Thesis: During the Han Dynasty, techonogy was almost exclusively viewed positively, while in the Roman Empire, the attitude regarding technology varied.
The Life of Marius, written by Plutarch, is a fascinating ancient source detailing the career of the Roman Gaius Marius, 127-86BC. While there are interpretive and reliability issues, the Life of Marius is a particularly useful and significant source. It is our only extensive primary source on Marius, who was a key political figure of late Republican Rome. Additionally, Plutarch’s work indicates not only many crucial military and political development in Rome in the time period, but also gives a reflection of Plutarch’s own Rome and its values and political climate.
It seems that the fall of the Roman Republic was not a singular event that occurred instantaneously, but rather a long process that saw the increasing use of methods outside of Republican institutions to settle conflicts between members of the aristocracy over political power. Even as the Roman government transitioned form Kingdom to Republic and then to Empire, the competition between aristocratic families remained a relative constant in across the centuries. So too has the desire to mythologize the past. The romans attributed both the fall of the Kingdom of Rome and the fall of the Roman Republic to moral rot, while a more reasonable assessment might place the blame on a dissatisfied and competitive elite class and an inefficient and unresponsive governmental system that was unwilling or unable to address their concerns. In much the same way, modern observers of the Roman Republic have tended to mythologize the fall of the Republic in the service of creating a moral narrative about the unconscionable tyranny of Cesar and the righteousness of the Senate, or whatever alternative narrative is befitting of the historical moment and audience. In reality, it should not be surprising that the Republic fell, but rather that with all of its challenges, it is far more surprising that it lasted for as long as it
If I were in Catalines position I would simply tell Cicero that he didn 't have any proof of anything that he was accusing me of, Cicero is using rhetoric to make wild accusations against Cataline and pretending to restrain himself from punishing Cataline, telling the senate, and exposing him when he doesn 't actually have anything to expose him of. Since Cicero was a high ranking official in the roman senate he was able to make claims against Cataline because who would believe a possible conspirator or a high raking official.
William Shakespeare, in his tragedy Julius Caesar, uses the rhetorical devices of a rhetorical question, repetition of the word ambitious, and direct reference in Antony 's speech to instigate the plebeians and persuade them to rebel against the conspirators. Antony pulls on the pathos, ethos, and logos of the audience to get them to exile the conspirators. Shakespeare uses a rhetorical question in Antony’s speech to get the plebeians to notice the wrongdoings of the conspirators and excite them to rebel. Antony discusses the money that Caesar left to the countrymen, and with sarcasm he states, “Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?” (3.2.99). The act of giving away money is a selfless act and someone who is ambitious will not give charity. If Caesar was truly ambitious he would not give his money away to the common folk in his will.
In her chapter on the historiography of Roman exemplarity, Christina Shuttleworth Kraus examines this loss of power through the transition of exempla as the res gestae populi Romani to the res gestae divi Augusti (Kraus, 2). In early Roman history, exemplarity rested in the hands of popular consciousness; the citizens of Rome had the sole power of deciding which events or people to raise up to the status of exempla. This system of exemplarity that is explained in detail by Matthew Roller’s four stage model of the creation of exempla by public discourse (Roller, 216-217). However, Roller’s framework begins to collapse when Augustus intentionally influences exemplary power through his coercive Res Gestae. Rather than looking to the past for the great deeds of common people like the Sabine women or Lucretia, Roman citizens of the Augustan period had their attention directed towards the persona of one man, an exemplar in the form of an emperor. Augutus’ Res Gestae served as a means to focus the eye of exemplarity solely on himself. This self-centered approach to exemplarity can be seen explicitly in the language used by the Res Gestae. Throughout the description of his achievements, the only Roman names Augustus mentions specifically are those of consuls to mark the times of events and those of his possible
Though, the Romans made undemocratic decisions, they still included the people in a lot of executive decisions. The Assemblies carried out the majority of what the people wanted and what they decided. Therefore, Rome allowed their citizens to help make important decisions about government, which made them democratic.
The transition from republic to empire was due to the colossal feats of both Julius Caesar and Octavian also known as Caesar Augustus. Julius Caesar was a pragmatic military commander and politician that eventually rose up and became the first emperor of Rome. His accomplishments for Rome were vast due to his military expertise but eventually lead to his betrayal and demise. Octavian lived a similar but different life than Julius Caesar. While Julius Caesar’s life ended in tragedy, Octavian was able to live out his life and be an emperor. Octavian succeeded where Julius Caesar failed due to him being more ruthless towards his enemies and by avoiding the stigma of a tyrant.
To begin with, Julius Caesar was a was a glory hound and put his needs before the republic. Caesar used his power as dictator more towards his advantage instead of helping the people in Rome. An account written by Suetonius says that “ Caesar urged them rather to propose to the people that he be permitted to stand for a second consulship
Julius Caesar and Abraham Lincoln are two great past leaders whose legacy is still felt today. They are regarded as being among history’s greatest statesmen. Although from two radically different eras and locales, they have many similarities as well as differences. This paper will compare the things the great men had in common.
Cato strived to develop in his political aspirations. He would take a stroll through the marketplace and help whomever asked for his assistance. He would freely do this, but expected that these people would grant him political support. Clientage is the act Cato performed. Clientage is a "roman custom whereby free men entrusted their lives to a more powerful man in exchange for support in public life and private matters” (p. 125). Cato was the very first member of his family to run for public office. He was elected as quaestor in 204 B. C. From there he was assigned to the proconsul publius cornelius scirio during the war in Africa. Cato continued progressing as the years went by. He became plebeian aedile in 199, and a year later, praetor in Sardinia. In 195 he and his close friend won the consulship.
The Romans emerged from Italy and formed their culture that can find its roots among an array of native tribes and Greek colonies that populated Italy. There are two parts of the foundation of a Roman’s identity that stemmed from the cultural influences that produced the Romans, their culture and their ideals. The first component of the foundation of the Roman identity is the usage and the incorporation of others’ myths into their own etiological myth. The second part stems from these myths that made the Romans believe that their existence and success was the result of fate. By looking into Virgil’s Aeneid and Sallust’s Conspiracy of Catiline one can see that this two-part foundation produced a society and people that embodied this idea that they were the best parts of all the cultures
Simonton’s argument on oligarchy as an ideological commitment to anti-democracy that was historically preserved by political institutions is a brand new scholarly theory.
In the play Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, we can analyze the effects that society had on one of the main characters named Brutus and also, the effects Brutus had on society.
In the year 44 BC the powerful empire of Rome had lost its ruler due to the assassination led by the senators and Julius Caesar’s brother Brutus. Caesar’s death was a huge setback for Rome and its people and the whole empire was in utter chaos.