Rome
One could be important in Roman society either by doing something great, or simply by being born into high status. In other words, Romans valued both accomplishment and privilege. hich of these two do you think was more prominent in Roman society? Argue for one over against the other. Your argument must incorporate an analysis of two things: a specific historical event or institution, and the point-of-view of a Roman writer.
Polybius, was a Greek military commander in Roman service who spent many years on campaign with the Roman Republican armies in the second century B.C.E. The core values are the descendant of Greek views on virtue and the Greek value of competitive individual excellence. In Polybius' opinion, this excellence was exhibited repeatedly and most excellently in the Roman military organization.
His emphasis upon the importance of the Roman Army and individual achievement there frames his entire concept of an individual's achievement…...
mlaWorks Cited
Galinsky, Karl. Augustan culture: an interpretive introduction. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1996.
Holland, Tom. Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic. New York, NY: Galinsky, Karl. Augustan culture: an interpretive introduction. New York: Princeton Univ. Press, 2005.
Kelly, First. The Roman Empire, A Very Short Introduction.. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Mellor, Ronald. The Historians of Ancient Rome. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Routledge, 2004.
Rome vs. Christianity
In order to understand the importance of Jesus' claim as the King of the Jews, it is important to understand Judaism at the time of the New Testament. This can be done by looking at the New Testament, but also by looking at contemporaneous historical documents. However, it is important to realize that, from a theological standpoint, Christian theology is separate from its counterparts in the Roman Empire, deriving solely from Jewish tradition, specifically the Old Testament.
If one is going to state that the Bible is a historical document, then one must examine it like a historical document. What make the Bible unique is that, unlike many other origination mythical stories, the Bible has an identifiable foundation in history. While not all of the events in the Bible can be verified through outside historical sources, many events in the Bible can be verified by looking at outside sources.…...
Rome
G32: [Marcus Pe]tacius Dasius, freedman of Marcus. [To Marcus Pe]tacius Severus, son of Marcus, of the Menenian tribe, his son; to Petacia Vitalis, freedwoman of Marcus, freedwoman.
Article G32 in Pompeii is an epitaph from a tomb. As Cooley and Cooley (2004) point out, "inscriptions carved in stone on public and private monuments were intended to perpetuate the memory of the individuals concerned," (p. 1). Tomb carvings like this one can be used to "provide a vivid picture of life in an ordinary town" in ancient Rome (Cooley and Cooley, 2004, p. 2). Although some parts of the original inscription were missing, indicated by Cooley and Cooley (2004) with brackets in Pompeii, the reader understands fully the context and multiple meanings of the epitaph. The most notable feature of the inscription is the fact that it refers to a freedman, a freedwoman, and their child.
The epitaph therefore raises a slew of…...
mlaI.A. "Background: What is Slavery?" Retrieved online: http://www.richeast.org/htwm/greeks/romans/slavery/slavery2.html
Seneca. Letter 47. Retrieved online: http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/gruffini/cl116/seneca.epist.47.htm
"Slaves and Freemaen." PBS.org. Retrieved online: http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/slaves_freemen.html
Another sign of his forward looking and industrious nature was the city wall which he began. This attitude also extended to political affairs. He was responsible, for example, for increasing the number of senators to three-hundred and for increasing the number of knights.
His death as ascribed to treachery by the sons of Ancus Marcius.
6. Servius Tullius
The legend goes that the sixth king of Rome, Servius Tullius, …had been marked out for a great future by a miraculous fire which played round his infant head as he slept in the palace.
He became prominent in society and married one of the daughters of Tarquinas.
When he became ruler of Rome he completed the establishment of the city walls and was responsible for initiating many permanent institutions. The wall that he built, extended for about three-quarters of a mile from the Colline gate, and the townwall which enclosed the seven hills, and remained, with…...
mla"Kings of Rome," http://www.unrv.com/empire/kings-of-rome.php
"Kings of Rome,"
"The price of grain climbed so much that a measure that cost two coins in a.D. 200 cost 330 coins just a century later. (...) the resulting fear and unrest further rocked life in the empire."(pg.166) the plague coming from China on the trade road diminished the already low number of Romans. (id.), and the transmutation of the capital of the empire to Constantinople was a sign of the weakness of the Roman world.
