I am currently reading the letters of Cicero. It is a good read. Cicero was, of course, a statesman; a great orator, lawyer and thinker. But he was also vain and rather insecure - I haven't read far into the book yet, but a thread that is starting to develop are his loving references to his consulship (63BC), during which he defeated the Catiline Conspiracy. It is quite amusing but also indicative of the kind of society that Late Republican Rome was. Cicero was a novus homo - a New Man. He couldn't rely on family history of connections to win him advancement - only his own talents. Yet such was the importance of being from one of Rome's old families that even though Cicero was supremely talented, I think he could not enjoy his success because he wanted the love of those who really mattered - the Claudii, Metellii et al.
On another note, this afternoon I visited the local kebab shop to buy some fish and chips for lunch. On the menu was Iskendar Kebab. Iskender? Very similar to Isk
ander, the Persian name for Alexander the Great. So, I asked the young man behind the counter if Iskender was another variation on the name. Sure enough! There you are - conquer the known world and get a kebab named after you.
I am currently reading the letters of Cicero. It is a good read. Cicero was, of course, a statesman; a great orator, lawyer and thinker. But he was also vain and rather insecure - I haven't read far into the book yet, but a thread that is starting to develop are his loving references to his consulship (63BC), during which he defeated the Catiline Conspiracy. It is quite amusing but also indicative of the kind of society that Late Republican Rome was. Cicero was a novus homo - a New Man. He couldn't rely on family history of connections to win him advancement - only his own talents. Yet such was the importance of being from one of Rome's old families that even though Cicero was supremely talented, I think he could not enjoy his success because he wanted the love of those who really mattered - the Claudii, Metellii et al.
On another note, this afternoon I visited the local kebab shop to buy some fish and chips for lunch. On the menu was Iskendar Kebab. Iskender? Very similar to Iskander, the Persian name for Alexander the Great. So, I asked the young man behind the counter if Iskender was another variation on the name. Sure enough! There you are - conquer the known world and get a kebab named after you.
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