The Roman Life

Life in Rome was good. Rules and regulations kept the city under control and many rulers kept one man from gaining too much power. Roman life also was very much grounded by the city. All things started with the city, and its success. Without Rome itself, most of the things that we know of the Romans, are never found or maybe never happen. Most of life in Rome, was ran through the landholders and the city. These people and the city of rome, started one of the greatest empires ever known to man.
The work done in Rome was mostly done by the men. All the bills, the fields, all was done by the men. The woman's job was to care for the house and to give birth to Roman boys. An average Roman man awoke early and worked a six hour day in the fields. For the most part, sons also followed in their father's footsteps inheriting their profession and their business. The rich men and women of Rome, were restricted too a career in law, politics, or the army. Other occupations were deemed to low for their kind. (source)
Roman Education sat in the hands of the parents. They decided if their children went to school or worked with the father. This made education very different than we see it today. The parents sent their children to sachool based on whether or not the family was having success. If the family was struggling in the work field, the son would skip school to help the father. School started in March, holidays were observed and days off every ninth day. Summer has never been proven, but historians say some period like summer would have existed.
The use of slavery in Rome was as big as anywhere else in the early world. Romans kept slaves and used them in all areas of needed assistance. The Romans saw slavery as simply carrying on the tradition started by the Egyptians, Babylonians, Indians, Chinese.

Roman Developement

The Romans made a monumental impact in the area of art, and architectural building. Often in our world today one hears of a Roman style house or a Roman style painting or sculpture. These two areas are the biggest when it comes to the impact of Rome on our society. Both are still extremely evident in our world today.
The Romans treated architecture in a different way than the rest of the world. They were the first to use their buildings as a way to serve the nation's needs. Before them, buildings purposes were to either serve the gods, the dead, or the royal families. "As far as Roman Architecture goes, it is difficult to compare it with that of other nations, because the Romans applied architecture to so many and such varied purposes, and so constructed monuments involving both architectural and engineering skill." (source) The Romans were the first to take architecture toa different level. Most try to simply be better, but to be different, that is where true greatness is found.
The Romans also took a different step in art. Roman art was practiced for 1,000 years and it was the first to really trademark a style of buildings and sculpture. They developed the arch and the pillar a great signatures of roman art. These adeas were vitally important to the success of Roman art and architecture.

Homer vs. Virgil

Homer's Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneaid are two stories much discussed between historians today. these stories are also all over the classrooms of America and most likely will stay there. These two stories are of the adventures of one man in each story who simply dreams of getting home alive.
Virgil's Aeneaid is a story of Aeneas trying to be the first to find the great city of Rome. He was told that the city was to be founded when his men began to eat their plates. One day his men used leaves as their plates and simply ate the entire meal and he then knew that this was the spot where rome was to be founded.
The Odyssey written by Homer is the great story of Odysseus trying to find his way home. His incredible adventures cover everything from a cyclops to a witch to the Greek gods temselves. Odysseus is known for his clever mind and his basic street skills. Odysseus and his men will be remembered for their bravery and their courage to get home at all costs.
There are many differencesand many similarities in these two stories. The first similarity is that both stories are fiction. Another similar fact is that they are both about a great man trying to do good for his people and his country. Some differences are that these two men are from two different parts of the world. Aeneas is Roman while Odysseus is Greek. These two men fought n two diffeent sides of the Trojan War as well.
These two stories are some of the most loved stories of historians simply because of their historical background. Homer and Virgil are argueably the two best poets of Ancient Greece. These two stories are of the finding of Rome and great adventures whichmakes them a must for ancient historians of today.

