tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17187798239975021462024-02-19T06:20:45.769+00:00Athens and RomeAn account of the Athenian democracy and the transition of Rome from Republic to Empire by Dr Anne Stott.Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-71332826145368037092016-03-15T17:11:00.000+00:002016-03-15T17:11:00.172+00:00Augustus: family and succession<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For this post, I am particularly indebted to Werner Eck, <i>The Age of Augustus</i>, 2nd edn (Blackwell, 2007)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It is misleading to think of Augustus as an ‘emperor’ who was free to leave the succession to a member of his family. He owed his power to the various offices given him by the Senate and People, from his immense private fortune and from the number of clients who owed everything to his patronage. It was important to Augusts that he preserved the appearance of republican rule and that the succession should be chosen not by him but by the Senate and People. In wishing the position he had achieved to be passed down to his family, he could claim to be simply following republican precedent.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julia Augusta<br />
'Julia the elder'</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It was a problem for Augustus that he had no son to whom he could pass on his powers in a way that con</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">temporaries would have thought natural. His only child was his daughter, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_the_Elder" style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">Julia</a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, born to his second wife, Scribonia, in 39 BC. On the day of her birth Octavian (as he then was) divorced Scribonia and married </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livia" style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">Livia Drusilla,</a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> a member of the </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">gens</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Claudia, an old political family. Livia had been married to Tiberius Claudius Nero, she was the mother of a four-year-old son, Tiberius, and was pregnant at the time of her second </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">marriage. This meant that Octavian had to obtain permission from the college of </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">pontifices</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">. The ceremony took place on 17 January 38 BC, and was the cause of much</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> gossip. Three months after the marriage she gave birth to her second son, Drusus.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marcellus, Augustus's<br />
nephew and for a time<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> Augustus’ marriage to Livia was childless, so the priority was to find an appropriate husband for Julia. In 25 BC, at the age of 14, she married her 17-year-old cousin, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Claudius_Marcellus_(Julio-Claudian_dynasty)">Marcus Claudius Marcellus</a>, the son of his sister Octavia, and it was assumed that Marcellus was being groomed for the succession. However, Marcellus died suddenly in 23 BC. Augustus himself was seriously ill in the same year and this might have made him consider the succession as a matter of even greater urgency. In 21 BC his right-hand man <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Vipsanius_Agrippa">M. Vipsanius Agrippa</a> was made to divorce his wife and marry Julia, who was 25 years his junior. He was given his own imperium as a proconsul and in 18 BC he was granted the powers of a tribune of the plebs as well, which gave him a legal status similar to that of Augustus himself, marking him out as the obvious heir. Julia bore him five children, including two sons, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Caesar">Gaius</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Caesar">Lucius</a>, in 20 and 17 BC and after the second was born the two of them were adopted in a public ceremony: his grandsons became his sons.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On 4 July 13 BC the Senate commissioned the dedication of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ara_Pacis">Ara Pacis</a>, the Altar of Augustuan Peace on the Campus Martius to honour the return of Augustus to Rome after his campaigns in Spain and Gaul. The altar was a monument to Augustus and his family. It was reassembled in 1938 and the present altar is a modern reconstruction.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ara Pacis<br />
Manfred Heyde<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The dream of a tidy succession was shattered when Agrippa died in 12 BC, when his two young sons were still minors. This might not have been bad news for Livia, who saw it as a chance to advance her own son, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius">Tiberius</a>. Though he was very attached to his wife, Vipsania, the daughter of Agrippa, he was made to divorce her and marry Julia. The marriage seems to have been unhappy from the start and by the time Augustus granted Tiberius tribunician powers, it had completely broken down. He went to live on the island of Rhodes and gossip about Julia’s private life spread around Rome.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Meanwhile Gaius and Lucius were advancing into public life. In 6 BC Augustus sponsored games in their names as an occasion for officially presenting them to the people. In 5 BC Gaius came of age and put on the <i>toga virilis</i> and the Senate designated him to become consul in five years time, when he would be only 20. The youth of the equestrian order elected him their leader, the <i>princeps iuventutis. </i> When Lucius reached his majority in 2 BC, he received the same rights as his brother. In the provinces, too, it was taken for granted that they were Augustus’ heirs. In 1 BC Gaius was despatched to the East to learn more about the region, to negotiate with the Parthians, and to install a client king on Armenia. In AD 1 he assumed control of Syria. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">But by this time, the first of a series of disasters had struck the family. In 2 BC, Julia was arrested for treason and for adultery with an unspecified number of men. This was doubly embarrassing for Augustus as he had been passing legislation to promote family life and moral values. Julia may have been part of an aristocratic clique designed to remove Tiberius, or she might have been the victim of a coup. Reluctant to execute her, Augustus made Tiberius divorce her, and exiled her to the island of Pandateria, where she was forbidden to see any men or drink wine. (Five years later she was transferred to the mainland, but with the accession of Tiberius in AD 14 she was confined in harsh conditions and died shortly afterwards.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In AD 2 Lucius died suddenly in Massilia (Marseille). In AD 4 Gaius died in Lycia (southern Turkey). Both young men were buried in Augustus’ museum in the Field of Mars, and with them died his hopes of seeing his descendants inherit his office. The way was now open for Livia’s sons. Augustus seems to have favoured Drusus’ son <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanicus">Germanicus</a>, who was a blood relation, being the son of his niece, Antonia, and a reluctant Tiberius was forced to adopt him as his son in AD 4. Augustus then adopted Tiberius, making his stepson and former son-in-law his son.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiberius <span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">42 BC- 37 AD<br />Augustus's successor,<br />a man with many inner demons</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The disaster of the Teutoburg Forest</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In AD 9 the Roman army experienced its greatest defeat since the wars with Hannibal when </span><span style="font-size: large;">an alliance of three Germanic tribes ambushed and destroyed three Roman legions and their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius Varus in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Teutoburg_Forest">Teutoburg Forest</a>. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Despite several subsequent campaigns, the Romans never again attempted to conquer the area east of the Rhine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">According to the historian <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suetonius">Suetonius</a>, when he heard of the disaster Augustus </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">'left his hair and beard untrimmed for </span><span style="font-size: large;">moths; he would often beat his head on a door, shouting "Quinctilius Varus, give me back my legions!" and always kept the anniversary as a day of deep mourning.'</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">n AD 13 Tiberius received an imperium equal to Augustus’ own, which empowered him to act in every province where he commanded troops. In his will of the same year, Augustus named him as his heir. He had secured the succession, though Tiberius had never been his first choice. In spite of the gossip of the historians, there is no evidence that Livia had engineered the deaths that made possible her son's accession.</span><br />
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-17964920881614820792016-03-10T09:38:00.001+00:002016-03-10T09:38:40.334+00:00Roman slavery<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">The<i> </i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Iustinianus"><i>Digest of Roman Law</i></a></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">, the Code of the Emperor Justinian, drew a fundamental distinction between the </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><i>liber homo</i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><i>,</i> the free person, and the </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><i>servus</i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">, or slave. A slave was defined as someone </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><i>in potestate</i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">, in the power of a master, whereas the free person is </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><i>sui juris</i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-align: left;">, able to act in his own right.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_ancient_Rome">Slavery</a> was universally accepted. Apart from a few Stoics, no-one thought it was wrong. There was no concept in the ancient world of individual human rights. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Roman society relied heavily on slaves. From the 3rd century BC onwards slaves flooded into Rome from all quarters –for example, there were 75,000 enslaved prisoners from the first Punic War. During the last two centuries BC Sicily, North Africa and Italy possessed economies that were firmly grounded in slave labour. Unless poverty- stricken, every free man owned at least one slave. But many Romans <i>were </i>poor, and it is unlikely that those living in the cramped tenements in Rome could have owned even one slave. However, important Romans may have averaged four or five hundred slaves apiece. Romans of good family were brought up by slave nurses, and as children played with slaves of their own age. Their teachers and coaches were slaves. Their suicides were aided by their slaves. The relationship between free and slave was one of close physical proximity. Slaves worked alongside citizens not separately from them- there were no specifically slave occupations. They were defined not by their labour but by their legal status. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Legal Status</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A slave was a <i>res</i>, a piece of property; he could be bought and sold and left in a will. He had no civil status or rights. He could not own property, vote, or serve in the army. He could not legally marry, but could with his master's permission, enter a form of marriage. He could not bring an action in a law court. Evidence in law was only allowed if it was exacted under torture. This is because they were deemed unable to act freely; only torture could free them from the control of their masters. Slaves were part of the master's household (<i>familia</i>). The <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pater_familias">pater familias</a></i> had complete control over them. He could punish them by whipping them, imprisoning them in a slave prison (<i>ergastulum</i>) or even having them executed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As the Roman Republic expanded, slaves were brought to Rome from all over the Mediterranean world and beyond.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The majority of slaves were prisoners captured in war - eg Caesar in Gaul. The country of origin was important. Greek slaves were valued for intelligence and skill. But as many slaves had Greek names, their purchasers could be misled. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Piracy was second to war as a source of slaves and was often a cover for the slave trade. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Brigands often captured travellers and sold them as slaves. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Some were born slaves. Slaves could not marry legally, but they could live together as man and wife. Children became the property of their owner. Children of masters and slave girls were also slaves. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Although Roman law forbade the practice of buying and selling a free person, this did happen in practice. In 85-84 BC Sulla, by his heavy tax demands, forced many parents to sell their children, and eventually themselves. Peasants forced off the land often sold their children into slavery - therefore the number of slaves was always increasing. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A result of being exposed as an infant. If unwanted children were found, they could be made slaves. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Under the Principate, criminals might be enslaved as a punishment for serious unrest and made to serve in the mines or the quarries. Crimes included theft, sacrilege and arson. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Numbers</span></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The evidence is thin. It is possible that in Italy at the time of Augustus there might have been 2 million out of a population of 7 million. In Rome, out of about 1 million inhabitants, perhaps a quarter were slaves. The philosopher <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_the_Younger">Seneca</a> (4 BC- AD 65) wrote in his piece <i>On Clemency</i>: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘On one occasion a proposal was made by the Senate to distinguish slaves from freedmen by their dress; it then became apparent how great would be the impending danger if our slaves began to count our numbers.’ </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">(However, compare with US figures when in the slave-holding estates in 1850 there were 51 slaves to every 100 free men.) </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Slave Occupations</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Slaves on a <i>villa rustica</i></b>: A large proportion of slaves, perhaps the majority, were employed on country estates. When the upper classes grew rich from the spoils of war, they bought up land, and these new, large estates were worked by slaves. Slaves were part of the property and classed along with the farm stock. The day was long - 9-15 hours, with few holidays. They lived in barracks. In the master's absence, slaves were under the control of the <i>vilicus,</i> usually a slave himself. Slaves who displeased their masters were kept chained in prison overnight. Augustus ordered these prisons to be inspected. Before then, there was no supervision. Rural slaves were less likely to be freed than slaves in a city.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Slaves on a <i>villa urbana</i></b>: This was a wealthy Roman’s country house, served by a maintenance staff. The master would bring his slaves with him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Slaves in the mines</b>: The labour force in the mines consisted of escaped convicts and prisoners of war. Miners quickly became exhausted and died. Lucretius: ‘What malignant breath is exhaled by foul mines! ... Have you not heard how speedily men die and how their vital forces fail when they are driven by dire necessity to endure such work?' </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Slaves in the arena</b>: Gladiators were slaves - generally either prisoners of war or condemned criminals. (This will be followed up in a later post.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Criminals faced various penalties </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Ad gladium - sent to the arena </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Ad ludum - sent to training school </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Ad bestias - thrown to wild beasts </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>In workshops</b>: Brick works, lamp factories, lead pipe works, glass works, potteries. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>In households:</b> Cleaning, cooking, serving, gardening; nurses, tutors. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A slave holds up his master's writing table</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Urban slaves had more holidays in the town than in the country. Many of the slaves were specialists - hairdressers, litter bearers, secretaries. Such people were only busy for short periods. The greater the level of skill, the better the treatment. Many slaves were given a wage (</span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">peculium</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">) by their masters. It remained the property of the master, but slaves were usually allowed to save it, and they could use it to buy their freedom. </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Public slaves </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">These were owned by the state and the towns. Many were used for clerical jobs especially in financial affairs. Others acted as assistants to the aediles. Slave craftsmen belonged to a trade guild association. The chances of freedom for able and ambitious slaves who served in the imperial bureaucracy were good. But the majority were engaged in menial jobs. </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Slave revolts </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Roman proverb was: ‘Every slave we own is an enemy we harbour'. The Sicilian revolt of 135 BC and the Spartacus revolt show the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/slavery_01.shtml">dangers inherent in slavery</a>. Many slaves, especially those from Gaul, Iberia and Thrace, had been born free. Masters were always vulnerable to the despair of the slaves. Slaves prepared their food, shaved them, and helped them to bed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Slave murders of masters</b>.</span> The law decreed that all slaves living under the master's roof at the time of the murder should be put to death. This did not help Larcius Macedo, the ex-praetor, who was also of slave ancestry, who, in AD 100 was assaulted in his baths by all the slaves in attendance on him and left for dead. However, he revived a few days longer, in which time he saw the slaves, who had run away, recaptured and executed. A few days later he died of his injuries. In AD 61 Padanius Secundus, Prefect of the City of Rome, who owned 400 slaves, was murdered by one of them. All the slaves were executed (including children) but Nero had to use an armed guard to prevent a riot. After this critical case, legislative reforms against the abuse of slaves continued. </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Changing attitudes </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The classic Roman attitude is represented by the Elder Cato’s, 2nd century BC work <i>On Farming</i>. His sole motive was profit: slaves to be treated like animals, though there is more anxiety about the welfare of an ox, which is less capable of looking after itself. The best principle of management is to treat both slaves and animals well enough for them to work hard. But from the late Republic and the Principate there is evidence of changing attitudes. The number of new slaves available from the wars declined with the advent of the Augustan peace. The last big haul of slaves was after Trajan’s Dacian wars. After this, the supply dried up and the slave began slowly to be replaced by the tenant farmer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>The growth of Stoicism</b>.</span> Classical Stoicism taught that slavery was not natural, as Aristotle had stated, but artificial. Though the theoretical belief that all men were equal was not often taken literally, Stoics urged people to act with self-control and moderation. A decree of Claudius stated that if a sick slave was abandoned by his master, he was to gain his freedom. Slave prisons were abandoned by Hadrian, who also restricted the punishment of slaves in the event of a master's murder to those who were near him when he was killed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Cicero argued that slaves must be given some hope of freedom. When Sositheus, a slave who had served as his reader, died, he wrote: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">'I am more upset about it than anyone would suppose I should be about a slave’s death’. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Seneca's </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Moral Letters</i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i> </i>contain an epoch-making statement of his attitude to slavery: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘Please reflect that the man you call your slave was born of the same seed, has the same good sky about him, breathes as you do, lives as you do, dies as you do.' </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">From the 1st century onwards we find epitaphs to the souls of dead slaves. Slaves belonged to associations defraying the funerals of members of their community. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The fundamental reason for the decline of slavery was economic. The replacement of slave gangs by free peasant labour suggests that in the later Empire, slaves were neither abundant nor cheap. </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Freedmen</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqleeXbR3Ve_x8rHUwoj8KOx6-kDgo1vRy8HZEHaD-m4lda7Jr_0W-xxw1aM_qY9cv3aOeZl79eNwwoSwnFxQLpwyckJPGTW_F4a0i_yTps4Hu5JVneD6Vsvs0qF5kqMHMhq7xGnzS0E/s1600/DM_Tiberius_Claudius_Chryseros.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqleeXbR3Ve_x8rHUwoj8KOx6-kDgo1vRy8HZEHaD-m4lda7Jr_0W-xxw1aM_qY9cv3aOeZl79eNwwoSwnFxQLpwyckJPGTW_F4a0i_yTps4Hu5JVneD6Vsvs0qF5kqMHMhq7xGnzS0E/s200/DM_Tiberius_Claudius_Chryseros.jpg" width="175" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;">Cinerary urn for </span>the freedman Tiberius Claudius Chryseros and two women, probably his wife and daughter</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The boundary between slave and free in Roman society was not necessarily fixed. Roman slavery differed significantly from Greek slavery, in that a significant number of Roman slaves <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedman">gained their freedom</a>. Most frequently a slave’s freedom was granted by his master’s last will, but a slave could also be freed by a special hearing before a magistrate. There were also more informal methods, such as sending a letter or making a special announcement in front of witnesses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When Cicero manumitted his slave, Tiro in 53 BC, his brother Quintus wrote to congratulate him: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘He ought never to have been a slave and now you have decided that he should be our friend instead.’ </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He went on to mention his own freedman and in doing so, revealed a primary motive for manumission: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘The loyalty which I receive from Statius is a sheer delight to me; so how much more you will gain in the same way from Tiro- and more, because Tiro is a scholar and a conversationalist, a humane man, and these are qualities which count for more than material values.’</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A slave granted his freedom by a Roman citizen became a citizen himself, a strategy of incorporation without parallel among other slave-owning societies. However, though he could become a citizen, a freedman could never qualify for membership of the Senatorial or Equestrian orders, or the higher magistracies. But the sons of freedmen born after manumission could rise high. Horace became Augustus’s court poet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It was often in a master’s interest to free a slave. It got rid of the expense of feeding and supporting elderly slaves and provided younger slaves with an incentive to work. Freedmen were required by law to give their former masters <i>obsequium</i> (obedience) and <i>officium</i> (service). More surprisingly, perhaps, masters and their former slaves could share common tombs.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Conclusion</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Slavery was endemic in the ancient world and no-one could imagine a society without it. The Roman conquests increased the supply of slaves into Rome, where they a variety of occupations. Roman slavery was distinctive in that it manumission was relatively easy. The Romans believed that freedmen were a valuable resource for the state and provided a wealthy man with a trusted body of clients.</span><br />
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-73960245631302840952016-03-10T09:38:00.000+00:002016-03-10T09:38:17.501+00:00Roman women<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZyp4afkxWbSI6QbcVCiTvmVm3_xzRPbKEPSLyZQKFIp9JVUnKueqAvR3Fl9VaqFvQvR1qDpDE3TFZYoRF4odbnwI7yx0nTQrNVmwcg1A1OHa6B0PGZBPi8XIl0YgCxEBRIBm3Nbr2aI/s1600/Eumachia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZyp4afkxWbSI6QbcVCiTvmVm3_xzRPbKEPSLyZQKFIp9JVUnKueqAvR3Fl9VaqFvQvR1qDpDE3TFZYoRF4odbnwI7yx0nTQrNVmwcg1A1OHa6B0PGZBPi8XIl0YgCxEBRIBm3Nbr2aI/s200/Eumachia.jpg" width="101" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eumachia, priestess of Venus at Pompeii</td></tr>
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<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Marriage</span></h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">Roman marriage was a simple and private business. A man and woman were assumed to be married if they claimed to be married.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The wealthy often had formal marriage ceremonies, in which the bride traditionally wore yellow clothes, but these were not essential.</span><span style="font-size: large;">The purpose of marriage was the production of legitimate children.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Women often married young, at around fourteen or fifteen. Their husbands were usually in their mid to late twenties. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Cicero’s daughter, Tullia, was betrothed to her first husband when she was eleven and married at fifteen. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Early marriage seems to have applied to the lower classes as well: girls in their mid-teens married men ten years older than they were. </span><br />
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<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Whatever the relative freedoms of Roman women, their subordination was surely grounded in that disequilibrium between and adult male and what we would call a child bride.’ Mary Beard, <i>SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome</i> (Profile Books, 2015).</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, Cicero went too far when in his sixties he married a girl forty-five years younger!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Childbirth was the biggest killer of young adult women. Two prominent deaths were those of Cicero’s daughter, Tullia, and Caesar’s daughter, Julia.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The republican matron: the ideal</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There was a constant tension between the ideal of the Roman matron and its reality. The ideal was a life of chastity and simplicity, in which a woman put the needs of her husband and her children before her own, and spent much of her day spinning and weaving. The reality was a world of enormous wealth, aristocratic indulgence and display, and the exercise of leadership during the absences of men on campaigns.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The legal position</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Roman law decreed that all women were to be under the custody of males.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>The <i>pater familias</i></b>: In childhood, a daughter fell under the sway of the male head of the household, the <i>pater familias</i>, whose power extended to the right to determine life or death for all the members of the household (<i>domus</i>). Male offspring outgrew their subjection when they came of age, but the only automatic legal exemption for women from the power of the pater familias was accorded those who became Vestal Virgins.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Upon the death of the <i>pater familias</i>, the custody of the daughters passed to the nearest male relative. A guardian was required when a woman performed important transactions, such as accepting an inheritance, making a testament, or assuming a contractual obligation. However, if the guardian withheld approval a woman could apply to the magistrate to have his assent forced or to have a different guardian appointed. By the late Republic tutelage over women seems to have been only a slight disability to women. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelia_Africana">Cornelia</a>, the mother of the Gracchi, is reported as acting on her own initiative.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The legislation of Augustus provided a way for women to free themselves from the formal supervision by male guardians. According to 'the right of three or four children' a freeborn woman who bore three children and a freedwoman who bore four children were exempt from guardianship.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>The husband</b>: The laws of guardianship indicate that the powers of the <i>pater familias</i> surpassed those of the husband. The <i>pater familias</i> decided whether his daughter would remain in his power, or whether she would pass from his control to that of another man. The married daughter was only in the power of her husband if the marriage was contracted with <i>manus</i>. In a <i>manus</i> marriage, a wife became part of her husband's family, as though she were his daughter; she renounced her father's religion and instead worshipped at her husband's hearth. His ancestors became hers. However, a woman married without <i>manus</i> continued to participate in her father's cult and remained part of his family. This was the case, for example, with Julia, the daughter of Augustus. She had three husbands but remained under the authority of her father.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It is not clear whether the husband in a <i>manus</i> marriage held absolute power over his wife. Cato the Censor claimed that husband did have an unlimited right to judge their wives and could inflict the death penalty for adultery. However, this was a statement of theory, not necessarily of practice. Among the Stoic and Augustan authors, the power of husbands over their wives became an element in their marriage propaganda, and might not have corresponded to reality. Augustus had the reputation of being a hen-pecked husband!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFC3ujMNhBq3aT3-CKwEqQZGH6vu3DvpK5-UzlNDVriCuma9E26-wIkH65XDHulFsL_vWLFNsnNOJfzmjKPi5Eiv-0ojmVdi0lSuV0UWkZwhX-urMNzqLT97IDL7xn8ce0NnUWi2kUPn4/s1600/8093_-_Roma_-_Ara_Pacis_-_Livia_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall'Orto_-_30-Mar-2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFC3ujMNhBq3aT3-CKwEqQZGH6vu3DvpK5-UzlNDVriCuma9E26-wIkH65XDHulFsL_vWLFNsnNOJfzmjKPi5Eiv-0ojmVdi0lSuV0UWkZwhX-urMNzqLT97IDL7xn8ce0NnUWi2kUPn4/s200/8093_-_Roma_-_Ara_Pacis_-_Livia_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall'Orto_-_30-Mar-2008.jpg" width="128" /></a></td></tr>
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the wife of Augustus</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">By the late Republic marriage without <i>manus</i> was common - perhaps because her family preferred to negotiate a marriage where her property remained within her family of birth. Such an arrangement gave women more freedom and was largely responsible for the instability of marriage within the late Republic. A wife who quarrelled with her husband could return to her father's house, and divorce became easy. An example of easy divorce is provided by Octavian's divorce of Scribonia in order to marry <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livia">Livia</a>; because Livia herself was married, her husband had to be prevailed upon to divorce her. Tiberius was forced to divorce Vipsania in order to marry Julia. On the other hand, Octavia refused her brother’s request that she divorce Mark Antony when he was unfaithful to her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The consent of both partners was necessary for a marriage but the bride was allowed to refuse only if she could prove the proposed husband was morally unfit. But some women, as they grew older and their fathers died, chose their own husbands.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Most of the divorces we read about were done for political reasons. No reason was legally required but the usual causes were sterility or adultery on the part of the wife. Caesar divorced his first wife Pompeia because of her affair with Clodius, on the grounds that his wife had to be above suspicion. Augustus declared adultery a public offence only in women.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Property</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Twelve Tables decreed that daughters as well as sons could inherit. Roman women could receive property as a legacy, but in an amount not to exceed what was left to the heir. The trend towards smaller families left many women very well off. By the late Republic some women were independently controlling large amounts of property, even though the laws said this was not permissible.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Education</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Patrician women seem to have been better educated than upper class Athenian women. There are many records of women's ability to read and of their love of books, and educational and accomplishments were thought to enhance a woman's reputation, though Juvenal was scathing about intellectual women. There were even female orators. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hortensia_(orator)">Hortensia</a>, the daughter of a famous orator, was praise for the speech she delivered in 42 BC; she spoke in the Forum on behalf of the 1400 women whose male relatives had been proscribed, and who themselves had become subject to taxation in order to pay the expenses of the triumvirs.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Lower-class women</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Their lives are far less documented than those of patrician women. They included the overlapping categories of slaves, freedwomen, prostitutes, the wives of the plebs and working women. Some of them are mentioned in <a href="http://www.pompeiana.org/resources/ancient/graffiti%20from%20pompeii.htm">saucy graffiti</a> at Pompeii.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Government policy tended to ignore poor women, seeing them as less of a threat to law and order than poor men. This is probably the reason why the corn dole was only given to men.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Women's Occupations:</b> Both free women and slaves worked as spinners, weavers, cloth makers, menders, wet-nurses, child nurses, kitchen helps and general domestics. Because of mechanical methods for transporting water, devised by Roman engineers, fetching water was not done to the same extent as in Greece. In wealthy households, female slaves had specialist tasks as clerks, secretaries, ladies' maids, hairdressers, masseuses, readers, entertainers etc. Dorcas, the dresser of Livia, was a freedwoman.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Freedwomen were often expected to offer sexual favours to their former masters. The law allowed a master to manumit a slave in order to marry her. Slave women were automatically seen as sexual property.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The names of waitresses and prostitutes are found scribbled on the walls at Pompeii. Prostitution was recognised and taxed. Many unskilled and poor women maintained themselves by prostitution.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Women and religion</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Women served as priestesses, the most important of these being the Chief Vestal and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumaean_Sibyl">Sibyl at Cumae</a>. Women played a prominent role in many of the Mystery religions - the wall painting in the Villa of the Mysteries at Pompeii apparently (but we can't be sure!) shows a woman's initiation by flagellation into a mystery cult. Married women had a particular devotion to Juno, the patron of marriage and of women in childbirth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ruins of the building funded by Eumachia</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The best-known woman at Pompeii is the priestess </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eumachia" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">Eumachia</a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">, a businesswoman whose family manufactured bricks. She was the patroness of the fullers’ guild, whose members set up her statue in the veiled form of a priestess. She donated to the town porticos and colonnades and she erected an imposing tomb for herself. Mary Beard has cautioned that we know almost nothing about Eumachia and can only guess at all the different circumstances that might lie behind the building of her monument. Most likely she was intending to advance the career of her son. As a priestess, she held public office, but no woman could hold a magistracy.</span><br />