Another matter that contributed to the transformation and the decline of the Roman world was religion. At first Christians were persecuted, starting with Nero who set the precedent for their execution. (pg.177) "The relatively small number of Christians grew consistently thought the first centuries after the death of Jesus (...). The small but growing number would periodically come in conflict with the power of Rome."(pg.177). "Early Christians seemed to violate the traditional Roman social order by…...
mlaSources:
New Testament, Reading Guide HI 102, pg. 1-4
Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations," Book Four, Reading Guide HI 102, pg. 5
Pliny the Younger and Trajan, Reading Guide HI 102, pg. 6
Chapter 4-"Pride in Family and City," pg 117-150,
D.) military conscription could be avoided with the payment of a commutable tax, since the Eastern Han Dynasty preferred the usage of a volunteer army. The volunteer army was known as the Southern Army, and burgeoned its ranks in times of war to assist the activity of the Northern Army, which was the immobile set of soldiers deployed near the dynasty's capital. The Northern army was made up of five regiments of thousands of soldiers each, although in times of martial activity the Northern army was stratified into divisions which were then divided into regiments which colonels and majors would lead. Each regiment was split into companies headed by captains, which were comprised of platoons, the smallest cadre of troops.
The difference between the military strategy and the army's perception by the people of both the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty is fairly stark. The Roman Empire employed troops full-time,…...
mlaWorks Cited
Chester G. Starr, A History of the Ancient World, Second Edition. Oxford University Press, 1974. pp. 670 -- 678.
Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires." Journal of world-systems research 12 (2): 219 -- 229. ISSN 1076 -- 156x. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
Chang, Chun-shu. (2007). The Rise of the Chinese Empire: Volume II; Frontier, Immigration, & Empire in Han China, 130 B.C. -- A.D. 157. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Greenberger, Robert. (2006). The Technology of Ancient China. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
Iulus, on the other hand, represents continuity. The continuity of the Trojan race, the continuity of his father's bloodline, and the continuity of the mission to establish the Roman race in Italy.
Amulius and Numitor
The brothers Numitor and Amulius, descendants of Aeneas and Iulus, continue the establishment of the Roman race. Numitor, the King of Alba Longa, is overthrown by his brother Amulius overthrew him and took the throne. The story revisits the Aenean theme of familial piety. Amulius violates the code of piety by throwing out his brother and King Numitor. However, familial piety is restored when Numitor's grandsons Romulus and Remus reinstating their grandfather Numitor as king of Alba Longa after killing the offender Amulius.
The story of Numitor and Amulius is also marked by the themes of integration and disintegration. Amulius represents the theme of disintegration . First, he partitioned the brothers' inheritance into two parts, the treasure…...
mlaBibliography
Plutarch, Life of Romulus.
Virgil, The Aeneid.
However strong the imperial leadership in ome, it became increasingly difficult to maintain the peace.
2. The fall of ome cannot be traced to a singular cause. As the empire's boundaries expanded from Great Britain to the Near East, social and political control became increasingly difficult. Conquered peoples often revolted or refused to pay tributes. Inefficient and corrupt centralized government could not maintain political control over distant territories. The spread of Christianity throughout oman lands threatened the integrity of the empire by calling into question oman values, social order, and religious tradition. As ome's tenuous grip on its remotest territories weakened, the empire became increasingly susceptible to invaders: especially the Germanic tribes.
3. Christianity sprouted when Judea was a oman territory and thus, the most powerful empire at the time would feel the political implications of the new religion. Had Christianity evolved elsewhere it might not have played such a major…...
mlaReferences
Hooker, R. (1996). "Rome: The Roman Kingdom." The Roman Republic. Retrieved Mar 26, 2007 at http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ROME/KINGDOM.htm
Roman Religion." (nd). Retrieved Mar 26, 2007 at http://www.roman-empire.net/religion/religion.html
Social Order." (2006). The Roman Empire: In the First Century. On PBS.org. Retrieved Mar 26, 2007 at http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/order.html
Watering Ancient Rome." NOVA online. Retrieved Mar 26, 2007 at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/roman/watering.html
The invasion of the Gauls in 390 BCE is one of the events that shaped the history of Rome since it struck the Roman people hard. The invasion, which resulted in the capture and sack of Rome, had devastating impacts to an extent that some Romans thought of abandoning their city and relocating permanently to Veii, a recently conquered Etruscan city. Much of the Roman population supported the move on the premise that Rome was so destroyed to an extent it could not be rebuilt. While some Romans migrated to Veii in search of new beginnings, the conqueror of Veii, Marcus Furius Camillus, was against the move. Through his efforts that sought to protect the religious integrity of Rome, the Roman people did not abandon their city. Camillus efforts played a critical role in safeguarding the religious integrity of the Roman people and ensuring they did not abandon their city. If…...
