Lecture 18 (Final)

Question 1

Hellenistic Period

Answer 1

• death of Alexander to Roman conquest
• kingdoms across Mediterranean ruled by Alexander’s generals and their descendants
• much fighting and changing of boundaries
• east more important than Greece itself

Question 2

Periods of Greek History

Answer 2

• Minoan
• Mycenaean
• Iron
• Archaic
• Classical
• Hellenistic
• Roman

Question 3

Roman Period

Answer 3

-the period in which the area of Hellenistic kingdoms was ruled by Rome

Question 4

Periods of Roman History

Answer 4

• monarchy
• republic
• empire

Question 5

Monarchy

Answer 5

-ruled by kings

Question 6

Republic

Answer 6

-ruled by senate of wealthiest and oldest men

Question 7

Empire

Answer 7

-ruled by emperor

Question 8

Augustus

Answer 8

• Rome’s first emperor
• nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar
• Allied with marc Anthony to defeat the assassins of Caesar
• Fought (and won!) a civil war against Antony and his lover, Cleopatra
• Ended a long period of civil war
• Established peace and stability by gradually removing the power of the senate, concentrating it into his own hands
• All readings for this class written under Augustus

Question 9

Roman Religion

Answer 9

• Formal, ritualized, contractual
• Offer a sacrifice to ask for something and if it’s not met whoever offered the sacrifice can be punished
• Primary way of worshipping the gods: Sacrifice
• Do ut des: “I give so that you might give”
• State gods (like Olympians) vs. Private gods (lares-gods of your ancestors, penates-gods that protect your foodstuffs)
• Syncretism with Greek gods/myths
• Priests elected from the elite class
• In Imperial period: Emperor serves as Pontifex Maximus (Chief Priest)
• Most important element: correct practice, NOT faith!
• just have to keep the gods happy whether you believed in them or not.

Question 10

Main Roman Gods

Answer 10

• Jupiter
• Juno
• Minerva
• Mars
• Venus
• Apollo
• Mercury
• Vesta
• Saturn

Question 11

Saturn

Answer 11

~Kronos

-god of wealth, agriculture, war

Question 12

Primary Household Gods

Answer 12

• Lares: gods of the family
• Panates: gods of the pantry
• Vesta

Question 13

Lararium

Answer 13

• household shrine to lares

- present in most homes

Question 14

Key Aspects of Roman Myth

Answer 14

• it combines native Italian, Greek, and other mythological traditions
• it is securely focused on ROME!
• it is historical and interested in Rome’s history and development (i.e. myth-history)
• Unlike Greek myth, it is securely fixed in time and space
• It is often directed towards political ends

Question 15

Publis Vergilius Maro (Virgil)

Answer 15

• Born in northern Italy, educated in Rome
• Lived through the civil wars prior to Augustus’ reign
• Most popular poet of his day
• Aeneid his last work, often considered his greatest, commissioned by Augustus
• We know it will be biased because of this

Question 16

Metamorphoses Intro

Answer 16

• wants it to seem oral so it can be Rome’s version of the Iliad and the Odyssey
• tells us this story is about war and about a person involved in war (Aeneas)
• going to be a long and difficult journey with a god set against him and after the journey he’s going to suffer in war.
• Juno is his antagonist

Question 17

Why is Juno upset?

Answer 17

• she’s still mad about the Trojan War and the judgment of Paris
• mad about Ganymede prince of Troy
• mad about Carthage

Question 18

Intro on Aeneas?

Answer 18

• He’s “a man remarkable for goodness”
• pious
• selfless
• very different type of Hero than we’ve seen before

Question 19

Cartage

Answer 19

• North African city
• Major empire during the Roman Republic period
• Fought a series of three brutal wars with Rome: the Punic Wars
• Rome won, emerged as a dominant power in the Mediterranean
• Juno wanted to defend her favorite city because she knew it was going to be destroyed

Question 20

Beginning of Action

Answer 20

• Juno sends a hurricane and blows them off course to Carthage
• en medias res

Question 21

Aeneas’ defender?

Answer 21

• Venus who goes to Jupiter to deal with it because Aeneas is her son
• Jupiter tells her Aeneas’ fate and the fate of all the Romans.
• talks about Romulus and Remus
• talks about foundation of the city
• Aeneas will prevail
• says the Roman empire will cover everything though all time and won’t end
• Julius Caesar and Augustus (Julius’ adopted son) will be at the head of it.

Question 22

Dido

Answer 22

-mythological founder and queen of Carthage