1 Roman Civilization The Pre-Christian Centuries.

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Roman Civilization

The Pre-Christian Centuries

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Getting Our Bearings

How did a small city on the banks of the Tiber come to dominate the known world?

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The Legacy of Rome

…For other peoples will, I do not doubt,

will cast their bronze to breathe with softer features,

or draw out of marble living lines,

plead causes better, trace the ways of heaven

with wands and tell the rising constellations.

Aeneid, Book VI

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The Legacy of Rome

Tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento(hae tibi erunt artes), pacisque imponere morem, parcere subjectis et debellare superbos."

Aeneid, Book VI

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The Legacy of Rome

Language

Legal codes

Educational ideals/curricula

Trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric)

Quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy)

Architecture (domes, rounded arches, vaulting, amphitheaters, victory columns)

Sculpture

Literature

Philosophy

Government of multiracial/multiethnic society

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Background

Roman civilization developed parallel to Greece, but reached its peak later

Legendary founding by Romulus and Remus in 753 BCE is supported by archeology; settlement dates to 8th century

“Gibbon’s Question” about reasons behind Decline and Fall is interesting…

…But what prompted rise of Rome is even more so

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Background

Two basic theories on Rome’s rise:Conscious policy of “imperialism”

“Accidental” empire emerging from demands of self-defense

Answer may lie in combination of both factors

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Characteristics of Roman Civilization

Book attributes greatness to “Roman character” stemming from agrarian roots:

Practicality

Moral sense/gravitas

Sanctity of family

Broader (but still limited) role for women

“Gift for governing”

True enough…But are these characteristics unique/determinative?

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Characteristics of Roman Civilization

The stern faces of the Head of a Roman and the Patrician with Busts of his Ancestors show the sternness and lack of vanity of many Romans. The inscription on the statue of Eumachia shows the role women could play in business.

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Rome’s Founding

Legendary founding of Rome based on militarism and violence

Fall of Troy

Aeneas vs. Turnus

Romulus/Remus; fratricide

Rape of the Sabines

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Historical Eras: Regal and Republican Periods

The Etruscan and Greek Connections

Rome in the Age of Kings, 753-509 B.C.E.

The Roman Republic, 509-31 B.C.E.The Early Republic, 509-264 B.C.E.

The Middle Republic, 264-133 B.C.E.

The Late Republic, 133-31 B.C.E.

Etruria and Rome

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Rome was likely founded as an outpost on Tiber to contain Etruscans – a sophisticated people of obscure origin in northern Italy.

History of regal period (753-509 BCE) tells of conflicts with/conquest by Etruscans.

Under Etruscans, Rome prospered; became commercial/transportation hub.

Etruscan Contributions

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Etruscan temples owed much to Greece, but the Etruscan temperament comes through in the differences in design; note especially the placement of narrative statuary on the roof.

The very symbol of Rome – the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus – is an Etruscan work (the infants are late additions by the Renaissance sculptor Antonio Pollaiuolo). In the archaic period, in fact, Rome was essentially an Etruscan city

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The Age of Kings

Regal Period: 753-509 BCE

Ends with ouster of Tarquin the Proud by L. Brutus

Themes of Roman government emerge:

Hatred of kings (Etruscan domination)

Class conflict Reubens, The Rape of Lucretia

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The Early Republic: 509-264 BCE

Series of Wars in Italy (Samnite, Latin, and Pyrrhic wars)

Rome emerges as head of federation of Italian “states”/peoples (Latin League)

Had large pool of manpower to draw on

Provided “rights” to colonies/allies

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The Middle Republic: 264-133BCE

Punic Wars transform Rome

Provide first provinces outside Italy

Lead to internal problems culminating in the rise of the Gracchi

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The Late Republic: 133 – 31 BCE

Rome copes with consequences of Punic Wars

Rise of the Gracchi

Rise of Equites

Rise of Generals

Social Wars

Mithridatic Wars

Civil War

Rise of Caesar and collapse of Republic

The Problems of the Punic Wars

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Punic Wars created “empire” … and problemsRise of latifundia/Urgent need for land reform

Unrest in city states

Dispossessed – including veterans – flood Rome

New political equation:• Nobiles

• Equites

• Plebs

Optimates vs. Populares

Optimates and Populares:Keys to the Conflict

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Involves three groups: nobiles, equites, and plebs

Optimates and Populares represent temporary coalitions, not “political parties”

Distinguished by methods: Authority of Senate vs. popular assemblies

But… boils down into struggle between conservatives and reformers

A High-Stakes Game

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The nobiles and equites had a difficult relationship

While interests often overlapped, they frequently found themselves in competition

Wealthy senators were appointed as provincial governors, overseeing the business activities of the equestrian class, who were engaged in business ventures

Both motivated by profit– and conflict was inevitable

A New Army

In course of events, the nature of the army also changed:

Professionalized

Loyalties shift away from state and to individual commanders

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Caius Marius

L. Cornelius Sulla Felix

The Result: Caesar

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Equites “x-factor” in politics – now siding with Senate, now with plebs

