by Richard Barager | Oct 13, 2026 | The Early Roman Republic
The forlorn painting above by Jean-Frédéric Schall depicts the fate of a Vestal Virgin found guilty of breaking her chastity vow—live burial in an underground chamber, with a small amount of food and water. The chastity of the priestesses of Vesta was thought to...
by Richard Barager | Sep 29, 2026 | The Early Roman Republic
The legend of Gaius Marcius Coriolanus, as related by Livy in the History of Early Rome, takes place between 493 and 488 BC. Shakespeare’s Coriolanus and a film adaptation of it starring Ralph Fiennes are but two of many treatments of the tale, ranging from early...
by Richard Barager | Sep 22, 2026 | Book Updates
Check out the latest book review of The Twelve Tables, from BlueInk! The Twelve Tables Richard Barager Koehler Books, 282 pages, (paperback) $19.95, 9798897475230 (Reviewed: September 2026) In The Twelve Tables, Richard Barager delves into a chapter...
by Richard Barager | Sep 14, 2026 | The Early Roman Republic
Patrician control of land to the exclusion of plebeians lay at the core of social strife between the orders of Rome. The story of Spurius Cassius Viscellinus is a stark reminder of how furiously the ruling class fought to retain its grip on the land. Cassius...
by Richard Barager | Sep 2, 2026 | The Early Roman Republic
Parable of the Belly By 494 BC, debt slavery in Rome had become as tyrannical as the king that had been overthrown just fifteen years before, at the founding of the Roman Republic. Nexum, or debt bondage, reached crisis levels for plebeian soldiers fighting in...
