the walls of mars

Canon-divergent RP blog for APH Rome. Ω. est. 18/06/18

[ex0skeletal]

Pro Tip: Instead of having feelings, try being dead inside. Everything is still horrible but you will not care at all.

[newlabours]

[mavortia-moenia]

zhunihaoyun‌:

Min groaned loudly; only halfway through did he remember to adjust his volume in the small space so the visitor at the door couldn’t hear. He threw his kitchen towel over his shoulder and adjusted the burner to simmer. His omelette could not burn. Something needed to go right in Min’s life this month. 

After washing his hands, Min made the short trip to his front door, which was much shorter than it took in his last house on the cul-de-sac with Lien. For now, at least it was just Min trying to fit in the space, since Lien hadn’t let the boy stay with him except for visits. 

For now. 

“Good morning,” Min said, trying to be chipper as he opened the door. It turned out to be the father from across the hall. They had only exchanged pleasantries as Min had moved in. “Can I help you?”

“Hey,” Luca said, squaring his shoulders as the door opened. He couldn’t help but notice that the boxes were gone, and the place was fully decorated. New curtains, a new couch, new plants and decorations. It already smelled of faint citrus and sage. Still, it held the aura of a house half-lived in. He honestly couldn’t tell if Min had lived there for years, or just moved in.

The placed seemed spacious and airy, much more so than his own, though the layout was identical. He wondered if his new neighbor would have any interior design tips. Though, he doubted no amount of decorating could undo the damage wrought by two four-year-old boys. His eyes shifted back to Min, hooked to attention by the question.

“I’m Luca,” he said. He adjusted the box of cannoli and offered a hand to Min. “Luca Prisco. I live across the hall. We kind of met yesterday. I was the one wrangling the two twins. I figured I should properly introduce myself.”

[historical-nonfiction]

A colossal status of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (r. 117 to 138 CE) found in the ruins of a bathhouse at Sagalossos, a Greco-Roman city in south-central Turkey. It is estimated the statue stood between 13 and 16 feet (4 and 5 meters) tall. 

That’s pretty big! It was an announcement of the power of Rome, personified by Rome’s divine emperor.

[whencyclopedia]

TRADE IN THE ROMAN WORLD: 

REGIONAL, inter-regional and international trade was a common feature of the Roman world. A mix of state control and a free market approach ensured goods produced in one location could be exported far and wide. Cereals, wine and olive oil, in particular, were exported in huge quantities whilst in the other direction came significant imports of precious metals, marble, and spices.

Generally speaking, as with earlier and contemporary civilizations, the Romans gradually developed a more sophisticated economy following the creation of an agricultural surplus, population movement and urban growth, territorial expansion, technology innovation, taxation, the spread of coinage, and not insignificantly, the need to feed the great city of Rome itself and supply its huge army wherever it might be on campaign.

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[arjuna-vallabha]

Pompei street shrine by SV.Bakalovich

[lionofchaeronea]

Bronze caliga (boot) from an over-life-size statue of a Roman cavalryman.  Now in the Varusschlacht Museum und Park Kalkriese, Germany.  Photo credit: Marcus Cyron.

[zhunihaoyun]

@mavortia-moenia

Chang’an, 10 BC

First of all, of course, I want to thank you for the collection of gifts. I am a bit surprised old Ardashir agreed to the arrangement… Someone else needs to build their own mail system, no? We cannot rely on he and the Kushans for everything. I grow tired of the gatekeeping, as I used to interact with your neighbors a lot more before they came to power. Perhaps you remember the Seleucids? Our collection of bronze work from them is only one example of our empire’s influence. 

I digress. I received the two glass bead bracelets and passed them along to my sister, who said they were beautiful. The golden rug is going in the center of the dining room we share. I think the cloth you provided I will turn into a gorgeous, warm-toned court outfit complete with hairpieces, so I can promote western wares when my politics inquire as to its origin. 

In return for your generosity, I am including a red silk robe of the highest quality, so you now know when the Parthians and Kushans are ripping your people off. I hope the measurements work for you. From the tiny portrait you provided, I cannot tell how tall your people are. I assume all empires must be about the same. I based the color off of your eyes, but if that displeases you, I also included a roll of black silk for you to cut however you wish. If some of your items did not arrive or some of mine do not, let me know. I have some sway over Ardashir.

Another thing I could not tell from your short note is what name to use. There seem to be four. I know we also have complex naming systems, so I am just Min. I have attached my own little court portrait. I await our next correspondence. 

