[meteorite-list] LOCATION of a hammer

Sat Apr 14 22:14:05 EDT 2007

Hi, Ed, List,

    Where was Pompeius Strabo when he died?
    Pretty sure it was in the immediate vicinity of
Rome itself, outside the walls and within, say 20
Roman miles and probably 10.
    Encyclopedia Brit., 11th Ed., says Gnaeus Pompeius 
Strabo died of the "plague," and that "a mob dragged his 
body through the streets until a tribune interceded."
    The legion that Strabo raised were from, and were based
at, Picenum up north, and his son took them back there 
after the old man's death.
    Picenum was home. Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, often 
referred to as Strabo or Pompey Strabo in English, was a 
Roman from the rural province of Picenum. He became the first 
of the Pompeii to achieve senatorial status in Rome, despite 
the anti-rural prejudice of the Roman Senate. After proving 
his military talent, Strabo climbed the cursus honorum and 
became consul in the year 89 BC, in the midst of the Social 
War. That a war against the Socii, or Allies, other Italian
cities who usually sided with Rome but were upset at their
treatment at the hands of the Romans.
    Strabo commanded Roman forces against these Italian 
Allies in the northern part of Italy. His three Roman legions 
were instrumental in Rome's victory. After his consulship 
and the war, Strabo retired to Picenum with all of his 
veteran soldiers. 
    He remained there until 87 BC, when he responded to 
Lucius Cornelius Sulla's request for help against Gaius 
Marius. 
    Strabo besieged Rome, but died before any battle could
be fought. This would seem to pinpoint his location.
    Strabo's son, the famous Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus 
(Pompey the Great), took the legions back to Picenum.
    Says the Wiki: "Strabo had the habit of playing both 
ends against the middle in the intense politics of the period. 
Sulla arranged to remove Strabo from the command and 
replace him with a handpicked confederate. Strabo left 
camp on "personal business" while his soldiers killed 
the replacement."
    This was apparently outside of Rome (if beseiging it).
Sulla's replacement, who Strabo's troops killed, was 
the consul Q. Pompeius Rufus, poor dum SOB. There 
seems no doubt that Strabo was at Rome: "Strabo, whose 
duty [to Sulla] it was to defend Rome against Cinna and 
Marius, negotiates with Cinna, but dies during the general 
epidemic [in 87 BC]." 
    The Romans started their year in the dead of winter, like
we do, on January 1.*
    So, there was at Rome at one and the same time, a civil 
war, an epidemic of type unknown, and an army-killing 
lightning, blast, impact, or airburst event. 
    I'd say the omens at that moment were NOT good,
wouldn't you?
    If it was at Rome or nearby, you can forget looking 
for any traces as few places on Earth have been more 
chewed up, for thousands of years, than the general
neighborhood of Rome!

    *The Roman civil year started on 1st January and its 
use continued until the seventh century AD. The Christian 
Church generally wished to move towards using one of 
its major festivals as the start of the year, and Christmas 
Day was used from the time of Bede (AD 672 or 673 
to 735) until the twelfth century. 
    The Feast of the Annunciation, 25th March, started
to be used in the ninth century as the beinginning of
the calendar year in parts of southern Europe, but only 
became widespread in Europe from the eleventh century 
and in England from the late twelfth. 
    It then held sway until the sixteenth century. 1st January 
then started to be used as the start of the year, starting 
in Venice in 1522. Dates when this change was made in some 
other countries are: 1544 Germany; 1556 Spain, Portugal, 
the Catholic Netherlands; 1559 Prussia, Denmark, Sweden; 
1564 France; 1579 Lorraine; 1583 the Protestant Netherlands;
1600 Scotland; 1725 Russia; 1721 Tuscany; and finally in 
1752, England and her colonies. So, when you read that
something happened in February, 1630, in London, it was
really February, 1631 by our way of reckoning. Annoying.
But for the Romans, it's not a problem.

    As for Augustus consolidating power slowly: "In 22 BC,
Augustus resigns his eleventh consulship, probably because 
of illness. He is awarded for life full tribunician powers, 
and extended imperium which gives him authority over 
any provincial governor and over the army (renewed for 
five years in 18 and 13, and for ten years in 8, and 
AD 3 and 13.)
    In 22, there's famine and plague. Augustus declines  
the dictatorship and censorship for life, but accepts 
the post of "corn supremo." He leaves for the East 
for three years. In 21, Agrippa is forced by Augustis
to divorce his existing wife and marry Augustus's 
daughter Julia, whose husband Marcellus died after 
being married to her for two years. 
    In 18, the Senate is reduced to a mere 600 senators. 
(You think 100 is bad?) Agrippa is granted special powers. 
    In 17, Augustus adopts Agrippa's and Julia's two sons, 
Gaius and Lucius, as his own sons.
    In 15, Tiberius and Drusus, Augustus's Claudian
stepsons, defeat the Raeti and Vindelici, whose territory 
becomes a Roman province. 
    In 13, Tiberius's first consulship. Augustus returns 
to Rome after three years in Gaul, and Agrippa after 
three years in the east. Agrippa's special powers are
extended for five years. Lepidus dies. Augustus is
elected pontifex maximus. In 12, Agrippa dies. Tiberius
is forced to marry his widow, Augustus' daughter Julia.
    Augustus' power is pretty much complete at this point.
It is not just that his rivals for power are dead, but that
all the potential heirs to power are also firmly under his
control; there is no child out there with a claim to
similar honors being raised by some other family to
someday threaten Augustus and the family he controls
for power. Of course, most of them will die before
they are in a position to be a threat. Most convenient.

Sterling K. Webb
---------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "E.P. Grondine" <epgrondine at yahoo.com>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2007 2:16 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] In search of a hammer

Well, Sterling, 

There was a difference between haruspicy and
astromancy. How and when they became "secret" is the
issue at hand. Were they already "mysterious" at the
time of the founding of the Empire?  Or did they 
become "secret" with the founding of the college?

For the problem at hand, the important information is
where that army was when it was hit. Any ideas on
that?

good hunting,
Ed