09-25-2007, 10:21 AM
Hello all. As you can see I'm new here, and I have posted in the Roman section already for info about the Roman republican army, I was directed to the books in the indispensable list and they have served me very well.
(Mostly by giving me confirmation on a lot I already knew about and bringing in all the new knowledge cleanly.)
However, they all seem to lack in general and military information when it comes to the second century, always stopping for the Greeks at the death of Alexander and for the Romans lacking after the battle of zama before picking up again with the Marius reforms and then with Sulla. I posted here because I need so many different forms of information about two different things.
The first being mostly solved but still in some concern, the Romans, (mainly their army), but also the city itself has been difficult to grasp, I keep seeing the mighty Rome of Augustus, but this isn't helping, I need a snap shot of it in the middle of the second century BC. Also, more frustratingly, is the matter of Greece proper, or hellas itself I guess would be the term, in these years, particularly about the state of the former poleis (Achaean league) and the state of the Macedonian successor kingdom, particularly between the defeat of Perseus and the official Roman provincial establishment in 146BC.
This is proving very difficult because the reason I need this information is because I am writing a book which has its setting in Greece at this time. Therefore, if any credibility is to be had, I must know a fair amount of practical knowledge I will be able to reproduce. I know there are limitations in archeology and written history, (I have read Polybius). I really don't need as much military and political history as much as I need practical history. Such as the state of Athens and Corinth as cities, I have plenty of info of them at their peaks 200 years earlier, but 200 years is a long time and although I realize change would happen much slower then than now, I still can't bring myself to make the assumption that everything was frozen. The flagship buildings of the cities that are still around aren't the problem, it is everything else that could've changed that is. Also, I have a good idea of Athens and Sparta as societies, but what about Corinth? Thebes? and even about Argos and Delphi? The largest problem here is trying to wrap my brain around the effect on the Greek world when it conquered all of the near and middle eastern world, all of the culture and idea swapping must of had an effect even back in hellas, not to mention the Romans. Everything from the state of the former city-states to the question of any sort of Macedonian army existing after Perseus defeat, (because there was a Fourth Macedonian war but my conception is vague at best) to the basic mind set of someone living in one of those cities with the political roller coaster resulting from the change in hands of power from the successor kingdoms to the Romans.
In the end this is a tall order and because of the reason given (Setting for fiction "Note: This is by no means whatsoever a piece of historical fiction, I just have too much love and respect for the time to represent it poorly") I need to have a understanding of the time, it needs to be very specific, things that happened before that can help give context are fine, but anything that happens after 145BC is irrelevant to me. All I am asking is any sort of reference anyone could give me as to the overall state of hellas in the first half of the second century and the state of Rome the city in this same time would be immensely helpful and I would be very grateful. To give dates I would say between 200BC-140BC.
This project has come to the point to where in order to do it full justice I would have to go all the way to graduate school on the subject, but this just isn't an option, so I will have to take the little time I am allotted to work on this project to do as much personal research on it as I can.
Thanks for the help I have already been given and anymore will be most appreciated.
(Mostly by giving me confirmation on a lot I already knew about and bringing in all the new knowledge cleanly.)
However, they all seem to lack in general and military information when it comes to the second century, always stopping for the Greeks at the death of Alexander and for the Romans lacking after the battle of zama before picking up again with the Marius reforms and then with Sulla. I posted here because I need so many different forms of information about two different things.
The first being mostly solved but still in some concern, the Romans, (mainly their army), but also the city itself has been difficult to grasp, I keep seeing the mighty Rome of Augustus, but this isn't helping, I need a snap shot of it in the middle of the second century BC. Also, more frustratingly, is the matter of Greece proper, or hellas itself I guess would be the term, in these years, particularly about the state of the former poleis (Achaean league) and the state of the Macedonian successor kingdom, particularly between the defeat of Perseus and the official Roman provincial establishment in 146BC.
This is proving very difficult because the reason I need this information is because I am writing a book which has its setting in Greece at this time. Therefore, if any credibility is to be had, I must know a fair amount of practical knowledge I will be able to reproduce. I know there are limitations in archeology and written history, (I have read Polybius). I really don't need as much military and political history as much as I need practical history. Such as the state of Athens and Corinth as cities, I have plenty of info of them at their peaks 200 years earlier, but 200 years is a long time and although I realize change would happen much slower then than now, I still can't bring myself to make the assumption that everything was frozen. The flagship buildings of the cities that are still around aren't the problem, it is everything else that could've changed that is. Also, I have a good idea of Athens and Sparta as societies, but what about Corinth? Thebes? and even about Argos and Delphi? The largest problem here is trying to wrap my brain around the effect on the Greek world when it conquered all of the near and middle eastern world, all of the culture and idea swapping must of had an effect even back in hellas, not to mention the Romans. Everything from the state of the former city-states to the question of any sort of Macedonian army existing after Perseus defeat, (because there was a Fourth Macedonian war but my conception is vague at best) to the basic mind set of someone living in one of those cities with the political roller coaster resulting from the change in hands of power from the successor kingdoms to the Romans.
In the end this is a tall order and because of the reason given (Setting for fiction "Note: This is by no means whatsoever a piece of historical fiction, I just have too much love and respect for the time to represent it poorly") I need to have a understanding of the time, it needs to be very specific, things that happened before that can help give context are fine, but anything that happens after 145BC is irrelevant to me. All I am asking is any sort of reference anyone could give me as to the overall state of hellas in the first half of the second century and the state of Rome the city in this same time would be immensely helpful and I would be very grateful. To give dates I would say between 200BC-140BC.
This project has come to the point to where in order to do it full justice I would have to go all the way to graduate school on the subject, but this just isn't an option, so I will have to take the little time I am allotted to work on this project to do as much personal research on it as I can.
Thanks for the help I have already been given and anymore will be most appreciated.
Patrick Orlando
