Romans in fiction by Poul Anderson and Neil Gaiman inspired me to request Gaiman's source, The Twelve Caesars, from the Public Library. Understanding of how an author has woven diverse historical data into a coherent narrative enhances our appreciation of his fiction.
Other but not unrelated Romans in fiction:
Alan Moore's Top 10 series has a parallel Earth where the Roman Empire has survived into the twentieth century, the first visual clue being a Police Commissioner wearing a head-band engraved with "SPQR." Their "barbaric" customs ask newly arrived travellers whether they are carrying any strange gods. ("Barbaric" is a joke by a "Praet" (Praetorian guard/cop).)
At Blog Central, we have just received our copy of SM Stirling's To Turn The Tide. The AFTERWORD mentions the following relevant earlier works:
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I agree, Anderson felt no need to include details on grotesqueries analogous to what we see in Petronius Arbiter's SATYRICON, like Trimalchio's Banquet.
I am not sure Moore was right having Praetorian guardsmen becoming police officers. The Rome of Marcus Aurelius had a watch/fire-fighting service called "vigiles." An updated Roman police force would seem more likely to be still called vigiles.
I'm glad Stirling mentioned Anderson in the Afterword for TO TURN THE TIDE. I look forward to any comments you make about that book.
Ad astra! Sean
Note that the "Twelve Caesars" was written from an implicitly Republican tradition...
The Roman aristocracy loved the Republic because they essentially ran it.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Absolutely! Readers need to be alert to the biases of writers like Suetonius and Tacitus. And read them with a grain of salt.
Power is what matters to many, many people. Not noble, high-faluting platitudes. (Snorts!)
Ad astra! Sean
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