As career of Gracchi showed, politics much more volatile, with only way to overcome roadblocks a resort to violence

Stage is set for Civil War, culminating in J. Caesar

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Imperial Rome: 31 BCE – 284 CE

Growing AutocracyConclusion of Civil War

• Philippi (conspirators), Actium (Antony)

Pax Romana, 31 B.C.E.-193 C.E.• Augustus to Marcus Aurelius

• Period of high achievement in arts

Civil Wars, 193-284 C.E.• Commodus to Diocletian

• Division of Empire in East and West

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The Style of Pre-Christian Rome: From Greek Imitation to Roman Grandeur

Roman ReligionLanguage, Literature, and Drama

The First Literary Period, 250-31 B.C.E.The Second Literary Period: The Golden Age, 31 B.C.E.-14 C.E.

• Vergil• Horace• Ovid

The Third Literary Period: The Silver Age, 14-200 C.E.• Seneca• Juvenal• Tacitus

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PhilosophyStoicism

Neo-Platonism

Science and Medicine

Law: natural law

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The Visual ArtsArchitecture

• the Pantheon

• forum

• ampitheaters: the Colosseum

• aqueducts

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SculptureFirst phase: influenced by death masks

Second phase: realistic

Third phase: symbolic idealism

Painting and Mosaics

Music

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Encounter:Roman Conquests and Romance Languages

As the Romans expanded their empire, they encountered the Dacians and other peoples, making them part of the Roman world. Over time, political, commercial, and military needs led to the creation of hybrid languages that blended Latin with native tongues. Thus, in the sounds, words, and syntax of these new hybrid languages, the legacy of ancient peoples survives in the world today.

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Technology:Warfare

WarfareArmy professionalized under Marius

• New weapons

• New equipment

• New organization/training

Navy ruled Mediterranean• Corvus key innovation

• Decked galley, Liburnian ship were additional innovations

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Technology: Construction

Rounded arch/vaulting

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Technology:Construction

Rectilinear templeMaison Carree in Nimes, France incorporates both Etruscan and Greek ideas (Etruscan: raised platform, central stairway, deep porch, engaged columns; Greek: Corinthian columns, low gable, mathematical harmony.)

Reproducing architecture in the provinces was one way Romans spread their culture across conquered lands.

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Fora and Symbolic Structures

The Forum at Rome symbolized Roman power and civilization, as did architectural innovations including the triumphal arch (like the arch of Titus, built in 81 CE to celebrate Rome’s conquest of Jerusalem, and Trajan’s column (106-113 CE), a structure borrowed from Mesopotamia and used to celebrate the victory over Dacia (modern Romania).

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Technology:Construction

Amphitheaters

The amphitheater stood as Roman monuments to themselves…and gifts to the people. The Flavian amphitheater, or Colosseum, is one of Rome’s most enduring landmarks, created by joining two Greek semicircular theaters, featuring three tiers of rounded arches, and Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns.

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Aqueducts

The aqueduct at Pont du Gard near Nimes, France, is part of a water-delivery system that spanned 31 miles and delivered approximately 100 gallons of water per inhabitant per day to the city. Modern water systems deliver roughly the same amount

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Sculpture

Roman sculpture moves through three distinct periods. The first, shown by the Head of Brutus, is based on the Etruscan death mask and shows stern and resolute leaders; the second, shown by the Bust of Caesar, is realistic, often with a sense of unease; in the third, led by Augustus, sculpture reverts to Greek idealism.

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Sculpture

The Ara Pacis, funded by the Senate as an offering of thanks to Augustus for his peacekeeping missions, blends idealism and realism in its relief style – and its power as a propaganda tool was picked up on triumphal arches and victory columns.

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Sculpture

The Ara Pacis, funded by the Senate as an offering of thanks to Augustus for his peacekeeping missions, blends idealism and realism in its relief style – and its power as a propaganda tool was picked up on triumphal arches and victory columns.

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Sculpture

Relief sculptures from the Ara Pacis, the Arch of Titus, and Trajan’s column.

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Sculpture

The last great sculpture from this period shows a falling away from Augustan idealism to a rugged, individualized style.

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Painting and Mosaic

These pictures show the progression in painting styles and villas from Pompeii, from geometric to stylized representa-tions of myth.

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Painting and Mosaic

This mosaic, perhaps depicting a scene from a comedy, was found in the villa of Cicero at Pompeii

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Painting and Mosaic

This garden scene represents the architectural fresco style; paintings were divided into three horizontal planes, separated by columns to give a sense of wall opening or a view through a window.

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Painting and Mosaic

This calendar mosaic, with religious/rural depictions of the months, was found in El Djem, North Africa. The Roman year began in March and ended in Fedruary.

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The Legacy of Pre-Christian Rome

Profound impact on Western civilizationLanguages

Legal codes

Educational ideals

Shining image of a healthy civilization

1 Roman Civilization The Pre-Christian Centuries.

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Transcript of 1 Roman Civilization The Pre-Christian Centuries.