Free Republic

A little over 2,500 years ago, there lived a man named Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. If his name seems familiar, that's because one of the United States' great cities is named after him. Cincinnatus had served the Roman Republic in several capacities, including Consul of the Senate of Rome. But in 458 BC, the Roman Army was struggling to defeat the Aequi, an Italic tribe to the east of the city of Rome. Cincinnatus had retired to a farm, but when Rome called, he answered. He was appointed Dictator by the Roman Senate, giving him absolute power over the city -...

The far left’s disgraceful response to September 11—it has temporized about terror, embraced moral equivalence between the Islamist fanatics who killed thousands of innocent Americans and the military actions of the democratically elected U.S. government, and even blamed the U.S. for the atrocity—shows that its hatred of democratic capitalism and, more broadly, Western civilization itself remains fierce more than a decade after the collapse of socialism. The intensity of this hatred will come as no surprise, however, to anyone who has paid attention to the praise that the academic left and its sympathizers in the liberal media have been showering ...

Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield was not entertained when he visited the Colosseum in Rome. Hield was at an NBA Summer League game to watch the young players on the Warriors’ roster take on the Utah Jazz on Sunday night. The Warriors won the game 103-93, but it was Hield’s comments on his trip to Italy that caught the attention of the internet. "I was a little disappointed when I went to the Colosseum because I watched ‘Gladiator’ and I thought Maximus was a real warrior," he explained on the ESPN broadcast. "So, I’m going into the Colosseum screaming,...

A colossal marble head was uncovered beneath Rome's Via Alessandrina, according to a report by the Greek Reporter. The discovery was made during archaeological work near the heart of the ancient city that is aimed at removing a modern section of road separating the forums of Augustus, Trajan, and Nerva. The statue head was embedded in a layer of medieval brick and mortar, which suggests that it had been reused as building material centuries after the fall of Rome. Archaeologists believe that the sculpture dates to the reign of Trajan (a.d. 98–117) and may have once stood in his forum...

In the Louvre there’s a famous painting by the French Artist Jacques-Louis David depicting the Intervention of the Sabine Women. In it the Sabine men, whose daughters were stolen by and then married to Romans in the mid-8th century BC, returned to avenge Roman treachery and retrieve their offspring. The scene depicts a woman standing between the belligerents, imploring them to cease fighting: "If you are weary of these ties of kindred, these marriage-bonds, then turn your anger upon us; it is we who are the cause of the war, it is we who have wounded and slain our husbands...

The fall of the Western Roman Empire was an era, not an event. But those who lived through it had no doubt that it was a catastrophe. What was it like to live through the Fall of the Roman Empire? | 10:34 toldinstone | 583K subscribers | 316,756 views | August 19, 2022 0:00 Introduction 0:55 Reactions to the Fall of Rome 2:09 St. Germanus and Britain 3:27 St. Severinus and Noricum 4:39 HelloFresh 5:46 St. Severinus (cont.) 6:56 Sidonius Apollinaris and southern Gaul 8:31 Boethius and Italy

Israeli archaeologists working at a site outside of Caesarea uncovered an exquisitely carved marble sarcophagus that had been buried for nearly 1,700 years, according to a statement released by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). The Roman era coffin -- the first of its kind ever discovered in the region -- depicts a famous scene from mythology: a drinking contest between the god of wine, Dionysus (or Bacchus), and the legendary hero Hercules. A victorious Dionysus is surrounded by a lively retinue of attendants that includes lions, tigers, satyrs, Maenads, and the god Hermes. According to IAA archaeologist Nohar Shahar, the...

The dominant literary culture of the late 20th century loved to tear down the heroes of the past, focusing almost entirely on their flaws while belittling the virtues, beliefs, and deeds that made them worthy of admiration in the first place. I have written about this annoying tendency previously on several occasions, including here and here. In our own time, we are afflicted with a slightly different problem: cultural arbiters who know almost nothing about the great men and women who went before them, save the cherry-picked anecdotes that magically seem to support their political cause of the moment. It...

Transgenderism, decadence, sexual deviancy, and moral decay were all present in Rome when the republic became an empire. What could this mean for America, which faces similar problems right now?

