+++
title = "The History Of Rome - nihil novi"
author = ["George M Jones"]
publishDate = 2020-08-22
lastmod = 2023-12-06T05:46:16-05:00
tags = ["life", "history", "100DaysToOffload", "rome"]
categories = ["blog"]
draft = false
+++
I've been listening to "[The History of Rome](https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2007/07/index.html)" podcast recently. There
is nothing new under the sun: Plagues (er, "pandemics"), riots,
xenophobia, wars, greed, ambition, and political factions.
It's filling in a lot of gaps and details for me. I would recommend
if you're interested in history. Today's basic problems are not new.
{{< figure src="/ox-hugo/legoRoman.jpg" caption="Figure 1: Life-Size Lego Roman Soldier, Lego Store, Rome, 2019" width="200px" >}}
Post 22 #100DaysToOffload
- Why was Mark Twain's home town named for a general who ultimately
lost? (hit, he spent 10 years wondering around Italy conquering
everything but Rome itself and his tactics are still studied in
military schools).
- Where did Tolkien get the idea for war "Oliphants"? (related to
the last question).
- What is a Pyrrhic Victory? (hint: the kind you don't want many of)
- What happens when you move from a democratic society made up of a
broad base of citizens with wide distribution of wealth (farms)
to one where most of the wealth is held in a few hands (hint:
Jefferson and the other American founders had seen where that
lead and thus championed the idea of the "Yoeman farmer")
- How do you accomplish land (wealth) reform and not get killed?
Ask the Gracci, wait, they were both killed. Ask the American
Indians, wait, wait...
- What happens when the reward structure for civic and military
leaders morphs from community-minded civic responsibility to
personal power bases and personal enrichment? (you get Caesar
... who gave us the basic calendar we use to this day ... and
**then** got killed)
- Is peace under military dictatorship (the "Pax Romana") worth the
loss of freedom? [What **have** the Romans ever done for us?](https://youtu.be/Y7tvauOJMHo)