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-81254571753135724852016-03-10T09:37:00.000+00:002016-03-10T17:10:10.450+00:00The Roman house<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This post owes a great deal to Mary Beard's briskly sceptical and extremely readable, <i>Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town</i> (Profile Books, 2010)</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The so-called House of Pansa, Pompeii</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>House and shrine</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Unlike<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>modern<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>house,<span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>Roman<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>house<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>shrine.<span style="letter-spacing: 3.0px;"> </span>It<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>dwelling of<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span><i>pater familias,</i> the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>head<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 2.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>family.<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>It<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>also<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>place<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>where the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>household<span style="letter-spacing: 3.2px;"> </span>gods<span style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>celebrated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Three<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>kinds<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>deity were<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>venerated:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">1. The<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span><i>lares:<span style="letter-spacing: 1px;"> </span></i>these<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>gods<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>settlement,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>who<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>resided<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>where<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>men<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>had taken<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>possession<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>land<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>cultivated<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>it.<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span>They<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>offered<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>fire.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">2. The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span><i>genius</i><span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>god<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>male<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>line<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>-<span style="letter-spacing: -1.4px;"> </span>each<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>citizen<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>received<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>it<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>from his<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>father<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>passed<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>it<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>on<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>his<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>son.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>They<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>offered<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>pure<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>wine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">3. The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span><i>penates</i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>gods<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>larder;<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>they<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>turned<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>house<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>into<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>a </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">food</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">store</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">(corn,</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">beans,</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">wine,</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">bacon,</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">salt</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">meat).</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">They</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">were</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">offered incense.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>household<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>fire,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>at<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>which offerings<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>made,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>created<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>links<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>between these<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>deities.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>It<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>never allowed<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.0px;"> </span>go<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>out.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>When<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>master<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>left<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the house<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>for<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>last<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>time,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>it<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>ritually<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>extinguished<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>wine.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>The</b><span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"><b> </b></span><b>layout</b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"><b> </b></span><b>of</b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"><b> </b></span><b>the</b><span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"><b> </b></span><b>house</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Roman<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>houses<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>four-sided,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>often<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>rectangular. The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>building<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>material varied<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>from<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>cob<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>(clay<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>mixed<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>gravel<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>straw)<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>brick.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>In<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5px;"> </span>Augustan Rome<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>commonest<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>building<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>material<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>sun-<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span>dried<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>brick.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Few<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>private<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>houses<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>have<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>survived<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span>Rome,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>but<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>Pompeii<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>(buried<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>lava<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>79 AD)<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5px;"> </span>provides<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>wealth<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>evidence, though this is not always easy to interpret.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>One<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>best<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>examples<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>surviving house<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>is<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> what used to be called </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>house<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>of Pansa,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>home<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>wealthy<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>man,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>one-storied dwelling<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>already<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>two<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>hundred<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>years<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>old<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>when<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>it<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>destroyed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Wealthy</b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"><b> </b></span></span><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">houses:</span> </b>The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>Roman<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>house<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>turned<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -1.0px;"> </span>on<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>itself.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>The street<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>front<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>was totally<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>anonymous,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span>house<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>insulated<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>from<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>street<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>self contained<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>shops,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3px;"> </span>which<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>did<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>not<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>connect<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>house,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>but<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>let<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>out<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>to tenants.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFE8BU48zG6W2esUYMmBpzS_Az9Yryjx_2SEDSn2QxXoY2UM6InHGD6o7tPDRJYyxGfJpEflORW1RvhoYXfguwa1e_k4jxiABQweiTa-h-XSwuRlVe0fcQCpIqdD6lQm8d8xEY-t2Akw/s1600/490px-Domusitalica.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidFE8BU48zG6W2esUYMmBpzS_Az9Yryjx_2SEDSn2QxXoY2UM6InHGD6o7tPDRJYyxGfJpEflORW1RvhoYXfguwa1e_k4jxiABQweiTa-h-XSwuRlVe0fcQCpIqdD6lQm8d8xEY-t2Akw/s200/490px-Domusitalica.svg.png" width="163" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plan of a<i> domus</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>entrance<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>though<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span><i>fauces</i>,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>narrow<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>passage.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>This<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>led<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>the atrium,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>general<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>living<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>area,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>which<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>acted<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>as<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>forecourt.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>atrium<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>was an<span style="letter-spacing: -1.0px;"> </span>elaborately decorated<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>space,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>lofty<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>cool, lit<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>through<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>central opening.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span>In<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> <a href="http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~jjd5t/region-vi/pansa/domus.html">‘</a></span><a href="http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~jjd5t/region-vi/pansa/domus.html">house<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>Pansa’</a>,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>there<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>pool<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>beneath<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>opening<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>to catch<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>rain<span style="letter-spacing: -1.2px;"> </span>water.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>(This<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>very<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>important<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>days<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>before<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>Augustus provided<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>Pompeii with<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>an<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>aqueduct.)<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>It<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>decoration<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>atrium that<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>revealed<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the social<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>status<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span><i>pater familias</i>.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>His<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>wealth<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>was shown by<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>luxury<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>decor<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>his<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>nobility<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>status<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span>wall<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>cupboards containing<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>wax<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>masks<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>his<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>ancestors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>core<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>house<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablinum">tablinum</a></i>,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>a room<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>where<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>patron<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>would receive<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>his<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>clients.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>It<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>separated<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>from the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>atrium<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>curtain<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>or<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>an open<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>door<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>it<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>contained<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>symbolic conjugal<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>bed.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4lE0BAAFiPlP3OII0GQv8Lg5OocWLC_Z4Xm4mRaXyZL0b7sFkpFmH16xUcl0gvRY-r8cZJZhaBLSM1xpER2w_QNVWv1It7FNG947ye9EUlMeJxgPvycsX59u1lvqyRLh9Qq0T1LJVYzA/s1600/Ricostruzione_del_giardino_della_casa_dei_vetii_di_pompei_(mostra_al_giardino_di_boboli,_2007)_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4lE0BAAFiPlP3OII0GQv8Lg5OocWLC_Z4Xm4mRaXyZL0b7sFkpFmH16xUcl0gvRY-r8cZJZhaBLSM1xpER2w_QNVWv1It7FNG947ye9EUlMeJxgPvycsX59u1lvqyRLh9Qq0T1LJVYzA/s200/Ricostruzione_del_giardino_della_casa_dei_vetii_di_pompei_(mostra_al_giardino_di_boboli,_2007)_01.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reconstruction of a peristyle garden, Pompeii</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">At<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>rear<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>house<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>a collection<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>windowless<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>rooms<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>leading<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>to an<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>enclosed<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>garden.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>In<span style="letter-spacing: -1.2px;"> </span>most<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>houses<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>this<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>garden<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>arranged<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>as<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peristyle">peristyle</a> or<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>patio.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>Romans<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>had<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>passion<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>for<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>gardens,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>garden<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>was regarded<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>as<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>part<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>house, not<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>separate<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>from<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>it.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>It<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>was always closed in,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span>either<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>wall<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>or<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>dense,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>cane<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>hedge.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span>It<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>shielded<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>family<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>from view,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>allowed<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>woman<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>work<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>undisturbed.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>garden<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>productive all<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>year round.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>It<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>used<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span>grow<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>staple<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>vegetables<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>Roman diet<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>as<span style="letter-spacing: -1.2px;"> </span>well<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>as<span style="letter-spacing: -1.0px;"> </span>medicinal<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>herbs<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>flowers.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>In<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>very<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>wealthy<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>house,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>the owner<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>would<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>have<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>another<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>garden<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>adjoining<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>peristyle.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>This<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>would<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>also<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>be enclosed<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>be<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>more<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>like<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>landscaped<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>park<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>than<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>out<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>idea<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>garden.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>rear<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>house<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>reserved<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>for<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>family<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>use<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>included<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>bedrooms, food<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>stores,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>kitchens<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>baths.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>This<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>area<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>where<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>women, children<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>slaves<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>lived.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>Free<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>men<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>only<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>entered<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>this<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>part<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>house<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>to sleep,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span>wash<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>or<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>eat a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>quick<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>breakfast.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>Bedrooms<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>tiny,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>just<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>enough space<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>for<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>bed<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>few<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>chairs. The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>bed<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>wooden<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>bedstead<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>on trestles, a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>straw<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span>mattress,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>woollen<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>blankets<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>some<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>cushions.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>Night<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>–time was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>only<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>time<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>when<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>a Roman<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>alone.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>Kitchens<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>always<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>tiny,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>even<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>in large<span style="letter-spacing: -1.9px;"> </span>houses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>dining<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>room<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>could<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>have<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>been<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>situated<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>anywhere<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>house.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>Meals could either<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>be<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>private<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>family<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>meals<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>or<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>public<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>receptions.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>dining<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>room was<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>called<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triclinium">triclinium</a>,</i><span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>room<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>three<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>couches.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> It has generally been assumed that </span>Roman<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>men<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>ate<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>lying down,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>leaning<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>their<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>life<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>elbows,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>their<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>heads<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span>nearest<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>table, though this might only have been the case on special occasions.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>Women and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>children,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>when<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>they<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>dined<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>men,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>would<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>remain<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>seated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Lower</b><span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"><b> </b></span><b>class</b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"><b> </b></span><b>housing:</b></span><span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>The excavations at Pompeii can provide a misleading picture of Roman housing. The very modest dwellings of the poor were less equipped to survive the disaster. In both Rome and Pompeii most<span style="letter-spacing: 3.5px;"> </span>tradesmen<span style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>moderate<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>means<span style="letter-spacing: 3.0px;"> </span>lived<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 3.1px;"> </span>'flat above<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span>shop',<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>simple<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>one-roomed<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>dwelling<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>reached<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>ladder<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>lit by<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>small<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>window<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>over<span style="letter-spacing: 2.3px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>doorway. In<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>larger<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>towns,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>especially<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -1.4px;"> </span>Rome, blocks<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>flats<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>common. They<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>often<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>occupied<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>whole<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>city<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>block,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>or insula, and reached<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>up<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>five storeys.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>They<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>generally<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>had<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>shops<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>ground<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>floor.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>Flat<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>sizes<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>varied from<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>about<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>5<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>12<span style="letter-spacing: -1.0px;"> </span>rooms.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFt9Xcpnb5_LqCSC0pIx1UDrU_dm6hAnQCZcTwyTEQEXaV5MTyA7mp3BOJbz46ra4kcn121jC5m8sT7rsWWYsXyLRDEIt8OnTsUFY3WegOnFcyZTNS6gL-PT6W2z22JEwUYa8Wg_auso/s1600/OstianInsula.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFt9Xcpnb5_LqCSC0pIx1UDrU_dm6hAnQCZcTwyTEQEXaV5MTyA7mp3BOJbz46ra4kcn121jC5m8sT7rsWWYsXyLRDEIt8OnTsUFY3WegOnFcyZTNS6gL-PT6W2z22JEwUYa8Wg_auso/s200/OstianInsula.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Insula from 2nd century AD in Ostia Antica</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Insula</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">dwelling</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">was</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">the</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">norm</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">in</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -1.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Rome, which was</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">a</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">city</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">of</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">flat<span style="letter-spacing: -0.10000000149011612px;">-</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">dwellers.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">A document</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">from</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">the</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">4th</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">century</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">AD</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">indicates</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">that</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">the</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">city</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">contained</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">46,602 </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">insulae</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">and</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">only</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">1,797</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: -1.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">private</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">houses.</span></span></div>
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-69950315555296349722016-03-02T11:15:00.000+00:002016-03-02T16:01:05.224+00:00Roman baths<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjld4n-nMJ-th27cxRlSmr7ZFn-NKrGGLLdMqlUAJfRcuLMzVhP6CXE-Xfy4CKg1hR9X-QhbVd19aTnW1dorLWgMVi5cDpfjnhj8ESMbhfwgnFjpAIZ4Qio0Oby8G8eSoRilKEwDMFBMo/s1600/Bath_of_Caracalla_Rome_2011_8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjld4n-nMJ-th27cxRlSmr7ZFn-NKrGGLLdMqlUAJfRcuLMzVhP6CXE-Xfy4CKg1hR9X-QhbVd19aTnW1dorLWgMVi5cDpfjnhj8ESMbhfwgnFjpAIZ4Qio0Oby8G8eSoRilKEwDMFBMo/s320/Bath_of_Caracalla_Rome_2011_8.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Baths of Caracalla<br />
AD 206</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For this post I have been particularly indebted to J. P. V. D Balsdon, <i>Life and Leisure in Ancient Rome </i>(The Bodley Head, 1969) and Mary Beard, <i>Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town</i> (Profile Books, 2010)</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Function </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In Rome there were two types of baths. The <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermae">thermae</a></i> were the large imperial bath complexes, while <i>balneae</i> where the smaller baths, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout the empire. Both words are derived from Greek and the more austere Romans disapproved of bathing as a degenerate Hellenistic practice. The association with luxury can be seen in a tombstone inscription put up at the entrance to the tepid bath in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome in the first century AD. This was to a freedman, Tiberius Claudius Secundus by his partner Merope: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘Wine, sex and baths ruin our bodies but they are the stuff of health – wine, sex, and baths.’ </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The baths were the social centre of Rome, a place of relaxation and recreation, where people could sit, read, talk and exercise. Everyone except the very poorest went to the baths. The visits were usually in the late afternoon or early evening. 1,328 lamps were excavated in the Forum Baths in Pompeii, as well as marks of lamp-soot on the walls, indicating that some establishments stayed open late at night. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Origins</span> </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Originally, bathing was a simple matter of health and cleanliness, and the oldest baths were of a very simple kind. Private houses with small suites of ill-lit baths were known in the 3rd century BC, though few traces of these survive but public baths were uncommon until the first century. The earliest public baths were small scale. Two of the oldest were at Pompeii, the <a href="http://www.main-vision.com/richard/stbt.shtml">Stabian baths</a>, built in the 2nd century BC and the Forum Baths put up when the colony was established in 80 BC. These early baths show the essential elements of bathing, freed from the grandiose embellishments that were to follow under the Empire. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Stabian baths were under repair at the time of the eruption, with only the women’s area in full working order. The very first building on the site has been dated to the fifth century BC. This took the form of an exercise court (<i>palaestra</i>) and a row of hip baths in the Greek style. In the middle of the second century there was a major redevelopment, with a series of improvements going up to their destruction. By AD 79 water was supplied direct from the aqueduct rather than a well. </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Structure </span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The basic structure comprised three principal rooms arranged in sequence: the undressing room (<i>apodyterium</i>), the warm room (<i>tepidarium</i>) and the hot room (<i>caldarium</i>). As baths developed, the added other facilities - cold plunge baths (<i>frigidaria</i>) and intensely hot rooms (<i>laconica</i>) to promote profuse sweating. The temperature of these specialised hot baths could be carefully regulated by raising or lowering a bronze disk set in an aperture in the domed roof. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hypocaust at the<br />
