Free Republic

The Roman ideology of slavery is not racialized. It's not like the Romans think that the Greeks or the Germans are like some fundamentally separate kind of human that justifies their exploitation. The Roman ideology of slavery is really rooted in the law of property and status. So they think that slaves are people who've been conquered and rather than killed, they've been spared and they've been sold into the condition of being somebody else's property. And this seems to mentally explain to them where their slave system comes from and why it's justifiable. It's sort of like disturbing in...

Finestre Sull'Arte reports that during new construction work for MiQua, the future LVR-Jewish Museum currently being built near the city's historic center, excavations revealed several important and well-preserved structures associated with the site's early Roman settlement. These include an exceptional second-century a.d. lararium, a type of domestic shrine dedicated to protective household deities known as Lares. This altar was located in the area of the former Praetorium, which served as the palace for the Roman governor, and is the first of its kind ever found north of the Alps. The archaeological team also uncovered the remains of a fourth-century a.d....

For once, new research on the ruins of the Roman city of Pompeii is not focusing on the destructive aftermath of the infamous Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 CE. Instead, it centers on the creative acts preceding it. After taking a closer look at the city's construction projects, a team from MIT believes that ancient Rome's legendary concrete recipe might need a major historical revision.When ancient Roman architecture comes to mind, the columns and coliseums are generally the first things that pop into your head. These structures were often built using Roman concrete -- and that material traces back to...

As a general rule, once a city erects turnstiles to tourist attractions which were once free to visit, it is time to go elsewhere. Never more so than in the case of Rome. Last week the Italian capital introduced a €2 charge to visit the Trevi Fountain. Tight-fisted tourists like me will still be able to see the Trevi from a distance – it happens to stand in a public street. The charge will be only for sad Instagrammers who want to get close enough to chuck their coins in the water. The city’s tourism department has suggested the fee...

In the mountains of Pontos in Anatolia another Byzantine / Roman state clung on for years after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. But, the Empire of Trebizond was conquered by the Ottomans on August 15, 1461, after over 250 years since it became independent from Constantinople. They had been a unique Roman refuge in Anatolia, surviving the threats of Seljuks and Mongols. They remained as the rest of Anatolia was conquered by the Turks. But they had got on the list of targets of Sultan Mehmed II, and they were destined to be under the rule of Constantinople again...

Historians never tire of analyzing the fall of Rome. There were many causes, but an oft-neglected one is the corruption of the Roman family and the related population collapse that occurred in the centuries before the empire’s fall. Rome’s original greatness depended in part on its commitment to family. A classic Roman virtue extolled in the quintessential Roman poem the “Aeneid,”—was “pietas” or “piety.” This term referred to deep devotedness to one’s family, particularly one’s parents, as well as gods and country. Early Romans valued marriage, fidelity, honor, and looked down on self-indulgence. Their successes must be attributed, at least...

Vatican confirms controversial restaurant plan for St. Peter’s Basilica terraceSeveral prelates, speaking anonymously, expressed reservations about the idea of groups of visitors eating and drinking above the tomb of St. Peter.The Vatican has confirmed plans to expand a refreshment area into a restaurant on the terrace of St. Peter’s Basilica, with a possible opening in 2026 to coincide with the basilica’s 400th anniversary.On Thursday, Italian newspaper Il Messaggero revealed the existence of top‑secret works on the terrace of St. Peter’s Basilica involving the construction of a bistro. Today, amid strong misgivings from priests and bishops about the appropriateness of treating...

It's not often life gives nations real second chances when it comes to the big things, but in America’s case it did. My only hope is that we don’t squander it… or to be more precise, I hope Donald Trump doesn’t squander it. The 2026 midterms are less than a year away, that makes what he does in the next six to eight months monumentally important. The bottom line is, does he want to be consequential or just well known? Julius Caesar is easily one of the most well-known men in history, but was he really that consequential? The truth...

The Gospel Coalition (TGC) sounded the alarm over a growing number of Protestant intellectuals, pastors, and influencers converting to the Catholic faith. Written by TGC’s Andrew Voigt, the article is framed as a strategic response to stem the tide of conversions. It warns of the effectiveness of Catholic apologetics, particularly online, and urges Protestants to develop a more robust counter-narrative. According to Voigt, Protestant apologetics has focused more on addressing atheism and secularism while Catholic evangelization efforts have been more directly aimed at engaging Protestants. An Italian Protestant pastor, Leonardo De Chirico, is quoted in Voigt’s article as saying that...

