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research on roman culture
ancient rome overview and essay
ancient rome overview and essay
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Pompeii is a Roman ghost town. In 79 AD it was buried in ash from a volcano. This ash perfectly preserved the whole city including the people. The architecture of Pompeii was like other Roman towns. Pompeii was also in a great location, strategically placed on the west banks of Italy. It was a significant port city, trading with places as far out as Egypt. The city became quite rich from its trading. The city of Pompeii was perched on a lava flow 130 ft above sea level, this also gave it it's irregular shape. Pompeii was not always a Roman town, throughout it's 900 year existence it was controlled by the Greeks, Etruscans, Samnites, and by the Romans. When the Greeks controlled the city, they built a large wall around the city. This wall was 20 feet thick and 26 feet tall. When the Romans took over the city, the wall was no longer necessary because of Rome's large army. Although they no longer needed it, they never got around to tearing down the wall. The streets of Pompeii were designed like most of America's neighborhoods today. They were in a grid pattern with blocks of houses and shops. There were three large public areas in Pompeii. The first is the Forum, which was their town center. All their government business happened near the Forum. The next public area was their public sports center. It contained the Gymnasium and stadium. The last public area was their theaters. They had a whole district dedicated to theaters, that had large and small theaters.
The government in Pompeii was a lot like America's today. It was a republic, meaning that the people voted for officials who then decided things for the people. The main reason we know this is because when the city was buried, people had signs in their yards telling people to v...
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...odies of water close to the volcano evaporated from the heat, and the sea heaved from the pressure building up.
In 1594, workmen were digging out an underground tunnel for water when they found pieces of buildings, one piece even mentioned the name of the town. Unfortunately, no one connected this with the lost city. In 1709, an Austrian Prince discovered Herculaneum, a city buried from the same eruption as Pompeii. He did not care about the historical value of the city and stole most of the artwork. Finally, in 1748 Pompeii was discovered. Many archeologists came to excavate the city and some did not care about destroying things. In the 1860s, an archeologist planned out a careful method to excavate Pompeii, including the method of filling the cavities where people were buried with plaster to maintain their shape. After over 1600 years, Pompeii finally was unburied.
Pompeii was discovered when workmen were digging a canal and they uncovered walls that had paintings. Rocco Gioacchino de Alcubierre went to Pompeii believing that it was the town of Stabiae, he started to unearth and excavate the site. It was not until 1763 when they figured out that the town was not Stabiae and instead was the town of Pompeii, they found out that it was Pompeii due to the inscriptions that they found which said “res publica Pompeianorum, the ‘state of the of the
There are several prominent geographical features that played a major role in the daily life of Pompeii. The geographical location of Pompeii, its economic and industrial activity, entertainment and the Roman influence in the city’s architecture all convey different geographical features. These features contributed in shaping the way the city’s inhabitants went about their daily lives, and all had a profound impact on Pompeii
In Rome the buildings were constructed under Roman Empire. The Roman Colosseum was constructed between 69 to 79 CE by the Vespasian emperor, The Circus Maximum was built in the 2nd century B.C by the high emperor, in 31 B.C the fire destroyed it that led Emperor Augustus to rebuild the Circus in 82 AD, Ludus Magnus was a gladiatorial training school in Rome and it was originally built between 81-96AD by Emperor Domitian. The emperor’s theme was large public stone buildings that would bring the people of Rome together and also the emperor was rich and they had manpower. The emperors also patron towards the workers and also to prove that they are the great leaders. The emperors had money, a lot of workers to build the buildings to the Emperor’s satisfaction. The buildings were used by the public as entertainment where they would go and watch all sorts of races & fights.
Athens government and military is considerably different from their neighbors. According to Pericles, Athens government is not a copy of our neighbors...
Politics in Pompeii and Herculaneum was an essential and important aspect of life. Politics enabled the towns to run successfully and smoothly. There were elections held for politicians, which included the election of two Duumviri and two pairs of Aediles. The comitum, which was made up of roman males who were over the age of 25, voted for who they believed should be the next Aediles and Duumviri. People who were running for the positions or people who wanted someone they liked to be elected would leave messages everywhere to promote and advocate them in hopes for them to be elected. There were over 2000 electoral notices found in Pompeii. This can be shown in source B which is the programmata from the House of Loreius Tiburtinus, Pompeii.
There is a fundamental difference between a democracy and a republic as it concerned the political entitlement of the citizenry. The citizens of a republic do not participate directly with governmental affairs. The citizens of a republic can however have a say in who does participate. The Roman republic has two prefect systems to prevent dictatorship which didn’t work.
