Rise of Rome: Andrew Nemeroff

[andrewnemeroff14]

Virgil and the Aenid: A Roman Great

Virgil was an ancient Roman poet and is regarded as one of Rome's greatest poets. His epic, the Aeneid, is considered to be one of the defining pieces of literature to come out of Ancient Rome, and perhaps the greatest epic ever written. Influenced by Homer's own epics, the Iliad and Odyssey, the Aeneid follows a Trojan refugee by the name Aeneas along his journey to reach Italy, where his descendants Romulus and Remus were destined to found the city of Rome. According to legend, Virgil went to Greece in 19 BC to edit the Aeneid. However, he caught a fever while visiting a small town. After returning to Italy, weakened with disease, Virgil died shortly later that year. Augustus ordered Virgil's literary executors to ignore Virgil's wish that the poem be discarded, instead ordering it published with as few editorial changes as possible. Because of this, the work has a couple faults in which Virgil meant to revise before its publication. Despite this, the Aeneid has survived the course of time and has gone on the become one of the classic literary works of ancient Rome, as well as cementing Virgil as one of the figureheads of ancient Roman literature

[andrewnemeroff14]

Caesar and the Battle of Arar

Before Julius Caesar become known as the infamous Roman emperor, he was  a newly minted consul when he led a military conquest against The Helvetii, a Gallic tribe. The Romans and The Helvetii came head to head in the Battle of the Arar, the first major battle of the Gallic Wars. After the Romans completed a mass military operation of building a large defense, The Helvetii tribe tried to migrate by another route, and so they decided to cross the Arar river using rafts and boats. Caesar was informed by numerous lookouts and promptly chose to engage the Helvetii. The Gallic tribe had crossed the river and Caesar routed many of them to where he and his forces were stationed on the river and proceeded to kill a large amount of the tribe. The surviving Helvetii were left with no choice but to retreat into the surrounding forrest. The Romans and The Helvetii tried to negotiate a peace treaty, but these failed and the Helvetii resumed their quest with the Romans following trailing behind. Although Caesar and the Romans were short of supplies, they eventually caught up to the Helvetii and defeated them swiftly in battle, giving Caesar his first major accomplishment as a Roman consul.

[andrewnemeroff14]

Catullus and the “Lesbia”

Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic whose surviving works are still read widely and continue to influence modern-day poetry. He is well known for his love poems in which he refers to the subject of his desire as "Lesbia.” The “Lesbia” is usually identified as Clodia Metelli. In his poems, Catullus writes about several stages of their relationship: happiness, doubts, separation, and loss. He often switches the tone of his poems between love and insults that he directs at her presumed infidelity, even though Clodia was married (although they would be together for some period of time). His passion for her is obviously evident, and the poems about the relationship display a vast amount of psychological insight into the mind of Catullus. He would go on to live a short life, as it is estimated that Catullus died at the young age of 30 in 54 BCE, but there is no doubt that he was one of the most influential Roman poets of all time.

[andrewnemeroff14]

The Vestal Virgins

In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins were priestesses who were regarded as fundamental to the security of Rome. They were allowed to bypass the obligation to marry and bear children and took a 30-year vow of abstinence in order to devote themselves to the study observances of state rituals. To obtain entry, a girl had to be free of physical and mental defects, have two living parents and be a daughter of a free-born resident of Rome. The Vestals were chosen from a group of twenty candidates at a gathering of their families and other Roman citizens. Originally, the girl had to be of patrician birth, but membership was opened to plebeians as it became difficult to find patricians willing to commit their daughters to 30 years as a Vestal. Their tasks included the maintenance of the fire of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth and home, collecting water from holy springs, and preparation of food used in rituals. By maintaining Vesta's sacred fire, from which anyone could receive fire for household use, they functioned as safe keepers, in a religious sense, for all of Rome.

[andrewnemeroff14]

Plautus’ Haunted House

Haunted House is a play written by the Roman author Plautus. Its name translates from the Latin word “Mostelleria.” It is considered a comedy with a linear plot, set in the city of Athens on a street in front of the houses of Theopropides and Simo. Philolaches is having a grand time while his father is overseas on business. Philolaches has also borrowed a lot of money to buy the freedom of the slave-girl he loves. One day he is having a party when his slave Tranio interrupts the merry-making to announce that Philolaches' father has returned unexpectedly and will arrive at any minute. However, he gathers Philolaches and his friends into the house and locks the door. When the father arrives, Tranio greets him respectfully but pretends that it is dangerous to enter the house because it is haunted. A loan shark suddenly appears to claim the money that Philolaches borrowed. Tranio pretends that the money was borrowed to buy the house next door. Even when Philolaches' father meets the real owner of the house, Tranio manages to hide the truth for some time, but the lie is discovered he and jumps on top of an altar to escape punishment. All ends happily, however, when one of Philolaches' friends offers to repay the debt, thus allowing the father to forgive his son. The play is a classic example of the early works of Roman literature. It is also a subversion of the Roman term for the power of the male head of a family “Patria potestas,” because Philolaches’ father chose to forgive his son rather than subject him to punishment.

