I know they're universal structures, but somehow, I never envision huts in Italy, but what else would early people's build? Caves, on the other hand, were, somehow fit my schema of Italians (as stone lovers).
Thank you, thank you, thank you. TY for your wonderful, to the point videos. TY for not playing "historical fantasy football". TY for being an academic who freely says "we think", "no one knows for sure", "most likely", etc. Such a breathe of fresh air that you do not try to come across all knowing and pontificating. TY for constantly reminding your audience that the Romans were not any one thing and for never over simplifying them into nice easy to define characterures. If more teachers had your groundedness, history class would be much more interesting and understandable. And finally, TY for teaching history, as in the history of humans. Most too often teach history as if we were watching sports center.
Despite knowing the Aeneas and RnR myth i had to watch, keep going with the vids I admire your work ethic! I really wish you the best man your passion for the subject is sooo infectious.
thank you for the series, very interssting, love it. question: can somone who owns a house in rome , dig in his basement and use the old roman basement as a room ? and can you show how old roman walls are inside a living house ? do today ppl still live in rooms or houses build by the romans ?
Great questions. All such activities have to monitored by authorities, after obtaining permission. Same goes for modern building projects. All discoveries are the property of Italy.
Darius, I suspect a factual history is near to impossible to pull from the origin mythology. But has it been done? Is there a book you recommend for anyone who's attempted to write such a narrative?
All the Roman kings were actually Etruscan to guarantee some impartiality. Rome was founded at a crossing of trade roads and fresh water, in the unsettled swamp areas between the Latins and the Etruscans. There was an active competition between between kings to give the best conditions to the highly mobile, mostly peasant population. All the later misery of Rome with slavery, uncontrolled wealth accumulation and several citzen walkouts only starts after the oligarchic takeover by< the senate.
Do Italians think you're Italian? I did. If you didn't have such an American way of speaking, no one would know (from looking at you), that you're not Italian or at least Western European.
I was never able to take the Aeneid seriously. It just feels way too much like it was made up to legitimize Roman rule and conquests, and to make the Romans feel good about themselves. It's a beautiful epic poem, but it stinks of propaganda so badly I can't for one second consider it seriously. Homer's epics at least have the merit of being clouded behind real historical event.
It can be said that for the one-man effort - at one time- commenting on the current political vibe as well as addressing the threads of history and mythology- it was an epic undertaking! We admire it!
