Study Guide to Roman People
CHAPTER 1: Rome, Expansion and Conquest
Names Dates/Concepts Places
Horatius 753 BCE Map, p. xxi-xxii
Marcellus 509 Rubicon R.
Archimedes 218-202 Punic War II Tiber R.
Hannibal consul Rome
Romulus cursus honorum Ostia
patricians Sicily
plebeians Latium
struggle of the orders Syracuse
Punic Wars
OBJECTIVES:
The nature of life in the big city, Rome
Price Rome paid to become a military power
The nature and ethos (character) of stories in Roman history
The effects of war on civilian populations
CHAPTER 2: Republic in Transition
Eunus Sicilian Slave War Mt. Etna
Cornelia
Tiberius Gracchus
Gaius Gracchus
OBJECTIVES:
What caused the slave wars?
How did the Republic change?
Who were slaves? Where did they come from?
Treatment of slaves.
Know the basic outline of Eunus's slave war.
CHAPTER 3: Politics and Violence in First Century BCE
Names Events/Concepts/Dates Places
Julius Caesar First Triumvirate Philippi
Brutus Second Triumvirate Campus Martius
Cato the Younger Dictator
Pompey 44 BCE
Cicero 42 BCE
Octavia Ides of March
Marcus Antonius (Antony)
Crassus libertas
OBJECTIVES:
To understand the motives for Caesar's assassination
The outcome of Caesar's assassination
The political scene in the first century BCE
The fate of the "Republic"
CHAPTER FOUR:
Names Places Concepts/Ideas
Octavian Actium concordia (not in text)
Marcus Antonius Alexandria Pietas
(Marc Antony) Rome:
Cleopatra Forum of Caesar
Caesarion Parthia
Vergil
Horace
Maecenas
Octavia
Fulvia
Agrippa
Turia*
* Read this epitaph as a social document. What does it tell us about Roman
marriage,qualities a wife or Roman matron ought to have, etc.?
GOAL: Understand the outline and sequence of events that led to a civil war between Octavian (later Augustus) and M. Antony. What measures were used to forstall the outbreak of
yet another catastrophic civil war? Why did they not succeed, in your opinion?
CHAPTER 5:
Tiberius astrology
Thrasyllus cult of Isis
Augustus Primaporta
Sejanus
Drusus the Younger
GOAL: Consider the influence of astrology on Tiberius. What does this tell us about the Romans? What is St. Augustine's opinion about the belief in astrology? Use the boxed
selections to flesh out your understanding of the role of astrology amongst the Romans.
CHAPTER 6: THE FLAVIAN DYNASTY; THE CITIES OF POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM.
** Note that all dates, save the dates for Augustus' reign are CE (Common Era) or, if you prefer, AD.
Names Events Places
Flavian Dynasty: Fire of 64 Bay of Naples:
Vespasian 69-79 Eruption of Vesuvius Pompeii
Titus 79-81 Herculaneum
Domitian 81-96 Misenum
Naples
Tacitus (historian) Colosseum
Pliny (writer and senator) (Flavian Amphitheater)
Julio-Claudian Dynasty (to refresh your memory):
Augustus 27BCE-CE14
Tiberius 14-37
Gaius (Caligula) 37-41
Claudius 41-54
Nero 54-68
Year of the Four Emperors, 68-69:
Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian
GOALS: What were the results of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79? What do the buried cities tell us about ancient life?
Be familiar with Pliny's account of the disaster of the eruption
From lectures, have an understanding of daily life in Rome. Know the bathing ritual.
CHAPTER 10: EMPERORS AND ENTERTAINMENT
KNOW:
Circus Maximus
carcares
spina (barrier)
metae
charioteer
factions
Diocles (b. 104)
quadrigae
mortality
WRITERS:
Pliny the Younger
Ovid
Josephus
Sidonius
QUESTIONS:
1. For how long did chariot races remain popular?
2. What is the reaction of upper class writers like Pliny the Younger to the games? What does this reveal about the attitudes of the upper class?
3. Who were the charioteers? Was chariot racing a way to advance in Roman society? Explain.
4. How popular were the chariot races?