Stabian Baths, Pompeii</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In early times the heat source was usually a charcoal brazier, but from the beginning of the 1st century BC a new system came widely into use. Air, heated by means of an external furnace, was drawn into a space beneath the floor (the hypocaust) and up through vents in the walls. Usually, as at Aquae Sulis (Bath) the floors were supported on stacks of bricks (<i>pilae</i>). To draw the hot air into the underground chamber it was necessary to create a vertical draught by means of flues set in the walls opening through the roofs. Such a system had considerable advantages. It kept the room free from dirty and dust, it allowed a greater and more sustained heat to be produced, and a single source could heat more than one room providing for a graded range of temperatures. The thick masonry of the walls, floors and vaults ensured that once the temperature had been raised, the rooms would remain hot for a long time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The baths show Roman engineering at its best. The engineers demonstrated their ability to create huge vaulted spaces using bricks and concrete. As soon as the wall had been completed, the entire chamber would have been fitted with a mass of timber framework supported on scaffolding, to create a curve, representing the underside of the vault. On this, and springing from the wall top, the masons built ribs of brick about 1.5 metres apart, adjoining them at the top with a spine of wedge-shaped stones. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Many baths had mosaic floors. In the frigidarium of the Neptune baths at Ostia, Neptune in a chariot is drawn by four spirited sea-horses. The Stabian baths had painted landscape scenes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">At Aquae Sulis, the Romans developed baths round the three hot springs dedicated to the local deity Sulis. Some time in the 60s or 70s work began on a new stone built temple complex that was to dominate the town for the next four centuries. The spring was contained within a reservoir and used to supply a great thermal bathing establishment. The Great Bath was a large rectangular swimming bath lined with lead. It was always roofed, first with timber and late with a masonry vault. It was fed with a constant flow of hot mineral waters led direct from the spring in a lead-lined culvert. To the east of the Great Bath were two smaller swimming baths. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Public baths</span> </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The first suite of truly free (ie public) baths was provided by Agrippa in the Campus Martius. When he took a census in 33 BC no less than 70 baths were counted. By the 4th century they were to approach a thousand. Nero erected a suite in the Campus Martius, near the Pantheon. Titus and Trajan also built baths. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Among the best known of Rome's <i>thermae</i> are the <a href="http://www.livius.org/ro-rz/rome/rome_baths_caracalla1.html">Baths of Caracalla</a> founded by Septimius Severus in 206. Nearly a century later Diocletian built a 32-acre (380 x 370 metres) establishment, razing many buildings in order to create this huge structure. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Baths of Diocletian,<br />
dedicated AD 306</td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">The Baths of Diocletian</b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> survive partially today. Portions of the structure have been converted into churches; other parts house the Terme Museum. The interior proportions were huge and cavernous. They could accommodate 3,000 persons at a time. The baths were lit by semi-circular windows known as thermal or Diocletian windows. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">These great imperial baths were essentially self-contained leisure centres. The Baths of Diocletian contained facilities for gymnastics, reading, lectures, shopping and strolling. The addition of colonnaded courtyards (<i>palaestrae</i>) to provide facilities for exercise and athletics was a distinctively Greek contribution. The principal exercises were discus throwing, the use of dumb bells, fencing, wrestling and running. However, the Romans took these athletic exercises far less seriously than did the Greeks. Exercise usually preceded bathing. </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The bathing routine </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The opening and closing of the establishment was announced by the sound of a bell. Each visitor had first to pay an entrance fee, which differed according to the accommodation offered. The janitor threw the money into a box (a box was found in the portico of the <i>thermae</i> of Pompeii) and returned to the bather a ticket to be delivered to the bathing master. Sometimes this entrance fee was remitted to the people by the aediles, desirous to gain popularity. While Agrippa was in office everyone was admitted gratis for the space of one year. On his death he left his magnificent private thermae to the people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The basic bathing routine was recommended by the writer, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Younger">Pliny the Younger</a>. If not already undressed, the bather would undress in the <i>apodyterium</i>. In the Pompeian <i>thermae</i> we still see the holes in the walls into which the pegs for suspending the clothes were inserted. He would then proceed to one of the small very hot dry rooms attached to the <i>caldarium</i>. He would sweat profusely for a while in one of these small rooms and be rubbed dry. Then he moved into the caldarium with its hot, damp atmosphere. This was where the cleansing took place - the body was oiled and then scraped clean with a strigil (a tool made of metal or ivory). Next the bather would go to the <i>tepidarium</i> to cool gradually before taking a final dip in the plunge pool (the <i>frigidarium</i>). Afterwards he went into the <i>unctorium</i> to be rubbed, or to rub himself with oil. A wealthy man would be attended by a slave carrying the oil bottles and the strigil to remove oil and sweat from the skin, and linen towels. After the bath the hair and skin were again rubbed with ointment - even the clothes were scented. The scents were made from native flowers and shrubs like the rose, crocus, myrtle, cypress. The more expensive came from India or Arabia. Scented powders were strewn over the body; the water was mixed with saffron and other scents and the whole body was rubbed with swansdown and purple sponges. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This emphasis on cleanliness should not blind us to the insanitary nature of the baths. Think of all the bacteria happily multiplying in the warm water!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">At the Stabian baths, bathing was segregated. The women did not use the impressive main entrance but entered from a side street. The same seems to have been the case in the later Forum Baths. However, the most recent, the Central Baths, planned no separate facilities for women. This indicates the possibility of mixed bathing, a practice that seems to have become widespread in the first century AD. This led to scandal and the Emperor Hadrian was forced to decree that the practice be prohibited. There were already many small baths around the city some of which were reserved exclusively for females but at the main <i>thermae </i>Hadrian's decree meant either than extensive alterations had to be undertaken to duplicate facilities to that different hours had to be arranged. This latter course was more normally adopted, females being admitted from ten o; clock until one, males from one until closing time about six or seven. Perhaps this was the type of arrangement planned for the Central Baths.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Conclusion</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Roman moralists like the historian Tacitus and the philosopher Seneca believed that the obsession with cleanliness was a sign of decadence and contrasted present-day luxury with the austerity of the Republic. However, literary and archaeological evidence demonstrate the enormous popularity of the baths. They enabled people of all classes to meet together and relax in comfort. </span><br />
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-19453640244019521372016-03-01T17:45:00.000+00:002016-03-01T17:45:05.426+00:00Circus and spectacle<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">For this post, I have been indebted, among other sources, to Robin Lane Fox, <i>The Classical World: An Epic History of Greece and Rome</i> (Penguin, 2006), Mary Beard, <i>Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town</i> (Profile Books, 2010), Robert Knapp, <i>Invisible Romans </i>(Profile, 2013), and Florence Dupont, <i>Daily Life in Ancient Rome</i> (Hachette, 1989, Blackwell, 1992). There is also an excellent discussion <a href="http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/circus.html">here</a>.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO36nmHd9mKrmFvBijPs2e3Mkr-BX4X2NFp8DFwzax13v9ip7LiHSQvgFdTIJveBe7cOtwerVdiIL-gPLtH3NyyAlH-UPildrk5el6bphygNShbtqo3MTQFGz7UQP5pN7XHb0x_KXM7Jo/s1600/Mosaico_del_circo_MCGR_2285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO36nmHd9mKrmFvBijPs2e3Mkr-BX4X2NFp8DFwzax13v9ip7LiHSQvgFdTIJveBe7cOtwerVdiIL-gPLtH3NyyAlH-UPildrk5el6bphygNShbtqo3MTQFGz7UQP5pN7XHb0x_KXM7Jo/s320/Mosaico_del_circo_MCGR_2285.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mosaic of a chariot race, from Lyon. T<br />
he four teams (Red, Green, Blue, and White) can be clearly seen</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>'Bread and circuses'</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In his <i>Tenth Satire</i> the poet Juvenal (c. 100 AD) stated: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘Time was when the plebiscite elected</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Generals, Heads of State and commanders of legions: but now</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">They’ve pulled in their horns, there’s only two things that concern them </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses">Bread and circuses</a>.’</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He was referring to the corn dole and to the constant entertainments put on for the population.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In her review of Jerry Toner's <i>The Day Commodus Killed a Rhino: Understanding the Roman Games</i> (Johns Hopkins, 2015) Catherine Nixey writes: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">'The games were not some frivolous sideshow to Roman society: they were Roman society: financially, socially and politically they were at its heart.' <i>The Times</i>, 7 February 2105.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Life in Rome was punctuated by great festivals: ancient religious festivals, anniversaries of victories, celebrations of important dates in Rome's own history - in total, probably over 130 a year. They were originally religious festivals - such as the <i>Ludi Romani</i> dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva - but they gradually lost their religious significance for many people. About half these festivals were celebrated by a wide variety of games and spectacles: chariot races in the Circus Maximus and wild beast fighting in the amphitheatres. In AD 80 the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum">Colosseum</a> was opened by the Emperor Titus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Festivals were an important safety valve for the people. The gap between rich and poor was very wide; land hunger had led to an influx of landless people into Rome and the creation of a volatile urban proletariat. The games were also useful as propaganda value for the rulers, providing the opportunity of interacting with the people, as the crowds shouted their opinions to the politicians. Julius Caesar had been criticised for conducting business from his box, so Augustus always gave entertainments his full attention. At the climax of a gladiatorial contest the crowd would shout their verdict on defeated - but still living - men; and the emperor could please the people by responding to their demands. </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Chariot racing</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chariot_racing">races</a> were the most prestigious and enduring form of Roman entertainment. Chariot racing had a long history among the Greeks and it had probably come to Rome through the Etruscans. Virgil describes a chariot race in Book V of his <i>Aeneid</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘At the races passions ran high. Tens of thousands of spectators held their breath, waiting for the starter’s signal. Then, from his platform, the praetor threw down his handkerchief and they were off, into the headlong speed of the chariot race when the chariots hurtle forth from their stalls…the charioteers shake the waving reins wildly over their dashing steeds, bending forward with the lash! Then applause and shouts, and the zealous cries of partisans fill the air.’ </span></blockquote>
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Circus Maximus</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBJUYrMgFiUrgeeX_rELw-qk_6320UwiVdZsqaSZVcw54GzIaFH48eh0_FP1qEOxBhSskwlbw9rqVILYayM5YP8O3a31VmYVuzgdY7_V6JTv9tf6pjBvtUJ5s260W0piY9MUNDhK6j71o/s1600/Circus_max_1978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBJUYrMgFiUrgeeX_rELw-qk_6320UwiVdZsqaSZVcw54GzIaFH48eh0_FP1qEOxBhSskwlbw9rqVILYayM5YP8O3a31VmYVuzgdY7_V6JTv9tf6pjBvtUJ5s260W0piY9MUNDhK6j71o/s200/Circus_max_1978.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rather good view of the Circus Maximus,<br />
taken in 1978</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The main site of chariot racing in Rome was the Circus Maximus - 650 yards long by 220 yards wide, with space for more than 200,000 spectators. The Roman crowds for horse racing are still the largest sports crowds in the history of the world. In Greek races many individual chariots competed but at Rome competitors raced in multiples of four up to a maximum of twelve. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The horses emerged from the starting stalls (a Roman innovation) and competitors raced seven times, anti-clockwise past a central barrier known as the <i>spina</i>, some 233 yards long, which was decorated with two great obelisks, and around a circuit, manoeuvring a tight turn at each end. The most thrilling moment was when the chariots circled the markers (<i>metae</i>). They had to run very close to them without actually touching the stones. If they went too fast their centrifugal force would make them swerve dangerously, and they might tip over. Accidents were frequent. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There were four teams, or factions: Red, Green, Blue and White, each with its own horses and riders. Most charioteers began as slaves; successful ones could eventually buy their freedom. Spectators supported their teams with fierce enthusiasm and riots between fans often broke out. Races were also social occasions - see Ovid's <i>Amores</i>, which has a very full description of how a day at the races could also be an opportunity for seduction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">From the late 30s BC Agrippa was one of the great patrons of chariot racing. He presented the silver dolphins that marked the laps in races in the Circus Maximus. Augustus allowed chariot races to be added to public celebrations of his birthday, and he donated an obelisk celebrating his victory at Actium to the Circus. Under him twelve races a day were held.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9oiiA8kFt9bi7ucUNJRauSMr8mv_RaJh-M9-Ag2DRJVGg3QJLE6uvMdRtCP2fJ6COVBC7Ln6fI6XmY0GrMXT11B2RXqJwflQo3ifMX4SQI2IWp0EJtamKUMJk4AIIJX4JrqSMOqeSB9U/s1600/Circus_Max_1978_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9oiiA8kFt9bi7ucUNJRauSMr8mv_RaJh-M9-Ag2DRJVGg3QJLE6uvMdRtCP2fJ6COVBC7Ln6fI6XmY0GrMXT11B2RXqJwflQo3ifMX4SQI2IWp0EJtamKUMJk4AIIJX4JrqSMOqeSB9U/s200/Circus_Max_1978_2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A model of the Circus Maximus,<br />
with the Colosseum</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The poet, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovid">Ovid</a>'s, <a href="http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/AmoresBkIII.htm#anchor_Toc520536658">'Day at the Races'</a> (scroll down to read it) from Book III of his <i>Amores </i>gives a description of the races and the ceremonies attending them in the context of an attempted seduction. (Reading it, you might understand why Augustus banished him!)</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Amphitheatres</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The word ‘amphitheatre’ comes from two Greek words meaning ‘a place with seats for spectators all round’. In an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphitheatre">amphitheatre,</a> the seating completely encloses the space. The Romans also used the term ‘arena’ (from the Latin <i>harena</i> for sand) for the building that was used to cover the surface of the sanded performing area. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Seats in an amphitheatre were carefully ranked. The front rows were reserved for the elite, who enjoyed comfortable seating and a good view, with a barrier keeping them away from those in the inferior seats. Following rules introduced by Augustus, the women were seated at the back. The seats that survive in amphitheatres are of stone. However, most seats were of wood. Spectators entered by different routes according to where they were sitting. The Colosseum had cellars and underground passageways beneath the floor of the arena to accommodate the waiting fighters, whether human or animal.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Gladiators</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladiator">Gladiatorial contests</a> were the oldest of the Roman blood sports. Scholars are still debating when and where gladiators originated, whether they came via the Etruscans or from the south. Some have argued for prehistoric origins in human sacrifice. Florence Dupont argues that </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘it is no accident that they were introduced to Rome at a time when the city had embarked on an expansionist policy and when Rome was assuming its position at the centre of the world and of civilisation’. </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The first gladiatorial combat was staged in Rome in 264 BC, though there might have been earlier ones in southern Italy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Gladiatorial displays began as private displays at funerals, but then became the ‘gift’ or ‘promise’ of prominent men who were celebrating triumphs or bidding for yet more honours (like Julius Caesar as aedile in 65 BC). Custom-build amphitheatres first appeared in veterans’ colonies in Italy and the sport was then spread widely by Roman army camps abroad.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KRo-a-sWwSNjp7_TuyyyCFXUM1aoEJEz54bARlAO2Ee58xGVsxg3W_1FoHqfCogj20VgjSwYZyKMhA5rVNTliVdedlkKXvlHcYjyqaezi-J2LOkMlcMIbNQfB9cq4S7WbOdxQQ_C70A/s1600/Pompeji_-_Arena.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KRo-a-sWwSNjp7_TuyyyCFXUM1aoEJEz54bARlAO2Ee58xGVsxg3W_1FoHqfCogj20VgjSwYZyKMhA5rVNTliVdedlkKXvlHcYjyqaezi-J2LOkMlcMIbNQfB9cq4S7WbOdxQQ_C70A/s200/Pompeji_-_Arena.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The amphitheatre at Pompeii</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The ruins of Pompeii provide a great deal of information about how gladiatorial contests and wild-beast hunts were organised. Posters advertising their shows have survived and the graffiti they scrawled on the walls of their barracks have survived. The amphitheatre where the shows took place is one of the best preserved and most impressive of the city’s monuments. It was constructed on the edge of the city by Caius Quinctius Valgus and Marcus Porcius in the 70s BC and it is of a substantial size even by the standards of Rome. It could accommodate some 20,000 people. 150 years later the Colosseum was built in Rome. This catered for a city of a million people, but was only twice as big, catering for some 45,000 spectators with perhaps 5,000 more standing</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphitheatre_of_Pompeii">amphitheatre at Pompeii</a> was excavated in 1815 it was found to be richly decorated. The decorations disappeared, but not before they had been copied by artists. One picture depicted Victory, with a globe and a palm branch, but the majority evoked scenes of combat in the arena with scenes of wild animals in what was thought to be their natural environment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The advertisements at Pompeii seem to show that five days is the longest series of gladiatorial shows held in the town. Many are advertised just for a single day. It has been estimated that there could not have been more than twenty days of shows in the Amphitheatre each year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Many gladiators were slaves, others were condemned criminals. Some were volunteers, signing up as a way of escape from destitution or a change of glory and riches. The gladiators were under the control of the troupe manager, the <i>lanista</i>. An advertisement in the Forum at Pompeii gives notice that ‘the gladiatorial family of Numerius Festus Ampliatus will fight again…on 15 and 16 May’. The <i>lanista</i> had to acquire the gladiators, and this meant scouting for talent at slave auctions. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The men then had to be trained. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPdV9QQ9XWvBJRHN8FfevkxacNahSJXrFkzrfdEWAFQAeE-TgueGHJolFUzpiA0foihVjOChEGRCXJKFAhQKKLRKsmUiij1wNlF2pZP31_BR7EMYBAiQR3XbEAp-T0LSIp8DvPzCpFrxw/s1600/Retiarius_stabs_secutor_(color).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPdV9QQ9XWvBJRHN8FfevkxacNahSJXrFkzrfdEWAFQAeE-TgueGHJolFUzpiA0foihVjOChEGRCXJKFAhQKKLRKsmUiij1wNlF2pZP31_BR7EMYBAiQR3XbEAp-T0LSIp8DvPzCpFrxw/s200/Retiarius_stabs_secutor_(color).jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-size: 11px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">A <i>retiarius</i> stabs at a <i>secutor</i> with his trident, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">in this mosaic from the villa at Nennig, Germany, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">c. 2nd–3rd century AD.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Romans gave considerable thought to the physique of the gladiator. He should be fleshy because surface wounds in fat produce a lot of blood without a lot of damage. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The following list of types of gladiator is not exhaustive. See </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_gladiator_types" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">here</a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> for more detail.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The ‘Thracian’ (Thrax) fought with a short, curved sword and a small shield.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The <i>murmillo</i> (fish-head), so called because of the emblem of the fish on his helmet was armed with a Roman sword and a large, long shield. He was heavy-armed but slow.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secutor">secutor </a></i>was similarly armed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The net-man (<i>retiarius</i>) fought with a net and trident. He was less well-armed but more nimble.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The <i>andabata</i> fought with a helmet that acted as a blindfold and fought on tiptoes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Asymmetrical pairs were selected for combat. Each gladiator was therefore too heavily or too lightly armed. A <i>murmillo</i> against a <i>retiarius</i> was a popular combination.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Death was not the essence of the show. A gladiator stood a one in ten chance of being killed in his first bout, but after this the odds improved. Gladiators were expensive to buy and train and the lanista did not want to lose too many. Sometimes a fight was declared a draw, or was ended when a wounded man surrendered. We hear of gladiators who survived thirty fights. Skilled gladiators were major celebrities.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Other blood sports</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Apart from gladiators, there were three other types of slaughter: battles between wild animals (first staged in the 180s BC), hunts between wild animals and humans, and mock sea-battles. Their origins go back into the Republic, but they expanded greatly under the emperors. The greatest sufferer was north Africa, which suffered a huge loss of animal life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The most recent of these sports was the sea-battle, introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC. In 2 BC Augustus built an artificial lake in Rome in which he stated a vast mock sea-battle. Wild beast hunts appear to have originated in Carthage, with its access to the wild life of north Africa. During the Punic Wars elephants were shown in Rome and shot to death. In 167 BC we hear of criminals and prisoners of war condemned <i>ad bestias</i> – to be offered up to wild animals.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Conclusion: political significance</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Blood sports were intensely political. Ambitious politicians felt they needed to provide entertainments for the people. With the ending of the Republic the emperors monopolised triumphs. In the <i>Res Gestae</i> Augustus claimed:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> ‘Three times I gave shows of gladiators; … in these shows about 10,000 men fought. … Twenty-six times, under my name or that of my sons and grandsons, I gave the people hunts of African beasts in the circus, in the open, or in the amphitheatre; in them about 3,500 beasts were killed.’ </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He was proud of that! The emperor Trajan went one better. In one set of games he gave the equivalent of the entire mammal population of London zoo was destroyed every two days.</span><br />
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-13060677919343227202016-02-23T11:12:00.000+00:002016-02-23T11:12:03.279+00:00Roman religion (2)<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03LBnqQBUU0lIZxjxuMsnSLHRs6OWsefmwut6IfuTEOAZhrXr-Ku4CoayQJV4VM2mkP6jssO-Dlc5mUCgqfbkSbRkBqhbP4op4zN6PdxIdsB8B-FVlocaJHd-brkKL7G1C7cuFUmG75U/s1600/Pompejanischer_Maler_um_80_v._Chr._001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03LBnqQBUU0lIZxjxuMsnSLHRs6OWsefmwut6IfuTEOAZhrXr-Ku4CoayQJV4VM2mkP6jssO-Dlc5mUCgqfbkSbRkBqhbP4op4zN6PdxIdsB8B-FVlocaJHd-brkKL7G1C7cuFUmG75U/s200/Pompejanischer_Maler_um_80_v._Chr._001.jpg" width="174" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A scene from the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Mystery religions</span></b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncretism">Syncretism</a></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 3px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">was</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2.9px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">the</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2.9px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">chief</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">characteristic</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 3.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">of</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">all</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Roman</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">religion.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">is</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">seen most</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">clearly</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">in</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">the</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">assimilation</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">of</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">mystery</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">religions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Though the state religion was effective in stirring patriotism, it had little to offer those who lacked a share in the state, especially women and slaves. In addition, it did almost nothing to soothe the almost universal beliefs in Fate or Chance. Some Romans turned to astrology, others to a passionate belief in certain saviours who would comfort them in this life and give them a happy life in the next world. This explains the popularity of eastern mystery religions and the partial Hellenization of the official religion. The promise of a better life in the world to come was especially appealing to the poorer and more oppressed elements in Roman society. The mystery religions of the East catered for individuals, rather than for the state. Thus they could be seen as potentially subversive. They offered positive rewards of personal satisfaction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Initiation:</b> Anxieties about the after-life were assuaged by progressive initiations into the privileges of the god. Initiation freed the devotee from Fate. Salvation took place through personal initiation with a saviour god, who was believed in many cases to have died and to have risen again. The solemn process of initiation involved magic rituals and sacramental banquets. They purged human unworthiness by <i>ecstasis</i> (literally: ‘out of his senses’, the soul becoming clear of the body), <i>enthousiasmos</i> (literally, ‘possessed by a god’) and suffering. Through these experiences, the initiate gained the promise of immortality.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The cult of Bacchus</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The mystery religions also catered for the less rational elements in human nature. Wine, a classic means of gaining release from inhibitions, was invested with religious significance in the Greek <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysian_Mysteries">cult of Bacchus</a> (Dionysus). In the early 2nd century BC the cult spread north from southern Italy, probably brought to Rome by traders and/or slaves. In 186 BC, the Senate banned this potentially dangerous cult, executing hundreds of its followers, both men and women. One of the best sources for the cult is the series of wall-paintings in the <a href="http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/timelines/rome/empire/vm/villaofthemysteries.html">Villa of the Mysteries</a> in Pompeii, which seem to show the painful initiation of a young girl. The historian Livy described these mysteries in lurid terms:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">the</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">wine</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">had</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">inflamed</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">their</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">minds,</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">and</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">the</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">dark</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">night</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">and</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">the</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">intermingling</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">of</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">men and</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">women,</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">young</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">and</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">old,</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">had</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">smothered</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">every</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">feeling</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">of</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">modesty,</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">depravities</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">of</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">every</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">kind began</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">to</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">take</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">place,</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">because</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">each</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">person</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">had</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">ready</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">access</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">to</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">whatever</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">perversion</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">his mind</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">so inclined</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">him</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">...</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">violence</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">was</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">concealed,</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">however,</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">because</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">the</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">shrieks</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">of</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">those</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">tortured</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">by deviant</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">sex</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">or</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">murder</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">could</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">not</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">be</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">heard</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">over</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">the</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">loud</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">wails</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">and</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">the</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">crash</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">of</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">drums</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">and cymbals. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The cult of lsis and Osiris</span></b></h3>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGm-3PKIQEo5KF5qrH4lbTdRW4zG_HKT4NXT0a3CJDKnYNpKWW3xjxTEa0bQwK-ghtA-BAYfVWjgiLMhunZeg4F5SQvVP39UtFJpuBqlF2ci-ge-EZMJS0WG_dYj9cPKMnPecENWTpuwA/s1600/Isis.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGm-3PKIQEo5KF5qrH4lbTdRW4zG_HKT4NXT0a3CJDKnYNpKWW3xjxTEa0bQwK-ghtA-BAYfVWjgiLMhunZeg4F5SQvVP39UtFJpuBqlF2ci-ge-EZMJS0WG_dYj9cPKMnPecENWTpuwA/s200/Isis.svg.png" width="90" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isis">Isis</a> was a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>national<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>divinity<span style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span>Egypt,<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>dating<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>back<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>at<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>least<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>2500<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>BC.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>Her<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>cult spread<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>throughout<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>Mediterranean<span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span>world.<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>It<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>came<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>Greek<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>cities<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>the south<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>Italy<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>the 3rd<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>century<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>BC,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>established<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>Rome<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>time<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>of Sulla<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>as<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>private<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>secret<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>cult.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>central<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>myth<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>Isis<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>cult<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>combines<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>Egyptian<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span>Graeco-Roman elements.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>Isis<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>her<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>brother<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>Osiris<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>loved<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>one<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>another<span style="letter-spacing: 2.1px;"> </span>even<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>their<span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span>mother's womb.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>Their<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>marriage set<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>pattern<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>for<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>brother-sister<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>marriages<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>Egyptian rulers,<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>probably<span style="letter-spacing: 3.1px;"> </span>for<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>relationship<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 2.9px;"> </span>Antony<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>Cleopatra.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>But<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>Osiris (commonly<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>identified<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>sun)<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>killed<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>dismembered<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>his brother Set,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.4px;"> </span>god<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>darkness.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>Isis<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>mourned<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>searched<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>for<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>fragments<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>Osiris's<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span>body, and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>through<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>her<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>agency<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>he<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>restored<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>life and became pregnant by him with their child Horus.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>She<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>often<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>depicted<span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>visual<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>representations,<span style="letter-spacing: 2.7px;"> </span>nursing him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">At the Mysteries, worshippers re-enacted the lamentation of Isis and her subsequent joy when she found the body of Osiris. There was much suspicion of the secret rituals that accompanied the cult, and in 58 BC the altars of Isis on the Capitol were destroyed by order of the consuls. The cult was again suppressed by Augustus. However, its popularity meant that it had to be recognised eventually (in the reign of Gaius/Caligula). It was a religion that appealed directly to women, slaves and freedmen, but free men also worshipped Isis because she was the conqueror of Fate. To people of both sexes and all ranks she was the merciful mother, a secure and compassionate refuge. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Her temple is one of the best-preserved buildings in Pompeii. But it was not open to all-comers. This was a religion for initiates. And unlike other temples, it catered for a more congregational religious use and possibly a resident priest or two. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b></b><br /></span></div>