[mavortia-moenia]

Romulus, admittedly, was a little surprised when a response did eventually come. Handing the letter to Ardashir felt like crumpling the parchment up and throwing it into the sea. Mercury, however, seemed to have different plans for this correspondence, plans out of Ardashir’s control. He blinked dumbly as he opened the letter, and stared at the foreign characters. He was wondering what in Dis he was expected to do with this, until Medus handed him another piece of parchment. Translated from Chinese, to Persian, to Latin, it was the only way he could understand his far-off penpal. 

He could only hope those translators were any reliable. Even translating Greek into Latin was a delicate art; he couldn’t imagine the liberties taken from translation to translation. What he didn’t need help understanding, though, were the gifts. Presents were a universal language. With wide eyes, he pulled the priceless fabrics out of their box. The black silk flowed through his fingers like ink. As he pulled out the red robe, he had to face the possibility that it probably wouldn’t fit. It was clearly cut for someone much slimmer than Romulus. He wonder if he knew anyone who could tailor silk...

Though he had been in the middle of something, he was too eager to reply. He shoved aside the invitations and requests, and pulled out a fresh piece of parchment. 

L. M. Priscus Romulus S.P.D.,

It seems I underestimated either your influence or Ardashir’s integrity. I wasn’t even waiting for a response when, suddenly, your letter was placed in my hand. As loathe as I am to admit it, I’m impressed. It appears everything made it safely to Rome, and even the box is unscathed. Should he stay on his side of the border, I may even pass along my compliments next time we meet.

I suppose I should begin by thanking you for your thoughtful gifts, which you no doubt went through some trouble to procure. I’m almost afraid to wear the robe for fear of tarnishing it. You must tell what you use to create that beautiful red; even my nicest tunic seems ruddy in comparison. And the fabric is so light! It’ll be nice to change into after a day spent shuffling around in a toga. Unlike your statesmen back home, mine would be none too happy to see me wrapped in fine foreign cloth. Nor do I trust many of them to keep their hands off it, were they to learn of its origins. 

However, I was unaware of your familiarity with my Argive neighbors. I’m surprised none of them has mentioned it to me -- they love nothing more than to talk about themselves. Though, I’ll admit, I am not exactly well-liked across the Adriatic. It has been quite some time since I’ve sat down and spoken with any one of them. I solve their little Macedonia problem, and all I get from them is the evil eye -- phy! 

Regardless, Greek bronze is prized even among us Romans. I haven’t the foggiest how manage to transport it halfway across the world. I can’t even host a dinner party without worrying about my own pieces.

And, my apologizes. I often forget the Roman system is confusing to most (though, in truth, I find the simplistic barbarian systems far more difficult! I can’t imagine a million Gaiuses running around with no way of classifying them!). You may call me Romulus. The other names are a formality, largely, derived from artificial ancestors, or otherwise unused. I am sure you know how that goes. Though, I don’t know how to tell the real Marii that I am not actually related to them. I just burrowed their nomen when I finalized the purchase of my first real Domus. I’ve used it ever since for legal documents.

However, I am more eager to learn about you than I am to discuss my own affairs. Ardashir was quite reluctant to share what he knew about you -- I suppose that’s how he’s kept a chokehold on our trade, by keeping you a secret from me. 

What is the climate like? How does your government work? What about Chinese art, and poetry? What do you do in your leisure? There’s simply so much I don’t know about your corner of the world.

Hopefully this letter finds you as faithfully as the last.

Ave, atque vale.

[mavortia-moenia]

sansarika‌:

“Romulus.” Kshama rolled the name around in her mouth in an attempt to reciprocate his pronunciation; she had little time to do so before she felt teeth graze her skin, as the tiger at her hand searched for a scrap of meat between her fingers. She always felt bad about pushing the creatures away when they wanted something — then again, it was best to take precautions when what they wanted could very well be a bite out of some part of her. Or Romulus, for that matter.

As covertly as possible, Kshama wiped her hand on her skirt before she glanced back to her company. It mattered not if there was gold woven into the fabric as long as she could still wash it, right.

The Roman man appeared to be just a palm’s width taller than she was, the same height as most of her own countrymen. That was a pleasant surprise, given that she’d half-expected him to be twice her size. Sunlight caught in her eyes as she followed the outlines of the shadows cast on his face by his own features.

Kshama managed to force casual disinterest on her face when Romulus looked to her so it wouldn’t seem like she was staring, but upon receiving a smile from him, she lit up with one of her own. “Thank you! Well,  I should say that you are welcome. And that these kittens are happy as they are with goat and deer, so you are almost as safe from them as I am.” She smiled sweetly as she listened to Romulus continue until a grimace pulled at her lips. “Human flesh is an… acquired taste of theirs, so do tell Octavian to make sure that the drama doesn’t get out of hand.”

