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Newsletter - 2003, Issue 2

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• Book Review on Steven Saylor
• Pythagoras Proclaims Earth is Round
• They put WHAT on Their Faces?
• Horoscopes

Book Review on Steven Saylor

    The review for this month is “Roman Blood” by Steven Saylor. This is about a murder, one believed to be the most vile of murders. When a son kills his father it is called patricide. The main characters are Gordianus, the finder, and Marcus Tullius Cicero. Gordianus is an investigator ( the Sherlock Holmes of his time) and Cicero is an advocate (Attorney). Many problems were met in this story. Cicero was defending a client accused of patricide, while Gordianus travels to find the murderer. His adventure takes him through the streets of Rome, the Forum and deep into rural Umbria. He meets a variety of evil people that come in different appearances. From nobles to slaves to citizens of simple virtue. This quest threatens the leaders of Rome itself. My favorite character is Gordianus. Why, you ask? He can use simple logic and fine-tuned listening skills to answer your questions before you ask them. I don’t think I can relate to any of the characters, although I loved the book. My favorite part is the conversation between Gordianus and Tiro. My least favorite part was hearing the punishment for patricide. I wouldn’t change any part of this book. “Roman Blood” is a definite recommendation. My only suggestion is that the people who read it should have some interest and knowledge of Latin history.

Pythagoras Proclaims Earth is Round

    Yesterday, the mathematician Pythagoras declared that the earth is round, disputing previous Greek scientific beliefs.

    Previously, the Greeks have taught that the earth is flat. By going against the believed theories, Pythagoras has created much controversy in the scientific community as a result of his proclamation.   

This man is going against everything we know about the earth. The facts simply do not support him,” said one scientist who asked to remain anonymous. “Pythagoras comes up with these strange theories living with his followers on an island. What do they know about science?”

    Religious authorities are also concerned that Pythagoras’ belief may ruin the faith of countless people. “This is a man who teaches that all the mysteries of the universe can be explained by mathematics. He would have the people disregard the gods. He will bring ruin upon us if he continues.”

    Pythagoras has previously contained his discoveries in the field of mathematics. Recently, he formulated his right-triangle theory stating the sum of the squares of the lengths of the legs of a right triangle is equal to the square of the hypotenuse. It has been expressed in the equation a² + b² = c². This theorem, named after Pythagoras, has made the philosopher famous.

    Pythagoras explained in a press release the two phenomena that he says prove that the earth is indeed round. “Consider how the sails of ships appear lower when they sail away from port. If the world was flat, the sails would remain at the same level on the horizon.” Pythagoras also discussed lunar eclipses. “As the moon moves into a position where the earth blocks the light of the sun, the shadow of the earth appears as a curve on the moon. How could this be if the world is flat and not round?

    Scientists across the Mediterranean are considering this new discovery. However, some say that it may not be recognized. “There needs to be more proof before the scientific community accepts this radical theory.”

They put WHAT on Their Faces?

    Ladies, between applying moisturizer, cover up, foundation, eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara and lip gloss do you ever stop and think, “ Wow, I can’t believe that I am putting all of this stuff on my face”? Gentlemen, when waiting substantial periods of time for some ladies to get ready do you ever stop and think, “How much stuff does she have to put on her face just to come down here and see me”? Well all of you can breathe a sigh of relief and count yourself lucky that we do not live in ancient Rome.

    Unlike today when women go out and buy their cosmetics, Roman women made their own. Their recipes are for the most part horrifying, mainly because they are toxic, or just foul, and some are not so bad. Lets start with bathing, Roman women liked to bath in scented water. Favored scents were cinnamon, rose, myrrh, ginger, lily, lavender, lemon, lime, and orange. There was also and ointment called susinum that was a mixture of lily, honey, cinnamon, saffron, myrrh and balsam, it sounds good doesn’t it?

    Now we can move on to some formulas prescribed by the famous author Ovid for healthier skin. One is a mixture of barley, vetch (twining leguminous plants), ten eggs, powder from a stag’s antlers, narcissus bulbs, gum and honey. Ovid also claimed that this mixture of lupins (herbs, including some poisonous ones), broad beans, white lead paint, red nitrate, orrisroot (fragrant root stock of any three European irises), king fisher guano (excrement usually used for fertilizer!), myrrh (aromatic gum resin with a bitter, pungent taste), tree sap, honey, dried rose petals, ammonia salts, and barley infusions. Some women used facemasks made from plant extracts. That actually sounds nice doesn’t it? But do not let that lull you into thinking that all women used these masks. Some, including Nero’s wife Poppaea, used one made with sheep fat and breadcrumbs soaked in milk. This formula, however, produced a “sickening odor” if it was left out to sit. Another popular formula was a paste made from calf genitals dissolved in sulfur and vinegar. Now we get into the makeup, starting with foundation. In Rome the rich favored the toxic foundation mixture of white lead, honey, and fat. There was a safer alternative of chalk and orrisroot. For rouge ancient women favored red ocher, a red earth hematite used as pigment. For their eyes they used a makeup grinder to make kohl, which was used as eyeliner. Kohl was made of lampblack, which is finely powdered soot, or galena, a bluish gray mineral with a metallic luster consisting of lead sulfide. Today soot in your eyes is awful. In ancient Rome it was beautiful. Saffron, the orange aromatic dried stigmas of a purple flowered crocus, was widely used in Rome as eye shadow. Women also did their eyebrows in Rome, the popular style was to use makeup to thicken and lengthen the arch of the brow. Lipstick was a mixture of lip salve and alkanet root, a red dyestuff prepared from the root of European plant, and red ocher. Cosmetics were mixed on little plates with small silver spatulas that were also used to apply makeup. Ligulae were the small instruments used to extract cosmetics from narrow bottles. Cosmetics were so important in Rome that some women even went so far as to paint the veins on their foreheads with blue.

    As you can see, cosmetics have come a long way since ancient Rome. I haven’t ever inquired into what my cosmetics are made from. Maybe deep down I am afraid of what I will find. As they say, ignorance is bliss. I have found that throughout the centuries the basic purpose of makeup has not changed. Women use cosmetics to enhance their features and give themselves a look that they consider to be ideal. Fortunately for us our cosmetics are not made from lead, and they at least seem to be far more pleasant than ones our ancient sisters used in Rome.

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