Plato

Plato was, as well as Socrates and all the other great names, was an essential part of Greek history and philosophy. He was the writer of basically all of Socrates' pieces including Meno, and The Apology. With these pieces, came the fame of Plato, in the years after his death.
Plato was born in 428 B.C. and eventually died in 348 B.C. He was a poet, mathematician, philisophical writer, as well as being the founder of the Academy of Athens. (Source) Plato was a student of Socrates, and was greatly influenced by him, and learned much about the society of Athens by studying the death of his teacher. Plato had undeniable ability to think and to write, as can be seen in his works. (Williams 41) Much of this ability is because of the influence he had under the teaching of the greatest philosopher the world has ever seen, Socrates. Plato's works are still used to teach a wide range of subjects in today's schools.
One of Plato's works, The Apology, is studied by many people today. It is the oldest work of Plato to date. Only two copies of this work survive, the one f Plato, and another by Xenophon. The Apology explains the speech of Socrates at his trial. He basically says that Athens are still wrong, and that he is deliberately trying to be found guilty and be condemned to death. "Now, although the word "apology" is the direct descendant into English of the Greek word apología, the meaning has changed. Socrates was not apologizing or making excuses. He wasn't sorry. The Greek word apología simply and precisely meant a defense, or a defense speech. This meaning has been preserved in English in some related words: An "apologist" is still someone who argues a defense of someone or something, and "apologetics" is still a discipline or system of argued defense of something, usually a doctrine, cause, or institution. Socrates' speech thus might be translated The Defense of Socrates without the possible confusion over the modern meaning; but after long usage, it is hard to imagine calling the Apology anything else." (Ross) This quote explains that Plato was at the trial, and he understod that Socrates was not trying to say that he was sorry. The Apolgy was a defense for the freedom of Socrates.
Because Plato was a student of Socrates, his thoughts and ideas were instilled in the minds of all the great philosophers to come out of Greece. Plato was the teacher of Aristotle, who was the teacher of Alexander the Great who was the best ruler and conqueror the world has ever seen. Because Alexander conquered so much territory, his ideas were also spread. This spread of ideas all started with Socrates, to Plato, to Aristotle, to Alexander the Great, and into the rest of the world. (Nails 213)
Plato was one of the greatest philosophers we have ever seen. He was influenced by the best, and he also taught the best. The key to greatness in this life, is to learn from the best, and play with the best, then to teach the best. This way you can collect all information from those who have found it successful and use it to beat the best and learn from them.
Williams, Bernard Arthur Owen. Plato. Routledge. 1999.
Nails, Debra. The People of Plato: A Prosopography of Plato and other Socratics. Hackett Publishing. 2002. New York.

Socrates

Greek philosophy has been and always will be the greatest base for modern thought. The Greeks were people of thinking and reasoning. They helped establish what we base our entire trial of thinking that we usae today. The biggest and brightest of these Greek philosophers was a man named Socrates.
Socrates was born in 470 B.C. in such a way that allowed nobody to think that he would set the base for the modern world of thinking. He is most famous for his developement of the Socratic method, which used the form of questioning to find knowledge and wisdom. The Socratic method has been used for every philosophy book and idea since the time of Socrates where it was developed. This method is still used today with great respect for the man who trademarked it.
Socrates was a man of great thought and intellectual want in a sense that he would aggrivate one so much that one would just stop thinking about the subject and leave himself unanswered. This type of person is called a gadfly, one who says things that make you thimk. Socrates always had someone writing down his ideas, but Socrates himself never wrote any books. His one main idea and quote was "The unexamined life is not worth living." This quote is saying that Socrates believed that life was to be devoted to the study of the human mind and soul. (Stone 211) These ideas made Socrates one of the mosat respected men in the world, but one of the most hated men in the Athenian society.
Because of his challenging ideas and his new thoughts, Socrates became the one most hated man in Athens. He was smelly and disgusting and the people of Athens saw nothing but the outside of this man. (Guthrie 42) They charged him with heresy and sentenced him to death by the drinking of hemlock. He thought long and hard about his sentence and came up with a speech to use in front the royal assembly. His speech was breathtaking but still the assembly chose death for Socrates. He drank the hemlock and he died.
Socrates was a great man. He gave us the Socratic method and many great ideas, that we still use today. He was a thinker who accepted nothing at face value. He was smart enough to admit that he didn't know everything, but only that of his own ignorance. This in itself is one of the single most important things we can learn from Socrates.
Stone, I.F. The Trial of Socrates. Pan Books. 1989. New York
Guthrie, William Keith Chambers. Socrates. Cambridge University Press. 1971. New York.