The Pope’s interfaith rhetoric collapses against Europe’s blood-soaked reality, revealing a globalist agenda that demands Christian nations surrender to the very forces destroying them. The Pope’s interfaith rhetoric collapses against Europe’s blood-soaked reality, revealing a globalist agenda that demands Christian nations surrender to the very forces destroying them. On his carefully orchestrated “interfaith” tour through Turkey and Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV was confronted with a question he could no longer avoid: whether Islam threatens the Christian identity of the West. The Pope was asked a serious and unavoidable question: “Is Islam a threat to the Christian identity of the West?”...

An on-site tour of the spectacular Villa San Marco in the town of Stabiae near to Pompeii. The villa was destroyed int he eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, which helped perserve its fabulous art and archaeology. Preserved in Ash: The Villa San Marco Near Pompeii | 13:26 Archaeology with Flint Dibble | 77.5K subscribers | 5,673 views | October 10, 2025

An amateur metal detectorist profoundly believes in that maxim and it came true when he uncovered up to 15,000 Roman coins buried in a hoard that could be Wales' biggest-ever treasure find.The BBC reports David Moss, 36, from Cheshire, made the discovery that left him in disbelief after he dug up up two clay pots in an undisclosed northern part of the country.But the epic find in a muddy field left him fearing they could be stolen, so he slept with the treasure in his car for three days before taking the coins to experts, the BBC notes.The coins are...

The woman (Babylon) of Revelation 17 is described as “arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness:...and upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots.” Says the prophet: “I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” Babylon is further declared to be “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” Revelation 17:4-6, 18. The power that for so many...

The historic Torre dei Conti in Rome, Italy, partially collapsed twice on Monday during renovations, trapping at least one worker in the rubble and critically injuring another. These videos show the moment of the second collapse and its aftermath. Medieval building partially collapses in Rome | 8:53 CBS News | 6.82M subscribers | 46,740 views | November 3, 2025

Live Science reports that analysis of the skeletons of seven men recovered from a well in eastern Croatia in 2011 suggests that they are the remains of Roman soldiers who fought in the Battle of Mursa in A.D. 260. "Presumably, all of the individuals were stripped of any valuables -- weapons, armor, equipment, jewelry, etc. -- before they were thrown into the well," said bioarchaeologist Mario Novak of the Institute for Anthropological Research in Zagreb. He and his colleagues determined that all of the remains represented adult men, four of whom were younger and three who were middle-aged at the...

The Feast of All Saints as we know it today has its origins in that period of chaos and transition between Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. One of the milestones in the development of the Feast took place in the year AD 608 when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the formerly pagan temple known as the Pantheon in Rome to Our Lady and All the Saints. The Pantheon, of course, is that marvelous architectural monument to Roman ingenuity which has somehow managed to survive the scourge of time and come down to us practically intact. Originally built as a...

Rare Roman legionary helmet sparks international debate over cultural heritage and illicit antiquities tradeA rare Roman legionary helmet of extraordinary historical significance, reportedly unearthed near the ancient city of Sirmium in northern Serbia, has appeared for sale on a private online auction in the United States—under circumstances that Serbian experts describe as deeply suspicious.The bronze helmet, a well-preserved Weisenau-type or “Imperial-Gallic” model dating from the 2nd century A.D., features an extended neck guard and elaborately decorated hinged cheekpieces designed to balance protection and mobility. What makes it truly unique is a punched inscription on the neck guard: “APPIVS°LEG°IIII°FL,” identifying it...

Vatican Creates Muslim Prayer RoomHow many Christian prayer rooms are there in Mecca?Pope Leo has been vocally championing the Muslim mass invasion of Europe, so at least he’s being consistent.Muslim scholars visiting the Vatican Apostolic Library are being accommodated with prayer spaces, its Vice Prefect has confirmed.Fr Giacomo Cardinali, Vice Prefect, said in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that Muslim academics had requested a small area in which to pray, and the library had agreed. “Some Muslim scholars have asked us for a room with a carpet for praying and we have given it to them,” he...

['Civ: spoiler alert, nah.]Boudica Is Buried Under This Roundabout. | 12:42 History on Your Doorstep | 1.39K subscribers | 66,248 views | August 30, 2025 Edited & Produced by Niamh McGrath With Thanks to Duncan Mackay St Albans Museums

More than two decades ago, Ukrainian and Polish archaeologists unearthed an exquisitely carved marble head of a female statue at the ancient Greek site of Chersonesus on the Crimean Peninsula. The artist skillfully rendered the woman's features with a hint of both Greek idealism and Roman realism, which prompted researchers to wonder who exactly the sculpture was meant to depict. La Brújula Verde reports that researchers have recently scrutinized many aspects of the sculpture -- including its date, design, execution, and archaeological context -- to finally ascertain the mystery woman's identity. Researchers determined the statue likely represents an aristocratic woman...