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.…
This fan represents the sorrowful story of Lucius and Tarquinius, two friends from vastly different backgrounds and upbringings. The setting is 78 AD in the great Roman Empire. Lucius is a slave and works for the family of Tarquinius, a young and adventurous Roman citizen of noble birth. Despite the fact that Lucius is a slave, Tarquinius always saw him as an equal. They developed a great relationship with each other as Tarquinius grew from a child to a young adult. Their relationship was mutualistic. Lucius would give wise advice to Tarquinius, and Tarquinius would pay him back with admiration and appreciation. However, Tarquinius soon grew bored of his normal way of life in his hometown of Pompeii, Italy.…
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are two of the most important documents in American history, finding their roots and establishing a clear linage to their theoretical inception is the main purpose of this investigation. The linage will start with the historical accounts of Polybius and Cicero; followed by the ethics of Thomas Hobbs; John Locke’s rhetoric of property will follow; Montesquieu detailed rhetorical examination of the Roman Republic; concluding with the Federalist Papers. Through this thorough progression the overall impact of the Roman Empire and its influence on American Constitutionality will be exposed successfully. Moreover, to effectively present an abstract of this research project, shining light into a few basic key…
What do the accounts of two Roman emperors reveal about the strategies leaders use to improve their institutions? In the first century BCE, Rome was struggling to govern effectively, take care of its citizens, and deal with bordering nations. Augustus came to power in 27 BCE and his reign oversaw the successful transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire (McKay 156). Just before his death in 14 CE, he wrote his autobiography, Res Gestae Divi Augusti, which details the impressive accomplishments of his long career. This text can be compared to an account of another Roman Emperor, Constantine, who served roughly 300 years later, from 306 to 312 CE. Roman historian Eusebius wrote a detailed biography of Constantine, called The Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine, and this essay will focus on his description of a significant event in Constantine’s life, his conversion to Christianity. Although Emperors Augustus and Constantine both strived for similar goals of uniting Rome and bringing it to the forefront of the world, these two accounts, Res Gestae Divi Augusti and the Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine, show that each ruler’s…
When the Roman Emperor Augustus came to power in 27 BC it was after a period of civil war that lasted over 70 years following the death of Julius Caesar. Rome had 50 legions at this time, and number that would have put too great a financial strain on the Roman coffers. Augustus also feared for the loyalty of these legion due to the fact that many legionaries prior to the civil war had given their loyalty to the legion’s commander and not the state. During this time Augustus also limited Rome’s territorial ambitions choosing the secure its gains and to not expand it much further, thus making it more unmanageable both administratively and financially.…
Marcus Aurelius would have had mixed feelings about the collapse of the Roman Empire in the mid-to-late third century AD. An admirer of change, Marcus would have accepted the direction that the Empire was heading in, but not necessarily through the murderous means in which it transpired. He also was an enormous aficionado of living as close to in accordance with nature as was possible and not enjoying an overly lavish lifestyle. Few of the Emperors during the mid-to-late third century AD were overtly careless with their reigns, and most were entirely focused on maintaining defense. According to Aurelius, nothing could be more in accordance with nature than death, or in this case a violent death, which was the fate of every emperor that took…
The first work of art I found was earliest art which was from 120,000 BCE-100 CE. IT had the most depicting animals including large and powerful creatures that suggested the artists desire to imitate the actual appearance of the animals represented. Giving the animals a sense of volume by using gradation of color. It also created sculptural objects small and carved figures of people mostly of women and animals. It reflected a more abstract and less naturalistic approach to representation.…
A Stoic is a person who is seemingly indifferent to or unaffected by joy, grief, pleasure, or pain. One who is not touched by the outside world seem to live inside themselves always thinking that today might be the last. Stoics detach themselves from things of this worlds including objects, people, and to a certain extent their own lives. In Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations and Epictetus’ Discourses they both explain how to properly be a stoic, learning to deny their feelings, respect themselves and nature, and detach themselves from the useless things of this world.…
Marcus Brutus, a righteous and noble Roman, died an honorable death. On the battlefield, in Philippi, his army was destroyed by Mark Antony and Octavian so he thought that committing suicide was better than being kept prisoner. He was 43 when he died.…
The ability to see is a much more complex ability than just the physical attribute. Most individuals have the ability to see physically but are blind to the reality of certain circumstances. In the play, “Oedipus the King” by Plato, Oedipus, the tragic hero, is not a blind man but cannot see the reality in the outcome of trying to escape his given fate.…
In "Oedipus Rex", Sophocles portraits one of the most intriguing and fascinating traits of the human nature: the search for truth regarding who we are and the realization of the paths reserved by our future fate.…
tried to build a more solid senate but failed to take power away from the…
Cornelius Tacitus was born in 56 A.D in the area of southern Gaul. By the year 75 he lived in Rome training as an orator. A year later he married the daughter of the consul Julius Agricola. In later years he wrote a biography of Julius Agricola. He eventually took up a career in politics rising from senator all the way up to the consulship in 97. After the consulship he continued with his political career as proconsul of Asia but began to write historical works as well. Some of Tacitus' major works include Agricola written in 97-8, Germania written in 98, The Histories, recording Roman history from 69 to 96, and The Annals, recording the history from 14 to 68. Tacitus is known as one of the greatest historians and prose stylists who wrote in Latin. His works The Histories and The Annals are among the masterpieces of Latin literature. Little evidence exists of Tacitus later life or the date of his death.1…
The Golden Ass by Apuleius is more than just a comedy about the life of Lord Lucius, rather it is a window into the daily lives of the people living during the classical era. The Classical era is something we never could fully understand due to the destruction of many manuscripts whether it be to invasion or lack of care. When compared to the following era, the classical era was well ahead in the sense of sanitation and the use of logic, which were lost with the fall of the Roman Empire. The Golden Ass brings a new concept to the lives of people living during the Roman Empire, humanity, which was forgotten in books like the Aeneid that glorified the daily lives of people living in the Classical era.…
Marcus Junius Brutus, often referred to as Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic. After being adopted by his uncle he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, but eventually returned to using his original name.…