Restored Temple of Peace

Rome, ISIS and Peace

Rome’s archaeological authority will be restoring the Temple of Peace in the Roman Forum. The intentions for this are not limited to historical or archaeological interests but are about bringing attention to a reality so lacking in today’s world, that of Peace. Rome will show its historic commitment to peace by rebuilding sections of the Temple even as the threats of ISIS loom over the city.

Ironically enough the Temple of Peace is a monument to Rome’s understanding of peace in a pre-Christian context and as such is based in a notion of peace not so unlike that of ISIS.

The Temple of Peace was built by the emperor Vespasian in around 75 AD to celebrate the end of near constant war waged from the civil wars of 68 AD (that brought about his ascension as Rome’s first plebian emperor) to the Jewish Wars, which brought about his wealth and dominance in the eastern provinces.

The peace celebrated in Vespasian’s temple was not about the mutual respect that comes with the belief that man is made in the image of God but it was about Roman victory that brought about subjugation and or elimination of Rome’s enemies.

According to the ancient Roman & Jewish Historian Josephus, the siege of Jerusalem under the reign of Vespasian ended with over a million Jewish deaths and near 100,000 Jews enslaved and would come to its conclusion at the siege of the palace fortress of Masada in 74AD.

This surely does not give one today the warm feelings and blissful thoughts we tend to associate with peace but it might bring a little insight into the mindset of ISIS type Islamists when hearing the reoccurring rhetoric about how they identify themselves as a religion of peace. ISIS and other like totalitarian political ideologies codify peace in terms of the hegemony of their system – subjugation of enemies.

Peace in this context can not to be understood as the bliss one obtains in union with the Divine nor the serenity of one in union with humanity and the world. Peace is only a product of submission to the Roman Law or in the modern case Sharia Law.

I look forward to the Temple’s restoration to be completed on Rome’s traditional birthday April 21^st and hope it stands as a reminder to future generations to always be wary of the way the word Peace is used in the world and in history.

Paul Anthony Encinias.

Everyone knows that you need to have money to make money.  No large surprises therefore in learning that the richest people of the world are growing much richer, whereas the poor appear to be getting poorer in purchasing power.  The printing of money by the Fed and Central Banks increases money supply but of course that doesn’t mean that everyday people get richer – it means the opposite – increased money supply equates to inflation – or a drop in value / purchasing power of the currency.  In essence, the more currency that is printed, the less the currency is worth and so prices go up.  This is a great way for governments and banks to reduce debt (known as inflating it away) but the effect on the everyday citizen can be harsh as prices for necessities increase.  It is a way to steal wealth from citizens – a control of powerful over the weak.  Of course when governments and central banks print huge sums of money in an attempt to stimulate economic growth, they assume that the money filters down the system to the everyday man on the street.  Rarely this is the case in reality, with the richest in society accumulating the wealth.

One of the effects of the current global economic situation is a reduction in the middle class who are pushed down into the working class.  The powerful wealthy class grow wealthier / more powerful, and the weak working class increase – this stark financial inequality is of course the cause of revolutions and social upheaval – empires can fall as a result.

The ruling empire of the day is arguably the American Empire…but how does it compare to the Roman Empire before it fell??  Well the infographic below shows that now, the US is 50% more unequal than Ancient Rome!!! 

In fact, the total income controlled by the Top 1% is drastically above that of the slave-included times of Ancient Rome and as high as the peak in the roaring 20s!

America vs Ancient Rome

Piramide Cestia, Testaccio

Those who have read Egyptian Rome: The Obelisks are already aware of the links between Rome and the ancient Egyptian Empire.  Perhaps the strangest of these however is the Pyramid located in Testaccio at the metro underground station on the B Line named…Piramide.  This beloved Roman monument, located next to the non-Catholic cemetery of Rome which serves as the last resting place of many of the English poets and artists to live in Rome, serves as a tomb to Cestia and dates from the first century BC.  A Restoration of Piramide Cestia began in March 2013 but is now nearing completion.

The 36-metre high monument was built as a tomb for the powerful Roman magistrate Caius Cestius. Experts believe that the structure has evaded collapse over the centuries because it was incorporated into the Aurelian walls in the years 271-275.  However 2 million euro restoration of Piramide is being paid for by Japanese entrepreneur Yuzo Yagi who imports Italian clothes to his Yagi Tsusho chain of fashion stores in Japan.  The restoration is due to be completed in the next few months and in July, Mr Yagi visited the site with Italian culture minister Dario Franceschini to see how work was progressing.