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<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The cult of the Great Mother </span></b></h3>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir7gBQRrFlbdFEhGb7NNqd9ejdoFnVBeC7nDzU0SxK9dGauD3PySuW2oeAL1vI8XtkBh2pPDDRwRzjkKAatK2pTbgPwb8rBr6rHmhBRgMlFzzb54M0L_MLZN3uX6yrx_nRTEcFpvE9vwk/s1600/Cybele_Getty_Villa_57.AA.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir7gBQRrFlbdFEhGb7NNqd9ejdoFnVBeC7nDzU0SxK9dGauD3PySuW2oeAL1vI8XtkBh2pPDDRwRzjkKAatK2pTbgPwb8rBr6rHmhBRgMlFzzb54M0L_MLZN3uX6yrx_nRTEcFpvE9vwk/s200/Cybele_Getty_Villa_57.AA.19.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 204 BC the worship of the Magna Mater was introduced from the East. One of her names was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybele">Cybele</a> and her title was Mother of Gods. The motive for the introduction of her cult was political- to boost Rome's morale during the Second Punic War. Cybele's homeland was Anatolia, the land of Troy and the original home of Aeneas, and this was one of the reasons why the Romans were drawn to her. Cybele was worshipped alongside her consort, Attis, a shepherd who betrayed her by falling in love with a nymph. In a fury, Cybele made him fall into a fit of madness, during which he castrated himself and bled to death under a pine tree. Attis was later reborn and reunited with Cybele. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Once the cult was introduced, it proved very difficult to control. It was the most powerful of the mystery religions, the lengthiest and the most complex pageantry in the ancient world. On the Day of Blood, in March, the priests lacerated themselves, while fanatical novices castrated themselves under a pine tree in memory of Attis. In spite of preventive laws, (the cult was placed under the strict supervision of the state, and Roman citizens were not allowed to become priests) castration continued.</span></div>
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<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Mithras</span></b></h3>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrK1Lw34yItWq5L8rDx8lTtjmbTC2KMXz_ApNW_X-I3rMZ-UFjcgs8EVCWuE50VZHr-x9SW6LtLy2olVWh8g8PjckOy_DZK_gJisNWwDYl5uwMhF2jeiEb7fWywNjY4pcAByiQAajPgI/s1600/Mithras_tauroctony_Louvre_Ma3441b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrK1Lw34yItWq5L8rDx8lTtjmbTC2KMXz_ApNW_X-I3rMZ-UFjcgs8EVCWuE50VZHr-x9SW6LtLy2olVWh8g8PjckOy_DZK_gJisNWwDYl5uwMhF2jeiEb7fWywNjY4pcAByiQAajPgI/s200/Mithras_tauroctony_Louvre_Ma3441b.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mithras killing the bull</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraic_mysteries">Mithras</a> was originally the Iranian god of the sun, whose cult came to Rome in the late Republic, and spread throughout the empire, especially among the army. At the beginning of time, Mithras had sacrificed a great bull. As its body was torn apart its blood brought to life grain and grapes and its scattered sperm fertilized all living things. Mithras was the god of kings, justice and contracts, attractive to those such as soldiers bound in complete loyalty to their rulers. The cult stressed militant and masculine qualities, and women were excluded. But all men, whether freeborn or slaves, could participate equally in the long initiation ceremonies. The rituals were secret, involving ceremonies of progressive initiation, including the simulated death and resurrection of the initiates. Mithraeums (the underground temples of Mithras) were located throughout the empire, particularly where legions were stationed. One of the largest was<a href="http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Collections-Research/Research/Your-Research/Londinium/Today/vizrom/05+Mithraeum.htm"> in London.</a></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Conclusion</b></span></h3>
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<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Roman religion was polytheistic, eclectic and syncretistic. It borrowed freely from its neighbours and from the peoples it conquered.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It was state religion. The gods preserved and protected the state, and the leading politicians were also priests.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">From the late Republic, Romans were increasingly attracted to the mystery religions of the east, with their secret initiation rites and their themes of death and resurrection.</span></li>
</ol>
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<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<br /></div>
Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-13110191042156519602016-02-23T11:11:00.000+00:002016-02-23T11:11:05.768+00:00Roman religion (1)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPM13wnhfAofLILmIAi792wztJVwa3Q2QBvQOJt8w2tzLwIiChqjPPEb78Y3GU3rmJZYrb_dFRW_gxJTUeU9llyM6IAPKHODNu61N-UvYLv3lVA0vL7EZ6yWIPFGkg9coSR8LOeaqyqlQ/s1600/TempleofCapitoliumRome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPM13wnhfAofLILmIAi792wztJVwa3Q2QBvQOJt8w2tzLwIiChqjPPEb78Y3GU3rmJZYrb_dFRW_gxJTUeU9llyM6IAPKHODNu61N-UvYLv3lVA0vL7EZ6yWIPFGkg9coSR8LOeaqyqlQ/s320/TempleofCapitoliumRome.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Roman religion had many gods and their number was not fixed. There were no tenets of belief and no authoritative sacred texts.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The community’s adherence to its religion was demonstrated through action and ritual rather than words, and the chief ritual was animal sacrifice.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Romans did not doubt that the gods existed. They believed that all the important processes in the world were divinely activated, and that different gods had charge of particular functions and spheres of activity. As an intensely practical people, they thought of the gods in terms of what they did rather than what they were. For example, a 'jack of all trades' was 'a man of every Minerva' - Minerva was the goddess of trade and commerce.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The relationship of men and gods was one of reciprocity. If men carry out the proper rituals, the gods will protect and support them.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Borrowings</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Roman religion had both Greek and Italian elements. The Romans imported the Greek pantheon from the Greek colonies of the south of Italy. Below are some examples:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Sibylline Books:</b> From the fifth century they started to consult the oracle of the Sibyl of the Greek city of Cumae. Sibyl, of Sibylla, was a mythical prophetess of ancient Greece, originally a royal Trojan maiden. Apollo endowed her with a prophetic ability and when she spoke, her sayings were recorded on a palm leaf. According<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>Roman<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>legend,<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>collection<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>her<span style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span>sayings,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibylline_Books">Sibylline<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>Books</a>,<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>was sold<span style="letter-spacing: 2.1px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>Tarquin<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>Proud,<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> the last king of Rome. </span>The<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>Books<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>housed<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>Temple<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>Jupiter<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>and a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>special<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>priestly<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>college<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>fifteen<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3px;"> </span>priests<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>assigned<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>look<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>after<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>them.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>At<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>times<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>of war<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>state<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>emergency,<span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>Senate<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>could<span style="letter-spacing: 2.1px;"> </span>order<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>them<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>be<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>consulted.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Jupiter:</b> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter_(mythology)">Jupiter</a> was worshipped by the Greeks as Zeus and by the Etruscans as Tinia or Summanus. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Saturn:</b> The Italic god, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_(mythology)">Saturn</a>, was assimilated to the Greek Chronos, the father of Zeus, and so came to stand for the Golden Age, which Virgil celebrated in his <i>Eclogue</i> 4.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Janus: the god who faced both ways</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Janus:</b> On the other hand <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus">Janus </a>was a purely Italic god, found in no other mythology. He was the god of doorways and gates, and he was worshipped at an ancient gateway in the Forum. From here he watched over all the doors and gateways of Rome. Augustus used his cult to great effect when he closed the gates of his temple in 29 BC at the end of the civil wars. Prayers could only reach other gods through Janus; in religious ceremonies his name was always mentioned first. Janus had knowledge both of the past and the future, and was portrayed with two faces. He also gave his name to the first month in the year.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The state religion</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Patriotism and the state religion are indistinguishable. The Capitol was a religious centres as well as a citadel. All formal activity took place in an explicitly religious context. Assemblies were preceded by religious rituals to ascertain the approval of the gods. Magistrates, when conducting their business, stood in a specially designated area, the <i>templum</i>. The sanction of the gods was required before any major public action was taken, such as the holding of an assembly, or the departure of a commander for war. The state religion was a vehicle for Roman patriotism and this provided with its emotional content. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The <i>pontifices</i> (priests) were not specially trained professionals, but a sub group of the political elite, who carried out particular rituals or sacrifices. Cicero wrote: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘Among the many things…that our ancestors created and established under divine inspiration, nothing is more renowned than their decision to entrust the worship of the gods and the highest interests of the state to the same men.’ </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The most important priesthood, the office of <i>pontifex maximus</i>, had an influential role in political decisions, and was particularly prized for its prestige. Julius Caesar's election to this post in 63 BC was his first major career achievement</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The college of augurs was one of the four leading priestly colleges, No important decision was made without consulting the auspices. The role of the augurs was not to foretell the future but to observe and interpret signs by which the god's approval of a proposed public action could be judged. Roman religion was preoccupied with omens and strange events – for example, showers of blood from the sky, androgynous births. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As Rome became increasingly dominated by powerful individuals, these individuals tended to monopolise links with the divine. Sulla claimed to be under the special protection of Venus; he also carried round with him wherever he went an image of Apollo. Both Julius Caesar and Augustus were deified after their deaths. The Romans could also create new gods - such as the deified emperors. The new goddess, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roma_(mythology)">Roma</a>, was worshipped in the east. Her temple was erected in the Greek city of Smyrna (in modem Turkey) in 195 BC. Her cult was a clear political move. The Romans did not hesitate to import foreign gods but this was a state matter not a private one. Every new god had to be recognised by the state. </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Temples</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The essential function of any Greek and Roman temple was to house a statue of a god or goddess. Sacrifices always took place outside in the open air. Temples could also serve other public functions: for example the state treasure was housed in the temple of Saturn.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Maison Carée in Nîmes, southern France;<br />
built in the time of Augustus in honour of his grandsons</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Stylistically, a Roman temple differed from a Greek in several respects:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A Greek temple has a colonnade all round; most Roman temples only have sham colonnades at the side.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A Roman temple has a deep porch, with a <i>cella</i> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">occupying the whole width of the temple.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Roman temples are built on a high podium 9 or 10 feet high so they can only be approached by a flight of steps at the front. Greek temples are open on all sides.</span></li>
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The gods</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Capitol was the home of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitoline_Triad">Capitoline Triad</a> (Jupiter, Juno, Minerva), the Vestal Virgins, and the priest of Jupiter (the most senior of the priests).</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jupiter with his thunderbolt</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Jupiter was the god of the sky and of lightning. He symbolised good faith, justice and honour. He was also a war god and his aid was invoked before military expeditions. Annual games were held in his honour. By the first century BC the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus stood on the Capitol overlooking the city and protecting it. Every year the new consuls, on entering office, went in procession to perform a sacrifice to him. The first meeting of the Senate was held in the temple. On 1 January 44 BC (two months before his assassination), Caesar offered sacrifice to him, as consul, not as <i>pontifex maximus</i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juno_(mythology)">Juno</a>, Jupiter's consort, eventually became the chief female deity of the state. The legendary cackling of her sacred geese warned of a Gaulish attack in 390 BC, and saved the Capitol. She was later given the title <i>moneta</i>, the warner. The first Roman coins were produced in the temple of Juno Moneta (so the term became the origin of mint, money). She was eventually associated with the Greek, Hera, the consort of Zeus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerva">Minerva</a>, the daughter of Jupiter, was the goddess of wisdom and mental activity and presided over the trade and industry of Rome. She was also patron to writers, doctors, schoolmasters and craftsmen. She later became identified with Athena. Pompey built a statue to Minerva out of the spoils of his conquests.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesta_(mythology)">Vesta</a> was the goddess who presided over the hearth - the centre of the Roman home- and was propitiated by family worship. The temple of Vesta in the Forum contained the sacred hearth, tended continuously by six <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestal_Virgin">Vestal Virgins</a>. Vestals were recruited from good families at the age of seven, and spent thirty years in service. After that time they were free to marry, though few did. The cult of Vesta was symbolic of the eternal power of Rome. Her treasures were zealously guarded, and only the Vestals and the <i>pontifex maximus</i> were allowed to enter her temple. When Augustus ordered a raid on the temple of Vesta in order to gain possession of Antony' s will, he was committing sacrilege.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Household gods</span></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lar, wearing his dog-skin tunic<br />
and carrying a horn of plenty</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There were two chief classes of Italic gods: those whose function was to guard the state, and those who watched over the family. We know far more about the state religion, but this does not mean that it was more important than the religion of the household. One of the most important functions of the paterfamilias was to oversee the religious rites required to maintain the well being of the family. The origin of these rites went back to the days when Vesta was the goddess of the hearth, involved in the preservation of the household fire on which the farmers were so dependent. The cupboards of stored goods had their own spirits, the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Di_Penates">penates</a></i>. The gods of the household, the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lares">lares</a></i>, traditionally guarded the boundaries of the home and all those who lived in it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The only way for a family to keep the <i>pax deorum</i> (peace of the gods) was to follow the correct ritual. A sacred salted cake was thrown into the fire at the chief meal of each day to appease Vesta. Misfortune followed if a ritual was not performed correctly. Therefore the cult rendered by the paterfamilias, who acted as priest to his <i>lares</i>, his <i>penates</i> and his <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manes">manes</a></i> (spirits of his ancestors) was just as important as that of Janus or Jupiter.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Agricultural gods</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Rural religion was older than the official religion of Rome (the term 'pagan' simply means rural or rustic). Household and wayside shrines were found all over Italy - these commemorated a host of minor deities whose function was to look after fields or households. Trees and groves were dedicated to individual gods, the Tiber and the Po developed cults of their own. Father Tiber was usually portrayed as an old bearded man, but though he was thought to show his anger by flooding, he was not the object of formal worship. Every May, however, a procession of priests and Vestal Virgins cast human effigies into the Tiber as an act of purification.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Chief of the agricultural divinities was the fertility god, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faunus">Faunus</a>. Under the name of Lupercus, he had a temple on the Palatine, the Lupercal - the name of the grotto where the she-wolf suckled the twins, Romulus and Remus. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupercalia">Lupercalia</a> was celebrated on the 15th of February and was among the most important festivals on the Roman calendar. Faunus's wife or daughter was Fauna, who was invoked under the name of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bona_Dea">Bona Dea</a> (Good Goddess); women celebrated her cult at the beginning of December, in a mysterious festival that was forbidden to men. The aristocratic playboy, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publius_Clodius_Pulcher">Clodius</a>, caused a scandal when he infiltrated her rites in 62 BC disguised as a woman.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There were many rural festivals. The Robigalia took place in April and was in honour of the power of rust; a reddish brown dog was sacrificed. The Lemuria was a festival in May when the dead came back to life. The festival of Terminalia was held in honour of boundary stones.</span><br />
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-52231010240007854942016-02-09T15:35:00.001+00:002016-02-09T15:35:34.731+00:00Rome under Augustus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBc-nPM5TLJi76WWgrPnIOZmOYifamae-zYNDtjIRXppH18lXQW_vf6ubqz_lvH6jjcJoLWS6MYEznG2005ZiAWDLJPcBtFHh0v2u33rbJsOr9BQKPM3ynQCV3QS0xYcz5Cc8uo2mo_o/s1600/FA2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBc-nPM5TLJi76WWgrPnIOZmOYifamae-zYNDtjIRXppH18lXQW_vf6ubqz_lvH6jjcJoLWS6MYEznG2005ZiAWDLJPcBtFHh0v2u33rbJsOr9BQKPM3ynQCV3QS0xYcz5Cc8uo2mo_o/s200/FA2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A reconstruction of the Forum of Augustus,<br />
showing the Temple of Mars the Avenger</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">One<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>Augustus's<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>most<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>remarkable<span style="letter-spacing: 3.1px;"> </span>achievements<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>change<span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>face<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>of Rome.<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1px;"> </span>He faced a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>double<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9px;"> </span>challenge:</span><br />
<ol>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">to<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>bring<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>population<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>under<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>control</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">to<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>turn<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>city<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>into<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>an<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>architectural<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>show<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>place.</span></li>
</ol>
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Administrative</span></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6cOtZ3ZSsBlUrBvjYA8H1rgWFawg4nyd9obSunRFVA8WDaRwKV1msq0pvMzqcm3qrlpARMc1yvuX62t1TGDrcBuwSim6NVMCsBs60Dgqpvk08_fmLIuSsQ7uhkQcKTS2cAD19TVjfznU/s1600/Praetorian_GuardSoldiers_basrelief_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6cOtZ3ZSsBlUrBvjYA8H1rgWFawg4nyd9obSunRFVA8WDaRwKV1msq0pvMzqcm3qrlpARMc1yvuX62t1TGDrcBuwSim6NVMCsBs60Dgqpvk08_fmLIuSsQ7uhkQcKTS2cAD19TVjfznU/s200/Praetorian_GuardSoldiers_basrelief_cropped.jpg" width="145" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Relief showing the Praetorian Guard<br />
under Augustus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ol>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Rome<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>divided<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>into<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>14<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span><i>regiones</i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"><i> </i></span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>265<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span><i>vici-</i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"><i> </i></span>these<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>run<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>leading tradesmen,<span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span>often<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>freedmen,<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>thus<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>giving<span style="letter-spacing: 2.3px;"> </span>them<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>stake<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>government<span style="letter-spacing: 2.9px;"> </span>they<span style="letter-spacing: 2.1px;"> </span>had never<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>had<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3px;"> </span>before.<span style="letter-spacing: 2.1px;"> </span>The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span><i>regiones</i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><i> </i></span>still<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>survive<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>modern<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>Rome<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>as<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span><i>Rioni</i>.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Seven<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>separate<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>local<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>fire<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>stations<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>set<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>up<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>under<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>command<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>seven<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span><i>aediles</i>.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>But the<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>command<span style="letter-spacing: 3.1px;"> </span>structure<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>inadequate<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 2.1px;"> </span>fires<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>continued<span style="letter-spacing: 3.1px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>blaze. <span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>In<span style="letter-spacing: 2.1px;"> </span>AD 6,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>paramilitary<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>force<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>freedmen,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>7000<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>strong,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span><i>vigiles</i><span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"><i> </i></span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>founded,<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>under the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>control<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>Prefect.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>Fully<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>equipped<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>axes<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>buckets<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>legal<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>right to<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>enter<span style="letter-spacing: 3.0px;"> </span>households.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>AD<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>8<span style="letter-spacing: 2.9px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>provision<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>distribution<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span>grain<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span>organised<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>under<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>a military<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>Prefect<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>staff.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>police<span style="letter-spacing: 2.1px;"> </span>force<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>-<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>urban<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>cohorts<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>-<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>set<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>up.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>This<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>controversial<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>because it<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>went<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>against<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>ideology<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>city<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;">-state</span>. However<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>end<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>his<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>reign<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>the 3000<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>Urban<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>Cohorts<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>permanent<span style="letter-spacing: 3.2px;"> </span>institution.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praetorian_Guard">Praetorian Guard</a> were the only troops stationed in Italy. Initially, they were responsible for crowd control - then they became the personal guard of the Princeps. In 2 BC they became a separate command structure under the two Praetorian Prefects.</span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Augustus's<span style="letter-spacing: 3.2px;"> </span>reforms<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>made<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>Rome<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>more<span style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span>efficient.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>They<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>also introduced<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>new element<span style="letter-spacing: 3.0px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>professionalism<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>specialisation-<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>move<span style="letter-spacing: 2.9px;"> </span>away<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>from<span style="letter-spacing: 2.7px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>previous self-help<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>pattern<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>both<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>Greece<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>Rome.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Architectural</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Rome<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>had<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>population<span style="letter-spacing: 2.1px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span>one million and<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>far<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>largest<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>city<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>ancient<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>world (Pompeii<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>had<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>population<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>20,000).<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>However,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>urban<span style="letter-spacing: 3.2px;"> </span>centre<span style="letter-spacing: 2.7px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 3.2px;"> </span>small<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>- only<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>2.5<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>miles<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>square.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>Rome<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>city<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>contrasts,<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>ranging<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>from<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>Gardens<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>of Lucullus<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>the 'island' tenements<span style="letter-spacing: 3.0px;"> </span>of <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;">the</span><span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span>poor<span style="letter-spacing: 3.1px;"> </span>(i<i>nsulae</i>).<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>The<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>numerous<span style="letter-spacing: 3.0px;"> </span>temples<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span>interests<span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 3.3px;"> </span>private<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>owners<span style="letter-spacing: 2.3px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 3.3px;"> </span>developers<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>formidable<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>obstacles<span style="letter-spacing: 3.1px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>any major<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>building<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>programme.