's assassins had stabbed him with their styli because weapons were forbidden in the Senate House. Quintius answered that he was certain Julius Caesar had defended himself with his stylus, as he had no other weapon.

   Scholastica asked whether we knew the origins of the word "assassin" - "hashish". I pointed out that the Spanish version of the word was "sicario", which as Quintius recalled was from the Roman dagger sometimes used by gladiators.

   I asked what kind of gladiator used the sicarius, and Quintius replied that it was often the Thracian. Quintius shared that he had recently purchased a Hellenistic gladiator's helmet, as well as a Roman cup from The Ancient Home. He was going use these as part of a display when he showed a Hellenistic civilian re-enactment on which he was working.

   We talked a little about the evolution of pottery during the Hellenistic Period. Quintius said that it became popular for the wealthy to dine off precious metal and that clay was sculpted rather than painted (as in Classical Greece) partly in imitation of sculpted metalware.

   The meeting had to come to an end, but we all agreed we should try to arrange another soon.

Book Review: Saturnalia: A Tale of Wickedness and Redemption in Ancient Rome by Adam Alexander Haviaras

    Saturnalia: A Tale of Wickedness and Redemption in Ancient Rome is a fairly straightforward adaption of Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol from Victorian London to Imperial Rome. There will be few surprises here for those who have read the original story or witnessed any of the myriad stage or film versions, but that isn't necessarily a flaw: knowing the eventual outcome of the story can sometimes enhance drama rather than undercut it.

   As historical fiction, this novel is a mixed success. The author succeeds in portraying the spirit of the time in question (during the Severan Dynasty), and gets a variety of details right (portraying the diversity of Rome at the time, for instance). There may also be a few minor mistakes. The single most noticeable example is a detail concerning the ritus Graecus given correctly in an earlier chapter and then incorrectly in a later one. There is a glossary of Latin terms in the back which may be helpful to some, particularly as there are a few Latin words used which would normally have been translated (i.e. "cerei" instead of "candles").

  As a morality tale, the story is markedly more successful. The author very effectively sets up the greed and callousness of the main character early on (going significantly further than did Dickens: Scrooge was only a serious source of distress to his employees, so far as I can recall, while Catus Pompilius seems at times to be a menace to the entire Eternal City), and his change of heart comes gradually enough to be at least partly believable. One interesting thing about this book is how pious it is: reverence for the gods is repeatedly put hand with generosity, familial affection, enjoyment of life, and the other virtues promoted by the text, and it is the gods themselves who intervene to show the main character the error of his ways.

   Overall, this book is worth reading. It may even leave you feeling the urge to practice a bit more kindness and generosity in your own life.

After Action Report: Remote Saturnalia

 Sunday, December 20th, 2020

Participants: Marcus Quintius Clavus (Host)
                     Gaius Claudius Quadratus
                     Aulus Iulius Paterculus
    The meeting started with a few technical difficulties, as I was unable to join the meeting by phone and had to communicate with the other participants by text chat.
    Once it had been established that was how the conversation would proceed, the conversation began with a discussion of the activities of Legio III Cyrenaica, which were at that time being shown on Facebook. Quadratus lamented that no such re-enactment groups were active near Montreal, and he an Quintius discussed whether Quadratus might join some of Legio III's activities in his augural garb. Quintius stated that, unlike some other re-enactment groups, Legio III was very open to those who wanted to portray civilian roles, and both confirmed that it would make sense for an augur dressed in his civilian religious garb to accompany a legion, either to take auspices
before battle or to participate in a parade. Quintius mentioned one past event held by Legio III at which a sacrifice to the gods had opened the day's presentations.
    Speaking of augury, Quadratus brought up the ongoing conjunction of Saturn with Jupiter, which he held to be a very favourable omen, particularly since its most dramatic manifestation would take place during Saturnalia and the Solstice. He stated that this should be visible on the night of the 21st by looking West just after sunset, and that the two planets should appear to be a single object in the sky, except perhaps to someone using binoculars or who already knew them to be two planets and looked very carefully. Quintius commented that light pollution would likely make this impossible for him to spot, and I concurred, saying that we had been told that the Northern Lights would be visible in the state of Connecticut earlier in the year, but had been foiled in spotting them by all the terrestrial lights. Both Quintius and Quadratus recalled past sightings of the aurora borealis, which for Quadratus had been quite frequent and spectacular, as he had lived even farther North at a time when sunspot activity was at a peak.
    Quadratus then redirected the topic to dates, pointing out that many people who should know better - including authors of history books and museum curators - failed to measure the time between B.C. and A.D. dates correctly. Instead of simply adding the dates together, it was necessary to subtract one year to account for the fact that
there was no year zero.
   There was a brief discussion of the suggestion to form a study group in the new year. I asked what topic we should study, and it was agreed that a list of proposals should be sent to the forum to see what garnered the most interest.
   Quadratus and Quintius then moved on to a discussion of Numismatics. Both were collectors of ancient coins. Quadratus showed off two art pieces he had created with ancient coins in poor condition, while Quintius described a coin in his possession which showed an unidentified emperor, including his upper torso (whereas most coins showed the emperor only from the neck up). Quintius agreed to send a picture of this coin to Quadratus by email for a second opinion. We all speculated on the reasons fewer bronze coins had survived to the modern day from Roman times than silver ones.
   This lead to mention by Quintius of the fact that coins containing copper had been located at the site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, and a discussion of the early shifting of blame by several senators near the time of that event from Varus to the common soldiers, something which Quintius blamed partly on the close relationship Varus had with the imperial family.
  Shortly thereafter, we all signed off, with a "Io Saturnalia!" from each of us and a resolution to hold another such meeting before too long.

