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The role of women in Roman society
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There is much to be said about classical Rome, with all the ancient city-states and notable historic figures like Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Augustus. The Roman Empire, which was formerly called the Roman Republic, favored aristocracy and maintained a government staffed by aristocrats who advised on policy and selected magistrates, with the senate serving as the center of Roman political life. Rome also had many military commanders who helped expand Roman territory and wealth by conquering lands, enslaving prisoners, and establishing trade; however, this disgruntled some Romans who didn’t like the fact that foreigners were gaining Roman citizenship. Consequently, larger gaps of difference between the rich and poor grew, making it difficult for Rome to maintain a balanced constitution, which created much political unrest in Rome. Even with all the political mayhem in Rome, one man was able to rise up from being a misguided youth, to become a prominent military leader, and ultimately, after death becoming a world-renowned historic figure. His name was Marc Antony.
Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony) was born in 83 B.C, in Rome, to parents Marcus Antonius Creticus and Julia Caesar (Julius Caesar’s cousin). Antony was born during a period, in the first century of the Roman Republic, which was marked by many social wars (91B.C. – 71B.C.). During this time, Antony was a youth with a very promising future, with socially elite parents and access to a good education. However, his future became shaken when he met his childhood friend Curio, who turned Antony unto a lifestyle filled with women, drinking, and gambling (Bio.com). So much so, that at an early age Antony owed a gambling debt of 250 talents (Plutarch). Staff at Ancient.edu, points out ...
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...me and legacy from the history books, but here I am today, nearly 2000 thousand years’ later, reading and conducting a research report on his famed, yet troubled life. It just goes to show, you just can’t keep a good man down.
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History.com Staff. "Mark Antony." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
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Plutarch. "Antony." The Internet Classics Archive | Antony by Plutarch. Trans. John Dryden. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014
Simkin, John. "Mark Antony." Spartacus Educational. N.p., June 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
From ages past, the actions of conquerors, kings and tyrants had brought the Roman Republic to a stance that opposed any idea of a singular leader, of a single man that held total power over the entirety of the state. Their rejection of the various ruthless Etruscan rulers that had previously dictated them brought the Republic to existence in 509 BC , and as a republic their prominence throughout the provinces of the world exponentially expanded. Throughout these years, the traditions of the Romans changed to varying degrees, most noticeably as a result of the cultural influence that its subject nations had upon the republic, as well as the ever-changing nature of Roman society in relation to then-current events. However, it was not until the rise of Augustus, the first of a long line of succeeding emperors, that many core aspects of the Republic were greatly changed. These were collectively known as the “Augustan Reforms”, and consisted of largely a variety of revisions to the social, religious, political, legal and administrative aspects of the republic’s infrastructure. Through Augustus, who revelled in the old traditional ways of the past, the immoral, unrestraint society that Rome was gradually falling to being was converted to a society where infidelities and corruption was harshly looked upon and judged. The Roman historian Suetonius states, “He corrected many ill practices, which, to the detriment of the public, had either survived the licentious habits of the late civil wars, or else originated in the long peace” . Through Augustus and his reforms, the Republic was transformed into an Empire, and through this transformation, Rome experienced one of its greatest and stabl...
Mark Antony’s speech, whose aim is to counter Brutus’ speech, enlightens the crowd on the unjust murder of Caesar. Though he never directly communicates to the crowd of his feeling towards the conspirators, Antony was able to effectively convey to the crowd, through the use of verbal irony and other stylistic devices/techniques in his speech, his true views of the assassination. Moreover, Antony was able to shrewdly emphasize his belief of the undeserved assassination of Caesar through the wide use of epiphoral and anaphoral structure in his speech. Antony emphasizes the wrongdoings of Brutus and Cassius through the ingenious use of the epistrophe along with verbal irony as he notes that “I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong” (III, ii, 125). Moreover, he stresses the importance of punishi...
What follows is a further isolation of Plutarch's opinions and lessons from within The Lives of Crassus and Caesar. " Certainly the Romans say that in the case of Crassus many virtues were obscured by one vice, namely avarice; and it did seem that he had only one vice, since it was such a predominant one that other evil propensities which he may have had were scarcely noticeable. " Beginning the Life of Crassus with this statement, Plutarch starts the reader off with a negative feeling of who Crassus was. This statement is very strong because it not only points out Crassus's largest shortcoming, but also implies that it was so prevalent that it outweighed all his virtues as well as his other faults.