</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>most<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>important<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>part<span style="letter-spacing: 2.7px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 3.3px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>city<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 2.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 2.9px;"> F</span>orum.<span style="letter-spacing: 2.7px;"> </span>All<span style="letter-spacing: 3.2px;"> </span>Roman towns were<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>centred<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>on<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 2.9px;"> </span>forum<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>that<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>was often<span style="letter-spacing: 3.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 3.2px;"> </span>only<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>open<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>space available.<span style="letter-spacing: 3.0px;"> </span>The forum<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>place<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>where<span style="letter-spacing: 3.0px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>politician<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>met<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>his<span style="letter-spacing: 2.3px;"> </span>clients,<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>place<span style="letter-spacing: 3.0px;"> </span>where<span style="letter-spacing: 2.9px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>people assembled<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>hear<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>magistrate's<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>decision,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>place<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>gossip.</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The old<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>Republican<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>Rome<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>had<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>grown<span style="letter-spacing: 3.2px;"> </span>up<span style="letter-spacing: 3.1px;"> </span>unplanned<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>over<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>the centuries. Even<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>greatest<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>buildings<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>late<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>Republic,<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>such<span style="letter-spacing: 3.1px;"> </span>as<span style="letter-spacing: 2.4px;"> </span>Pompey's<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>theatre,<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>a gigantic<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>stone<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>leisure<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>complex,<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>only<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>isolated<span style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span>monuments. <span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>Julius Caesar began<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>his<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>own<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>forum<span style="letter-spacing: 2.3px;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>temple<span style="letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 2.7px;"> </span>Venus<span style="letter-spacing: 2.1px;"> </span>Genetrix,<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>but<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>he<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>did<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>not<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>live<span style="letter-spacing: 2.3px;"> </span>to see<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>his<span style="letter-spacing: 2.1px;"> </span>buildings<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>completed.<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>It<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>was Augustus<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>who<span style="letter-spacing: 3.2px;"> </span>initiated<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 2.9px;"> </span>massive<span style="letter-spacing: 3.0px;"> </span>building programme<span style="letter-spacing: 2.7px;"> </span>that<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>transformed<span style="letter-spacing: 3.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>life<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 2.7px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.5px;"> </span>city.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Augustus<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>concentrated<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>on<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>public<span style="letter-spacing: 1.0px;"> </span>architecture,<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>much<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>it<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>commemorated on<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>his<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7px;"> </span>coins.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8px;"> </span>The<span style="letter-spacing: -0.5px;"> </span>purpose<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>was<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span>political<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>propaganda<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>not<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>social<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6px;"> </span>reform.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> According to the historian Suetonius, h</span>e<span style="letter-spacing: -0.4px;"> </span>claimed that<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>he<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>had<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>found<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>Rome<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>brick<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>left<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>it<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>marble.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>This<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>must<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>not<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>be interpreted<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>too<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>literally.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>He<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>did<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>not<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>plan<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>any<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>slum<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>clearance,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>most<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>buildings were<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>brick<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>faced<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>concrete<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>(the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>new<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>building<span style="letter-spacing: 2.3px;"> </span>material).<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>However,<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>major temples<span style="letter-spacing: 3.4px;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: 3.2px;"> </span>squares<span style="letter-spacing: 3.0px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 2.8px;"> </span>built<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>Carrara<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span>(Luna)<span style="letter-spacing: 3.0px;"> </span>marble<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>(the<span style="letter-spacing: 2.6px;"> </span>quarries<span style="letter-spacing: 2.9px;"> </span>had recently<span style="letter-spacing: -1.2px;"> </span>been<span style="letter-spacing: -1.2px;"> </span>opened).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Roman Forum</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Augustus's main concern was with the temples, which had decayed during the civil wars. He claimed that he had rebuilt 82 in one year alone. The Roman historian Livy refers to him as </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">'the founder and restorer of every temple. </span></blockquote>
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Forum was the historical heart of Rome, and because Augustus claimed to be restoring the Republic, it had to be the focus of his building programme. He was adept at faking tradition – for example, he revived the</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> 'f</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">orgotten' ritual of closing the brazen gates of the temple of Janus when the world was at peace. By this, and by his new buildings, he made the Forum the monument to a single man and his family. He transformed republican space into imperial space.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdaBPr8CRN4bR809aJjklnAVsVvhJVolQDYx6Wn40nJ4kTx22KKVYW0P12vefZ-s9UNr-gMQRk2gyZzPO5SqD-OUpcjXXtY-_FB-q3wS06THfvXFlXwq9Kh2bgk167L9HUJwPTlNAfZM/s1600/Temple_of_Caesar_3D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdaBPr8CRN4bR809aJjklnAVsVvhJVolQDYx6Wn40nJ4kTx22KKVYW0P12vefZ-s9UNr-gMQRk2gyZzPO5SqD-OUpcjXXtY-_FB-q3wS06THfvXFlXwq9Kh2bgk167L9HUJwPTlNAfZM/s200/Temple_of_Caesar_3D.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Temple of the Deified Julius</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">By<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>end<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>his<span style="letter-spacing: 0.4px;"> </span>reign,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px;"> </span>monuments<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span>Julian<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>family were all around.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>The<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>temple<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 3.0px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>Deified<span style="letter-spacing: 2.2px;"> </span>Julius<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>dominated<span style="letter-spacing: 3.0px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.8px;"> </span>central<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>axis.<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>In<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.7px;"> </span>front of<span style="letter-spacing: 2.0px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>temple<span style="letter-spacing: 1.6px;"> </span>were<span style="letter-spacing: 1.9px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span>bronze<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>beaks<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 2.1px;"> </span>Antony'<span style="letter-spacing: -1.8px;"> </span>s<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1px;"> </span>ships<span style="letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span>at<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6px;"> </span>Actium. At<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.1px;"> </span>side, spanning<span style="letter-spacing: 1.2px;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 1.3px;"> </span>Via<span style="letter-spacing: 1.4px;"> </span>Sacra (Sacred Way), one or possibly two arches were erected to Augustus. The earlier may have been 29 BC and the later 19 BC, after the return of the standards from the Parthians. .<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7px;"> </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXL6ZqcNE8t6cpsDiQ9fZlESKNHLHv-TOPebRwj59F_UHDE82MTT6ToGz8jZ9TaAmetbBagze4_CrLQ-pi6B0S0Qy2bCL2Tm2zE0MkJ966FikN-_Ou1GCYYrET6AgQPA9Kc9NB5m7lcbE/s1600/Basilica_Julia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXL6ZqcNE8t6cpsDiQ9fZlESKNHLHv-TOPebRwj59F_UHDE82MTT6ToGz8jZ9TaAmetbBagze4_CrLQ-pi6B0S0Qy2bCL2Tm2zE0MkJ966FikN-_Ou1GCYYrET6AgQPA9Kc9NB5m7lcbE/s200/Basilica_Julia.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Basilica Julia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">On the two sides of the Forum stretched the two largest public administrative buildings. Caesar's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_Julia">Basilica Julia</a> (begun in 46 BC) was completely rebuilt after a fire, and named after his grandsons, Gaius and Lucius. The much older <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_Aemilia">Basilica Aemilia </a>was rebuilt after a fire in 14 BC. It was masked by a portico also named after Gaius and Lucius. Thus, three generations of Caesars were commemorated. At the other end of the forum, the Rostra acquired a new facade and a golden equestrian statue of Augustus. The Senate House was renamed the Curia Julia, and bore Augustus's name prominently on its facade. Inside was a statue of Victoria and a golden shield, with a flying victory, commemorating the virtues of Augustus. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Concord">Temple of Concord</a> was restored between 6 and 10 AD by Augustus’ heir, Tiberius. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">The Forum of Augustus</span> </span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQ-rdWcW7tKsrzpZ9NBzG_ZJgdnOPzKk1DExpi2U2F_TYFLLJLWt1rbY_wZI0O_qOLWdSKMqLYPkbk02G49jgnSFYhOM8aVJ_RCz0MbZWUgDg73B2IONZqcex4XupRB4ZMwJr0BgIntU/s1600/RomaForoAugusto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQ-rdWcW7tKsrzpZ9NBzG_ZJgdnOPzKk1DExpi2U2F_TYFLLJLWt1rbY_wZI0O_qOLWdSKMqLYPkbk02G49jgnSFYhOM8aVJ_RCz0MbZWUgDg73B2IONZqcex4XupRB4ZMwJr0BgIntU/s200/RomaForoAugusto.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ruins of the Forum of Augustus,<br />
showing the Temple of Mars the Avenger</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Julius Caesar had begun his own Forum, which was dominated by the temple of Venus Genetrix, but he did not live to see its completion. Augustus built <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forum_of_Augustus">his Forum</a> alongside the old, on a piece of land he purchased at great expense. Thus he could plan from anew and create a <a href="http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/forumaugplan.html">much greater architectural unity</a>, with a curtain wall separating it from the slums of the Suburra district beyond. Only a portion of its original space survives - even so, it is intensely dramatic and powerful - some have described it as oppressive. The statue of Augustus <i>Pater Patriae</i>, put up at state expense after the Senate voted him the title, stood in the centre in a chariot. The great Romans of the past stood in the porticoes on either side. The Temple of Mars the Avenger at the end was flanked statues of by cult statues of Venus Genetrix and Julius Caesar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Campus Martius </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This was a green field site - a grassy meadow outside the city boundary in the flood plan of the Tiber, a place for army exercises. Before Augustus' s day the most impressive building was the great Theatre of Pompey. Augustus paid for extensive repairs and allows others to extend the entertainment facilities in this area. In 13 BC he put up the Theatre of Marcellus in honour of his nephew. Alongside the theatres, new temples and porticoes grew up, most notably the portico of Octavia. Octavia later added a library in honour of her son.</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Some of the most extensive development on the Campus was the work of Agrippa. His Pantheon was later altered dramatically by Hadrian. He also, by importing a fresh water supply in the Aqua Virgo, gave Rome its first public baths. (There will be more about this in a later post.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 28 BC Augustus began the Mausoleum, a memorial to himself and his family. This was a circular construction with a conical tumulus. In front of it later were set up two bronze pillars on which were inscribed the Res Gestae. Near the Mausoleum stood the Altar of Peace, set up after a Senate vote in 13 BC (and reconstructed in 1937). (This will be looked at in more detail later.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Conclusion</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Augustus’s strategy was to avoid the conflict that had been the undoing of Julius Caesar. Under the pretence of restoring the Republic he controlled the magistracies and confined the senators in a gilded cage. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Tacitus (AD c.56-c. 120) wrote: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘Little by little he began to enlarge his powers, to encroach on the proper functions of the Senate, the magistrates and the laws.’</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Cassius Dio (AD 150-235): </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘Nothing was done that did not please Caesar.’ </span></blockquote>
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<div style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-30565515967365126342016-02-09T15:32:00.001+00:002016-02-09T21:41:49.114+00:00Augustus: from Republic to Empire<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwni7nVjHLXjpSeELFwzKZDGYE1ANb2jqB7Fj9oiNh3EPbvX95fvSvq3Jvstooz3bzf1avk5dhJnLUoEpPkHfNaUzxw_eQiyNrm8YidJRHXrGCGlzVJQd_noQD-p-scLV_rMCkkdP2aCo/s1600/400px-Statue-Augustus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwni7nVjHLXjpSeELFwzKZDGYE1ANb2jqB7Fj9oiNh3EPbvX95fvSvq3Jvstooz3bzf1avk5dhJnLUoEpPkHfNaUzxw_eQiyNrm8YidJRHXrGCGlzVJQd_noQD-p-scLV_rMCkkdP2aCo/s200/400px-Statue-Augustus.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Prima Porta statue<br />
of Augustus</td></tr>
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</div>
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<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus">Augustus</a> wrote in his <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Res_Gestae_Divi_Augusti">Res Gestae Divi Augustus</a></i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Res_Gestae_Divi_Augusti"> </a>(Achievements of the Deified Augustus)</span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">,</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘After I had extinguished civil wars, by universal consent, I gained control over all affairs'.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The myth of Actium</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Actium (2 September, 31 BC) might not have been a decisive victory for Augustus, but it was a milestone in the history of Rome, its anniversary celebrated as a public holiday. The poets milked it for its propaganda, seeing it as a victory of senate and people (700 senators crossed over to Greece with Octavian in a show of solidarity) over the degenerate East. Antony was vilified as a general who had been unmanned by a woman. Cleopatra was portrayed as a crazed queen, attended by wrinkled eunuchs, the worshipper of a series of monster gods. By contrast, the promontory of Actium housed a temple dedicated to Phoebus Apollo, the god of prophecy, music and poetry, and the avenger of piety and purity, who was credited with routing the Egyptian gods.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br />The hyperbole of the poets represents the enormous relief felt at the ending of the civil wars - a profound trauma for the Roman people. The fighting dated from Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon, but the instability had begun with the Gracchi. No-one alive at the time of Actium had any memory of peace. With Octavian's victory there was a profound sense that a new age had begun. By decree of the Senate, the gates of the temple of Janus were ceremonially closed in token of universal peace.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjav20VBMvMOSvxR7weKauLV1uKt-3XMFLddQp0u2BXE4y6XgBLq9x5hTqhklY6oqfe4s8gnspO0xCS86tj_kUkiO_mv9pDOkTXa_VWWGotrfmItlMzv1P23TXAuWgzbghtcVW_LRz8MbU/s1600/Sesterce_temple_janus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjav20VBMvMOSvxR7weKauLV1uKt-3XMFLddQp0u2BXE4y6XgBLq9x5hTqhklY6oqfe4s8gnspO0xCS86tj_kUkiO_mv9pDOkTXa_VWWGotrfmItlMzv1P23TXAuWgzbghtcVW_LRz8MbU/s200/Sesterce_temple_janus.jpg" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This coin celebrates victory on<br />
land and sea and shows the closed <br />
double doors of the temple of Janus<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">With the deaths of Antony and Cleopatra, the immense riches of Egypt were brought under Roman domination. Octavian ensured that the new province, known as ‘Alexandria and Egypt’, would never be controlled by the Senate. Senators were banned from visiting Egypt without his permission. It was Octavian who controlled Egypt’s treasures. This gave him great personal wealth and enabled him to give gifts to the Roman people. It was also crucial for Rome’s food supply.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Octavian, aged 32 at the time of Actium, now controlled an army of 280,000 men. But what type of man was he? He had shown that he could act like a terrorist. He was an indifferent general – Actium had been won by his admiral, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Vipsanius_Agrippa" style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">M. Vipsanius Agrippa</span></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">. His great gifts lay in his political skills - his recognition of the universal desire for peace, and his appreciation of the importance of image. His skills were particularly shown over the next few years. It is unlikely he had a master plan. Like most politicians, he proceeded in an ad hoc fashion, using caution and cunning and carrying opinion along with him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He was left with the full emergency powers he had assumed in 43 BC and he was still consul. However, Actium placed him in a dilemma. His defeat of Antony had raised him to unparalleled power, yet the whole ideology of the republic rested on hatred of kings and fear of one man gaining too much power. As the historian Adrian Wallace-Hadrill </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">writes (</span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">Augustan Rome</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, p. 12), </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘The dil</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">emma was that the saviour could only save the republic by eliminating himself.'</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; letter-spacing: 2.5px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">But this was a <i>Roman </i>dilemma. In the Hellenised east, cities and individuals had become used to negotiating personally with kings and princes. The constitution of the Roman Republic meant nothing to them, but they were accustomed to offering their rulers godlike status. In places like Ephesus they began to put up temples to ‘Rome and Deified Julius’. Already, though his great-uncle, Caesar, he was being associated with the gods.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="vertical-align: -0.5px;"><b>The Settlement of</b></span><span style="letter-spacing: -2.7px; vertical-align: -0.5px;"><b> </b></span><span style="vertical-align: -0.5px;"><b> </b></span><span style="vertical-align: -0.5px;"><b>27</b></span><span style="letter-spacing: -2.3px; vertical-align: -0.5px;"> </span><span style="vertical-align: -0.5px;"> </span><span style="vertical-align: -0.5px;"><b>BC</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 29 BC he returned to Rome and celebrated a triple triumph (Actium, Illyricum, Egypt), accompanied by gladiatorial shows. He gradually wound down the state of emergency, but still kept 28 legions (about 150,000 men). Potentially, he had the powers of Marius, Sulla, Pompey and Caesar. How would he use these powers? The constitutional basis of his powers was his continuous succession of consulships. But could this be a permanent solution?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">He soon showed that he was intent on popularity. He made important disbursements from the funds that he had appropriated from the Egyptian treasury. The people of Rome received lavish hand-outs and had magnificent public buildings erected. He turned the plebs of Rome into his clients, feeding them from the corn dole, and entertaining them with games. Throughout 29 and 28 BC he continued to maintain a high profile. He put great effort into the restoration of temples, which had become dilapidated during the civil wars. In 28, he purged the Senate of 'unworthy' members, and put his own name at the head of the list as 'leader of the senate’. He also declared a general amnesty. He was clearly preparing for some kind of long-term political settlement. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">In a ceremony of the Ides (13th) of January 27 BC, Octavian, now in his seventh consulship, at a carefully staged meeting of the Senate, dramatically offered to renounce all his powers and restore them to the Senate and People of Rome. In return, the Senate offered him the direct administration of the provinces of Spain, Syria and Gaul, in addition to Egypt, for the next ten years. He 'reluctantly' accepted. This was an important constitutional change, marking the acceptance of the fact that the provinces of the empire were divided into two types: those of the senate and people which had their governors appointed by lot, and 'Caesar's provinces' governed by subordinates, 'legates' of his own choice. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyensC6XuqCt44YFPF6lZOTVyCHYPWyoHDmpxNVCeu0pg-cLTkjpNssd1DE_-gSWCSPWHrPAbgE6tvzUALtATJVAHUDH0Ud8H45ZG4p4DLqSk300ep3RyJW_Ci29MUoTi1fXrPUmKoVV4/s1600/800px-Augusto_30aC_-_6dC_55%2525CS_jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyensC6XuqCt44YFPF6lZOTVyCHYPWyoHDmpxNVCeu0pg-cLTkjpNssd1DE_-gSWCSPWHrPAbgE6tvzUALtATJVAHUDH0Ud8H45ZG4p4DLqSk300ep3RyJW_Ci29MUoTi1fXrPUmKoVV4/s200/800px-Augusto_30aC_-_6dC_55%2525CS_jpg.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Roman Empire at the time of Augustus</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">Three days later, the Senate honoured him with the name of Imperator Caesar Augustus. He now styled himself </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; text-indent: 36px;">'Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">'. </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; text-indent: 36px;">Imperator</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;"> meant 'military pre-eminence'; </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; text-indent: 36px;">Caesar</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;"> meant 'son and heir of Julius'; </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; text-indent: 36px;">Divi Filius</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;"> was a reminder of the divine honours paid to his father. When he dropped Julius from the name, he became Son of the Divine (Son of God).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">‘Augustus’ had religious connotations. 'August' was the word used of temples and sacred things. It was linked with the auguries by which the will of the gods was made known. It also signified increase (augmentation). Unable to describe his power in ordinary legal </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">terms, the Senate and people took refuge in divinity. In addition, he was to be known as ‘</span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; text-indent: 36px;">princeps</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">’ (first citizen), an honorary title, with Republican precedents that carried enormous prestige. A further sign of his power is the fact that he was able to hold the consulship from 27 to 23 BC. Was this a cynical m</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">ove by Augustus? A public relations exercise? The settlement shows his awareness that Republican sentiment was still strong. He could not, as Caesar had appeared to do, treat it with contempt.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Horace wrote <i>c</i>. 27 BC: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Thundering Jupiter we did believe of old</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The King of heaven; a present god on earth</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Will be Augustus as his conquests add</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Britain and Persia to the imperial fold. (<i>Odes</i>, 3.5.1-4)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Settlement</b><span style="letter-spacing: 2.9px;"><b> </b></span><b>of 23</b> <b>BC</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 23 Augustus fell ill and resigned the consulship with its heavy burden of administrative duties. Probably he also saw the need for a reappraisal. His position under the First Settlement gave him no authority outside his own provinces. He also might have recognised that his continued holding of the consulship was giving offence to many of the nobility. He never resumed the consulship after this date, though when he sat in the Senate, he was given an honorary seat near the consuls. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">(1) His proconsular </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; text-indent: 36px;">imperium</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;"> was changed to make his military authority broader and less specific. It was elevated to being over-riding (</span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; text-indent: 36px;">maius</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">). This means that, instead of being in charge of three named provinces, he was directly in control of all provinces that required a military presence. He was given the power of proconsul to intervene over the heads of any provincial governors and also to exercise direct authority over the whole army. This means that he controlled the legions. The other provinces were referred to as ‘senatorial and continued to be governed in the traditional way. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">(2) He was also given the post of tribune of the people - this meant that he had the right to summon the senate, and to veto any of its laws. His power was now legally designated as ‘</span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; text-indent: 36px;">tribunicia potestatas’</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">. His tenure of power was henceforth recorded on all public documents and its annual enumeration used to denote the passing of regnal years. Tacitus described the tribunician power as the most important of the powers of the </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; text-indent: 36px;">princeps</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">. (Note that the office of tribune had begun as an elected office.) Augustus particularly valued this post because it gave the illusion that his power rested with the people.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">Augustus's position now rested upon a clever combination of his wartime authority and the bundle of political powers granted to him by the senate. In perpetuating his monarchical rule within the framework of the restored republic, he had avoided the charge of kingship or tyranny. Perhaps many Romans were not deceived, but were simply grateful for peace. But his role could not really be defined in legal terms. He had saved the state, and his job was to keep it safe. However, it did not mean he had the power to do everything. As he wrote in the <i>Res Gestae </i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; text-indent: 36px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">'I exceeded all others in weight of authority (<i>auctoritas</i>), but had not power (<i>potestas</i>) greater than those who were my colleagues in any given magistracy.’</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Godlike man</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Augustus and his family had became royalty. He set up house on the Palatine Hill overlooking the forum and conducted business by the aid of a large staff of servants, whose salaries were paid by the wealth he had accumulated in the east. But even more importantly, they were becoming divine.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Augustus as <i>pontifex maximus</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 12 BC he became <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifex_Maximus">pontifex maximus</a></i> (religious head of state) and in 2 BC was proclaimed <i>pater patriae</i> (father of the country). In the east, though not in Rome, he was revered as a god. People swore by his divinity and it was customary to keep images of him and his family with the family lares. In 8 BC the Senate decreed that the eighth month of the year be named in his honour. All this was very near to deification. As Virgil wrote, <i>c.</i> 20 BC: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This is the man ...whom you have often heard promised:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Augustus Caesar, descendant of a god, who will again establish</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The golden ages which once reigned in the fields of Latium</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Under Saturn of old, and who will carry forward empire</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Over the Garamantes and Indians (<i>Aeneid</i> 6. 791-5)</span><br />
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A denarius c. 18 BC. Obverse: CAESAR AVGVSTVS; reverse: DIVVS IVLIV[S] (DIVINE JULIUS)</div>
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-27346698291363126832016-02-04T07:15:00.003+00:002016-02-04T07:16:44.867+00:00Julius Caesar: epilepsy or strokes?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7uumg1-Boj0mnJ0csYT9nrO3wk5J8FezidSah4c9lhcWDFWGqbcbZLO0-OjH3W1BoxeiSMMbDYZwFJ91vSr101K0MyfeGAfLfNH-A14N1D0uGk1_9p2wOmVjF1QyCdriZy__uQIWMN_Q/s1600/Ce%25CC%2581sar_%252813667960455%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7uumg1-Boj0mnJ0csYT9nrO3wk5J8FezidSah4c9lhcWDFWGqbcbZLO0-OjH3W1BoxeiSMMbDYZwFJ91vSr101K0MyfeGAfLfNH-A14N1D0uGk1_9p2wOmVjF1QyCdriZy__uQIWMN_Q/s200/Ce%25CC%2581sar_%252813667960455%2529.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The historians Plutarch and Suetonius described Caesar as suffering from convulsions and sudden fainting fits, which Shakespeare interprets as the 'falling sickness'. It has been widely accepted that this was epilepsy. However, two doctors are now arguing that he might have been afflicted by cerebrovascular disease, a series of mini-strokes that would have impaired his judgement and might account for his reckless behaviour in his final years. See their arguments <a href="http://www.history.com/news/julius-caesar-suffered-from-strokes-not-epilepsy-new-study-says">here</a>.</span>Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-79861197160018047162016-02-02T10:34:00.000+00:002016-02-04T07:16:08.229+00:00Antony and Cleopatra<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When Antony reached Tarsus in the autumn of 41, he summoned Cleopatra, now aged twenty-eight, to meet him. After Caesar’s death, she had gone back to Alexandria, where her younger brother and consort Ptolemy XIV had died in mysterious circumstances. She then made the young Caesarian her co-ruler and he was proclaimed King of Egypt. Antony wanted to call her to account for her failure to supply an army to help him and Octavian. But Cleopatra staged a famous meeting with Antony on the river Cygnus, after which she became his mistress. His support enabled her to strengthen her rule in Egypt. She returned there and was joined by Antony in the winter of 40-1. However, he was forced to leave, and did not see her for four years (nor the twins that she bore him).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Back in Italy Octavian was forced to evict many farmers in order to provide for his veterans. His army became bogged down in the siege of Perusia (Perugia), held by Antony’s wife, Fulvia. Plutarch describes Fulvia as a headstrong woman, given to meddling in politics. He states that she began the war with Octavian in order to lure Antony back to Italy. In 40 Antony tried to land in Brundisium, but he was refused entry into Italy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Antony and Octavia</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The threat of war was averted by negotiation, and the Treaty of Brundisium in October reinforced their fragile alliance. As Fulvia had died, Antony was able to marry Octavian’s sister, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavia_the_Younger">Octavia</a>. This is probably the time the poet <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil">Virgil</a> wrote his <i>Fourth Eclogue</i>; perhaps the divine child of the poem is the son that he believed would be born to Antony and Octavia. (In the Middle Ages it was believed that Virgil had foretold the birth of Christ.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Now comes the crowning age foretold in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibyl">Sibyl</a>’s songs, </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A great new cycle, bred of time, begins again. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Now virginal Justice and the golden age returns, </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Now its first-born is sent down from high heaven.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">With the birth of this boy, the generation of iron will pass, </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And a generation of gold will inherit all the world.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The next few years saw Octavian increase his power in the west, and Antony in the east. In effect, they split Rome into an eastern and a western Empire.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">Octavian triumphant</span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">In 36 </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">Octavian’s admiral, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Vipsanius_Agrippa" style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; text-indent: 36px;">M. Vipsanius Agrippa</a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">, finally defeated Sextus Pompeius. A rebellion launched by Lepidus in Sicily was put down. (Lepidus died in exile c. 12 BC.) Octavian now commanded some forty legions. When he returned to Rome he was given the office of tribune. A gold statue to him was set up in the Forum, proclaiming him as the deliverer of Italy by land and sea. By contrast, Antony’s campaign against the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthian_Empire" style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; text-indent: 36px;">Parthians </a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">went badly wrong and 30,000 of his soldiers died on their retreat throu</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">gh Armenia in the winter of 36-5.</span></span></h3>
