This week on the blog: Coins! Contrasting historical coinage with the vision of ancient coinage presented through 'gold' in fantasy fiction.
What were coins used for, why did much economic activity remain non-coinage and what do you use when you aren't using coins?
https://acoup.blog/2025/01/03/collections-coinage-and-the-tyranny-of-fantasy-gold/
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This week on the blog: Bread and Circuses! We look at both the context of the original line where this common phrase comes from and also assess its meaning: do the common understandings of it (decline! luxury! control!) fit with either Juvenal's meaning or Roman history?
https://acoup.blog/2024/12/20/collections-on-bread-and-circuses/
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This week on the blog: closing thoughts on Gladiator II and how it treats the city of Rome, the Colosseum and gladiators and the Severan dynasty.
In particular, we look at why the real, historical Caracalla is history's crushing rebuttal to this film's own themes.
https://acoup.blog/2024/12/13/collections-nitpicking-gladiator-ii-part-ii/
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This week on the blog, Gladiator II nitpicking!
There was so much to grouse about that wouldn't fit into a review, so this week we're looking at dates, equipment and battles (next week is Rome, gladiators and emperors).
https://acoup.blog/2024/12/06/collections-nitpicking-gladiator-ii-part-i/
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This week on the blog, armor!
We're discussing body armor in speculative fiction (mostly sci-fi, particular Dune and Mass Effect), both some of the problems with the way it is depicted and structured and also some the reasons I think those visual tropes exist.
https://acoup.blog/2024/11/29/collections-the-problem-with-sci-fi-body-armor/
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My review of Gladiator II (2024) is now up at Foreign Policy!
I confess I didn't much like the film. As history, its nonsense, but we knew it would be. But its also weak as a movie, reenacting its better predecessor rather than telling a new story.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/11/26/gladiator-ii-review-movie-history-ancient-rome/
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This week on the blog: Roman names! A (relatively) brief fireside discussing how standard Roman names form, for the benefit of the public in general and Ridley Scott (who in 24 years, still hasn't figured it out) in particular.
https://acoup.blog/2024/11/22/fireside-friday-november-22-2024-roman-naming-conventions/
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Last week on the blog! (I forgot to post it): Afterlife of the Roman Republic!
A look at the continued existence of Rome's republican institutions in the imperial period, particularly the principate (31BC-284AD) - to what degree did they endure and why?
https://acoup.blog/2024/11/08/collections-the-afterlife-of-the-roman-republic/
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What is fascism - and does Donald Trump's rhetoric and positions qualify? Does Trumpism qualify?
And if yes, what does that mean?
https://acoup.blog/2024/10/25/new-acquisitions-1933-and-the-definition-of-fascism/
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In case you missed it on the blog (I forgot to post it here) - last week was the final part of our discuss of @PdxInteractive ancient grand strategy game Imperator.
To close out, we looked at how Imperator simulates the collapse of the Roman Republic. https://acoup.blog/2024/08/31/collections-teaching-paradox-imperator-part-iiib/
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