Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Augustus and Alexander the Great
Mark Antony and Caesar Augustus
Marcus aurelius and cicero
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Augustus and Alexander the Great
Rome – of course, was not built in a day… but its fabrication was indubitably helped by its many great rulers, such as; Aurelius and Augustus. However, on the other end of the parameter, there is infamous Caligula.
Caligula was born as Gaius Augustus Germanicus, on August 31st, 12 CE, to Germanicus and Agrippina “The Elder”. Although, as a child, he strutted around in pint-sized caligae (Roman soldiers’ footwear), because even then - parents enjoyed draping their progeny in their lineal attire. He wore his getup while accompanying his father, Germanicus, on campaign. Shortly thereafter, Germanicus’ troops referred to the little rascal as Caligula, meaning “little boots”, and it stuck – even in spite of Gaius’ supposed discontent with the name.
Caligula’s family fell and tore apart as he was a mere child.
After his mother, Agrippina, married Germanicus, she accompanied him as his advisor and consul. As fate would have it, Germanicus died, suspiciously – nonetheless. After his death, Agrippina blatantly accused foes of foul play. She also stood against Tiberius, the successor. For this grasp of slander, she was whipped, beaten, and flogged until she could bear no more. Not only beaten, but sent to prison; she starved herself to death.
In the light of Germanicus’ death, Caligula’s family had drifted out of the heart of Tiberius, who then saw the brothers, sisters, and mother of Caligula to be rivals. He accused all of such of treason. To which they all were either exiled, or imprisoned. Thus was the death of the family – all except “little boots”, himself.
Tiberius had taken Caligula to the isle of Capri to reside. Where he indulged all of Caligula’s most sadistic and masochistic endeavors. This is to ...
... middle of paper ...
... although, many of the senate and equestrians were rumored to have had knowledge of the plan.
To start off a teased child, an alumni to greatness, was his upbringing.
Though, his choices and conceit had made him expendable, and made him fallible.
The credit to his downfall goes to himself. He brought upon the fall of “Caligula and his Tyrannous Reign”.
Works Cited
"Caligula." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 8 May 2014.
Cohen, Jennie. "7 Things You May Not Know About Caligula." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 9 Oct. 2012. Web. 8 May 2014. http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/7-things-you-may-not-know-about-caligula
Wasson, Donald. "Caligula." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 11 Aug. 2011. Web. 8 May 2014.
During the Republic, the people of Rome had a major disinclination towards any sort of Royalty, which is why when Caesar attempted to lead undemocratically indefinitely, he disrupted one of the core stances that romans shared communally. Caesar over indulged in power when he retitled himself as ‘dictator in perpetuo’. “And as Caesar was coming down from Alba into the city they ventured to hail him as king. But at this the people were confounded, and Caesar, disturbed in mind, said that his name was not King, but Caesar, and seeing that his words produced an universal silence, he passed on with no very cheerful or contented looks…..But the most open and deadly hatred towards him was produced by his passion for the royal power.” Caesars egotism and self-importance made him uncherished by members of the senate. “Everybody knew that Caesar's ego would never allow him to play second fiddle to another senator, and it was equally well-known that another famous military leader, Pompey the Great, had similar ambitions. In January 49, more or less at...
Boatwright’s work, The Romans: From Village to Empire, Boatwright states that Claudius’ “own niece Agrippina the Younger then schemed successfully to marry him in 49. Within a year she had greater public visibility than any other woman, and received the honorific title Augusta. By 53, she had secured the succession of her own son, Nero, who married Claudius’ thirteen-year old daughter Octavia and superseded the slightly younger Britannicus.”[8] This passage shows that Agrippina was willing to sacrifice what she must and was so very devoted and dedicated to the cause while doing so. Agrippina made a plan and stuck to it, no matter what, and her ability to follow through with her plans ultimately enabled her son Nero to get that much closer to becoming Roman Emperor. After marrying Claudius, Agrippina made her move to remove Claudius from the position of Roman Emperor for good, leaving Nero to be crowned as Roman Emperor instead. Agrippina went to visit a woman who was widely known for her skills to disguise poison extremely well and effectively end the lives of whomever consumed her poisonous products. L. Cilliers and F. P. Retief’s work, Poisons, Poisoning and the Drug Trade in Ancient Rome, states that Agrippina went to Locusta “the most infamous of these poisoners . . . and (was) subsequently approached by Agrippina, second wife
Whenever the bones of Capys shall be discovered, it will come to pass that a descendant of his shall be slain at the hands of his kindred, and presently avenged at heavy cost to Italy.