Gaius Julius Caesar was born on July 12, 100 BC. He was born into a rich, aristocratic family in present day Rome, Italy. His parents were Aurelia Cotta and Gaius Julius Caesar whom Julius was named after. He was a descendant of Aeneas a great Trojan prince, through his mothers side. On his dads side he was related to Marius, who was a king. The author of the book Julius Caesar, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., said that, “Julius Caesar, from birth was groomed to take place in a senatorial oligarchy. As his mom taught him to appreciate and learn subjects like endurance, frugality, simplicity, religious devotion, upright dealing and the avoidance of wrong doing” (pg. 23). Julius had to siblings Julia Minor and Julia Major. The author of the book Julius Ceasar, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., said that, “Caesar at the age of seven sta...
.... “My heart doth joy that yet, in all my life,/ I found no man but he was true to me./ I shall have glory by this losing day,/ More than Octavius and Mark Antony/ By this vile conquest shall attain unto” (996).
Caesar came from an old patrician family, where he received an education, and began his journey into a political career (Hart 337). He started just as any man would trying to make something of himself and not die the same way he was born, average. Without having conquered Gaul and crossed the Rubicon he would just be another politician in a corrupted government. “Julius Caesar reached a mature age without achieving astonishing success (qtd. Hart 7). Unlike rulers like Alexander The Great, Caesar was into his 50’s with nothing to show for it. The most influential people are usually geniuses or prodigies that can’t help but make a difference in the world. Unlike people like Einstein who mastered Calculus before he was 15 he was just a white sheep amongst others.
Antony Kamm ~ The Romans: An Introduction Second Edition, Published in 2008, pages 47, 93
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Dio, Cassius. "Roman History - Book 50." 17 June 2011. University of Chicago. 31 October 2011 .
Gaius Julius Caesar was born in Rome in July 100 BC. Rome was a Republic at this time. He was a statesman, Roman general, Consul, and notable author of Latin prose. He played a significant role in the events that led to the collapse of the Roman Republic and rise of the Roman Empire. He was a leader in a nation where the people were not involved in the government decision-making process. Thus, he had majority of the power in the Republic and was able to form a huge army. He was able to triumph, conquer new lands with the army at his grasp and command. As Caesar acquired more power over the years, som...
3)Dionysius, Earnest Cary, and Edward Spelman. The Roman Antiquities. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard UP, 1937. Print.
Mark Antony’s loyalty to Julius Caesar was one of the most loyal bonds history can account for. He had changed his political preference to accommodate for Julius Caesar’s friendship. He put his life on the line on multiple occasions to prove his loyalty to Caesar. Even though Julius Caesar’s party sought his demise Mark Antony stayed true to Caesar. After the death of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony proved his love for Caesar by giving a eulogy at his funeral. During the eulogy,which Brutus gave permission to Antony to give, Antony cleverly made Julius Caesar look good as he sarcastically destroys the reputations of the conspirators ”He was my friend,and just to me. But Brutus says he was ambitious, And Brutus is an honorable man.”(lll.ii.84-86) Antony also hunted down some of the conspirators that led to the death of his lord.
The Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC after the ruling Tarquins abused their extensive power as monarchs and were overthrown. The goal of the Roman Republic was to have a strong government, governed equally by the patricians and the plebians, and to avoid another Roman Monarchy. For years Rome was guided by great men, such as Cincinnatus and Scipio Africanus, who led the Republic through hard times, conquering such enemies as the Etruscans and the Carthaginians. Large-scale war united Roman society in its common goals. However, after Scipio’s victory at Zama in 202 BC, a new Roman world began to take shape. Roman soldiers returned home from their victory to find that they could not pay for their farms, becoming “squatters” on their own lands after having to sell them to richer men. The Senate became corrupted, and despite the Gracchi brothers’ best efforts, the rich patricians soon monopolized nearly all aspects of the Republic, from trading and “farming” to governing the people. After marching on Rome, Sulla became dictator in 82 BC. After Sulla, the First Triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar, owned virtually all power in Rome, yet each had his own desire to defeat the other two and become Emperor. When Crassus died in battle, Caesar had his chance. He defeated Pompey and marched on Rome, victorious. After declaring himself Dictator for Life, Caesar was assassinated, and another Civ...
Cleopatra is the main root of Mark Antonys downfall from a well. respected and powerful leader of Rome, a man who spent his days. frolicking in the desert of Egypt. Agrippa Enobarbus describes how Antony fell. under the spell of Cleopatra.