Three of the four tigers had gone back to napping; Kshama rested a hand on a bar of their cage as she fixed her eyes on the one still nodding off. “There is still an amount of control necessary when it comes to theatrics, yes? Absolute chaos is never fun.” Well… “You are free to disagree with me on that, though. What do you do for fun in Rome?” A laugh. “Not wrangle the likes of tigers for the sake of entertainment, I hope.”

He eyed the tigers as Kshama spoke, wondering, how, exactly, she’d come to know that fact. With a wry smile, he realized that it was probably the same way he’d learned about lions and wolves. Though, he had to admit, it was a little odd to hear her, small as she was, refer to these beasts as kittens. He shifted his weight again, beginning find his ease with this new guest.

His eyes moved from the tigers, to Kshama. A little less afraid of being eaten, he was able to truly study her face for the first time. He had met Indian travelers before: occasionally they found their way into Roman marketplaces. There was something reminiscent of them in her face, in her clever eyes and deft hands.

Still, she carried none of the usual weariness of a foreign traveller. Her hair was carefully plaited, and she’d even put on makeup for the occasion. Furrowing his brow, Romulus ran a hand through his hair, hoping to bring order to the budding curls. He sighed inwardly. He hadn’t even left his own empire, and he probably looked as though he’d crawled out of Tartarus. He decided he deserved a degree of latitude, though -- he had just crawled out of thirty years of civil war.

Her voice brought him back to attention, and his hand flew back down to his side as he listened.

He couldn’t help a scoff, remembering a certain statesman in a chariot drawn by lions. On the other hand, he thought of temples and monuments, secretly dedicated to a god named the Curus Honorum. “In Rome,” he said, “nearly all chaos is deliberate.”

Realizing his frankness, he retracted. His eyes wandered over to Octavian, who was attempting to make conversations with Kshama’s entourage. Romulus felt just as clumsy, trying to wax poetic with yet another woman that read more than him. “...At least by someone, anyway. Cleaning up messes can be a lucrative business.”

He paused before addressing the question -- the answer being, well, not personally, and Romulus being apprehensive to admit that.

“That depends,” he equivocated. “When out east, however, I quite enjoy the theatre. Not that we don’t have it in Rome...The Greeks are simply better actors.”

[lionofchaeronea]

Ancient Roman statuette (Dolomitic marble) of the goddess Nemesis, with a “wheel of fortune” in her left hand and a conquered enemy beneath her right foot.  Her facial features and hairstyle resemble the empress Faustina the Elder (100-140 CE), wife of Antoninus Pius.  Artist unknown; ca. 150 CE.  Now in the Getty Villa, Malibu.  Photo credit: Marshall Astor/Wikimedia Commons.

[lionofchaeronea]

Ancient Roman gilded bronze mirror depicting the three Graces.  Artist unknown; mid-2nd cent. CE.  Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Photo credit:  © Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons.

[historyfilia-deactivated2025061]

Roman frescoes of birds from Villa Poppaea (Torre Annunziata), Italy

[donhfit-deactivated20190904]

[lionofchaeronea]

Ancient Roman sardonyx cameo depicting Venus and the dying Adonis.  Artist unknown; 1st century CE.  Now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.  Photo credit: Wolfgang Sauber/Wikimedia Commons.

[labentiasidera-deactivated20210]

Omnia fert aetas, animum, quoque.

Vergilius (Ecloga IX)

Time carries all away, the soul, too.

(via labentiasidera)

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Cameo Gem. Culture: Roman Date: A.D. 1st century Medium: Garnet

[aphancientsepics]

• Welcome to The Epics! •

We are a nationverse Ancientalia RP ring, deeply rooted in history! As a sideblog of @aphancientsagora​, which collects all APH Ancients creators, we decided to create a specific space for APH Ancients roleplayers, too. Like our main blog, we share the same values of education and inclusivity. 

It’s hard for Ancients RPers to find other Ancients, so we wanted to bring everyone together and create a fun community! That is why we are open to minors, OCs, and even duplicates! We will also host AU events and game nights.

Roleplayers accepted into the ring are automatically allowed to join The Nursing Home, our APH Ancients Discord server with a dedicated #roleplay channel. 

• Rules • How to Apply • Art Credit •

You could be RPing with: Ancient Greece • Carthage • China • Illyria • India • Rome

You could RP yourself: Ancient Egypt • Aztecs • Britannia • Celt • Gaul • Germania • Iberia • Inca • Macedon • Maya • Mesopotamia • Mongolia • Persia • Phoenicia • Pontus • Tibet • Turkey • Vietnam • and many more!