 Flashman14  | 05 Apr 2017 7:26 a.m. PST |
Watched the first two (and know nothing about
Ancients) – how many grains of salt should I take? 2? Do his views constitute a new academic concensus, or is the evidence on most of this history still inconclusive? Or are Roman chroniclers still the best? |
| Perris0707 | 05 Apr 2017 8:56 a.m. PST |
Did they have horns on their helmets? |
| Ed Mohrmann | 05 Apr 2017 9:42 a.m. PST |
I have enjoyed the series and always have been wary of
history written mostly by one side. Many 'barbarians' (so-called) are not necessarily styled
that by anthropologists. |
| Hafen von Schlockenberg | 05 Apr 2017 10:21 a.m. PST |
And of course was just the term those snooty Greeks used for anyone who couldn't speak "real" language, but instead just made meaningless noises,like "Barbarbar--". Later rehabilitated by the Beach Boys. |
| Fish | 05 Apr 2017 1:09 p.m. PST |
I've heard that the term barbarian was used for those who didn't mix their wine with water. |
| bilsonius | 06 Apr 2017 10:25 a.m. PST |
They're pretty good rugby players though… |
| Flashman14 | 06 Apr 2017 4:19 p.m. PST |
I confess, I'm kind of disappointed in the calibre of this thread. Nobody's seen it I gather? |
| Hafen von Schlockenberg | 06 Apr 2017 6:30 p.m. PST |
What,now we have to "see" something before we comment on it? Go 'long witchoo--this is TMP! |
| Oh Bugger | 07 Apr 2017 2:31 a.m. PST |
Yes, I have seen it. His starting point is that you may have thought, cos of the Romans, all these peoples were ignorant savages, but lo, they were not. Cue fine artifacts from said peoples and stuff that casts them in a better light. All of which is fair enough really. As tv goes its as good as you can expect, not read the book but I guess the same goes. |
| Bellbottom | 07 Apr 2017 4:41 a.m. PST |
I enjoyed both series and book |
| Gunfreak | 08 Apr 2017 8:05 a.m. PST |
I haven't seen the series but I've read the book. The book is quite good. But when he comes to the Greeks (that are classed as barbarians in the book) it gets quite speculative, more or less saying if Rome hadn't conquered Greece the industrial revolution might have started a 1000 years earlier.
The book is quite anti roman, which by it self ain't that bad given the general pro roman feeling most media shows. But it's very one sided making the Romans out to be boring and unimaginative. |
| williamb | 11 Apr 2017 9:49 p.m. PST |
I saw the one about Hannibal and Carthage. While okay as a starting point for someone who hasn't read anything about the subject there is the usual History Channel's portrayal of Hannibal as black when he was descended from eastern Mediterranean settlers. Recommend reading Polybius history which is available for free online. He was a house guest of the Scipio family not long after the Punic Wars. |