0:00 - 2:52 - Intro and Orientation 2:53 - 5:00 - Roman Colonies 5:01 - 9:17 - The Rewards Veterans Got 9:18 - 12:11 - The End of Timgad The BEST Preserved Roman Colony in the World | 12:11 Street Gems | 38.4K subscribers | 1,223,791 views | May 2, 2024

Rome police detained a German tourist as he cruised down a street on a rented electric scooter with the marble base of a Roman column between his feet.Carabinieri officers spotted the 24-year-old tourist transporting the "souvenir" along Via Vittorio Veneto, an upmarket street near the Villa Borghese park, on Wednesday afternoon.The man was cited for possessing a "cultural asset of historical and artistic interest", according to a statement from the Carabinieri.Officers seized the marble base which will be subject to further checks to trace its site of origin.It was not clear how the tourist came into possession of the ancient...

The chestnut trees of Europe tell a hidden story charting the fortunes of ancient Rome and the legacy it left in the continent's forests. The ancient Romans left an indelible imprint on the world they enveloped into their empire. The straight, long-distance roads they built can still be followed beneath the asphalt of some modern highways. They spread aqueducts, sewers, public baths and the Latin language across much of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. But what's perhaps less well known is the surprising way they transformed Europe's forests. ... Romans had something of a penchant for sweet chestnut...

Want to know how long the new pope has been active in pro-life? - Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, was co-founder of the campus right-to-life organization “Villanovans for Life”—the oldest college pro-life club in the U.S. (he was Class of 1977)! @samuelhlee - @JennieMFL Love that our new Pope is a marcher for Life! 🎉🎈👏 - Robert Prevost @drprevost Marcha por la vida en Chiclayo. ¡Defendamos la vida humana en todo momento! - @CatHadro And in a sentence I never thought I would write - Pope Leo XIV once retweeted my husband’s news article. “Catholic group to Illinois...

Former President Obama congratulated Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, on his selection as the next pontiff for the Roman Catholic Church. “Michelle and I send our congratulations to a fellow Chicagoan, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV,’ Obama wrote in a Thursday post on X. “This is a historic day for the United States, and we will pray for him as he begins the sacred work of leading the Catholic Church and setting an example for so many, regardless of faith,” he added. Leo, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Prevost, holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Peru. He is...

New Pope Elected.

White smoke poured out of the Sistine Chapel chimney Thursday, signaling that a pope has been elected to lead the Catholic Church. That means the winner secured at least 89 votes of the 133 cardinals participating in the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis. The crowd in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers.

White smoke has risen above the Sistine Chapel, the signal that cardinals have chosen a new pope on the second day of the conclave.

This morning the Holy Mass "pro eligendo Romano Pontifice" took place. In his homily, Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re noted: We are here to invoke the help of the Holy Spirit, to implore his light and strength so that the Pope elected may be he whom the Church and humanity need at this difficult and complex turning point in history. That's an understatement. Certainly, the selection of the next head of the Holy See is of interest to Catholics and even non-Catholics given the influence a Pope can wield in non-church matters. For my part, I would like to see...

Have you ever walked through a city and wondered what might be hidden underneath? In this video, we explore the fascinating phenomenon of layered cities, where entire civilizations were built on top of one another. From the buried ruins beneath the Roman Forum and the Basilica of San Clemente to the multi-layered city of Troy and the sunken streets of Seattle, learn how history gets hidden underground and why street levels rise over time. Why Ancient Ruins Are Underground | 8:31 Primal Space | 1.54M subscribers | 85,234 views | May 3, 2025

Dozens of witnesses reportedly looked on in horror as a U.S. tourist visiting Rome screamed in pain after impaling himself on a metal fence at the Colosseum. The man — a 47-year-old American citizen living in Taiwan — was stabbed in the spine while attempting to climb over the historic monument's fence. He was possibly attempting to get a better view, according to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. Bystanders who saw the horrific event called for help as the tourist, stuck on the fence, screamed until he lost consciousness. Law enforcement and paramedics quickly arrived at the scene, but it took...