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Donations of Alexandria</span></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Donations of Alexandria</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 34 Antony staged a triumph in Alexandria following his successful campaign in Armenia. This was unprecedented, since a triumph was usually held in Rome in honour of Jupiter Capitolinus, the protector and presiding divinity of the city. The triumph was followed by a ceremony in the gymnasium in Alexandria known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donations_of_Alexandria">Donations of Alexandria</a>: Antony publicly recognised Cleopatra as Queen of Kings and Caesarion, now seventeen years old as King of Kings. Of his twins by Cleopatra, he proclaimed Alexander Helios sovereign of Armenia, Media and Parthia (the lands east of the Euphrates), and Cleopatra Selene ruler of Cyrene in north Africa. The younger son Ptolemy Philadelphus received Syria and Cilicia. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">These grandiose dynastic pronouncements made little difference to the actual business of administering the eastern provinces, but in the eyes of Rome, Antony was turning himself into an oriental sovereign. To the Greeks and Asiatics, however, he was Dionysus </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">or </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osiris" style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">Osiris</a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, the con</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">sort of Isis, the goddess-queen of Egypt. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">By the end of 33 the Second Triumvirate came to its legal end and Octavian dropped the title of triumvir. He now relied on the fact that he held his second consulship and that he was winning the favour of the people of Rome through his renovation of the city. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">In 32 BC Antony sent Octavia formal letters of divorce, probably his greatest political mist</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">ake. Octavian reacted with fury. He seized Antony’s will, which was deposited in the Temple of the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestal_Virgin" style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; text-indent: 36px;">Vestal Virgins</a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;"> (thus committing an act of sacrilege) and read it (or a doctored version) out to the Senate. The risk proved worth taking, as the will was extremely damaging to Antony’s reputation. It acknowledged Caesarion as the son of Caesar, provided for Antony’s own chi</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">ldren by Cleopatra, and ordered that he should be buried at Cleopatra’s side. This enabled Octavian to claim that Antony hoped to transfer the capital to Alexandria, and it swung opinion in Italy against him. Many cities and communities took an oath of loyalty to Octavian, showing that personal loyalty was replacing loyalty to the institutions of the Republic. Antony, who with Cleopatra had crossed over to Greece was deprived of his powers and his prospective consulship. Octavian formally proclaim</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">ed a </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; text-indent: 36px;">justum bellum</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;"> against Cleopatra (not Antony) and in 31 he crossed over to Greece.</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Actium</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Antony still had thirty legions at his disposal, and a navy of 500 ships to Octavian’s 400. Many of his supporters were men of principle, former followers of Caesar or Pompey. However, they lacked a sufficient force to unite them, and the presence of Cleopatra alienated many. Yet Antony could not send her away as she provided much of the finance. Her presence also meant that he could not advance into Italy where she was deeply unpopular.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">Antony centred h</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;">is fleet on the promontory of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Actium" style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; text-indent: 36px;">Actium</a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-indent: 36px;"> on the northwest coast of Greece. As Octavian advanced with his fleet, he followed Cleopatra’s advice and decided on a naval battle. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">On 2 September he drew up his fleet. When he saw the battle going against him, he signalled to Cleopatra, who had her war chest on board, to escape with her sixty ships. Antony broke off the engagement and escaped with forty ships. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuStdoA8m4oMuBEm7OeWcwBm8UU729lihR5qmdJ63Jrle4e3syNDrZ4mXIBx_qjKoMvw6j3YpDstFIKU5pKzQqkCddXNqBctJ5NuOgwEpF57ZWxmURs7pC6mXQjfB9O6T9fIzQHAJ7fSY/s1600/Battle_of_Actium-en.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuStdoA8m4oMuBEm7OeWcwBm8UU729lihR5qmdJ63Jrle4e3syNDrZ4mXIBx_qjKoMvw6j3YpDstFIKU5pKzQqkCddXNqBctJ5NuOgwEpF57ZWxmURs7pC6mXQjfB9O6T9fIzQHAJ7fSY/s200/Battle_of_Actium-en.svg.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">The deaths of Antony and Cleopatra</span></h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">In the summer of 30 Octavian occupied Alexandria. Antony occupied a house in the city, which he called the Timonium, and Cleopatra retreated with the treasures of Egypt into an impregnable mausoleum. According to two sources, Plutarch and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassius_Dio">Cassius Dio</a>, she sent messengers to Antony with the news that she was dead, hoping that he would then kill himself. (Presumably she would then be able to negotiate with Octavian.) Antony duly stabbed himself but lived long enough to die in her arms in the mausoleum. Cleopatra was taken prisoner, and when she found that she could not retain her kingdom and would be exhibited as a prisoner in Rome she died, according to some accounts by the bite of an asp (probably an Egyptian cobra). Octavian thus secured the treasure of the Ptolemies. He ordered Antony’s children by Cleopatra to be taken to Rome, where Octavia brought them up, but he had Antyllus (Antony’s son by Fulvia) and Caesarion killed. Nothing – except legality - now stood between Octavian and supreme power.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX38mt53iGpuPHO-Hm9nvW5y0dnjE2vViCJ8nZ5r-SYgNnxeMdr4yX2bz935dp4cefNfoPi_Xjj2sCDd22NWxOSboQKPFfnQ2u2wvNjmJYNsRgxFWMeahWa5PFh6CUwpyfkITtBcEIk2Y/s1600/The_Death_of_Cleopatra_by_Juan_Luna1881.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX38mt53iGpuPHO-Hm9nvW5y0dnjE2vViCJ8nZ5r-SYgNnxeMdr4yX2bz935dp4cefNfoPi_Xjj2sCDd22NWxOSboQKPFfnQ2u2wvNjmJYNsRgxFWMeahWa5PFh6CUwpyfkITtBcEIk2Y/s200/The_Death_of_Cleopatra_by_Juan_Luna1881.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The death of Cleopatra,</i> by<br />
Juan Luna (1881)</td></tr>
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-19361286622792076732016-01-30T10:42:00.001+00:002016-01-30T11:07:50.200+00:00The end of the Republicans (43-41 BC)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDC1ym9IQNtRcQSLreEAcoSK_pHY1soOudg7yAoakYexjjiKpbmIA1BXmqGZINEHxZV2y8Z4dx1DgKJve-yQkiu47yw9ImNEiA5gKDyjL5n68jKMETuEdcZT35UNU8wGJaOvYLw3k3iq4/s1600/Octavian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDC1ym9IQNtRcQSLreEAcoSK_pHY1soOudg7yAoakYexjjiKpbmIA1BXmqGZINEHxZV2y8Z4dx1DgKJve-yQkiu47yw9ImNEiA5gKDyjL5n68jKMETuEdcZT35UNU8wGJaOvYLw3k3iq4/s200/Octavian.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Octavian: Caesar's heir.<br />
Would he be his successor?</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The proscriptions</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">One of the first acts of the triumvirate was to follow the example of Sulla. The amnesty previously granted to Caesar’s assassins was repealed and a series of proscriptions eliminated their enemies and also gave them the funds to keep the army and the populace happy. They signed the death warrants for some three hundred senators and two thousand knights. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The most famous victim was Cicero, whose death was quite unlike the peaceful ending he had envisaged in his writings. After his death his head and hands were cut off and brought to Antony, then nailed up above the rostra in the Forum. This was to gratify Antony’s personal lust for revenge but Octavian cannot escape responsibility for the prescriptions.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> The historian </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutarch">Plutarch</a> notes that he deliberately sacrificed Cicero to Antony and that Antony in turn abandoned his uncle: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘I can conceive of nothing more savage and vindictive than this trafficking in blood.’</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Julius Caesar was deified, and Octavian began to style himself ‘son of the divine’ (‘<i>divi filius’</i>).</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The battle of Philippi</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A military campaign was then organised to avenge Caesar’s murder and to dispose of the conspirators</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">. At the two-stage </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Philippi" style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">battle of Philippi</a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> in Greece in October 42 BC the conspirators were defeated. Plutarch states that Octavian proved himself an indifferent general (he was nearly</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> defeated by Brutus) and that most of the credit for the battle went to Antony. The story of the visitation from Caesar’s ghost comes from Plutarch. Both Cassius and Brutus committed suicide. Antony and Octavian found themselves in control of sixty legions and more than a quarter of a million men.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The division of the spoils</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">After Philippi the provinces were divided among the triumvirs. Octavian took Spain, Sardinia, and Lepidus Africa. He also received Italy, which gave him the advantage of being at the heart of the empire. However, Italy was disrupted by civil war and harassed by the piratical activities of Pompey’s son, Sextus Pompeius. On the face of it, Antony was the chief beneficiary in that he took control of the east, which had always been regarded as a great reservoir of resources. He went first to Athens and then in the spring of 41 he crossed into Asia and found himself, like other powerful Romans, welcomed as a god; at Ephesus he was greeted as a ‘new Dionysus’. This is the type of thing that can go to a man's head!</span>Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-437055362622910322016-01-30T10:40:00.001+00:002016-01-30T11:01:47.914+00:00After the assassination<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipLelWCbl6A_NLNx02sH4fixXfAe1AyOdtfQr0LH9uzW_RacnUHCNIkLvoCFO5n4_wJSjHsg-0myrgaIYpG9nqjaCF6yJbNFa31LiMsALqt7ROlTZ3xyi19cne6g8FOfO0QGNjSu6WEgM/s1600/M_Antonius.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipLelWCbl6A_NLNx02sH4fixXfAe1AyOdtfQr0LH9uzW_RacnUHCNIkLvoCFO5n4_wJSjHsg-0myrgaIYpG9nqjaCF6yJbNFa31LiMsALqt7ROlTZ3xyi19cne6g8FOfO0QGNjSu6WEgM/s200/M_Antonius.jpg" width="153" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark Antony: Caesar's co-consul.<br />
Would he also be his heir?</td></tr>
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<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /><b><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Antony: the heir of Caesar?</span></b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Liberators, as they called themselves, believed they had restored the Republic; later, they had coins struck with daggers and the cap of liberty. But they made a fundamental mistake, naively assuming that once Caesar was removed the Republican government would automatically regain full vigour. As Cicero was to point out, they left ‘a fine banquet’ unfinished.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The immediate reaction to the assassination was panic. The Senators fled from the scene. One of those who escaped was Mark Antony, Caesar’s co-consul and his trusted friend. Cassius had wanted him to be assassinated along with Caesar, but Brutus had successfully argued that his life should be spared. However, Antony did not know this. In the general alarm following the murder, he put off his senator’s toga, disguised himself in plebeian dress and escaped.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Following the assassination, the conspirators went up to the Capitoline Hill, and with their hands smeared with blood and brandishing their naked daggers, they called on the citizens to assert their liberty. But their speech met with a mixed reception, and when they did not receive popular support, they retreated in confusion into the Capitol where they were joined by Cicero.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The key actor in the drama of the next few weeks was Antony. As head of state, it was up to him to make the first moves. A popular soldier and an extravagant and boisterous character he had had a dissipated youth; the Greek historian and biographer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutarch">Plutarch</a> was to accuse him of ‘drinking bouts, love affairs, and reckless spending’. But he also commended the ‘noble dignity’ of his appearance’. It was his skilled handling of the crisis that now dictated the pattern of events. He quickly formed an alliance with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aemilius_Lepidus_(triumvir)">Marcus Aemilius Lepidus</a>. He was an insignificant character, but he was governor of Gallia Narbonensis and had troops outside Rome. While Lepidus was bringing his troops to the capital, Antony secured Caesar’s letters and papers from Calpurnia. He was thus able to negotiate with the conspirators from strength. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">On Cicero’s proposal, the Senate met and a compromise was worked out between the Caesarians and the Republicans. Caesar’s murderers were to receive an amnesty, while Caesar’s will and acts were to be respected and his funeral was to be celebrated. Brutus and Cassius dined on the Capitol with Antony and Lepidus.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>'Friends, Romans, countrymen'</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When Caesar’s will was opened on 20 March, Antony learned to his dismay that Caesar’s heir was his sickly nineteen-year-old great-nephew rather than himself. The will also revealed that Caesar had left his fine gardens beyond the Tiber to the Roman people and had bequeathed 300 sesterces to every Roman citizen. This news was followed by Caesar’s funeral at which, against Cassius’ advice, Brutus allowed Antony to deliver the customary oration. This was a fatal blunder as Antony used the occasion to stir up the mob against the Republicans, possibly with the help of actors, though we do know know his exact words (allowing Shakespeare to compose a speech for him!). Less than a month after the murder, Brutus and Cassius were forced to flee from Rome, leaving Antony in control. He promptly secured for Lepidus Caesar</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">’s old office of </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifex_Maximus">pontifex maximus</a></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, and appeased the </span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Senate by proposing the permanent abolition of the dictatorship. He then carried an agrarian bill to provide land in Italy for Caesar’s veterans. By these steps he had put himself in control of Rome, and caused Cicero to confide that ‘at times one could almost wish Caesar back’.</span><br />
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<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Octavian: the young pretender</span></b></h3>
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinWOgHrSf7RS_-T-LfgzEP6on6xyKVZ7_ggfojBkCBTRPdIbyNf4kFEud6v8PaDLnlZbPsfp4yMRVlNiMFts5LvICZjugIacpjtH8t_pbiWjeqiO82_SEbONukm_h268XKijZf1pCl5GQ/s1600/Octavian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinWOgHrSf7RS_-T-LfgzEP6on6xyKVZ7_ggfojBkCBTRPdIbyNf4kFEud6v8PaDLnlZbPsfp4yMRVlNiMFts5LvICZjugIacpjtH8t_pbiWjeqiO82_SEbONukm_h268XKijZf1pCl5GQ/s200/Octavian.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Shortly before the Republicans left Rome, events took a new turn when Caesar’s great-nephew landed at Brundisium (modern Brindisi) in the far south-east of Italy. Gaius Octavius was born 24 September 63 BC, the year of Cicero’s consulship. By his marriage to Caesar’s niece Atia, his father, the elder Octavius, became close to the heart of politics, and it was probably only his premature death in 58 that stopped him from standing for the consulship.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Caesar, who had no legitimate son of his own (according to Roman law Caesarian was illegitimate because his mother was not a Roman citizen), showed great interest in Octavius. In his will, drawn up in September 45 BC he had named him as his son and heir, a common practice in Roman families with no male heirs of their own. As a result Octavius became known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus; for the sake of convenience, historians call him Octavian. However, he did not learn about his adoption until Caesar’s will was made public.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Octavian was 18 when he heard the news of Caesar’s murder. He was then in Illyricum, getting military training for the Parthian war. As soon as the news reached him, he made the bold decision to cross to Italy to cultivate Caesar’s friends. He arrived in Rome in April 44, where he was rebuffed by Antony, who was bitter at the provisions of Caesar’s will. His most important ally was Cicero, an old man but one who commanded enormous prestige and influence, who saw him as a buffer against Antony’s ambitions. Octavian had made a point of visiting him in his house in Naples on his journey to Rome. The historian Robin Lane Fox notes</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘It is one of history’s great meetings, the senior statesman so often wrong, and the most dangerous eighteen-year-old in the world.’ </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Cicero persuaded the Senate to support the ‘divine youth’. For Octavian, this was very welcome attention – under normal circumstances he would have had to wait more than twenty years before he would be able to stand for the consulship. But Cicero was also uneasy because Octavian was already calling himself ‘Caesar’.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In late July 44 Brutus and Cassius left Italy for Greece in order to build up an army. In September Cicero composed the first of his <i>Philippics</i> against Antony, leaving no part of his public or private life untouched. On 20 December, when Antony was out of Rome, he denounced him before the Senate.</span><br />
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<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Second Triumvirate</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">At the end of the year, Antony’s consulship had expired and he went north to take control of Cisalpine Gaul. (It was the normal procedure for the Senate to give the governorship of a province of his choice to a retiring consul.) However (spurred on by Cicero), the outgoing governor, the conspirator </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimus_Junius_Brutus_Albinus" style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">Decimus Brutus</a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, refused to quit, and Antony besieged him in the town of Mutina (Modena). The Senate appointed an army to go north to relieve Brutus, even though Antony was acting legally, and appointed Octavian one of the commanders, even though he had not gone through the required <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursus_honorum">cursus honorum</a></i>. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When Antony was defeated in April, the Senate commanded Octavian to hand over his army to Decimus Brutus. He refused, saying he would not cooperate with his father’s murderers. Instead he marched his troops on Rome (echoes of Sulla and Caesar!), demanded and won the consulship (though he was well under the legal age), then returned north. He met with Antony and Lepidus on a small island in the middle of a river near modern Bologna and on 27 November 43 BC th</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">e three men </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Triumvirate" style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">formed a triumvirate</a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">. Unlike the</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> earlier triumvirate of Pompey, Caesar and Crassus, this was formally agreed upon and given the legal status to act as the government of Rome and the Empire. They had been invested with dictatorial authority.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9aJ7NxwnKau6pxN3EAhIKAv3baH4I3RKXnJY5irQckyOZqZuUpIDT4GXgOfodtTeVWfmJSS9gU7AhC0JLfPL67pO5MK2hw79aVpo2OMzlpaWzJ6MBABNPmj2PO0P-ngGIuarhb75jDw/s1600/Antony_with_Octavian_aureus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9aJ7NxwnKau6pxN3EAhIKAv3baH4I3RKXnJY5irQckyOZqZuUpIDT4GXgOfodtTeVWfmJSS9gU7AhC0JLfPL67pO5MK2hw79aVpo2OMzlpaWzJ6MBABNPmj2PO0P-ngGIuarhb75jDw/s320/Antony_with_Octavian_aureus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coin struck in 41 BC to commemorate the triumvirate. Where is Lepidus?</td></tr>
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-20583445637146311052016-01-27T17:25:00.001+00:002016-01-27T17:25:53.367+00:00The Ides of March (44 BC)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArMSnD3IRthfmzhhTLhMcVsqeqLp9smN_mg2pFgkXN052bwP5P89ZIs92_e0agl6ZL9WKuWrYNisJd-JBZAZSOrmKQhV7wEHTVEozhT79S51g6TSvDgQvot1WP3ZU_Dwl2MbgQb4MyUY/s1600/220px-Portrait_Brutus_Massimo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArMSnD3IRthfmzhhTLhMcVsqeqLp9smN_mg2pFgkXN052bwP5P89ZIs92_e0agl6ZL9WKuWrYNisJd-JBZAZSOrmKQhV7wEHTVEozhT79S51g6TSvDgQvot1WP3ZU_Dwl2MbgQb4MyUY/s200/220px-Portrait_Brutus_Massimo.jpg" width="131" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marcus Junius Brutus (85 BC- 42 BC):<br />
republican and tyrannicide</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Early in 44 BC several ambiguous events occurred. Two tribunes, Flavus and Marullus, removed a diadem that had been put on Caesar’s statue and said that they would prosecute anyone who spoke of him as king.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">On 15 February, the fertility festival of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupercalia">Lupercalia</a> was held, an ancient ritual in which young men ran, dressed in animal skins to ‘touch’ women with rods in order to ensure their fertility. One of the runners was Mark Antony, Caesar’s fellow consul. He offered Caesar a diadem, which he refused, and he ordered that the refusal be placed in the public records. (Was he taken by surprise or was it prearranged? Was his acceptance or refusal going to depend on the crowd reaction?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">There is considerable controversy over Caesar’s intentions in the last months of his life. Probably he was planning, long-term, some form of overall control. He had always said that Sulla had been wrong to resign power. By mid-February he had accepted another ‘dictatorship’, his fourth, but this time it was for life. This was surely a clear turning point. However, in the short-term he was planning a campaign against the Parthians, and presumably he wanted this to be successful before he claimed even greater powers than those he already had.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In this period his conduct changed. He became overbearing and discourteous. He refused to stand up to greet members of the Senate. His enemies were putting about wild rumours: he wished to move the capital to Alexandria; he was about to adopt Caesarion as his heir; or his heir was to be his great-nephew, Octavian.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In the fevered atmosphere of the early spring of 44BC a conspiracy was launched. Many of the conspirators were his former friends, who had come to regard him as a tyrant. At least sixty men were involved, but the secret was well kept. The leader was C. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Cassius_Longinus">Cassius Longinus</a>,</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">praetor in 44. The historian, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutarch">Plutarch</a>, describes him as a man of violent temper. The figure-head was his brother-in-law</span><span style="color: #0433ff; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Junius_Brutus_the_Younger">M. Junius Brutus</a>,</span><span style="color: #0433ff; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">a former Pompeian and a man renowned for his integrity, described by Plutarch as </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘a man almost ideally balanced to pursue a life of virtue’. </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 45 he had married Porcia, the daughter of Cato the Younger. He was thought to be attached to Caesar because after Pharsalus Caesar had ordered that his life be spared; there were also rumours of an affair between Caesar and Brutus’ mother, Servilia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Knowing that Caesar was preparing to move east, the conspirators decided to act quickly.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The date was set for the Ides (15</span><sup style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">) March and the assassination was committed in full view of the Senate in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_Pompey">Theatre of Pompey</a>, where the Senate was temporarily sitting. There were sixty senators in the plot but no more than five of them could have rushed at Caesar and stabbed him, while his fellow consul, Mark Antony, was detained outside.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He lay dying under the statue of Pompey. Twenty-three wounds were later counted on his body.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Had the Republic been saved?</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<br />Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-51405213375076993622016-01-27T15:01:00.000+00:002016-01-27T15:01:16.697+00:00'Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world...' 49-44 BC<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhipTHnix6dtAqJ8Hb6R_-h6xewIDLA4G46RVDVLtGvMQgm4imkSqgJt-YjH4EiRC6lLF99qbyb2ntcnlwWh5MUBWLC-a4j7Xwq7AaxsBTup0si4yZH-cMpy1q8IPmLWBaQ96_vd2ALIoA/s1600/RomaForoCesareDaNord.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhipTHnix6dtAqJ8Hb6R_-h6xewIDLA4G46RVDVLtGvMQgm4imkSqgJt-YjH4EiRC6lLF99qbyb2ntcnlwWh5MUBWLC-a4j7Xwq7AaxsBTup0si4yZH-cMpy1q8IPmLWBaQ96_vd2ALIoA/s200/RomaForoCesareDaNord.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ruins of Caesar's Temple of Venus Genetrix<br />
in the Roman Forum</td></tr>
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<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Pompey's flight</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">After crossing the Rubicon, Caesar moved forward rapidly into the centre of Italy. He divided his small force into two columns. Both columns then pressed on, and one town after another opened its gates to him. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Cicero wrote: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘Is it a general of the Roman people we are talking of, or Hannibal?</span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Caesar’s enemies included most of the senior senators, but they were also jealous of Pompey and would not allow him the powers he needed. This meant that he was unable to withstand Caesar. His veterans had known twelve years of peace, while Caesar’s were battle-hardened. Pompey made the mistake of abandoning Rome. He retreated south and most of the Senate fled with him. In March 49 he crossed the Adriatic and made for the eastern provinces where he hoped to establish an alternative power base. In Greece he was joined by Cicero, who, after spurning overtures from Caesar, decided that Pompey was the lesser of the two evils. Caesar’s enemies were in a potentially strong position, as they had command of the sea and threatened Italy’s grain supply. It was not clear that they were going to lose.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Pompey defeated</b></span></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">After Caesar entered Rome, he marched quickly into Spain where after a brief campaign he broke Pompey’s possible hold on the province. On his return he was appointed dictator for an emergency period of eleven days and then elected consul for 48. In the winter of 48 he shipped an army of eleven legions across the Adriatic. He finally caught up with Pompey and in the largest battle ever fought between Romans he defeated him at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pharsalus">Pharsalus</a> in Thessaly on 8 August.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span></span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJN77cK2CdYsMCOwvRVYUedY2g8iqpskrV8a_wBjvl5tnvUYrMWd3UmNa0GGnFVPNzsSeMuExIxdUPip9j_ANqTuMMBI9gBt1rrv_CcebM0KBa3HDwFIAzXqM0FHmYPI9vlwRYOmQYPR0/s1600/moves_pharsalus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJN77cK2CdYsMCOwvRVYUedY2g8iqpskrV8a_wBjvl5tnvUYrMWd3UmNa0GGnFVPNzsSeMuExIxdUPip9j_ANqTuMMBI9gBt1rrv_CcebM0KBa3HDwFIAzXqM0FHmYPI9vlwRYOmQYPR0/s200/moves_pharsalus.jpg" width="154" /></a></div>
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<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Egypt and the death of Pompey</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Pompey escaped and fled to Egypt, landing at Alexandria on 28 September 48 BC. He had been involved in Egypt since 55 BC Rome when one of his generals had restored King Ptolemy XII to his throne. In order to help take care of the running of his kingdom Ptolemy had appointed as co-ruler his eldest surviving daughter, the fourteen-year-old <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra">Cleopatra VII</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Ptolemy died in March 51 BC. In accordance with his wishes, Cleopatra then shared the throne with her ten-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII and married him. This was not an arrangement to her taste! Around 48 BC Ptolemy’s faction, led by the eunuch Pothinus staged a coup and Cleopatra was forced to flee to Pelusium where she raised an army. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">At the time of Pompey’s landing Ptolemy had pitched camp thirty miles east of Alexandria. News of Pharsalus had already reached him along with reports that the victorious Caesar was already on his way. He held an emergency meeting with his generals and Pothinus closed the meeting with the words: ‘Dead men don’t bite’. As Pompey landed at Alexandria he was run through with a sword and his head was cut off. (For the details, see David Stuttard and Sam Moorhead, <i>31 BC: Antony, Cleopatra and the Fall of Egypt</i>, British Museum Press, 2012, pp. 32-6.)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7E4Yb0i887s41QyyzM5RJqOFP4sqBplyKOcFGdqzYfKCLvwVUiSF3Ui9w2bUOGXdMBu4HcsaHDg6HT1jLoXle6lWGjLoHdMoNDS6hYyRTNieZnXlc1V-DbUWTgofHTBmnG0l-XHe6G0/s1600/Lighthouse_-_Thiersch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU7E4Yb0i887s41QyyzM5RJqOFP4sqBplyKOcFGdqzYfKCLvwVUiSF3Ui9w2bUOGXdMBu4HcsaHDg6HT1jLoXle6lWGjLoHdMoNDS6hYyRTNieZnXlc1V-DbUWTgofHTBmnG0l-XHe6G0/s200/Lighthouse_-_Thiersch.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pharos of Alexandria<br />
the sight that would have greeted both<br />
Pompey and Caesar as they approached the city</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Caesar and Cleopatra</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">On 2 October Caesar himself arrived in Egypt and to his horror was presented with Pompey’s head. But he did not leave Egypt. He had significant investments int he country and he decided that he was the man to sort out the domestic dispute between brother and sister. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjquB9x8pPafrT6EYeSGug9PXEtOy_45zlJE4rNMacFchAk1X9DJ4G7zsg0SQcBt_n4adw1u9t-NeI5NTZ6EQgYIdswhr6_4i5sWDonegbvAKRdhXnA9N83F_2e6LeydRf7t0E6NV-i0qw/s1600/Kleopatra-VII.-Altes-Museum-Berlin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjquB9x8pPafrT6EYeSGug9PXEtOy_45zlJE4rNMacFchAk1X9DJ4G7zsg0SQcBt_n4adw1u9t-NeI5NTZ6EQgYIdswhr6_4i5sWDonegbvAKRdhXnA9N83F_2e6LeydRf7t0E6NV-i0qw/s200/Kleopatra-VII.-Altes-Museum-Berlin1.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, last monarch of the<br />
Macedonian Ptolemy dynasty</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Cleopatra secretly came to see Caesar in Alexandria, hidden in a linen bedding-sack, and the two became lovers. The palace was then besieged by the forces of Ptolemy, but the siege was broken in March 47 when a relief force arrived. Ptolemy was killed and Caesar confirmed Cleopatra as queen of Egypt and a client of Rome. In the summer she gave birth to a son and called him <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesarion">Caesarion</a>, claiming that he was Caesar’s.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Caesar’s final victory</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Even after Pompey’s death, Caesar had to fight three more wars to assert his dominance. There was nothing inevitable about his supremacy. The first war, against Mithridates’ son, was over by July 47 BC; it was over so quickly that Caesar could say ‘<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veni,_vidi,_vici">Veni, vidi, vici’</a></i>. He then returned to Rome to put down a mutiny among his troops. In late December he fought a campaign in Africa against Cato and the sons of Pompey. Cato c<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_the_Younger#Death">ommitted suicide</a> after his defeat at Utica, thereby providing the republicans with a martyr.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Following these campaigns, Caesar was voted the first cluster of what were to be exceptional honours. For four days in August 46 he held magnificent triumphs, followed by games. A chariot and a statue with a globe were to be set up on the Capitol Hill and an inscription on the statue was to call him a demi-god. He was voted another dictatorship, this time for ten years.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In March 45 he defeated the remaining Pompeians at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Munda">Munda </a>in southern Spain. After this he employed the title <i>Imperator</i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">, not meaning emperor, but supreme military commander. On hearing the news of the victory the Senate decreed that he should be called ‘Liberator’ and that a temple to Liberty should be built. No Roman had ever been given this title before. In the autumn of 45 he returned to Rome, the undisputed ruler of the empire, where he was elected consul for the fourth time.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Administrative reforms</span></b></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">During the intervals between his campaigns and in last two years of life that remained to him, Caesar transformed Rome.</span><br />
<ol>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He formed many new colonies for his soldiers, most of them abroad. The most original feature of this policy was to include civilians among the settlers, including 80,000 of Rome’s penniless unemployed. These colonies acted as powerful agents of Romanisation.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He did much to settle the enormous debt problem, cancelling all interest due since the beginning of the civil war. This was a serious loss to creditors, though many of them admitted that they would never have been paid this money anyway.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He began the rebuilding of Rome, a temple of Mars, a huge new Forum with a colonnaded precinct, and a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Venus_Genetrix">temple to Venus Genetrix</a>, the ancestress of the Julian family. Beside the statute in the temple he placed a gilded bronze statue of Cleopatra, who had arrived in Rome with Caesarion in 46 BC. She stayed there for the rest of his life, much to the annoyance of his wife, Calpurnia.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In continuance of Sulla’s policy, he increased the number of senators from 600 to 900, enrolling the bankers, manufacturers, industrialists and army officers who had helped him gain power. This influx permanently changed the character of the Senate, which had now lost its independence. Consuls continued to be elected annually, but those elected were invariably Caesar’s men.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 46 BC he r<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_calendar">eorganised the calendar</a>. This had formerly been the responsibility of the priests, but it had fallen into disorder. He lengthened the year from 355 to 365 days, reduced the number of months from 13 to 12 and added the leap year. The month Quintilis was renamed Julius. January, named after the god Janus, became the first month.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">By February 44 <a href="http://www.humanities.mq.edu.au/acans/caesar/Portraits_Coins.htm">coins bearing his own head</a> were issed, the first time a portrait of a living person had appeared on a coin. This rising personality cult was stressed still further by the large number of his portrait busts that were made and distributed around Italy and the provinces.</span></li>