Nearly two millenniums ago a massive eruption rocked the Roman city of Pompeii, destroying buildings and coating the town in deep layers of volcanic ash. Fortunately, this same ash served as a tool for preservation and has allowed archaeologists to discover the remains of various types of Pompeii’s art. The values, beliefs, and daily workings of Roman culture have been brought to new light through the paintings, mosaics, statues and other forms of art found in the lost city of Pompeii.
The Roman Republic (Res Pvblica Romana) was a form of republican government that was established in 509 BCE to replace the monarchy government that had reigned over Rome since the founding in 753BCE (Steele, 2012). The Failure of the Roman Republic was inevitable as it was an unjust system of government and it was left vulnerable after the attempted changes instigated by the Gracchi, as the Gracchi exposed the weaknesses in the political structure allowing future politicians to manipulate the system. The sources used throughout the essay, which include Plutarch, Appian, Florus and Velleius, will need to be examined closely as each source will demonstrate different views on the Gracchi, as the authors purpose of writing will differ. The Gracchi had set out to change Rome for the better, however in the process; they exposed the internal flaws of the government which resulted in the beginning of the decline of the Roman Republic.
Events which stretch as far back as the reforms of the Gracchi brothers’ meant that the Rome was facing a Republic that was already deteriorating before Pompey had stepped into power. While Pompey’s quest for power was harmful, many other factors were also baleful to the Republic, and were hence instrumental in its decline. Gnaeus Pompeius’s measures to gain power were harmful because it was primarily a paradox to the principles of being part of a Republic with all its notions of shared and short power. The fundamental reason why there were other reasons for the decline of the system are that the military power was given to him, the already weak Senate, and the fact that Pompey was not the only player in the breakdown of the Republic due to the alliances he had made with Crassus and Caesar.
The private and public leisure activities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were largely abundant. Many activities could be participated in and were used often. These include Drama performances, gladiatorial games, drinking, gambling, brothels, exercise, gardens, baths and food and dining. All these were an important part of Pompeian and Herculaneum life. They were seen as important to keep the body and mind healthy in most cases. Though some opposed some of the activities like brothels, gambling and drinking. But all give a important look into the life of those in Pompeii and Herculaneum before the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius which completely destroyed both towns and all its inhabitants.
The population size of the polis were small, and each male citizen was cognizant of their role and value within the community, and developed a strong spirit of independence. This sense of independence is what led the citizens within the polis to choose their own leaders, and overthrowing leaders that had done wrong by the greater populist or that the populist felt had abused their power. Athens, furthered this sense of independence by creating a democratic Athens, where full citizens were expected to run the governme...
Pompeii is possibly the best-documented catastrophe in Antiquity. Because of it, we know now how the Pompeians lived because they left behind an extensive legacy of art, including monuments, sculptures and paintings. Pompeii lay on a plateau of ancient lava near the Bay of Naples in western Italy in a region called Campania, less than 1.6 kilometers from the foot of Mount Vesuvius. With the coast to the west and the Apennine Mountains to the East, Campania is a fertile plain, traversed by two major rivers and rich soil. However, in the early days, it was not a remarkable city. Scholars have not been able to identify Pompeii’s original inhabitants. The first people to settle in this region were probably prehistoric hunters and fishers. By at least the eight century B.C., a group of Italic people known as the Oscans occupied the region; they most likely established Pompeii, although the exact date of its origin is unknown. “The root of the word Pompeii would appear to be the Oscan word for the number five, pompe, which suggests that either the community consisted of five hamlets or, perhaps, was settled by a family group (gens Pompeia)”(Kraus 7). In the course of the eight century B.C., Greek and Etruscan colonization stimulated the development of Pompeii as a city around the area of the Forum. A point for important trade routes, it became a place for trading towards the inland. Up until the middle of the 5th century B.C., the city was dominated politically by the Etruscans.
This week’s written assignment is to compare and contrast monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy as forms of government in Ancient Greek city-states. I will address each form of government, providing examples of each and will include applicable comparisons and/or contrasts.
channel migration, the eruption of a volcano, the drying of a lake, or the destruction of a
Isn’t it weird when there is an odd figure in a museum, or an old extinct form of life that has never been seen before, for example? That is pretty much what the people of Pompeii have turned into. Mount Vesuvius in the southern part of Italy is dangerous to thousands of people who live around it, close to where it killed thousands of people in 79 A.D. The unlucky people who couldn’t make it out look like they were frozen in time because the ash fell and covered them. It also preserved their bodies. There were photos of them in a museum. In one, a mother was holding her baby, and in another, a man was on his knees holding his hands in front of his face (Colle, 1).Not only were the people covered in ash, but the entire city was. It went from a happy city to an ash covered pile of people and their things in less than two days. Pompeii is an unsafe place because Mt. Vesuvius is the most dangerous volcano, it killed thousands of people, and it is located near the largely populated city of Naples.