Greek Architecture

Greek architecture started in the early Stone Age. it began from small, narrow huts and tents, and went all the way into stone walls and great churches and houses, paved roads, and even villages. Eventually, the Greeks began to build temples for the gods. These temples were first built in Doric style. These temples were burned in the Greek Dark Ages.
In the 6th century, most buildings were made with mud-brick and clay. Because of this, many buildings were destroyed or burnt, so many buildings were lost during the Greek Ages. The only ruins left of these buildings, were a couple unfinished plans and some mud and clay. In the early sixth century, most Greek buildings were built in a Doric style. These buildings were temples and churches. The most expensive, and nicest buildings were built with marble. Marble was extremely expensive and was used for the houses of the aristocrats. There were also buildings of limestone, which Greece was filled with.
There were two main building styles in Ancient Greece. There was the Doric style and the Ionic style and the Corinthian style. These names reflected the belief in the Dorian and Ionian Greeks during the Dark Ages. The Doric style was very formal and fancy. The Ionic style was more relaxed and free. The Corinthian style was made famous in the use of columns. The Doric style originated in mainland Greece where it spread throughout the Greek regions of Italy.
The Doric style was the simplest form of Greek architecture in Greece. The columns consisted of a crown on the top, made of a circle on top of a square. The shaft has 20 sides, and is very plain. The Doric style is simple, but it is still super powerful. It also has no base in the buildings. There was also a metope on the middle of the buildings, often consisting of gods and goddesses. The Doric was used mainly by middle class artisans and craftsman.
Lawrence, Arnold Walter. Greek Architecture. Yale University Press. 1996. New York.
Taylor, William. An Architecture Notebook. Barker Press. 1971. New York

The New Kingdom
The New Kingdom was the richest time period of Ancient Egypt. There was a cornucopia of famous Pharaohs in this era. This was essentially Egypt’s Golden Age . These were some of the most powerful, and at times the hardest points in Egyptian history.
One of the greatest kings of Egyptian history was Hatshepsut . She was in fact a woman, but not many knew her as a woman. The majority of the Egyptians knew her as a man, and another Pharaoh. As in all positions of authority, it was extremely hard for a woman to rule. She could not lead in military engagements because if she won, the men would take credit, and if she lost she would be blamed for the loss. Hatshepsut ruled for 22 years and eventually croaked.
Another interesting Pharaoh was Akenhaten . He was the first monotheist in Egyptian history. In the 2nd year of his reign, Akenhaten discarded all worship except for worship to the Aten, the sun god. Years later, Akenhaten abandons the capital of Thebes, and moves it to Amarna. In the 12th year of Akenhaten’s reign, his chief wife, Nefertiti, vanishes, and his mother in-law, Ti, dies. After this tragedy, he persecutes all who worship Amun Re, and takes Amun Re off of everything. Eventually, in 1336 B.C., Akenhaten dies.
Tutankaten was the next great Pharaoh. His name would later be changed to Tutankhamen , as the worship was shifted back to Amun Re. Tut took the throne at 9 years old, and ruled for only 10 years, and dies. He is vitally important because what Howard Carter finds in his tomb is one of, if not the greatest treasures ever to be found. More than 52,000 priceless objects are found in Tut’s tomb, all in perfect condition.
The most important Pharaoh in the New Kingdom was Ramses II . He was the richest Pharaoh in Egyptian history. Ramses takes the throne at about 15, and rules for 67 years. During his reign, he fights the battle of Kadesh. In this battle, the Hittites attack and are murdering the Egyptians, when luckily Ramses’ reinforcements show up and defeat the Hittites. In the history books, Ramses wrote that his troops abandoned him and he alone, defeated the Hittites. After this battle, Ramses marries Nefertari. She is a Hittite princess who gives him 12 sons. His 12 sons eventually die before he does, seeing that he lives until 93, leaving him with no heir. The day before his 94th birthday celebration, Ramses dies.
After the death of Ramses, the Egyptian begins to crumble. People are wondering if this is it? Most didn’t know a Pharaoh other than Ramses. During this confusing time with no Pharaoh, the sea people attack. They are fierce warriors, whom where they are from we are not sure. These people also destroy the Hittite and the Nubian empires. With the loss of Nubia, Egypt loses its gold supply, and now becomes a bogey society. No longer are they the dominant force that they were, but they are now an average society. Less than 200 years after Ramses II, the Egyptian empire had fallen, and Ramses XI dies, ending the Ramiside dynasty.
Thomas, Susanna. Ramses II: Pharaoh of the New Kingdom. Rosen Publishing Group. New York. 2003
Hari, Robert. New Kingdom Amarna Period: The Great Hymn to Aten. Brill. New York. 1985
El Mahdy, Christine. Tutankhamen: The Life and Death of the Boy King. St. Martin's Press. New York. 2000