</ol>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FQcv1ai4KuhDMxM4HC0yJJw0eGjWOkPOindLAlBzz0Xg8VVNasLlczccyO1f6UfLu_eYlqfVzqZFx6-XjZj4E2Kmp-47eySZKm-QeaWadZsvOrNnAaWO-KagdRJcb1C9Oc3Ih-XLmzY/s1600/Julius-Caesar-Denarius-44-BC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FQcv1ai4KuhDMxM4HC0yJJw0eGjWOkPOindLAlBzz0Xg8VVNasLlczccyO1f6UfLu_eYlqfVzqZFx6-XjZj4E2Kmp-47eySZKm-QeaWadZsvOrNnAaWO-KagdRJcb1C9Oc3Ih-XLmzY/s200/Julius-Caesar-Denarius-44-BC.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Denarius of Julius Caesar<br />
44 BC</td></tr>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In mid- February 44 he was appointed dictator for the rest of his life. This was unprecedented and such a position of supreme power was not compatible with the tradition of aristocratic power-sharing. The Senate was now packed with his own supporters, who loaded him with honours.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The appointment of governorships and magistracies fell under his control. He had been <i>pontifex maximus</i> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">since 63, and in 47 BC he was made <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augur">augur</a>. He now appeared in public on a gilded chair, dressed in a purple triumphal robe. A temple was erected to his Clemency as a tribute to his refusal to imitate Sulla and issue proscriptions against his opponents.</span></div>
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-55528323658792163762016-01-22T15:29:00.000+00:002016-01-22T15:29:59.902+00:00Julius Caesar: towards the Rubicon (59-49 BC)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbgzPN2X4rz3uNJLhEZB9U2emhMsHrZ7_fFr0So5G1MaK9PMzePABw2dbH6Bvl1YSxKW9HyH-KAeGxIuwCFSmVH7_Zcg-MCTuup33rJs1Hj24wyIiS82HDLhHkgpjwmWsQ_6js1s4cMs/s1600/LocationRubicon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbgzPN2X4rz3uNJLhEZB9U2emhMsHrZ7_fFr0So5G1MaK9PMzePABw2dbH6Bvl1YSxKW9HyH-KAeGxIuwCFSmVH7_Zcg-MCTuup33rJs1Hj24wyIiS82HDLhHkgpjwmWsQ_6js1s4cMs/s320/LocationRubicon.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The presumed course of the Rubicon, the boundary between Rome and Cisalpine Gaul.<br />
It was never a major river. Now it is only a stream</td></tr>
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<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Caesar in Gaul</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 59 a friendly tribune had secured Caesar the command of the provinces of Illyricum (the Dalmatian coast) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisalpine_Gaul">Cisalpine Gaul</a> (northern Italy) for five years, with three legions and the right to found colonies. Cisalpine Gaul was near enough to Rome to allow him to keep in touch with events. However the death of the allotted commander for Transalpine Gaul (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallia_Narbonensis">Gallia Narbonensis</a>), at a time when it was threatened by hostile tribesmen, caused the senators to panic and add it to his provinces. But it seems that this command was only granted on a yearly basis and was less secure than the other two.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmUGIxFrMmgeMXHHwpGNY4BdcDcixYa0gwST2Bu-c3_smXWeN9QkRw3kBhGhnilWYNOvlGGV7_wNujbj1SdjU4zZ1r3OFp32sdzEmJkaTRMwZJmXQOfDYN04_hF16hn3fy5B0poo81ykU/s1600/Cesare_prima_Gallia_58_a.C._jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmUGIxFrMmgeMXHHwpGNY4BdcDcixYa0gwST2Bu-c3_smXWeN9QkRw3kBhGhnilWYNOvlGGV7_wNujbj1SdjU4zZ1r3OFp32sdzEmJkaTRMwZJmXQOfDYN04_hF16hn3fy5B0poo81ykU/s200/Cesare_prima_Gallia_58_a.C._jpg.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gaul and the Roman world on the eve<br />
of the Gallic War</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Caesar’s campaigns against the Gauls were described in his </span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gallic War</i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">. Between 58 and 56 the Romans over-ran the greater part of Gaul, though the Veneti of Brittany were still causing trouble and were only defeated after a naval battle, after which the elders of the tribe were massacred and the rest sold into slavery. </span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In the spring of 56 Caesar took time off from his campaigns to return to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucca_Conference">cement the agreement</a> with Pompey and Crassus at Lucca in Cisalpine Gaul: Pompey and Crassus were to be elected consuls in 55 and each of them would then be given five-year commands in the provinces. This unconstitutional arrangement meant that Caesar’s command in Gaul could also be extended. The three members of the triumvirate now had direct control of twenty legions and Rome’s most critical provinces. As Tom Holland says, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘The city had often echoed to cries of ‘tyranny’ – but never, surely with such justification as now.’ </span></blockquote>
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 55 BC Caesar crossed the Rhine over a specially constructed bridge and drove the Germanic tribes east. In July 55 he <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar's_invasions_of_Britain">launched his attack on Britain</a>, on the excuse that the British tribes had given help to the Veneti. He probably landed at Walmer. The tribal chieftains of Kent submitted, but a storm wrecked his ships and he was forced back to Boulogne. The expedition was a failure but nothing like this had been attempted before and the news caused a sensation in Rome.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 54 he returned to Britain with five legions and 2000 Gallic cavalry. He met and defeated the Kentish forces near Canterbury, crossed the Thames and defeated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassivellaunus">Cassivellaunus</a>, the king of the Catuvellauni in Hertfordshire. Though Caesar spun this as a victory, he had over-reached himself and was forced to return to Gaul to put down a revolt there. However, he left a legacy of ambition for his successors. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The breakdown of the Triumvirate</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Meanwhile in Rome Pompey and Crassus were elected joint consuls for the second time in 55 BC. Crassus went off to defeat the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman%E2%80%93Parthian_Wars">Parthians</a> in north-east Iran, but though he had been given two Spanish provinces Pompey chose not to campaign in person but to remain in Rome, where he dedicated his very lavish <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_Pompey">new theatre</a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campus_Martius">Campus Martius</a>, which may interpreted as a sign of his overweening arrogance. In 54 Pompey’s wife Julia (Caesar's daughter) died in childbirth. This severed much of the bond between Caesar and Pompey. In 53, the shocking news came that Crassus had been defeated and killed by the Parthians. It was Rome's greatest humiliation since the time of Hannibal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Rome in anarchy</b></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">In 52 Rome began once more to disintegrate into anarchy and gang warfare. The former tribune P. Clodius was killed and a fire destroyed the Senate-house. The Senate in panic granted Pompey emergency powers and made him sole consul; even the republican, Cato, felt that this was necessary. Pompey rose to the challenge, passed some tough laws to contain the violence and restored political normality by having a colleague (the father of his new wife, Cornelia) appointed consul in the same year. He had thus resisted the temptation to turn himself into a dictator on the model of Sulla.</span></h3>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Gaul: the final victory</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In the same year Caesar faced another Gallic threat, this time from the great leader, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vercingetorix">Vercingetorix</a>. He put this down in September 52 at Alesia (near modern Dijon) in an extraordinary victory. He then moved south and took up his winter quarters in Ravenna in Cisalpine Gaul. </span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Caesar marches south</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">News of Caesar’s victory reached Rome in the middle of 52. For the Senate it was a cause of alarm as much as celebration. They had become uneasy about his long tenure of command and they wished to prosecute him for illegally extending its term. Caesar for his part sought the same treatment that had been given to Pompey: the right to remain in command of his province and to hold the consulship again. But this was intolerable to many in the Senate; if he were permitted to progress from a military command to a second consulship, he would at no stage be a private citizen and thus he would be immune from prosecution. Moreover, in his campaigns he had amassed an astounding fortune. When he returned to Rome he would easily have enough money to bribe the citizens and he had battle-hardened veterans under his command to intimidate his opponents.</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Senate then moved against Caesar, who was now stationed at Ravenna in Cisalpine Gaul with the Thirteenth Legion. On 7 January 49 BC a state of emergency was proclaimed and Pompey moved his troops into Rome. The Senate then passed the <i>senatus consultum ultimum</i>, which would have outlawed Caesar if he returned to the Republic. Caesar’s ally in the Senate, the tribune <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Antony">Marcus Antonius</a>, and two other allies of Caesar, disguised themselves as slaves and fled to Ravenna. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">On (probably) 10 January Caesar advanced with his troops from Ravenna to Ariminium. In doing so, he crossed the Rubicon, the narrow stream that separated Cisalpine Gaul from Italy and broke Rome’s law of treason that forbade a governor to exercise <i>imperium</i> (the right to command) outside his allocated province. (This law had been formulated by Sulla with the aim of curbing such acts against the government.) In crossing the river, Caesar is alleged to have said, </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alea_iacta_est">The die is cast</a>’. </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Civil War had begun.</span><br />
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-59012059107657258562016-01-20T15:52:00.000+00:002016-01-20T15:52:01.752+00:00Julius Caesar: the First Triumvirate, 60 BC<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZQtu10n01_gWTG0xTUgP54SrqTz_3KsE3Zufe0uGvOaCh8ZpDX9cf0584cO30oTYwm075A_dgy_KNWX4fDL771r-Chhn1xHavIRNB1iTUKqpg_Nek74j370VcrBNNe4qsHSK1uKbkLQ/s1600/caesar_julius.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyZQtu10n01_gWTG0xTUgP54SrqTz_3KsE3Zufe0uGvOaCh8ZpDX9cf0584cO30oTYwm075A_dgy_KNWX4fDL771r-Chhn1xHavIRNB1iTUKqpg_Nek74j370VcrBNNe4qsHSK1uKbkLQ/s200/caesar_julius.jpg" width="147" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 BC)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 61 BC Pompey was </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">finally permitted to return to Rome.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> To the surprise of most people, he showed no desire to make himself a dictator. He disbanded his troops and made two reasonable demands: that his veterans be granted land, and that the Senate should ratify his eastern settlements. But the Senate refused these demands. He was ‘never a revolutionary’ but his success aroused great fears among the traditional elites. The opposition was led by the die-hard republican, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_the_Younger">M. Porcius Cato</a>, the great grandson of Cato the Censor, who became tribune in 62.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The complicated intrigues of this period left both Pompey and Crassus feeling aggrieved. The most significant of Pompey’s allies was an ambitious young man, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar">Gaius Julius Caesar</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He was born in 100BC in July, the month that would be named after him, the descendant of an ancient patrician family. The <i>gens Julia</i> claimed descent from the kings of Rome and the goddess Venus, mother of Aeneas. Because Caesar’s aunt, Julia, was the widow of Marius, he was forced to leave Rome during Sulla’s dictatorship. Sulla spared him with misgivings: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘In that young man I see many Mariuses'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In his absence from Rome Caesar built up a military career in campaigns in the east and he may have become the lover of the king of Bithynia. It was only in 78 BC, after Sulla was dead, that he returned to Rome, by now a war hero. He was made aedile in 65 and in this capacity he restored to public view the trophies that Marius had brought back from his victories and staged games in which 320 pairs of gladiators competed. In the same year he countenanced the proscription of Sulla’s agents, thus making free use of the device first introduced by Sulla himself. However, he was highly ambitious.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 63, with a view to gaining popularity he supported the bills granting Pompey his great commands and argued in the Senate against the execution of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catiline">Catilinarian conspirators</a> without trial. In the same year he was elected <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifex_Maximus">pontifex maximus</a></i>, </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">the head of the state religion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 60 Caesar returned from Spain where he had served as governor and where he had built up a loyal army. In the Senate Cato, the arch-conservative, led the opposition to him. He persuaded the Senate to deny him a triumph, which meant that he remained officially under arms would not legally be able to enter Rome. Caesar therefore abandoned his triumph and entered Rome as an ordinary citizen, prepared to stand for the consulship. Cato and Caesar were now implacable enemies. Because Cato could command a majority in the Senate, Caesar had to turn to other allies. In late 60 BC, he, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Licinius_Crassus">Crassus </a>and Pompey formed a secret agreement often, though perhaps misleadingly labelled the First Triumvirate. The historian, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appian">Appian</a>, later called this ‘the three-headed monster’.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caesar, Crassus and Pompey: triumvirs</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The year 59 is one of the most important in Roman history. Caesar was elected consul in spite of continuing opposition from Cato. Artfully, he began to encourage open government by causing the business of the Senate to be published and made accessible for the first time. Following the terms of his agreement with Pompey, he bullied the Senate into providing land settlements for Pompey's veterans. In the spring the alliance was cemented when Pompey married Caesar’s daughter, Julia (after which Cato, perhaps predictably, denounced Caesar as a pimp). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Caesar them moved against his two most formidable opponents. In 58 Cicero left Rome of his own accord rather than wait to be prosecuted for condemning a Roman citizen to death without a trial and Cato was sent on a diplomatic mission to Cyprus. But while Caesar was absent in Gaul, Pompey, who needed his services as an orator, managed to secure the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero#Exile_and_return">return of Cicero</a>, who entered Rome in September 57 to the cheers of his supporters. Feeling for the Republic was still running strong and Cicero was its most eloquent advocate. His return, under the auspices of Pompey, is a sign of the fundamentally unstable nature of the triumvirate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Could Pompey and Caesar trust each other?</span><br />
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-2744108650811692242016-01-19T17:04:00.001+00:002016-01-19T17:04:43.705+00:00The rise of Cicero<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8AmTIHz99_xB3ITxfgs7EiuBG1cNIoRF2Yf0E5xYZmDgYwXhaivJDN7q38Tv-ZzteZVXUNsJ9QZL-BYyUJ3zitY8FDQB0-riw471m7xmeReDoImxKUozU_G5XASMcirObBjtDjaDN84/s1600/Cicero_-_Musei_Capitolini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8AmTIHz99_xB3ITxfgs7EiuBG1cNIoRF2Yf0E5xYZmDgYwXhaivJDN7q38Tv-ZzteZVXUNsJ9QZL-BYyUJ3zitY8FDQB0-riw471m7xmeReDoImxKUozU_G5XASMcirObBjtDjaDN84/s200/Cicero_-_Musei_Capitolini.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The thirty years following Sulla’s retirement was a period of impassioned political dispute. These disputes took place in the open air, in the Roman Forum, a square half-mile of ground. In this period the total male citizenship increased hugely, swollen by the recently enfranchised Italians. The census of 69 registered about 910,000 adult citizen males, about three times as many as in the 130s. Elections were held in the Campus Martius outside the formal boundary of the city. Voters in the city were congregated into four ‘tribes’ and the result was decided by a block-vote within each tribe. Although the patricians continued to dominate politics, the way was now open for men outside the political elite to enter politics. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In the consular elections of January 63 an outsider had successfully stood for office. This was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero">Marcus Tullius Cicero</a>, a relative of Marius (not helpful!) from Arpinum, a hill-town about eighty miles south-east of Rome. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://sites.la.utexas.edu/cicero/">Cicero</a> is one of the best-known people of the ancient world. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He was a brilliant writer. His speeches and his ninety letters to his friend Atticus have made the late Republic one of the best-known periods of Roman history.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> He is the subject of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_11?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=robert+harris+cicero+trilogy&sprefix=robert+harr%2Cstripbooks%2C154">Robert Harris's Roman novels</a>,<i> Imperium, </i><i>Lustrum</i>, and <i>Dictator</i></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> He was born into the equestrian order, and none of his ancestors had held any political office in Rome. He had studied oratory in Rome and philosophy in Athens. He served in the army during the Social War, and begun a public career as an orator in the law courts. He originally made his name by his denunciation of the corrupt provincial governor Verres, who cruelly oppressed and exploited the Sicilians under his rule. In 70 Verres was brought to trial and successfully prosecuted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As a <i>novus homo</i>, Cicero lacked the extensive network of political connections that men from the senatorial families could build up over the years. As a non-noble he lacked clients. He won his election against the patrician Lucius Sergius Catilina (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catiline">Catiline</a>) by canvassing in the Forum and offering a populist programme of sweeping land reform and debt cancellation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Defeated and disappointed, Catiline planned a coup. Rumours of the impending coup leaked out but the Senate was divided over what to do, and there was no actual proof. Cicero denounced Catiline in the first of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catiline_Orations">four orations</a>. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Cicero denounces Catiline' by Cesare Maccari</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When Catiline withdrew to Etruria in central Italy, Cicero, as consul, seized five of the leading conspirators and in December 63 obtained the Senate’s approval for their execution. The sentences went ahead even though they violated the Roman citizen’s basic right of appeal. Catiline died in Etruria in 62. His defeat of the conspiracy was Cicero’s finest hour, but the legality of the action was widely challenged; the Senate was not an executive body and its consent did not make the execution legal. But it had made him a powerful political figure, a major player in the complicated intrigues that were eventually to lead to the downfall of the Republic.</span><br />
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-91298753393623476142016-01-19T17:04:00.000+00:002016-01-19T17:04:21.653+00:00Pompey the Great: conqueror of the East<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG2YE8uabtP96hPK1vnS8Q3OqXSc2qOGLpihFVvi9vzi23XlYcqnkwl3r0JF6wSgrVNGLODygd1RB9S9IhWj7Gzi6WY7VUZ2f4U4UpPT7YTqMNSXQ5XPWilg3hf35iIRs7Ki1ARr5_62M/s1600/Pompey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG2YE8uabtP96hPK1vnS8Q3OqXSc2qOGLpihFVvi9vzi23XlYcqnkwl3r0JF6wSgrVNGLODygd1RB9S9IhWj7Gzi6WY7VUZ2f4U4UpPT7YTqMNSXQ5XPWilg3hf35iIRs7Ki1ARr5_62M/s200/Pompey.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gnaeus Pompeius (Pompey) (106 BC-48BC)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">‘Sulla had given the Romans their first glimpse of what it might mean to be the subjects of an autocrat, and it had proved a frightening and salutary one. This was a discovery that could never be unmade.…What had once been unthinkable now lurked at the back of every Roman’s mind: “Sulla could do it. Why can’t I?”’ Tom Holland, <i>Rubicon </i>(2006), p. 109</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The legacy of Sulla was therefor a bitter one. The sons of those who had been proscribed were excluded from political life, and the way was open for other ambitious men, many of whom had family connections with Sulla, to use the traditional venue to popularity- military victory- to force their way to power. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">These ambitions were played out against a background of thuggery and anarchy in Rome itself. By the mid 60s the city contained at least 750,000 inhabitants, a huge mass of citizen-freedmen, slaves and foreigners, many of them very poorly housed. This population had to be conciliated by regular supplies of food and, increasingly, by lavish entertainments put on by the politicians.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The rise of Pompey</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompey">Gnaeus Pompeius</a> was the son of one of Rome’s principal officers during the Social War, who had died in disgrace following accusations of treachery. Pompey served with his father and built up a strong personal following in eastern and central Italy. When Sulla returned from the east, Pompey, who was married to his stepdaughter, joined forces with him. He defeated his enemies in Africa so effectively that, while still in his mid-twenties, his troops acclaimed him, as ‘the Great’. At his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_triumph">Triumph</a> he was said to have tried to drive a chariot pulled by elephants through the city gates only to find that the gate was too narrow. In the 70s he enhanced his reputation by defeating Sertorius, a governor of Spain who had opposed Sulla, after six years of hard fighting. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;"><b>Spartacus</b></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">On his return from Spain he helped quell the remnants of the slave uprising in Campania led by the Thracian gladiator, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus">Spartacus</a>. The <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marcus Licinius Crasses<br />
c.115-53 BC</td></tr>
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Senate had initially entrusted the command initially to the ex-praetor, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Licinius_Crassus">Marcus Licinius Crassus</a>, a former subordinate of Sulla, who had became extremely wealthy during the prescriptions. Crassus finally cornered and killed Spartacus in Apulia in 71 BC, crucifying 6,000 of his slave followers along the Appian Way. However, five thousand fugitives who managed to escape northwards were intercepted by Pompey, who thus claimed credit for finishing the war. It was he and not Crassus who was voted the full glory of a triumph, riding in a chariot pulled by four white horses, and he marked his success by adding two weeks of games to the celebrations.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;"><b>Consul</b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">Pompey exploited his successes to win the consulship for the year 70, even though he was six years under age and not a member of the Senate, whose powers he proceeded to undermine. Crassus shared the consulship with him in an unhappy partnership. During the following years, Crassus was content to remain at home and increase his wealth, but Pompey was anxious to increase his military reputation. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;"><b>Pompey and the pirates</b></span></h3>
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<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">His opportunity came in 67 when, over the heads of the Senate, one of the tribunes gave him a three-year command to suppress the pirates who were menacing Roman shipping, and even striking at Ostia, the port of Rome. He was given an unprecedented force of 500 ships and 120,000 men and his command embraced the entire Mediterranean. Never before had the command of the Republic been so concentrated in the hands of a single man. He destroyed the pirates in a three-month campaign.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;"><b>Pompey in the East</b></span></h3>
</div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">Then, with the authority give him by another tribune, he moved east to deal finally with the threat of Mithridates VI, the ruler of Pontus. In the following months, he created the ‘Roman Near East’. He incorporated Pontus, turned Armenia into a client kingdom and in 64 BC the collapsed kingdom of Syria, with its great city of Antioch was taken over and made a province. He <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(63_BC)">captured Jerusalem</a> and caused great and lasting Jewish distress by walking into the Holy of Holies in the Temple. Following the conquests, he established a number of client states. His boast was that </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">‘he had found Asia on the rim of Rome’s possessions, and left it in the centre’. </span></blockquote>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">In 63 Mithridates committed suicide. Pompey's victory was complete.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMaf-xP6tOaFmGGG-LDd0krC2jkPNFvD7cmCHqACEZEipP10hjblTGDQiwNr6rQ6fV-zvoUiwERMs_C0gsvKYrSWj9ONMBNN0t-n2sxcxJn7IYm8IG-Z1rMpiBbhHL3VPagmIYO859ucE/s1600/Denier_a%25CC%2580_l%2527effigie_de_Pompe%25CC%2581e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMaf-xP6tOaFmGGG-LDd0krC2jkPNFvD7cmCHqACEZEipP10hjblTGDQiwNr6rQ6fV-zvoUiwERMs_C0gsvKYrSWj9ONMBNN0t-n2sxcxJn7IYm8IG-Z1rMpiBbhHL3VPagmIYO859ucE/s200/Denier_a%25CC%2580_l%2527effigie_de_Pompe%25CC%2581e.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coin of Pompey the Great, proconsul<br />
with the head of the King of Rome<br />
Numa Pompilius</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">Too much power?</span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">Pompey was able to claim that he had raised the revenue of Rome by 70 per cent. He had also increased his own revenue and could claim to be a richer man than Crassus. There was considerable alarm in the Senate at his increased power, and for a while he was refused leave to return to the city. He finally entered it in 61 and his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_triumph">Triumph</a> (his third) was held in September in unprecedented splendour. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;">However, he had returned to a city in turmoil.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHWfPp8L5eJ8WBveUS11kXMUcxy8C-KIcGhWoRLpEZZLRYZQfKgSO_kfmvtjAztInZ9w-Tz-nfP49QsmOXJusH6y_Ry4NF168tm6u2PMKAdsy5i-yJ1yYSkAJu1QJqzZvTt1ZsQOMGXg/s1600/Theatre_of_Pompey_3D_cut_out.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHWfPp8L5eJ8WBveUS11kXMUcxy8C-KIcGhWoRLpEZZLRYZQfKgSO_kfmvtjAztInZ9w-Tz-nfP49QsmOXJusH6y_Ry4NF168tm6u2PMKAdsy5i-yJ1yYSkAJu1QJqzZvTt1ZsQOMGXg/s200/Theatre_of_Pompey_3D_cut_out.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3-D reconstruction of the Theatre of Pompey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Pompey was no revolutionary, but to conservative republicans, he seemed too much like a king. They resented the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_Pompey">new theatre </a>he had begun to build in the Campus Martius, that towered over the voting booths and seemed the symbol of his dominance of Rome. The opposition was led by the die-hard republican, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_the_Younger">M. Porcius Cato </a>(Cato the Younger). Rome seemed to be heading for political stalemate.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-13392141766163231652016-01-12T14:15:00.001+00:002016-01-12T16:06:53.376+00:00Republican Rome: the structure of goverment<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHXJ70PwbcwXYyA56J4n9qJd0osmM-5VKFINLRrpcge8cnEcaaw_u-SvQBOZYXtORgc_yccZpX0AA9nlJ_q4MdHVQMcqCzN4Du8VtCang7Ke4jN_D3sOzAu5BXcJdGP0ga7rGpUqcUDo/s1600/Rome+Senate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHXJ70PwbcwXYyA56J4n9qJd0osmM-5VKFINLRrpcge8cnEcaaw_u-SvQBOZYXtORgc_yccZpX0AA9nlJ_q4MdHVQMcqCzN4Du8VtCang7Ke4jN_D3sOzAu5BXcJdGP0ga7rGpUqcUDo/s320/Rome+Senate.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An imaginative reconstruction of the Senate in action</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 509 BC the Etruscan dynasty of the Tarquins was overthrown, and replaced by the republic; the term <i>res publica</i> means 'public business.’ The coup that overthrew <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Tarquinius_Superbus">Tarquin the Proud</a> left the Romans with a hatred of kings. By <i>c</i>. 500 BC the Roman community probably numbered about 35,000 male citizens, divided along class lines but united in its espousal of freedom and republican values. As Cicero was to write in his sixth Philippic, </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘that the Roman people should ever not be free is contrary to all the laws of heaven’. </span></blockquote>
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In republican Rome power was divided among magistrates, according to the principle of collegiality.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b></b><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The consuls</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Tradition maintained that the headship of the state had immediately passed from the expelled monarch to a pair of magistrates, called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_consul">consuls</a>. Each of the consuls was invested with absolute <i>imperium</i>, the administrative power conferring command of the army and the interpretation and execution of the law. They wore togas bordered with purple, the colour of the former kings, sat in a special chair of state and were accompanied by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lictor">lictors</a>, a body of twelve men, each bearing on his shoulder the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasces">fasces</a></i>. When they left office, they retained their prestige through membership of the Senate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjEeMNh49y0w6gqf8fJX75C-W7GW_xG6S38dub4gH-LHWnzhf4rLnuv9cWA18Y6OBw36qpCJF5Xeomtvn6xkHjfillGKKAjj-DSSzvENEFDnYmmM4XJzNakRC5IldWT92_l4uvhLK5v7A/s1600/Consul_et_lictores.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjEeMNh49y0w6gqf8fJX75C-W7GW_xG6S38dub4gH-LHWnzhf4rLnuv9cWA18Y6OBw36qpCJF5Xeomtvn6xkHjfillGKKAjj-DSSzvENEFDnYmmM4XJzNakRC5IldWT92_l4uvhLK5v7A/s200/Consul_et_lictores.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A consul surrounded by two lictors</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: large;">However, there were two extremely important practical restrictions that in theory made it impossible for a consul to assume the powers of a king.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">They were elected only for a single year</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">They were subject to each other’s vetoes.</span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Senate</span></b></h3>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Roman government was officially described as SPQR (the Senate and the Roman people’). In the third century BC Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, called the Senate ‘an assembly of kings’.</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Senate">Senate </a>was the Republic’s advisory body, a role they had probably inherited from the kings. From the late fourth century, senators were chosen by the censors. The Senate consisted of three hundred men from the ruling families whose members possessed a property qualification. It met frequently, perhaps forty times a year whenever summoned by the consuls, and it sat either in the Curia or in one of the several temples. It advised the elected officials on domestic and foreign policy, finance, religion, and legislative proposals. The senators had little direct power (their decrees did not have the force of law) but enormous prestige (<i>auctoritas</i>). Because they were appointed for life, they were the most continuous element in the structure of the state. They wore togas with broad purple stripes and had the front seats in the theatre. They were addressed as <i>patres conscripti</i>. Senators were also members of the priestly colleges of Augurs and Pontiffs. The religious role of the Senate is extremely important, as it provided the principal link between men and gods. Its religious function added greatly to its prestige.</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The consuls were elected, not by the Senate but by the Assembly of Roman citizens (<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centuriate_Assembly">comitia centuriata</a></i>). However, the Assembly was weighted so that the better off possessed greater voting powers than the poor. Moreover, candidates to the consulship came from the senatorial classes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The magistracie</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">s</span></span></b></span></h3>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The executive government of Rome was in the hands of magistrates elected for one year at a time on the principle of collegiality. Magistrates were unpaid, which meant that only the rich could hold office. Standing for a magistracy meant canvassing people personally, going into the Forum in a specially whitened toga, the <i>toga candidate</i> and persuading people to vote.</span><br />
<ol>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Quaestors (established 447): these were specialist financial officials</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Censors: two censors were elected every four years for a duration of eighteen months in order to make up and maintain the official list of citizens for military purposes and taxation. They also had a religious function – renewing the prayers of the people for the favour of the gods. The first Roman of whose historical existence we can be certain is Appius Claudius, censor in 312 BC. During his period of office he built the first of Rome’s aqueducts, the Aqua Appia, which brought water to the city from the Sabine hills in an underground tunnel (including one mile of overground conduit) and the Via Appia linking Rome to the south.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Praetors (established 367): they were responsible for the specialist functions of the administration of justice.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Aediles (established 494): they were responsible for public works. As Rome expanded, this became an extremely significant post.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Tribunes (see below).</span></li>
</ol>