Nova Britannia Facebook Page

Cassius has created a Facebook page for Nova Britannia, accessible at https://www.facebook.com/novabritannia.org/. Those who are active on that site may want to take a look.

Solsitium 2772 - December 21st, 2019

Attendees:
Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia (Hostess)
Marcus Quintius Clavus
Aulus Iulius Paterculus
Cindy (Arrived Later)

        Around noon, Sibylla, Quintius, & I met at Sibylla's house. For the first part of the meeting, we sat by the fire discussing Roman topics. On the table in front of us were a number of snacks, including hard-boiled eggs, dried fruit with nuts, bread, and assorted olives.
        Quintius presented his collection of Ancient History magazines to us, including issues on Africa, ancient cities, and the Etruscans. He shared the steps which had to be taken to obtain copies, as they are published in Europe, and some of the features which made them such valuable reading. In particular, he pointed out that they do not recycle old artwork, as many publishers do, but instead commission new art to the highest standard of historical accuracy. Sibylla and I were temporarily distracted from the conversation by looking over these beautiful magazines with interest.
        Sibylla outlined the progress of her various theses on Mithraism, of which her article for the American Meteor Society in particular had advanced a great deal since we last met and was basically ready for publication. In connection with this topic, I asked two questions: firstly whether we were in touch with the creator of the
mithraism.info website. Secondly, I asked whether the fact that the Mithraic Liturgy had been scribed by a man for his daughter, as I had recently heard, had any bearing on what we should think about the gender-exclusivity of Mithraic rites, as what this document meant overall. Sibylla answered that she had not looked at the Liturgy in
depth, but that other Mithraists used it, including Patti, an attendee of MithraCon. Quintius mentioned a recent post by Patti on Roman Army Talk concerning the Roman Mithras as opposed to the Zoroastrian aspect of the god.
        Cindy, a friend and housemate of Sibylla, arrived at the house and joined us by the fire for a time. She opened a discussion on the presentation of the ancient world, as well as medieval times, in film. As it happened, one of the articles in the magazines Quintius had brought turned on this very topic, and we thought over what it had to say as well. Quintius commented on the excellence of the film Alexander, partly due to the creation of new period-appropriate props rather than recycling items from other movies of approximately (meaning "within a thousand
years") the same time period, one of the flaws the article had pointed out in the film it reviewed.
        We then went into the dining room for the main meal of the evening. In addition to all the items remaining from the spread by the fire, there was ham provided by Sibylla, and a kind of casserole made of eggs, vegetables, garum, and asafoetida made by Quintius. After that we served a nut tart with honey which I baked the night before. At the table, Sibylla and Quintius discussed events by the Society of Creative Anachronism, particularly a craft contest of which Sibylla was to be a judge. CT State Latin Day was also brought up.
        After dinner, Cindy retired for the night and the rest of us returned to our places beside the fire. We discussed ecological depletion in the Roman empire: the extinction of the European lion, of silphium, etc. We also brought up Cato the Younger, on whom there was a bit of disagreement. Quintius argued that he took political obstinacy to an
extreme and was himself partly responsible for the end of the Republic. I found him to be an admirable figure, although perhaps one whom it would be difficult to live with in practice. Both of us recommended the biography Rome's Last Citizen to Sibylla, who was not as familiar with this particular figure.