We meet the hero of Deep Calling Deep, the historical figure Praetorian Prefect Sextus Burrus, as he is questioning the brutality of Rome. Crucifixion was used throughout Rome’s history as more than a form of execution. It was torture, plain and simple. There are a plethora of places to read about the specifics of this particularly horrible death. Suffice it …
Paul’s Top Ten
Deep Calling Deep takes place while Paul was under house arrest in Rome. He was confined to rented quarters for two years. But he was not alone—and I’m not talking about the guard that was chained to him 24/7. The letters he wrote during this time mention at least ten people who spent some time with him in his prison-home. …
Ten Things Almost Every Movie About Rome Gets Wrong
Hollywood loves Ancient Rome. Who doesn’t? It would be hard to find a greater source of pomp, brutality, action, and personality than Rome. But apparently, sometimes Hollywood feels the need to embellish—leading to lots of myths, misconceptions and just plain errors that are often taken as fact. I give you ten. First, my pet peeve: Roman men did not fight …
The Ancient Father
Yesterday was Father’s Day. I was thinking about fathers, and my next books which are set in ancient Rome. So then I thought about dads in Rome. Then I thought about how different God our Heavenly Father is from father in ancient Rome. Yeah, weird, I know. But that’s how my mind works when I’m in the middle of a …
No, Not the Star Wars Kind: 11 Fast Facts About the Praetorian Guard
Whenever a movie or book has an army, there’s almost always some kind of elite group that serve as the guardians of the leader, whether good or bad. And they’re usually called the Praetorian Guard. The real Praetorian Guard (cohortes praetorianae) was an elite unit of the Imperial Roman army. They were part bodyguard, part secret police, part soldier. Originally, the Praetorians were elite guards …
10 Interesting Facts About Roman Housing
The ancient Romans created magnificent buildings, both public and private. Here are 11 facts you might not have known. Architecture up to this point had yielded buildings that were beautiful, but necessarily on a smaller scale due to the weight of the materials. Roman concrete, the innovation of the arch, and vaulting allowed the Romans to build truly beautiful, massive buildings. As far as …
When in Rome…
In ancient Rome, everything revolved around status. Man or woman, free or slave, citizen or not. Everyone had to be cataloged and visibly identified. Every aspect of your life was determined by your status, and there were mutiple, overlapping levels. Three kinds of people inhabited the Roman Empire: Senators or patricians Equestrians or knights Plebians For the most part, this was determined by …
She is Clothed with Strength and Dignity
In honor of Mother’s Day, I thought we’d learn a little about mothers in Rome in general, and a couple of the more famous mothers. Matrimonium has in it the word mater—mother. The supreme purpose of marriage in ancient Rome was to produce legitimate children—citizens who could serve Rome. Everything else in society revolved around this idea. Women received only a …
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