As happy as he is to have found a job he needs a bicycle in order to keep it. The bicycle permits Ricci to work as a poster-hanger, striking paste on walls to put up film flyers. On his first day someone steals the bike. So he runs, the director made sure to have the music set off the journey, to find his bicycle to keep his job. What happened for him to get the bike, pawning his wife's sheets, seeing all the sheets of other families that pawned theirs, and then getting a job after days online, makes the bike that much more meaningful as its his only means to stability.
The best part of this movie was the ability of the director to show a stark, barren, disheartening Rome that most people when viewing Rome are not used to. The movie took the audience on a tour whilst…...
mla"La Strada" is a 1954 Italian drama directed by Federico Fellini. This is the first gilm of his that truly shows his creative style as director. The film begins with Gelsomina who has to work with Zampano, a strong man whom was partnered with Rosa, Gelsomina's sister, but after Rosa died, decided to take her instead. She was essentially sold to Zampano for 10,000 lire and whisked away to learn how to street perform. Zampano was very dominating and brutish with her but taught her to play the trumpet, how to dance, and play the snare drum in order to entertain the crowd as he broke the chain over his chest in the main act.
When Gelsomina has enough of the strong man's temperament, she decides to leave and comes across Il Matto, a clown who without any known motivation, constantly teases and picks on Zampano after all three join a traveling circus. When Il Matto tells Gelsomina that even pebbles have a purpose, it prompts her to ask Zampano to marry her. He rejects and sees Il Matto along the road. With a couple of hard hits on Il Matto's head, the clown looks down at his watch, now broken, and dies. Gelsomina witnesses this and remains permanently broken. Zampano abandons her and eventually a woman takes her in. She dies but not before imparting some music to the woman whom Zampano hears at the end of the movie.
It was a great film with intense scenes and a complex array of characters. Gelsomina, although wishing for another life and freedom, ends up wishing to stay with the man who mistreats her. Zampano, a brutish strong man cries at the end because of losing Gelsomina and perhaps guilt for killing the clown. Il Matto feels bad for Gelsomina, but at the same time feels jealous of Zampano perhaps giving reason to his teasing of the former.
By about 400 AD, the old social and physical structures of Rome were in decline, the city losing power both within its own empire and within the est as a whole (Miles 41). The decline of the old order in Rome allowed a space for the ascension of Christianity, which began in the first century AD. For the first two centuries of the Christian era, Roman authorities classified Christianity as simply a sect of Judaism and so did not react to it as if it were its own distinct religion.
To the extent that Christians were persecuted in the first few centuries after the beginning of the Christian era, it was only by local officials, with the imperial government warning those officials not to do so. However, in the first century of the Christian era, there was considerable anger at Christians in some quarters of Rome, especially after the Emperor Nero…...
mlaWorks Cited
Kertzer, David. Prisoner of the Vatican. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.
Miles, Richard. Carthage Must Die. New York: Viking, 2011.
Ward-Perkins, Bryan. The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005.
Summary of the Punic Wars
The Punic Wars refer to the collective names of a series of three separate wars between Carthage and ome, which took place from 264 to 146 BC. The wars were fought between the two strongest contenders for control over the central Mediterranean Sea of the time. These wars ended with the destruction of Carthage, thus ending the city's period as an independent power and an important trade center. The city would later become an important trading center inside the oman Empire.
eferences
Bagnall, N. 2002. The Punic Wars: 264-146 BC. Botley, Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
Cottrell, L. 1992. Hannibal: Enemy of ome. Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press.
Goldsworthy, a. 2002. The Punic Wars. London: Cassell Publications.
Goldsworthy, a. 2004. The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars 265-146 BC. London: Cassell Publications.
Huby, P. 2003. Carthage. Stockport, England: Dewi Lewis Publishing.
Lazenby, J.F. 1998. Hannibal's War. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
Prevas, J. 2001. Hannibal…...
mlaReferences
Bagnall, N. 2002. The Punic Wars: 264-146 BC. Botley, Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
Cottrell, L. 1992. Hannibal: Enemy of Rome. Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo Press.