[andrewnemeroff14]

The First Punic War

The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two largest powers of the Western Mediterranean. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surroundings. It was the first time a Roman army went overseas in a military campaign, which led to the development of a navy. The fighting went on for years, but Rome eventually emerged victorious. Rome went on to become a large naval power, and its victory over Carthage was an example of Rome’s ability to adapt to meet challenges. Rome also acquired possession of its first province, Sicily, from Carthage. The largest political result of the First Punic War was the downfall of Carthage's naval power. Conditions signed in the peace treaty hindered Carthage's economic situation and prevent the city's recovery. The compensation demanded by the Romans strained the city's finances and forced Carthage to look to other areas of influence for the money to pay Rome.

[andrewnemeroff14]

The Rise and Fall of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the seventh king of Rome, and was notable for his tyrant-like ruling style. To claim the throne, he had to rid of the Servius Tullius, the king of Rome at the time and Tarquinius’ son-in-law. He rallied a group of armed men to take over the Senate while he sat on the throne, declaring Servius a “slave.” He also called out Servius for failing to be elected by the senate and the people during an interregnum, as had been the tradition for the election of kings of Rome. He also despised Servius for tending to the lower classes of Rome over the wealthy (specifically taking the land of upper classes for distribution to the poor). Servius gained word of what was taking place at the Senate and quickly engaged Tarquinius in a fight, only to be murdered by assassins. Once he assumed kingship, Tarquinius ruled like a tyrant and oppressed the people making up Rome’s lower class. However, his downfall came at the hands of his son, Sextus Tarquinius, who raped a noble woman named Lucretia. This leads a man by the name of Brutus to lead an overthrow of the monarchy. Brutus is victorious in his efforts, and the Tarquins were expelled from Rome, signaling the age of the Republic in 509 BC.

[andrewnemeroff14]

Numa and Tullus: Two Different Philosophies

Numa Pompilius and Tullus Hostilius were the legendary second and third kings of Rome, yet they had very different philosophies on how to rule the city. One year after the death of Romulus, Numa ascended to the throne. He was a ruler known for his wisdom and belief in peace. One of Numa's first acts was the construction of the temple of Janus as a showing of peace and war. After securing peace with Rome's neighbors, the doors of the temples were shut and remained so for the duration of Numa's reign. Numa is also credited with the formulation of Rome’s religious calendar. His successor, Tullus, was not nearly as peaceful of a man and believed in war and provocation. Tullus' reign was primarily known for his defeat of Alba Longa, whose citizens were called Albans. After Alba Longa was beaten in the victory of three Roman champions, the Horatii, over three Albans, Alba Longa became a state of Rome. However, after the Alban dictator Mettius betrayed Rome, Tullus ordered Alba Longa to be destroyed and forced the migration of Alban citizens to Rome, where they were integrated and became Roman citizens.

[andrewnemeroff14]

Rise of Rome: Aeneas, the Trojan Hero

(Pictured: Aeneas easily defeating Turnus, leader of the Rutuli, in combat)

Aeneas was one of the lucky Trojans to survive after their demise at the hands of the Greeks. After traveling to places such as Macedonia and Sicily in order to find a suitable land for the remaining Trojans to settle, he came into contact with the Aborigines and their ruler, King Latinus. Latinus welcomed them with open arms and even let Aeneas marry one of his daughters as a sign of an alliance between the Trojans and Aborigines. Aeneas gained his status as a hero in Roman history when he led the allied clans against the Rutuli in battle. When the leader of the Rutuli, Turnus, found out that his former wife was with Aeneas, he became enclosed in anger and declared war on Aeneas and Latinus. Although Latinus died in the battle, Aeneas and the Trojan-Aborigines fought valiantly and emerged victorious. Aeneas then created a town named Lavinium, named after his wife Lavinia, which became very prosperous and wealthy. Turnus then turned to the Etruscan nation and their leader, Mezentius, in order to take down Aeneas. While the allied Trojans and Aborigines won the ensuing conflict, Aeneas died bravely protecting his people and was remembered in Roman history as an outstanding leader and a true hero.