Ancient Greece and Rome

Question 1

Rome’s two different governments?

Answer 1

Republic & Empire

Question 2

What was the Italian Peninsula good at before organizing into the Roman Nation?

Answer 2

Practical activity experts
- agriculture
- soldiers
- engineers
- builders
- rhetoricians

Question 3

When was Athen’s Golden Age

Answer 3

400s BCE

Question 4

When did Italy’s peninsala become relevant?

Answer 4

Greece Hellenistic Period
- Romans became relevant

Question 5

When did Roman Empire overtake Greek Culture

Answer 5

The Start of Common Era when Rome continued to only grow bigger

Question 6

What gift made the Romans so successful?

Answer 6

Their ability to adapt useful ideas from other cultures to be modified for their own tastes and needs.

• religion, language, organization, engineering, culture
• encouraged roads, better water management, civil service, perminent military class

Question 7

Polytheistic Roman and Greek god equivalents

Bacchus & Jupiter

Answer 7

Bacchus = Dionysus

Jupiter =. Zeus

Question 8

Why was the Mediterranean Sea known as the Roman Lake 3rd Century BCE?

Answer 8

Rome built a strong Navy Force across the Italian Peninsula

Question 9

When was theatre and drama first recorded as a feature in Roman festivals?

Answer 9

240 BCE

Question 10

What makes it so difficult to study Roman and Greek theatre?

Answer 10

1. BEFORE COMMON ERA
   KNOW THE MOST about PLAYS = KNOW THE LEAST about THEATRES
   - organic material such as wood decomposed
2. DURING COMMON ERA
   KNOW THE MOST about THEATRES =
   KNOW THE LEAST about PLAYS
   - little to no records found of plays

Question 11

Ludi - Roman Festivals

Answer 11

Different from Greek
- acrobatics
- rope dancing
- plays

all compete with one another for attention

Ludi started off with one play, number of plays grew over time

**FREE TO ALL
**10 to 15 thousand attended

Question 12

Roman & Greek Theatre differences and similarities

Answer 12

**Roman theatre echoed Hellenistic theatre NOT Classical Athenian Theatre

Roman Differences
- no formal competition among playwright or actors
- Acting companies were professional (little to no use of Chorus)
- Engaged by local organizer
- Roman Theatres not built on hill sides

Similarities
- playwrights
- plays
- Roman tragedies resembled Hellenistic tragedies often wearing costumes representing upper class individuals

Question 13

What might have the Romans been less interested in then the Athenians? (tragedies)

Answer 13

deep interest in philosophy and ethics

Question 14

what is a “closet drama”?

Answer 14

work of literature made in the form of a play but was never intended to be staged

Question 15

What two types of Roman comedy were there?

Answer 15

1. Comedies about Greeks
2. Comedies about Romans

*characters were from the middle to lower class

Question 16

who are the two important second century BCE Roman comedy playwrights?

In total how many comedies SURVIVED that they collectively produced?

Answer 16

Plautus
&
Terence

27 COMEDIES SURVIVED
*characters often drawn from Athenian middle class

Question 17

The Menaechmi by Plautus

Answer 17

• most often revived Roman comedy

Comedy about twins

Menaechmus was taken out with father as child only to get lost. Father returns home with such grief, he dies. Grandfather renames the second twin Menaechmus.

Menaechmus 2 grows up and takes a servant with him on a journey to find Menaechmus 1.

They enter the city of Menaechmus 1 who is cheating on his wealthy wife with a mistress.

Menaechmus 1 steels a dress from his wife and gifts it to the mistress. After leaving the mistress’ house with Parasite friend, Menaechmus 2 arrives and the mistress provides a feast for him LOL.

Menaechmus 2 is asked by mistress to take a bracelet to jeweler. When Menaechmus 2 leaves, parasite friend of Menaechmus 1 sees him and gets upset he missed out on feast.

Parasite friend tells Menaechmus 1’s wife and now both women are furious that they are with this SLUTTY ASS MAN.

Menaechmus 2 encounters the angry wife clueless and is tied up, called crazy, and carted to a doctor.

Menaechmus 2’s servant finally reveals that these brothers are twins earning him his freedom (GOATED MOVE). Menaechmus 1 decides he will sell everything he owns including wife and return with his brother to Syracuse.

Question 18

PLAUTUS

Question 19

TERENCE