Goldsworthy, a. 2002. The Punic Wars. London: Cassell Publications.
Goldsworthy, a. 2004. The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars 265-146 BC. London: Cassell Publications.
Literature, learning, and scholarly life wad preserved within the monastery, even while the previous areas of ome were left in disarray.
Perhaps most importantly, the monasteries began to give hope to those devastated by the fall of ome. Individuals who had once been prosperous now found themselves destitute, and the religious beliefs of the monasteries provided hope for eternal life and salvation. Further, these monasteries provided health care to the wounded or ill, and used these circumstances to further their religious agenda.
Through their cultural maintenance, political status, scholarly ways, and promises of eternal life, the monasteries were able to secure a position in the world following the fall of ome. Further, through their relations with society in terms of health care and learning, the monasteries held a crucial role in the history of Europe.
eferences
McKay, J., Hill, B., Buckler-Ebrey, P. (2004). History of World Societies. Boston, MA: Houghton-Mifflin…...
mlaReferences
McKay, J., Hill, B., Buckler-Ebrey, P. (2004). History of World Societies. Boston, MA: Houghton-Mifflin Company.
Christianity
THE ROMAN WAY
Rome exerted tremendous pressure on its colonies to conform, and do things in the Roman Way. When in Rome, one does as the Romans do. The Via Romana is a road referring to the Roman way. Rome conquered Alexander's vast empire and then imposed the Imperium (the imperial right to rule) upon the world. Religio-Romana refers to the Roman religion of paganism and polytheism. Roman religion. Romans are to practice Rome's religion without changing it. The Roman practices will be executed as they have always been since the beginning of Roman civilizations. This includes worshipping the Roman emperor as god. The political connection between Rome's religion and the people impose the belief and practice: Roman religion is the truth. Mos Maiorum refers to the living traditions. People are to live their lives according to Roman traditions. This is the daily life of Romans extant in the time of…...
eligions of ome
Throughout history, religion has been having a major impact on the societies around the world. In the case of the omans, they had numerous religions that were practiced throughout the reign of the empire. To fully understand these ideas requires looking at the chapter titled Sol the Sun in the Art and eligions of ome. This will be accomplished by summarizing the various points and discussing a broad theme from the chapter. Together, these different elements will provide the greatest insights as to how specific practices from other cultures affected various oman religions.
In Sol the Sun in the Art and eligions of ome, it is talking about the worship of the sun god name Sol. He was a mythological figure that was considered to have the most power among the various oman pagan gods. This is because the omans believed that the sun was a vital source of…...
mlaReferences
Sol in the Roman Empire, 1 -- 30.
Beard Mary. Religions of Rome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Goldhill Simon. Being Greek Under Rome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2006.
Mary Beard, Religions of Rome (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 167 -- 363.
Full confession. We find Romeo and Juliet to be one of Shakespeare’s least appealing plays, and one of the reasons is because, while the theme of truth (and the related theme of lies) plays a significant role in the play, there is also the questions of whether the characters are even old enough to possess the self-awareness that is required for lying about feelings.
When Romeo professes his love for Juliet, she wonders if his words are true. Her worries are based in the fact that, even at her young age, Juliet seems to know that sometimes boys....
The first thing you need to do is understand what a theme is. A theme is an idea in a movie. Many people think of themes as the main idea, but a movie may have a central theme and several other themes. If you are not sure how to identify a movie’s theme, think about the things in a movie that you want to talk about after you watch it or that leave you thinking about the movie. While themes can spur a number of different discussions, you should be able to describe the them concisely, generally....
Shakespeare may be the most popular broad topic for essays in English classes. He wrote some of the most well-known works in the English language and, while he is known for his plays, he is also known for poetry. English essays may focus on his works, but it is also possible to write compelling essays about Shakespeare’s life, including the enduring popular topic of whether Shakespeare was the true author of the works credited to him.
Here are some essay title suggestions:
Romeo and Juliet is one of the best-known of all of Shakespeare’s plays. The tale of star-crossed lovers has made the names Romeo and Juliet synonymous with hopeless love stories, though their questionable decision-making and shallow view of love has prevented many from completely embracing their story as a romance. What is clear is that while the stories in the character all play lip service to the idea of family, community, and clan loyalties, they all act in their own self-interest in an effort to pursue their own happiness. Focusing on that would be a....
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