...for success, he robs his audience of the right to make certain determinations about characters such as Tarquin Superbus and Romulus because of his bias toward the motivation behind their actions. Livy’s The Rise of Rome was a grand effort and an amazing undertaking. Cataloguing the years of Roman history consolidated rumor and legend into fact, creating a model for Rome to follow. Livy’s only error in this vast undertaking was in imprinting his own conception of morality and justice onto his work, an error that pulls the reader away from active thought and engaging debate. In doing so, Livy may have helped solidify a better Rome, but it would have been a Rome with less of a conception of why certain things are just, and more of a flat, basely concluded concept of justice.
While Romulus is credited for exemplifying many of Rome;’s fundamental values, his reign over Rome is one that is infamous for its abundant bloodshed, violence against Rome’s neighbouring cities and demonstrations of his accumulated power. In comparison to Romulus’ rule, King Numa Pompilius reign is filled with undisturbed peace and coexistence in Rome and its neighbouring communities. Romulus often resorts to utilizing methods like violence or deceit to achieve his aspirations for the glory of Rome. One of the very first of Romulus’ acts of violence “to obtain sole power” (Livy 37) is to brutally murder his own twin brother, Remus in an angry fit of rage. The murder of Remus is a reflection of Romulus’ violent, ruthless nature and demonstrates the drastic measures he will go to achieve ultimate power. “To increase the dignity and impressiveness of his [ki...
Platner, Samuel Ball, and Thomas Ashby. A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. London: Oxford University Press, 1929
Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) was one of the most outstanding leaders in history. He was the first ruler of the Romano-Hellenic civilization and achieved his goals with great success throughout his life of 56 years. He was assassinated by the conspirators, who accused him for practicing tyranny. This essay will discuss whether it was right for the conspirators to murder Caesar and what its consequences were.
While Suetonius’s scriptures of Nero may pose a risk of bias, similar perversions were discussed within Edward Champlin’s ‘Nero Reconsidered’. Champlin discuses Nero’s descent into debauchery and malfeasance; how his personal exploits gradually began to corrupt his political and military affairs (Champlin, 1990). Nero began alienating and persecuting much of the elite for higher interests in personal concerns, as well as neglecting military advances and affairs completely. Nero’s exorbitant personal affairs and expenditures left the treasury thoroughly exhausted. His period was riddled with deflation as shortage of money began to emerge (Champlin, 1990). Nero’s adolescence and unruly upbringing was largely contributory to his inadequacy during his years as Roman Emperor. While Nero contributed significantly to the city, his reign demonstrated the unravelling of the Roman
Dio, Cassius. "Roman History - Book 50." 17 June 2011. University of Chicago. 31 October 2011 .
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 changes made by the Gracchi left the Republic in a state of pandemonium as it destroyed political stability as well as creating opportunities for future individuals to rise above and challenge the system.
1. Tim Cornell, John Matthews, Atlas of the Roman World, Facts On File Inc, 1982. (pg.216)
"Rome, History of Ancient Rome From Its Founding To Collapse." World History International: World History Essays From Prehistory To The Present. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. .
Julius Caesar was a strong leader of the Romans who changed the course of the history for the Roman world decisively and irreversibly. With his courage and strength, he created a strong empire and guided the empire for almost 20 years. His life was short, but had many adventures. I will tell of some of this man’s remarkable life. He did many things, therefore, I will only discuss a few. His name, part of his reign, one of his greatest battles, and his death will be told.
The river tore through the earth as a hungry worm, ripping its way to the ocean. Along the shore of the river stood an army’s camp, the war tents and gathering tents stood well-kept, but empty. Not a soul could be found on the camp, even the lowly camp followers had left. The men who inhabited the camp stood on a small hill nearby, they encircled the base of the hill as a man on top read a letter. “The Senate and People of Rome address you, Gaius Julius, and the men under your service. The Senate places your service as governor of Gaul at an end and requests you to return to Rome, immediately. We do not think it necessary to remind you of Roman law. If a general returns to the Roman Republic accompanied by a standing army he, and his men, are traitors, and will dealt with as such. Senātus Populusque Rōmānus. The man looked up from the letter and stared into the eyes of every soldier, peasant, and roman there. Then he strode to the edge of the Rubicon, mounted his horse; which stood there, and looked back at the army. The historian Suetonius wrote: "Overtaking his cohorts at the river Rubicon, which was the boundary of his province, he paused for a while, and realizing what a step he was taking, he turned to those about him and said: 'Even yet we may draw back; but once cross yon little bridge, and the whole issue is with the sword.' As he stood in doubt, this sign was given him. On a sudden there appeared hard by a being of wondrous stature and beauty, who sat and played upon a reed; and when not only the shepherds flocked to hear him, but many of the soldiers left their posts, and among them some of the trumpeters, the apparition snatched a trumpet from one of them, rushed to the river, and sounding the war-note with mighty blas...
Honour, Hugh, and John Fleming. "Hellenistic and Roman Art." A World History of Art. London: Laurence King, 1999. 179-213. Print.