What image comes to mind when I say “book”? If you’re like most people, you think of separate pages bound together, with a cover. Known as the “codex,” this has been the most common form of a book for the past two millennia. The codex is a book constructed of a number of sheets of paper, vellum, papyrus, or similar …
Two Are Better than One
Many try to make something of the fact that when Paul refers to the couple he usually places her name first—unusual for the time. We’d be better off noting that they are never mentioned separately.
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 …
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi
My next two books take place in the first century AD. I’m sure you know Rome ruled the world then. The Roman Empire is almost a character itself in these books, so I thought I’d share a little bit about it today. Here is the 5-minute recap of 2200 years. Long before the Empire, there existed the Roman Kingdom, starting …