Gaius Mucius Scaevola

I love reading about Roman History. It surprises me how much Western Society has been and is still influenced by what the Romans did.One of my favourite pieces of Roman history/myth is the story of Gaius Mucius Scaevola.He was a Roman youth who's bravery became legend.

In 508 BC the Romans were at war with Clusium.The Clusian king Lars Porsena laid siege to Rome and the Romans showed no sign of fighting them off. Mucius took matters into his own hands and crossed over into the Etruscan camp. He tried to assassinate the enemy King but messed up and killed the Kings secretary by mistake.He was seized and dragged before the shaken King.

Mucius told the King that Rome had declared war not on the people of Clusium but upon Porsena personally.Muscius told the King that he was just the first of a long line of Roman assassins and they would not stop until the King was dead.This freaked the King out and he ordered Mucius to be burnt alive.

What happened next is awesome.Muscius stuck his right hand into a fire and unflinching,he allowed it to burn.He declared that this is the regard that Roman men have for their bodies and told the King to remember what was in store for him.Obviously this freaked the King out further.Not wanting to live his life under a death sentence from a bunch of psychotic patriot Roman assassins,he commended Mucius for his bravery and allowed him to go free. The King then lifted the siege and made peace with Rome.How cool is that?

Nobody is sure if this story is myth or history but it says alot about the Romans. What it is to be a man. To be a good Roman. To be a patriot. What is a patriot today? I think that all good Romans would be ashamed of what we have all become. Good Romans were committed and ready to die for Rome. Roman society valued bravery. They valued sacrifice for ones country. They valued honour. They valued the common good of Rome. The common weal.

en.wikipedia.org...
gaplauche.com...

What do we value today? It seems that we value ourselves.We value what we can get. We value self preservation. We value gross displays of wealth. We value greed. We celebrate stepping over the next person to get what we want/can. I know Rome lost its way and that many at the top were just like us but I honestly think we have taken it to a new level. We are all very poor Romans. I wish we could all be more like Mucius. I wish society valued the things that are important. I wish we all cared more for the 'common good'.

Mucius wasnt afraid to dance.Lets dance.



We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
Cause your friends don't dance
And if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine
Say, we can go where we want to
A place where they will never find
And we can act like we come from out of this world
Because you're one far behind

We can dance

We can go where we want to
The night is young and so am i
And we can dress real neat
From out hats to our feet
Then surprise them with a big trick ride
Say, we can act if we want to
If we don't, nobody will

Friends, Romans, Countrymen,
Lend us your testicles.


Love,
The Eunichs

reply to post by chasingbrahman