Ancient Rome

Location, Location, Location!

• Italy sits in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea

• Rome sits in the middle of the Italian peninsula

Geography

• Broad fertile plains in the north and west• Apennine Mountains form backbone, not rugged• Much easier to unify than Greece• 7 hills of Rome

– Capitoline– Palatine– Aventine – Esquiline– Viminal– Caelius– Quirinal

Early Rome

• Shared the peninsula with the Greeks, Etruscans, Carthaginians, and other Italic-speaking peoples (example: Sabines, Samnites, Volscians)

• The Etruscans greatly influenced Rome:– Alphabet– Arch– Drainage– Gods and goddesses– Kings

Legendary 7 kings of Rome

• Romulus (753-716 B.C.)• Numa Pompilius (715-673 B.C.)• Tullus Hostilius (673-641 B.C.)• Ancus Marcius (641-616 B.C.)• Tarquinius Priscus (616-579 B.C.)• Servius Tullius (579-535 B.C.)• Tarquinius Superbus (535-509 B.C.)

– Built the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill

– Built the Cloaca Maxima (“Great Sewer”) that still exists today

The Roman Republic

• The Romans forced out the last Etruscan king, Tarquinius Superbus, in 509 B.C. which began the republic period

• This republic would last for 500 years• Called res publica in Latin, or “that which belongs to the

people.”• The people choose some of the officials• Romans were very sensitive to anyone calling himself or

even thinking of himself as a king (ex. Julius Caesar)• By having a republic, the Romans wanted to prevent any

individual from gaining too much power.

The Structure of the Republic

• Patricians- members of the landholding upper class• Plebeians- farmers, merchants, artisans, and traders

who made up most of the population• Positions in the government

– Senator- served for life, strongly influenced Roman’s laws (300 total at this time)

– Consuls- every year the Senators chose 2 consuls from the Patrician class. Their job was to supervise the business of gov’t and command the armies. They could only serve one term.

– Dictator- a ruler who has complete control over the government. Granted 6 months of power as a maximum.

Plebs fight for power!

• After much fighting between the classes, the plebeians gained the right to have tribunes that protected their interest

• The tribune had the right to veto laws they thought were harmful or unfair to plebeians

• Laws of the Twelve Tables– Earliest form of written Roman law– Laws were unwritten custom before– Maintained class distinctions by banning marriage

between patricians and plebeians– Gave fathers the right to whip, imprison, sell, or kill

their children

Republican Legacy

• U.S. adapted ideas of the senate, veto, and checks and balances on political power

Roman Society

The ideal Roman women should be loving, dutiful, dignified and strong.

Left: Vestal VirginRight: Cornelia Africana, mother of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus

Women

• Roman women generally had more freedom than Greek women

• Some owned businesses

• They went to the public baths, the theater, and dined out with their husbands

• Most worked at home spinning, weaving, raising children, etc.

All kids go to school

• All children learned to read and write

• Wealthier families would often get Greek tutors for their children

• Rhetoric was important for boys going into politics

The Republic Grows

• By 270 B.C. the Romans controlled the entire Italian peninsula• Skillful diplomacy and a will trained army were responsible for

the successes• The army was made up of citizen-soldiers• Legion- 5,000 men• Rome is mainly just with conquered peoples (similar to the

Persians)• Rome extended citizenship to some new territories (a very big

deal)• The genius of Roman conquest and expansion is that they

made everyone else WANT to be Roman, so conquered lands stayed loyal even in bad times

• Roads unite Rome’s many lands

Section 2-From Republic to Empire

• Roman republic begins to expand– Came in conflict with Carthage– Carthage was a Phoenician colony– Punic Wars

• First Punic War- Rome won and gained Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia

• Second Punic War- Hannibal and his elephants cross the Alps. Carthage lost all land outside of Africa, but the Romans still considered them a threat. Hannibal = boogeyman

• Third Punic War- Rome completely destroys Carthage– Survivors killed or made slaves

– Salty wounds

Masters of the Western Mediterranean!

• Rome was now committed to imperialism- establishing control over foreign lands and peoples.– Through conquest the Romans gained

Macedonia, Greece, and parts of Asia Minor. They also allied themselves with Egypt.

Effects of the expansion at home

• Widened the gap between rich and poor

• Hurt farmers

• Increased corruption in the government

Questions for “Cleopatra: What Kind of Woman Was She, Anyway?”

• Given the various descriptions and evidence in this article, why do YOU think she has been either vilified or celebrated throughout history? After reading this, what kind of opinion do you have of the Queen of the Nile?

• Write a three paragraph essay with a defined opening, body, and closing. Each paragraph should contain at least 5 sentences.

SPQR

• Senatus Populusque Romanus

The Roman Achievement

A Blend of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman Advances

“Greece has conquered her rude conqueror”- Horace

• The Romans absorbed ideas from the Greek colonists in southern Italy, and continued to borrow ideas throughout Roman history.

• To the Romans, Greek art, architecture, literature, philosophy, and science was the pinnacle of cultural achievement.

Roman Writers

• Virgil– Author of The Aenied– Tried to show that Rome’s past

was as heroic as that of Greece

Horace

• Poet during the reign of Augustus

• “Carpe diem”

• Satire- to make fun of society

• Horace was gentle when

making fun

Martial

• Wrote more biting satire

• Could be considered the

first insult comic

"You say that the rabbit isn't cooked, and ask for the whip;

Rufus, you prefer to carve up your cook than your rabbit."

Book III, No. 94

Juvenal• that the common people—rather than caring about their freedom—are only

interested in “bread and circuses” • that—rather than for wealth, power, or children—men should pray for a

“sound mind in a sound body” • that a perfect wife is a “rare bird” • and the troubling question of who can be trusted with power—“who will

watch the watchers?” or "who will guard the guardians themselves?"

Historians

• Livy– p. 162– Patriotic feeling– Wanted to show the glory of Rome by

celebrating her heroic past– Wrote The History of Rome

• Founding in 753 B.C. until the time of

Augustus

Historians continued…

• Tacitus

• Criticized Augustus and his successors because he thought they destroyed Roman liberty

• Wrote about the emperors Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero

• Year of the Four Emperors– Galba, Otho,Vitellius,Vespasian

Roman Art

• Like the Greeks, Roman artists stressed realism, but they also emphasized an individual’s character

• They could also be idealistic(ex. Augustus)

Roman Architecture

• Emphasized grandeur

• Used concrete, columns, and arches

• Used domed roofs for large building (ex. Pantheon) Now use as a church called Santa Maria dei Martiri

Colosseum

• Originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre

• 12 to 15 stories high

• Seats 50,000 spectators

• Crowds watched gladiators, fights between men and animals, and mock naval engagements

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Colosseum_in_Rome%2C_Italy_-_April_2007.jpg

Aqueducts

• Bridge like stone structures that carried water form the hills into Roman cities

• Wealthy had running water in their homes

• Used for fountains, public baths and sewer systems