Free Republic

The greatest naumachia of all time was the naval engagement staged by Claudius. As Augustus' lake was too small, the mad emperor decided to use the Fucine Lake (now called the Lago di Fucino) some sixty miles to the east of Rome. This lake had no natural outlet and in the spring it often flooded many miles of surrounding county. To overcome this trouble, a tunnel three and a half miles long had been cut through solid rock from the lake to the Litis River to carry off the surplus water. This job had taken thirty thousand men eleven years...

CHICAGO - (KRT) - One imagines the Persian queen smiling warmly as she passes the food down the table to her daughter-in-law. Queen Parysatis, during the reign of her son, Artaxerxes II (405 to 359 B.C.), was trying to influence a power struggle within the kingdom and had felt the need to be rid of her daughter-in-law. She poisoned one side of a knife that then was used to bisect a roast bird at dinner. Taking the untainted half for herself, she passed the rest, knowing - hence the smile - that her problem was all but solved. Recorded instances...