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Fireside this week! Originally, I was thinking I’d talk about the ‘future of classics’ question in this space, but I think that deserves a full post (in connection with this week’s book recommendation and the next fireside’s book recommendation), so instead this week I want to talk a little about foreign policy realism, what it … Continue reading Fireside Friday, June 27, 2025 (On the Limits of Realism) →
This week at long last we come to the clash of men and horses as we finish our three-part (I, II, III) look at the iconic opening battle scene from the film Gladiator (2000). Last time, we brought the sequence up through the infantry advance, observing that the tactics of the Roman arrow barrage and … Continue reading Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator’s Iconic Opening Battle, Part III →
This week we’re continuing our three-part (I) look at one of film’s most famous Roman battle sequences, the iconic opening battle from Gladiator (2000). I had planned this to be in two parts, but even though this sequence is relatively short, it provides an awful lot to talk about. As noted last week, this iconic … Continue reading Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator’s Iconic Opening Battle, Part II →
This week, we’re going to take a close look at arguably the most famous and recognizable Roman battle sequence in film: the iconic opening battle from Gladiator (2000). Despite being a relatively short sequence (about ten minutes), there’s actually enough to talk about here that we’re going to split it over two weeks, talking about … Continue reading Collections: Nitpicking Gladiator’s Iconic Opening Battle, Part I →
Hey all, we’re doing a Fireside this week! For this week’s musing, I thought it might be worthwhile – this being a frequent space for military history – to offer a brief outline of professional military education (PME) in the United States, which is to say the various stages by which US officers are academically … Continue reading Fireside Friday, May 30, 2025 (On Professional Military Education) →
More in history
‘The Big Hop’ by David Rooney review JamesHoare Mon, 06/30/2025 - 08:00
In 218 BCE, war broke out between Rome and Carthage, the two largest powers in the Western Mediterranean. What Rome expected to be a quick and easy war turned out to be a long, bitter, and costly conflict that would claim the lives of many brave Romans. The Romans suffered several major defeats during […]
“The comity of European peoples went to pieces when, and because, it allowed its weakest member to be excluded and persecuted.” – Hannah Arendt, We Refugees, 1943 Hannah Arendt (October 14, 1906–December 4, 1975) was a German Jew who escaped the Holocaust, became an American citizen and saw some of the leading Nazis … Continue reading "Hannah Arendt on Jews, Refugees And Suicide, 1943" The post Hannah Arendt on Jews, Refugees And Suicide, 1943 appeared first on Flashbak.
Beneath the foundations of the legendary Spartan political system labored the oppressed Messenians. Messenia, a prosperous corner of southwestern Greece, was conquered by the Spartans in the 8th century BCE. Its population, along with elements of the Spartan region of Lakonia, were transformed into slaves, known as the Helots. For centuries, the Helots did […]
