Roman Government

Today we spent class with Mr. Schick scaring us with tornado stories, had the lights flicker, and loud thunder. The main part of class though was talking about the Roman government and how it is similar and different to ours  in America.

Spread of Power

consul: either of the two chief magistrates of the ancient Roman republic.
veto: The power or right vested in one branch of a government to cancel or postpone the decisions, enactments, etc.
senate: an assembly or council of citizens having the highest deliberative functions in a government, especially a legislative assembly of a state or nation.
assembly: a group of persons gathered together, usually for a particular purpose, whether religious, political, educational, or social.
dictator: a person invested with supreme authority during a crisis, the regular magistracy being subordinated to him until the crisis was met.
mercenary: working or acting merely for money or other reward; venal. Hired to serve in a foreign army, guerrilla organization, etc.
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Roma

How did geography help Rome?- The Alps in the north, separate Italy from the rest of Europe.

Why was each of the following groups important to Rome's development?

(a)Latin's- Rome began as a settlement of Latin shepherds

(b) Greeks- Established colonies in the southern part of Italy.

[c] Etruscans- Northern Italy, had a writing system, roman buildings

What were the values of early Roman society?- Family ties, formed a republic, borrowed religious ideas, society was divided into classes 

(a) How was the Roman household organized?- The eldest man was in charge, he could sell/ kill anyone in the family without penalty.  

(b) What freedoms did women have in the family and in the society?- Ran the household, was a citizen. 

How was the army linked to Roman society?- Constant threat of war made the men have two jobs; farming and warriors. 

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Gravitas: Virtue on disipline, strength, and loyalty 
Republic: a state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state.
Pater familias: Father of the house 
toga: cloak, clothing
patrician: a member of the original senatorial aristocracy in ancient Rome.
plebeian: belonging or pertaining to the common people.
legion: a division of the Roman army, usually comprising 3000 to 6000 soldiers. 
century: A fighting unit with 80 people. 

Testing our Knowledge

On Wednesday, before break, we took our test on Ancient Greece. I thought the test was pretty easy.

Test Ideas

In class today we reviewed all of our Greek topics and made up questions to put on the test.

Alexander the Great

Today in class we watched a movie on possibly the greatest fighter known, Alexander of Macedonia. We saw Alexander's childhood when his father purchases Bucephalus, Alexander's horse. He was only aloud to have the horse if he could tame it. Which he did in no time at all. It is thought that Alexander's father, Philip II of Macedon, was jealous of his son because Aristotle taught Alexander. Aristotle is one of the greatest minds ever. He learned about Greek culture, language, history, and battle tactics. Alexander became captain of the Macedonian army at the age of 16 after his father died. He also became ruler of Macedonia after his father died. The most significant battle Gaugamela was the bloodiest ever fought. It was against Darius III of Persia. Darius was said to have been responsible for Alexander's father's assassination and Alexander wanted revenge for it.  

Socrates/Pericles/Sparta

SOCRATES:

Unbelievably ugly

Didn't care about anything but the mind

Babylon was where everything (i.e. gods) started

The Greeks took the gods and made them reason

The birth of science: Thales  

Wrote about how to sail a boat at night by using the stars

Socrates used reason and logic to study people

He cares about the individual

Spent his days in conversation and walking

"The unexamined life is not worth living"

PERICLES:

One year into the war plague struck

Spread like wildfire

Redness and heat

Bodily fluids  

Pericles died in 429 B.C. from the plague

Linchpin

High profile people now scrambled to find a new leader

SPARTA:

Athenians win a navel battle

Navel leaders were put into jail

Didn't pick up the warriors after falling off of the boat during the war

They were to be tried and executed

The generals were condemned to death by drinking poisonous hemlock 

416 B.C.

A small Greek colony in Sicily asked for Athens help

They sent word back to Athens that they needed reinforcements then no news at all

A soldier returned to Athens and told people what had happened

One of greatest defeats in ancient history

Over 15,000 men had either been killed or taken prisoner

Pointless campaign

Athens enemies began to close in

• Persia
• Spartans

Egypt and other convoys couldn't get through to Athens so people started to starve

They turned to Athena  

404 B.C. Athens surrenders to Lysander, the Spartan leader

The walls were to be torn down and their fleet to be destroyed

Only 12 ships remained

Socrates was arrested for disrupting the religion

People cried when he was taking the poison

He was dying because of his principals

Athens was never a great Imperial power

The city became a place of intellectual study

Homer

Who was Homer?- Early Greek poet

What was he known for writing?- Known most for the Iliad and Odyssey

What was something very different about Homer?- Thought to have been blind

Grade: 96

Alexander's Conquest

Name one of his battles. - Battle of Granicus

Did he get along with his father? - no, not to well

What happened to his kingdom after his death? - It was split almost immediately after his death 

Grade: 94

Trial of Socrates

What was he charged with?- Charged with blasphemy, betraying the gods

What did Socrates tell the people he should get instead of death?- That he should get free dinner for the rest of his life.

