User:Thegodofchaos/sandbox

Peer Review 2
 DRAFT  - My plan is to add another section to the Hercules wikipedia article titled "Worship" in that section I will add examples of how Hercules was worshiped by the Roman people and how his figure was important to Roman society.

Worship

Road of Hercules

The Road of Hercules is a route in across Southern Gaul that is associated with the path Hercules took during his 10th labor of retrieving the Cattle of Geryon from the Red Isles . Hannibal took the same path on his march towards Italy and encouraged the belief that he was the second Hercules . Primary sources often make comparisons between Hercules and Hannibal. Hannibal further tried to invoke parallels between himself and Hercules by starting his march on Italy by visiting the shrine of Hercules at Gades. While crossing the alps, he performed labors in a heroic manner. A famous example was noted by Livy, when Hannibal fractured the side of a cliff that was blocking his march.

'''This could greatly benefit from an image depicting the Road of Hercules if such an image exists! Which Hannibal are you referring to? Perhaps a hyperlink to that Hannibal's page could answer that question. I feel like the third sentence could probably be combined with either the second and/or fourth and/or fifth sentences to make the third seem less out of place.'''

Worship from women

In ancient Roman society women were usually limited to two types of cults. Those that address feminine matters such as childbirth, and cults that required virginal chastity. However, there is evidence suggesting there were female worshippers of Apollo, Mars, Jupiter, and Hercules. Some scholars believe that women were completely prohibited from any of Hercules's cults. Others believe it was only the "Ara Maxima" that they were not allowed to worship at. Macrobius in his first book of Saturnalia paraphrases from Varro's actinology: "For when Hercules was bringing the cattle of Geryon through Italy, a women replied to the thirsty hero that she could not give him water because it was the day of the Goddess Women and it was unlawful for a man to taste what had been prepared for her. Hercules, therefore, when he was about to offer a sacrifice forbid the presence of women and ordered Potitius and Pinarius who where in charge of his rites, not to allow any women from taking part" . Macrobius states that women were restricted in their participation in Hercules cults, but to what extent remains ambiguous. He mentions that women were not allowed to participate in Sacrum which is general term used to describe anything that was believed to have belonged to the gods. This could include anything from a precious item to a temple. Due to the general nature of a Sacrum, we can not judge the extent of the prohibition from Macrobius alone. There is also ancient writings on this topic from Aulus Gellius when speaking on how Romans swore oaths. He mentioned that Roman women do not swear on Hercules, nor to Roman men swear on Castor. He went on to say that women refrain from sacrificing to Hercules. Propertius, whom in his poem 4.9 also mentions similar information as Macrobius. This is evidence that he was also using Varro as a source

'''I think a semicolon should be used to join the first two sentences as they read like that anyway, same goes for the fourth and fifth sentences. What is Ara Maxima? Who is Macrobius and Varro? These can be answered by links to their respective articles! I feel that the sentences "Macrobius states that women were restricted in their participation in Hercules cults, but to what extent remains ambiguous. He mentions that women were not allowed to participate in Sacrum which is general term used to describe anything that was believed to have belonged to the gods. This could include anything from a precious item to a temple." Could be re-written to be more concise and have a more neutral tone. The same goes for "There is also ancient writings on this topic from Aulus Gellius when speaking on how Romans swore oaths. He mentioned that Roman women do not swear on Hercules, nor to Roman men swear on Castor. He went on to say that women refrain from sacrificing to Hercules.". I feel the statement on Propertius could have been lumped in with one of the sentences about Macrobius.'''

Worship in myth

There is evidence of Hercules worship in myth in the Latin epic poem "The Aeneid". In the 8th book of the poem Aeneas finally reaches the future site of Rome, where he meets Evander and the Arcadians making sacrifices to Hercules on the banks of the Tiber river. They share a feast, and Evander tells the story of how Hercules defeated the monster Cascus, and describes him as a triumphant hero. Translated from the Latin text of Vergil, Evander stated: "Time brought to us in our time of need the aid and arrival of a god. For there came that mightiest avenger, the victor Hercules, proud with the slaughter and the spoils of threefold Geryon, and he drove the mighty bulls here, and the cattle filled both valley and riverside.

Hercules was also mentioned in the Fables of Gaius Julius Hyginus. For example, in his fable about Philoctetes he tells the story of how Philoctetes built a funeral pyre for Hercules so his body could be consumed and raised to immortality.

'''Where does the quote from Vergil end? I'm glad to see some links to other pages!'''

Hercules and the Roman triumph

According to Livy (9.44.16) Romans were commemorating military victories by building statues to Hercules as early as 305 BCE. Also, philosopher Piny the Elder dates Hercules worship back to the time of Evander, by accrediting him with erecting a statue in the Forum Boarium of Hercules. Scholars agree that there would have been 5-7 temples in Augustan Rome. There are believed to be related Republican triumphatores, however, not necessarily triumphal dedications. There is two temples located in the Campus Martius. One, being the Temple of Hercules Musarum, dedicated between 187 and 179 BCE by M. Fulvius Nobilior. And the other being the Temple of Hercules Custos, likely renovated by Sulla in the 80s BCE.

'''I don't think you need to say "Scholars agree..." here, just state what you want to say and cite it. I am confused by the sentence "There are believed to be related Republican triumphatores, however, not necessarily triumphal dedications. "'''

'''Overall, I think you have added lots of great content, adding to the page significantly, however, I believe many sentences could use re-structuring to be more concise and neutral in tone. I think you have a few good sources, but the more the merrier! Hyperlinks to other pages would greatly benefit the sections you are adding, giving the reader the page that could answer any question your content might raise for them. Images could also improve your content if you can find any!'''

Article Evaluation

Macedonian phalanx

I decided to evaluate this article because I am debating choosing this article for my project.

The lead in the article provides a concise introductory sentence explaining what a Macedonian Phalanx is, it gives a small description of the development, but does not highlight the equipment or formation; the other two major sections of the article. The introductory is not overly detailed, but does touch on a bit of history of the Phalanx after its fall from popularity which is not further discussed in the article.

The articles content is relevant to the topic, but is missing some detail and some further discussion on some parts of the topic such as what overtook the phalanx formation. The information seems to be up to date, but only because it is a historic topic.

The article is neutral and factual, no bias or viewpoints exploited, no attempt to persuade anyone.

There are only two sources one from 2014 and one from 1982. There are statements in the article that are in need of citations. All of the links work though.

The article is fairly well written and organized, its just a short article with a small amount of content.

The article only has one image, a fresco of a Macedonian soldier from a tomb in Greece according to the caption. The article is about the Phalanx, a formation of soldiers, and does not show what that formation looks like in the article, so more images are needed.

There are four discussions in the talk page, two speak of other pages and overlap with content, and the other two are criticizing the article for a couple bad word choices and lack of images. None seem to be resolved. The article is rated S for start class, it needs work.

Overall the article isn't that bad, however it is not complete, in need of some tender love and care, mainly some more references and images.

Citation Exercise

"Each phalangite carried as his primary weapon a sarissa, a double-pointed pike over 6 m (18 ft) in length. Before a battle the sarissa were carried in two pieces and then slid together when they were being used[citation needed]." I was able to find a source confirming the two pieces sliding together, so I will add the citation needed using that source.

Each phalangite carried as his primary weapon a sarissa, a double-pointed pike over 6 m (18 ft) in length. Before a battle the sarissa were carried in two pieces and then slid together when they were being used.

Draft
User:Thegodofchaos/MPdraft