Titus Flavius Vespasian was well known for restoring peace and stability to an empire in disarray following the death of Nero in A.D. 68. In the process he established the Flavian dynasty as the legitimate successor to the imperial throne.…
He is the son of Hera, who created him in retaliation when she found out that Zeus had created Athena without her and viciously made herself pregnant asexually.…
Marcus Aurelius was born on April 20, 121 AD into a family of royalty. His uncle and adoptive father, Antoninus Pius, was the emperor of Rome. Aurelius, too, was trained from birth to be a great ruler like his father. At age eleven, he dedicated himself to religion, although he considered philosophy to be the "true, inward" religion, one which did not require ceremonies necessary in others. He was appointed by Emperor Hadrian to priesthood in 129. The Emperor also supervised his education, which was with the best professors of literature and philosophy of the time. From his early twenties, he deserted his other studies for philosophy. In 161, Marcus Aurelius ascended the throne and shared his imperial power with his adopted brother Lucius…
The greek hero Perseus is one of the most famous ancient greek hero figures in history. To begin telling his tale of heroism I must first start with his legacy. The grandson of Acrisius and the son of Zeus and Danae, Perseus was born from very strong parents. Acrisius got word from an oracle that if is daughter Danae birthed a son, the child would kill his father. Acrisius, accordingly, shut up his daughter in a subterraneous chamber, made of brass and stone, but Zeus having metamorphosed himself into a shower of gold, came down upon her through the roof of the apartment, and became the father of Perseus. When Acrisius discovered that Danae had given birth to a son he cast her and Perseus into the sea in a golden chest. Miraculously…
This was written on Notepad then converted into a Word Document. The purpose of this document is to be supplemental to reading the Pacificus & Helvidius Debates, this was written side by side while reading the debates, therefore, if this is the first time you are reading the Pacificus and Helvidius Debates these notes will provide more of a curse then a blessing.…
It has been said that Sparta had two separate histories, its own and that of its image abroad...Considering how much was written about Sparta in antiquity, it is remarkable how confused, contradictory and incomplete the picture is. Partly this is because the mirage is constantly cutting across the reality, distorting it and often concealing it altogether; and partly because the Spartans themselves were so completely silent.With respect to our knowledge of the helots in ancient Sparta, how accurate do you believe this statement to be? Support your position by discussing the primary sources available on ancient Sparta.…
Life in Augustan Rome saw new improvements of Greek ideas under the rule of Augustus. Octavius Augustus came from an average but respected family because of lineage to Julius Caesar. His father died when he was young and sent to live with his grandmother who was the sister of Caesar himself. Julius Caesar was a very popular ruler in Rome and he ruled from the first triumvirate where he and two other men shared control. Octavius soon would be a part of Caesar’s life and because Caesar had no airs and adopted Octavius and made him air. When Caesar was assassinated, Octavius took control arranged a second triumvirate made of up loyal men of Caesar. There was a civil war with Marc Anthony due to political ambition, Octavius was successful in defeating…
The story of her birth comes in several versions. In the one most commonly cited, Zeus lay with Metis, the goddess of crafty thought and wisdom, but he immediately feared the consequences. It had been prophesied that Metis would bear children more powerful than the sire, even Zeus himself. In order to forestall these dire consequences, after lying with Metis, Zeus "put her away inside his own belly;" he "swallowed her down all of a sudden." He was too late: Metis had already conceived.…
There once was king named Acrisius, who lived in a magnificent mansion. Acrisius had a beautiful daughter named Danae. There was a man named Apollo, and he had a oracle, that told Acrisius that there would come a day when Danae’s son would kill him. Acrisius was afraid so he locked her in a bronze tower so that she would never get married or have children. Danae became very sad over the years, until one faithful day, a bright light came through the window that was in the bronze tower. A man appeared holding a thunderbolt in his hand, Danae knew it was the god Zeus. Zeus said “I have seen your empty heart, and I wish to make you my wife, if you agree I can turn this place into a beautiful garden.” As she agreed the terrible bronze tower turned into a beautiful garden. One day Acrisius saw a light coming from the window. He tore down one of the walls and when he entered, he saw Danae smiling and holding a baby boy in his hands. This baby was called Perseus.…
Hephaestus (Vulcan) is the son of Zeus and Hera. Sometimes it is said that Hera alone produced him and that he has no father. He is the only god to be physically ugly. He is also lame. Accounts as to how he became lame vary. Some say that Hera, upset by having an ugly child, flung him from Mount Olympus into the sea, breaking his legs. Others that he took Hera's side in an argument with Zeus and Zeus flung him off Mount Olympus. He is the god of fire and the forge. He is the smith and armorer of the gods. He uses a volcano as his forge. He is the patron god of both smiths and weavers. He is kind and peace loving. His wife is Aphrodite. Sometimes his wife is identified as Aglaia.…
"The Olympian Gods and Goddesses." FactMonster.com. Pearson Education, Inc., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. <http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0881990.html>.…
A demigod by definition is neither a god nor a man rather they exist somewhere between the two strict realms. Unlike some heroes throughout ancient myths and histories, Hercules was born mortal yet became immortal. Born of a human but created from a god, Hercules is the epitome of obscurity. Throughout his life, the contrasts of god and human make him strong yet weak. As a man he can be controlled and enslaved by both humans and gods (Loraux 131). Yet, his god-like aptitude of extreme strength and immunity to suffering (in that he does not give in to it) Hercules thrives until he is granted immortality through resurrection (Lopez-Ruiz 273). Even within Greek art, there is some confusion about the nature of Hercules: god or man or somewhere…
In abstraction, Artists during the classical era portrayed events in their art and narratives out of their sequential order. In this article, Jocelyn identifies two common patterns of narrative: hierarchy and spatial time. In classical art, figures are arranged according to their significance and role in the narrative, which is their social hierarchy. Later in classical art, placement of figures and events is solely based on where it took place because time in classical antiquity art was not measured in duration, but thought to be a movement through space. Therefore, to show that time had elapsed, classical artists had to change the setting or the location of the scene.…
He had his son Hephaestus to create a woman, Pandora, who was given gifts of beauty and…
Alexander III of Macedon, or better known as Alexander the Great was king of Macedon, a state in northern Ancient Greece. He was born in Pella in 356 B.C. and was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of 30, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history’s most successful commanders. Alexander was an outgoing charismatic man, who had many friends, but his dearest and closest friend and confidant was Hephaestion. Hephaestion, son of Amyntor, was a Macedonian nobleman and a general in the army of Alexander the Great. He was born in Macedonia in 356 B.C. He was a member of Alexander the Great’s personal bodyguard, which then he went on to command the Companion cavalry, and was entrusted with many other tasks through Alexander’s ten-year campaign in Asia. Apart from being a soldier, engineer and diplomat, he corresponded with the philosophers Aristotle and Xenocrates, and supported Alexander in his attempts to integrate Greeks and Persians. Their relationship lasted through Alexander’s becoming of king, through the hardships of campaigning and the flatteries of court life, and their marriages.…