What did he die by?- poison hemlock

Grade:94

Greek battles and Armies

What is the formation they make called?- A Phalanx

Who are the Hoplites?- Citizen soldiers

What would the Helmets protect?- Nose, Cheek, Head, Neck

Grade: 99

The Hellenic Age

What is a Polyclitus?: Greek sculpture in bronze, One of the most important sculptures of classical antiquity  

What is the word for a relaxed type of pose?- Contrapposto

Who ruled the Macedonian age?- Kings 

Grade: 98

Greek Theatre

Who were tragedies acted out by?- men 

What would they mock?- Mock gods/goddesses

What is a Satyr play?- a comical form of play

GRADE: 86 

Greek Poets and Poetry

Were people told to remember the poems?- yes

How did people re-sight the poems?- Song form with instruments

Did the poets make the words up before they went up to re-sight heir poems?- no

Grade: 97

The Golden Age/ Age of Pericles

What century was Pericles born?- Born in 5th century B.C

What was Panathenaia? - A festival honoring Athena

Who was Aspasia?- Member of a class of unmarried females, Said to have written most of Pericles's speeches

GRADE: 98

Greek Architecture

What style was the Parthenon designed of?- Doric style
Name the three styles things were made of in ancient Greece.- Doric Order, Ionic Order, Corinthian Order
What was normally put on the buildings?- Battle/hunting scenes and gods/goddesses

GRADE: 96 

Greek Philosophers

Who was Aristotle?- Greek philosopher, taught at the academy, learned from Plato

Who was Plato?- A wealthy, wrestler and poet, Greek philosopher

Who was Socrates?- Arguably the most powerful of thinkers, Greek philosophers

GRADE: 98

Parthenon

What style were they made using?-Doric Style

Who designed it?- Phidias

What were they used for?- to worship

GRADE: 96

Alexander's Youth

What did his mother tell him he was?- she told him that he was the son of a god

Why was he called GREAT?- He conquered more land than anyone before him that’s why he was called great 

Who was he a student of?- Aristotle

GRADE: 93

Greek Science & Math

Who invented geometry?- Euclid

Who came up with physical displacement?- Archimedes 

Who calculated how far away the sun is from Earth?- Eratosthenes  

GRADE: 96

Olympics

Who could compete in the Olympics?- wealthy men who spoke Greek
Where did they originate?- Olympia
How long did they last?- used to last one day then went to five
GRADE: 98

Greek Art

What was the Corinthian Order?- not popular, outlined with leaves, expensive
What colors are the Greek pots made of?- red, yellow, black, white
Who normally made the pottery?- the lower class of people
GRADE: 94

Summary of my Project

Today in class I presented my project on the Peloponnesian War. I told people about why it happened and what I think is the most important happening during the war, the plague. The war was against Sparta and Athens. The idiot who thought it would e a good idea to fight Sparta was Pericles. He was the leading personality in Athens. Pericles acted boldly and successfully as commander of the Athenian forces. The letter of the treaty of peace with Sparta, was signed in 446 B.C., six years before the war started. This treaty was supposed last for 30 years though. In 431 B.C.. The war started right as Athens was at its peak politically and economically and people knew that a war with Sparta would take it all away. The Peloponnesian War lasted 27 years. Athens signs a treaty (Peace of Nicias), setting things back to how they were before the war. Under the advice of Alcibiades (an Athenian statesman), Sparta invades Attica. Athens, which had started the war with the advantage in naval battle, loses this advantage to the Corinthians and Syracusans. Sparta then used Persian gold from Cyrus to build her fleet and destroys the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegosotami. Athens surrendered in 404 B.C.. Athens loses its democratic government. The Plague of Athens was a devastating epidemic which hit the city-state of Athens in ancient Greece during the second year of the Peloponnesian War (430 B.C.), when an Athenian victory still seemed within reach. The epidemic broke out in the overcrowded city. The sight of the burning funeral fires of Athens caused the Spartan army to withdraw for fear of the disease. It killed many of Athens's infantry, some expert naval men and their leader Pericles, who died during one of the secondary outbreaks in 429 B.C.. Some people believe that the plague was a critical factor in the loss of the war for Athens.