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The struggle of the orders</span></b></h3>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The the basic division of Roman society, one that predated the Republic, was between patricians and plebeians. The patricians monopolized the consulship, the Senate, the inherited religious rites, and the control of the law and the calendar. During the fifth century some 53 patrician clans (<i>gentes</i>) are known, comprising a closed boy of not more than 1,000 families. </span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">However the remaining 90 per cent of the non-slave population were the <i>plebs</i>. Not all of the plebs were poor – some were wealthy traders who resented their exclusion from politics. However, for the majority of the plebs, their grievances were economic. In 494 in a remarkable assertion of power, the plebeians <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_secessio_plebis">marched up the Aventine Hill </a>and swore to each other a corporate oath of mutual support. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The result was a major concession by the patricians – the creation of a new office, that of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribune_of_the_Plebs">Tribune of the Plebs</a>, one of the most important of the Roman magistracies. Ten tribunes were to be elected annually by a new Assembly, the <i>Concilium Plebis</i> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plebeian_Council">Plebeian Council</a>) the voters organized by <i>tribus</i>, their area of domicile. As with the other Assemblies, voting was by groups rather than by simple numerical majority and the system was heavily weighted towards the wealthy. Tribunes were immune from prosecution, and the office of tribune was a means by which an ambitious man could gain power.</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The plebeians won further victories. They secured legal rights in 451 when the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Tables">Twelve Tables</a> became the basis of Roman law. In 287 BC the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lex_Hortensia">lex Hortensia</a></i> asserted that through their assemblies the plebeians could make laws that were binding on the entire Roman people. They had thus succeeded in their basic aim of breaking the legal monopoly of the patricians. By the second century Cato could assume that there were no formal barriers in the way of any citizen acquiring the highest office in the state. Any plebeian elected to the consulship became ennobled. However it is easy to exaggerate the importance of the <i>novi homines</i>, when all the great offices, including that of Tribune of the Plebs, were actually occupied by patricians. And no-one could stand for election without passing a financial test. Rome was not a democracy - but those holding political office needed the votes of the people.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjEHl-4wCqjv5-Dg1VvME4og3xXOhD0Tv64P6LWL6zcRP51w24jQduvdPuvYt2LZ81RL1SAobuUpns_66gJDjz8azm0ipEMeHPWqmvmbeTV938iqG_bw39OB1AyfLT6__P2Yat8Ly_gc/s1600/8a5c55405a640591f0cead9c075a7094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjEHl-4wCqjv5-Dg1VvME4og3xXOhD0Tv64P6LWL6zcRP51w24jQduvdPuvYt2LZ81RL1SAobuUpns_66gJDjz8azm0ipEMeHPWqmvmbeTV938iqG_bw39OB1AyfLT6__P2Yat8Ly_gc/s1600/8a5c55405a640591f0cead9c075a7094.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A candidate for election wearing the<br />traditional white toga<br />(toga candida)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbHx42n4VxOSQqUmfE-AG4nxa7KyR-H0BLEq8mhB1r13cEFZXHEtWSwHk26f7_tmS1V-QIjXJECPlu-HwACfRQqEOG0xEiYuN6MYbWhV8IEFkK0P3liDw1Sq2Nc0lus3FTMq-oeBp4eHo/s1600/800px-Roman_constitution.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbHx42n4VxOSQqUmfE-AG4nxa7KyR-H0BLEq8mhB1r13cEFZXHEtWSwHk26f7_tmS1V-QIjXJECPlu-HwACfRQqEOG0xEiYuN6MYbWhV8IEFkK0P3liDw1Sq2Nc0lus3FTMq-oeBp4eHo/s400/800px-Roman_constitution.svg.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The equestrians</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">By the 3<sup>rd</sup> century BC a new class had emerged – the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equites">equestrian order</a> (<i>equites</i>, the knights) as an intermediate group between the Senate and the people. They had originally been Rome’s cavalry. In this position they had many opportunities of advancement. The absence of a civil service meant that as Rome acquired her empire, she turned to these men as professional financiers and administrators. They possessed a certain income (enough to supply a horse for the cavalry) but they were merchants and businessmen rather than politicians. The expansion of Roman territory gave the equestrians many opportunities of advancing themselves. They helped to supply the army with equipment and to convert war booty into transferable cash.</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The concept of citizenship</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Roman citizenship was a high honour. It was the supreme privilege to be able to say with Cicero ‘<i>civis romanus sum</i>’. However, in contrast to the exclusive nature of Athenian citizenship, anyone living in Rome who was not a slave was a Roman citizen. Even more importantly, to the astonishment of Greek observers, a slave freed by a Roman citizen also became a citizen. The citizens were united by a loyalty to the Republic, represented by the letters SPQR. Following the rather oddly named <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_War_(90%E2%80%9388_BC)">Social War</a> (<a href="http://athensandrome.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/the-republic-in-crisis.html">see later post</a>) citizenship was extended throughout the Italian peninsula.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Mary Beard writes in <i>SPQR</i>:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;">'In extending citizenship to </span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;">people</span><span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;"> who had no direct territorial connections with the city of Rome, they broke the link which most people in the classical world took for granted, between citizenship and a single city. In a systematic way that was then unparalleled, they made it possible not just to become Roman, but also to be a citizen of two places at once; one's home town and Rome…so that [citizenship] was no longer an ethnic identity but a political status unrelated to race or geography.'</span></span></blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1hSo54Fllht1PSaf8GPQacF83enQMUACSQq1ySQvFNwnCfruA7nlGADGLLSJ92NILj5YtpRXRCVw6Zax-LvW2goJnmGhNOYqYQBV1Flphmsl2pyKWmbzhOHCzim1FYkWyZEumIVmLIE/s1600/Marco_Porcio_Caton_Major.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo1hSo54Fllht1PSaf8GPQacF83enQMUACSQq1ySQvFNwnCfruA7nlGADGLLSJ92NILj5YtpRXRCVw6Zax-LvW2goJnmGhNOYqYQBV1Flphmsl2pyKWmbzhOHCzim1FYkWyZEumIVmLIE/s200/Marco_Porcio_Caton_Major.jpg" width="133" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cato, looking </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">appropriately severe</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;">The concept of citizenship was bound up with a set of republican moral values, best summed up in the career and character of Marcus Porcius Cato, known as </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_the_Elder" style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">Cato the Elder</a><span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;"> (243-149 BC). He was seen to embody the old virtues of </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">gravitas</i><span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;">, </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">frugalitas</i><span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;">, </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">severitas</i><span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;"> and </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">simplicitas</i><span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;">. These contrasted with the oriental characteristic of </span><span style="font-family: "times", "times new roman", serif;"><i>luxuria</i></span><span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;"> that Rome was picking up from its contacts with the (allegedly) decadent peoples of the eastern Mediterranean.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Roman values were militaristic. Citizens had to serve in the army and consuls and other magistrates were ineligible for office until they had served for ten years in the military. Aspiring politicians of senatorial rank progressed through the <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursus_honorum">cursus honorum</a></i>, a combination of military and political administrative posts.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhovOLpGpPnJ2e26GSRgBCQTzd0w1S4GI5nGPUBJkcegxFBrEGaNbQCu0mxN2ynt7i-GBKdAptqf0Y4_-qp39gPPn6mzkQpHCRE3xVUeo3LLk4P67LiFuivkdxnflxI0GfbdrfbcTOaESE/s1600/Cursus.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhovOLpGpPnJ2e26GSRgBCQTzd0w1S4GI5nGPUBJkcegxFBrEGaNbQCu0mxN2ynt7i-GBKdAptqf0Y4_-qp39gPPn6mzkQpHCRE3xVUeo3LLk4P67LiFuivkdxnflxI0GfbdrfbcTOaESE/s320/Cursus.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As Rome was transformed from a small city state to the greatest conquering power the world had ever seen, traditional Roman values came under threat. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">An enormously wealthy class of citizen emerged that despised the old virtues of austerity and simplicity</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Powerful generals were able to undermine the very republican institutions that had been set up to prevent one man from gaining too much power.</span></li>
</ol>
<br />Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-1210944508066692162016-01-12T14:11:00.001+00:002016-01-12T14:20:57.913+00:00The Republic in crisis: the Gracchi, Sulla and Marius<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucius Cornelius Sulla, dictator</td></tr>
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<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The land problem</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Rome’s expansion came at a high political and economic price. In the early second century BC the Republic faced severe class tensions caused by the shortage of land. In the early days of Roman expansion, soldiers had been given land in the rest of Italy, but with the conquest of the peninsula completed, there was little new land available. During the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Punic_War">Second Punic War</a> the Romans had confiscated large tracts of land belonging to the allies of Carthage, but this public land (<i>ager publicus</i>) became monopolized by the senatorial and equestrian classes, who built up large slave-run estates and excluded the poor from land ownership.<b></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The land problem was intensified by the rise of the professional solder. By the first century up to half a million men were serving overseas for years at a time. When they returned, the generals confiscated land from the peasants and gave it to discharged soldiers. Displaced peasants flocked to Rome and the other Italian towns. The population of Rome grew to perhaps three-quarters of a million by the middle of the first century. Poor families crammed into tenements put up by speculative builders, but found that their wages were undercut by unpaid slave labour. </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Gracchi</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">However, the Roman poor had some political power. They could vote by secret ballot in their assemblies, and politicians had to pay at least lip service to their needs. Two young aristocratic brothers, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus, the grandsons of Scipio Africanus, were elected tribunes of the plebs in 133 and 123-122 BC respectively. As tribune, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius_Gracchus">Tiberius</a> pushed a programme of land reform through the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plebeian_Council">Plebeian Council</a>, thus hitting at the vested interests of the Senate. When he proposed to stand a second time as tribune, the Senate organized a riot on the Capital and Tiberius, along with three hundred of his followers, was clubbed to death. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In 123 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Gracchus">Gaius</a> was elected as tribune and tried to continue his brother’s work. He set up new colonies for landless Romans and Italians and subsidised the price of grain for the poor. This marks the start of what was later called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cura_Annonae">corn dole.</a> He set up new juries to be manned by the equestrian rather than the senatorial class. In a deliberately populist gesture he left his house on the exclusive Palatine Hill and moved into the Forum. In 121 he too was killed in orchestrated mob violence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The brief period of the Gracchi was full of long-term significance. In an attempt to pass much-needed reform, they struck at old-established institutions and were part of a process that ultimately undermined the Republic. Both brothers received cult as gods from their admirers and the spot where they died was regarded as sacred.</span><br />
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<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Social War (91-88 BC)</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Gracchis’ attempts at land reform highlighted and intensified the growing resentment of the Italian allies (<i>socii</i>), who were also suffering from the shortage of land and came to feel that they had all the duties of Roman citizens and none of the privileges. In 91 BC they rebelled in the short but bloody <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_War_(91%E2%80%9388_BC)">Social War</a>, a traumatic convulsion that threatened Rome’s dominance in Italy. Rome responded by what the historian David Gilmour describes as its ‘traditional tactic of brutality plus concessions’. In 89 BC <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Cornelius_Sulla">Lucius Cornelius Sulla</a> wound up the revolt by defeating the Samnites. Rome then quickly pacified the allies by offering them Roman citizenship with the right to participate fully in political life. This unified Italy for the first time and made citizenship wider and easier to obtain. Increasingly men of non-Roman origin became involved in political life. The more affluent of these joined the equestrian class, and the term rapidly lost its purely military meaning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The chief victor from the Social War was Sulla, now fifty years old, a member of the old nobility. In 88 he was elected consul.</span><br />
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<h3>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The wars of Marius and Sulla</span></b></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ynPKz8QaSqtlBcdNi06hY3jfjScdBFxmCatE1qfJr-kJraov3Sze8FDCQjfWWp8XweXmMsCL4ulVb7_FEVOkxMyniAXF4Wi574SG4RfnHeronvpqdGYZW9GrIU8dWt3rz0l1_OWZVjU/s1600/388px-Marius_Glyptothek_Munich_319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ynPKz8QaSqtlBcdNi06hY3jfjScdBFxmCatE1qfJr-kJraov3Sze8FDCQjfWWp8XweXmMsCL4ulVb7_FEVOkxMyniAXF4Wi574SG4RfnHeronvpqdGYZW9GrIU8dWt3rz0l1_OWZVjU/s200/388px-Marius_Glyptothek_Munich_319.jpg" width="129" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gaius Marius<br />
157-86 BC</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The next personal challenge to the senatorial nobility came from an ambitious military man, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Marius">Gaius Marius</a>, a non-noble. Between 104 and 100 he had held the consulship for an unprecedented five times. In 102 and 101 he won impressive victories against tribes that had migrated south to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallia_Narbonensis">Gallia Narbonensis</a> and northern Italy. In order to achieve his victories he recruited legionaries from all classes of Roman citizens, whether or not they had property, and increased their pay. This was a profound change. The possession of a farm was no longer the qualification for military service, but the reward. As Tom Holland puts it:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘The legions had turned professional.’ </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">In 88 BC, following the ending of the Social War, Rome faced a <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGm_egp8Oj6rNjnSgBgqLxgLRUiJef244JtJmv_f4GhdJOuFUat1LQvT94U5yj37u1rLZ8C9q03LDpfqzRWyO3CzZWDTuunkqLpC9VURjneCPkNxBOhVnGcY1mihjQBU_hyupmfeaE80/s1600/450px-Mithridates_VI_Louvre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGm_egp8Oj6rNjnSgBgqLxgLRUiJef244JtJmv_f4GhdJOuFUat1LQvT94U5yj37u1rLZ8C9q03LDpfqzRWyO3CzZWDTuunkqLpC9VURjneCPkNxBOhVnGcY1mihjQBU_hyupmfeaE80/s200/450px-Mithridates_VI_Louvre.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mithridates<br />
King of Pontus</td></tr>
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new challenge from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithridates_VI_of_Pontus">King Mithridates VI of Pontus</a>, who had gained control of a large region of Asia Minor and occupied Athens and other parts of Greece. The elderly Marius was not allowed to take command in this war. Instead the senators gave the task to Sulla. When the Popular Assembly revoked this command and handed it to Marius, Sulla, who had six legions under his command, responded in 88 BC with his first ‘March on Rome’ (two thousand years before Mussolini!), crossing the sacred <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomerium">pomerium</a></i>, </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">the boundary of the city since the time of Romulus. This was what Tom Holland calls ‘a uniquely audacious and dreadful’ step; no citizen since the mythical <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Marcius_Coriolanus">Coriolanus</a> had ever led legions against their own city. Marius was outlawed and fled to Africa.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Sulla was forcing the hand of the Senate to give him command in the East. In 87 he besieged and captured Athens and made a temporary peace with Mithridates. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">During his absence Marius returned and presided over the bloodiest civilian massacres Rome had ever experienced. Sulla was declared a public enemy, his house was destroyed and his laws repealed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Marius died in 86, soon after entering an unprecedented seventh consulship. In 83 Sulla returned from the east and in November 82 he captured Rome. With his bodyguard of 10,000 men he then took revenge on the followers of Marius. Hundreds of people, including forty senators and 1,600 knights were proscribed, their names published, their lives forfeit, their property confiscated to be sold and distributed to loyal Sullan officers.</span><br />
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<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Sulla the Dictator</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In 82 the Senate appointed Sulla Dictator ‘for the making of laws and the settling of the constitution’, a decision subsequently ratified by the Plebeian Council. The office of dictator had been incorporated into the earliest republican constitution in order to deal with emergencies and it was not envisaged that its holder would remain in power for more than six months. In reviving it, Sulla potentially transformed the office.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The paradox of Sulla’s career is that, having given himself unprecedented powers, he used them in a conservative fashion. His laws were passed through the Assembly and were aimed at restoring the power of the Senate. He doubled its size to 600 and packed it with his supporters, and deprived the post of tribune of most of its powers. But if he hoped that the enlarged Senate would make good use of the powers he gave it, he was mistaken.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">At the end of 81 BC Sulla ceased to be dictator. He was elected consul in 80 BC but in the following year he retired from public life to his villa near Naples and died in 78 BC. </span><br />
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<h3>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Conclusion</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Sulla's legacy was a bitter one: the use of force, confiscations of land, and the title of dictator. He reinforced the lesson that the way to power was through the army rather than the Senate, and he left a memory of the <i>regnum Sullum</i>, a time of great violence and illegality.</span><br />
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-33940723857333903132016-01-04T11:44:00.000+00:002016-01-04T11:44:04.120+00:00The foundations of Rome<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOPJIa6NlQAnqjoK42hBX_b6P9CzaxUiNurBRSyu_hlNTmnR32rW3FD1nWWQ38T92yVk6ycj1QUhN4pOB4b5W9BOj7jT24Tqkd_hYWEoeCBwFYrAL-HxYmoOg-_TaY_28oZC7oy5-HKI/s1600/She-wolf_suckles_Romulus_and_Remus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOPJIa6NlQAnqjoK42hBX_b6P9CzaxUiNurBRSyu_hlNTmnR32rW3FD1nWWQ38T92yVk6ycj1QUhN4pOB4b5W9BOj7jT24Tqkd_hYWEoeCBwFYrAL-HxYmoOg-_TaY_28oZC7oy5-HKI/s200/She-wolf_suckles_Romulus_and_Remus.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The she-wolf suckles Romulus and Remus</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Romans created an empire that ranged from Djem in north Africa to Hadrian’s Wall, from Baalbek in Lebanon and the Euphrates to southern France. The heirs of ancient civilizations such as the Phoenicians, Egyptians and Greeks became subject to Roman rule and part of an empire that at its height numbered about 100 million people. The Roman Empire lasted for centuries, not collapsing in the east until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Everywhere the Romans left marks of their presence – their alphabet, language, roads, aqueducts, bridges, and temples. They also left a way of doing things – a legal system, a moral code, an ideal of republican government. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Much of ancient Rome as we see it today, is the creation of archaeologists inspired by Mussolini’s decree of December 1925: in particular the space round the Theatre of Marcellus, the Capitol, the Pantheon, the rediscovered port of Ostia, the raised columns in Trajan’s Forum, and the restoration of the Altar of Peace in the Campus Martius. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvMHiarMVMMDdFamQYPLKjfVbkEm7poDh3KczTM23N4Da7KT8VqRWQTn9TVI6TIGRRKZfWDp-oU8uT6Rlrb3SEtY2w_qRcH993JboAKIR4kOzmkMiomEMTH_Pc4nh1HR-_emSsWPB73kc/s1600/AraPacisFullFrontal2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvMHiarMVMMDdFamQYPLKjfVbkEm7poDh3KczTM23N4Da7KT8VqRWQTn9TVI6TIGRRKZfWDp-oU8uT6Rlrb3SEtY2w_qRcH993JboAKIR4kOzmkMiomEMTH_Pc4nh1HR-_emSsWPB73kc/s200/AraPacisFullFrontal2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The restored Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Like Augustus, Mussolini wished to recreate Rome. Much of the history of Fascist Italy – and of the French Revolution – is incomprehensible without a realization that the politicians had the ancient Romans constantly in mind. But which Romans? If Mussolini saw himself as a Roman Emperor, the Renaissance political theorist Machiavelli, the English republicans of the seventeenth century, and the American revolutionaries of the eighteenth, all looked back to the ideal of the Republic. The American Senate is located on a hill called the Capitol.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Romans had two, not particularly compatible, foundation myths. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><b>Romulus and Remus</b><span style="color: #351c75;">:</span></span> As early as the 5<sup>th</sup> century BC the establishment of the city was already being ascribed to a vague figure known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_and_Remus">Romulus</a>. The fullest version of the story is found in the writings of the historian, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livy">Livy</a>. Romulus and his twin brother Remus were the sons of the vestal virgin Rhea Silvia and the god Mars. They were also the great-nephews of the usurper Amulius, who had seized power from his brother Numitor. Amulius ordered the twins to be exposed but they were suckled by a she-wolf. When the boys grew to manhood they avenged their grandfather, and set out to found a city of their own. But the two brothers quarrelled. Romulus wished to found his city on the Palatine Hill, Remus on the Aventine. Romulus killed Remus and proceeded to found his city.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Historians disputed the date of the foundation, but Varro, a contemporary and friend of Cicero, finally set it at 753BC and from this date (<i>ab urbe condita</i>) all subsequent dates were set. The Romulus story was remembered with pride (though some were troubled about the fratricide) and the she-wolf became the emblem of the city. In order to people his city, Romulus organised the kidnapping of the young women of a neighbouring tribe, an incident known as the ‘<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rape_of_the_Sabine_Women">Rape of the Sabine Women</a>’.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">If you click <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01q02t7">here</a> you will be taken to Melvyn Bragg's 'In our Time' programme in which he and his guests discuss the story of Romulus and Remus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #351c75;">Aeneas:</span> </b>This competed with the Romulus legend, giving the city a more prestigious origin and less morally problematic origin, by tracing it back to the Trojan, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeneas">Aeneas</a>, the son of the goddess Venus. Virgil’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeneid" style="font-style: italic;">Aeneid</a>, written in the reign of Augustus, transformed this story into the national epic.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><b><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The foundation of Rome</span></b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The low hills around Rome held human settlement in the form of round shepherds’ huts, from as far back as the 10<sup>th</sup> or 11<sup>th</sup> centuries BC. The area was a natural site for settlement, being the first crossing-place of the Tiber, upriver from the sea, but far enough inland to be safe from pirates. The city was formed by the linking of a number of villages around the Tiber and the seven hills, so that by c. 620 BC archaeological evidence suggests an urban transformation. A formal public square surrounded by temples and sanctuaries was laid out and paved in what became the Forum. The people who created the city were Latins, but they were heavily influenced by two complex and sophisticated civilizations, that of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etruscan_civilization">Etruscan Confederation</a> to the north and the Greek colonies to the south. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Etruscan Confederation</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">From the Etruscans the Romans took their temple</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">s, the </span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasces">fasces</a></i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> (the symbol of the magistrates), and the cult of Jupiter. In 509 the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Jupiter_Optimus_Maximus" style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;">Temple of Jupite</a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">r was founded on the Capitoline Hill. The last two kings of Rome were Etruscans.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Model of the Temple of<br />
Jupiter Optimus Maximus<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The 8</span><sup style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> and 7</span><sup style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> centuries had seen a wave of Greek colonization in Sicily and the mainland of southern Italy, centred round Neapolis (Naples). From the Greeks they took the alphabet, and it was through the Greeks, via the Etruscans, that the olive and vine were passed on to Rome.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Regal period dates from the alleged foundation of the city in 753 BC on the Palatine Hill when Rome was ruled by several Etruscan kings. In 509 the republican Lucius Junius Brutus expelled Tarquin the Proud, the last king of Rome. There is no written account of this period earlier than the third century BC.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Republic: 509-27 BC. In this period, Rome won dominance first in Italy and then in the Mediterranean. The Republic collapsed after a century of disorder, beginning in 133 BC. This period is the best documented in Roman history.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Empire, which was founded in 27 BC. The term (<i>imperium</i>) refers to a method of government, not the acquisition of territory. Augustus, the first Emperor, always insisted that he had restored the Republic and wished to be referred to as <i>Princeps</i>.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Empire collapsed in the west in 476 AD and in the east in 1453.</span></li>
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-63971682706833872482016-01-04T11:43:00.000+00:002016-01-04T11:43:50.241+00:00The expansion of Rome<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In Italy</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 509 BC, when the Republic was founded, the territory of Rome measured about 24 kilometres across. No-one could have imagined that such a small state could become a great empire. The historian Tom Holland notes that </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘It took time for the other states of Italy to wake up to the nature of the predator in their midst.’ </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In the first century of the Republic’s existence, Rome fought a series of mainly defensive wars against the inroads of other Italian peoples. The late fifth century was a time of widespread migration throughout Italy. The best-known of these migrants are the Sabines of the South. For a century or so, from 460 to 360 BC there were fewer than ten years when Rome was not at war. Her successes against these peoples encouraged Rome to attack her Etruscan neighbour <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veii">Veii </a>only fifteen kilometres north of Rome. In 396, Veii fell after a long siege. As a result, Roman territory was virtually doubled.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">However, Rome also faced dangers from the Gauls of the north and the Greeks in the south. Waves of Gauls came from southern France across the Alps, and settled in the Po valley. After founding (Mediolanum) Milan, they surged south through Umbria and Etruria and in 390 they <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Allia">sacked Rome</a>, forcing the Vestal Virgins to flee from their temple. According to legend, the Capitoline Hill was saved from a Gaulish attack by the cackling of Juno’s geese, but in reality the city was probably sacked. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This proved a temporary set-back. In 338 Rome incorporated Latium and moved into Campania. She imposed long-lasting settlements on the neighbouring Latins and did the same in the Italian towns that submitted to her rule. The southern cities of ‘Magna Graecia’ offered a tempting target. In 343 Roman troops entered the town of Capua near Naples. In 284 Rome’s attack on <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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Tarentum in the south proved a military milestone, entrenching her power among the Greek cities of Italy. In 280 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhus_of_Epirus">Pyrrhus, King of Epirus</a>, led an army of 25,000 men and 20 elephants against Rome. The inconclusive battle of Beneventum in 275 - his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhic_victory">'Pyrrhic victory</a>' - left him so weakened that he was forced to return to Greece, and the remaining Greek colonies came more or less willingly to the Roman side. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">By the 260s Rome had established herself firmly in control of the Italian peninsula.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Rome’s expansion into southern Italy brought her into contact with the Greek cities and with Sicily. The first check to her expansion came when her invasion of Sicily brought her into conflict with the African city of Carthage in the three Punic Wars (264-146 BC), the most terrible wars she ever fought. In 227 Carthage surrendered Sicily, which became the first Roman province. As Holland notes</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘Without ever intending it, Rome found herself with the nucleus of an overseas empire.’ </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Having been forced to leave Sicily, the Carthaginians invaded Spain and began to prospect for precious metals. The wealth from the mines enabled them to resume their war with Rome. In 218 the twenty-eight year old general <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal">Hannibal</a> led a Carthaginian army from Spain through southern Gaul, and crossed the Alps with 40,000 troops and thirty-seven elephants. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He then offered the Italian peninsula freedom from Rome. His sensational victory at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cannae">Cannae</a> in 216 wiped out eight legions (48,000 troops) and is still studied in western military academies. He was eventually defeated by two brilliant generals, Fabius Maximus, famous for his tactic of delay and Scipio, who invaded Africa and defeated Hannibal at Zama in 202. The imposition of humiliating peace terms ended Carthage’s role as a Mediterranean power. Carthage was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthago_delenda_est">finally destroyed</a> in 146. The city was set ablaze and the fire raged for seventeen days. The Romans then forbade anyone ever to build on the site again. Seven hundred years of history were wiped clean and Africa (roughly corresponding to modern Tunisia) became a Roman province. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The war against Carthage had stretched Roman manpower and finances to the limits and involved Rome in the politics of the Hellenistic world, the successor states of the Empire of Alexander the Great. In 197 BC Rome defeated Philip V of Macedon. Victory over another Hellenistic ruler, Antiochus III of Syria, entrenched Rome in the Aegean basin. In 168 Rome defeated Perseus of Macedon at Pydna and ended Alexander’s Kingdom of Macedon. In 146 the Romans crushed a Greek league that had been formed against them and as a punishment Corinth was sacked and completely destroyed. (This was the same year as the destruction of Carthage.) To quote Holland again:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">‘After 146, there could be no more quibbling over diplomatic language. The treaties of friendship that governed relations between the Republic and her allies now stood brutally defined. They granted the Republic freedom of action and her allies none at all.’ </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Never again would the Romans tolerate the existence of a power capable of threatening their own survival.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 133 the king of the enormously wealth city of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pergamon">Pergamum</a>, which controlled most of what is now western Turkey, left his entire kingdom to the Romans in his will. It was the most spectacular bequest in history. The foundation of the province of Asia confirmed Rome’s increasing dominance of the eastern Mediterranean.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Throughout the first half of the second century BC Roman control was progressively extended in northern Italy and Spain. In 118 BC the coastal strip between Spain and Italy was annexed as the province of Gallia Narbonenisis (Transalpine Gaul).</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gallia Narbonensis</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The wars against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugurtha">Jugurtha, king of Numidia</a> (modern Algeria), ended in 105 C with the capture and death of the king. This confirmed the Roman domination of Africa.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In the summer of 89 the Romans engineered an invasion of the Black Sea kingdom of Pontus. In 88 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithridates_VI_of_Pontus">King Mithridates</a> launched a vigorous counter-attack, massacring the Roman inhabitants of Asia and for a while Roman rule there collapsed. But when Athens and other Greek cities revolted the Roman general <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Cornelius_Sulla">Sulla </a>crushed the peninsula.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>The nature of Roman rule</b></span></span></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the Appian Way</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Rome’s successes fed off each other. Citizens gained military experience and each conquest brought new resources in the form of new sources of taxation, land and slave labour. Rome’s generous citizenship laws proved a major advantage, providing an expanding pool of soldiers. At key points in the conquered territories military settlements (colonies) were established that spread Roman customs and institutions. Roman roads served the same purpose. In 312, construction began on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appian_Way">Via Appia</a> that connected Rome with Capua.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The dependent territories were known as <i>provinciae</i> (spheres of duties assigned to a magistrate). A province was ruled over by a provincial governor in command of legions stationed in his province. The army was expensive to maintain and to finance it the provinces had to be taxed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There were many motives for Roman expansion. Some were economic. As the population of Rome grew, there was an urgent need for a reliable corn supply. Sicily annually gave up 10 per cent of its harvest as a tax. From 146, 50 per cent of Rome’s grain came from Africa, a two-days boat journey from Rome. In the imperial age, Egypt became an important source of corn.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Conclusion: Rome transformed</span></b></h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">By the time of the late Republic, Rome was a world power with an expanding empire. It has demonstrated its ruthlessness by obliterating two of the greatest cities of the ancient world – Carthage and Corinth. Italy was pacified, the western Mediterranean was under Roman control, and the foothills of the Alps were about to become the site of elegant holiday resorts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As the wealth of the Mediterranean poured into the city, the austere values of the early Republic came under threat. The Senate was uneasy at Rome’s acquisition of Pergamum. But the city was the property of the Roman people and when it became subject to taxation in 123 BC, wealth poured into Rome, though most of it enriched tax-farmers rather than the ordinary citizens. Spain was mined for precious metals on a scale never witnessed again until the Industrial Revolution. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Rome was now a society whose institutions and values reflected the priority given to military success. Between 10 and 25 per cent of the Roman adult male population would have served in the legions each year, possibly overseas, a figure comparable to the call-up rate in the First World War. The day of the citizen-soldier, frequently part-time, was over. These new professional soldiers owed their allegiance to individual commanders rather than the state.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The pursuit of territory became self-sustaining. Rome conquered new territories, set up new administrations and collected taxes. But this required the creation of secure conditions beyond the provincial boundaries and led to more campaigns. </span><br />
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Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1718779823997502146.post-46810512773735200652016-01-04T11:40:00.000+00:002016-01-04T15:27:10.045+00:00The destruction of Carthage<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Go <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hdd5x">here</a> to listen to a discussion of the destruction of Carthage on Melvyn Bragg's 'In Our Time' programme.</span>Anne Stotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18296864856365981820noreply@blogger.com