Rome Flashcards
When did the Romans think Rome was founded and by whom?
753 BCE by Romulus and Remus
When did the Greeks think Rome was founded and by whom?
Trojan war was 1200 BCE; by Aeneas’ descendants
When does Roman literature begin?
250 BCE
When is the earliest written evidence of Rome?
600 BCE
Eponymous founder
Romulus to Rome
What city did Aeneas found?
Abalonga
When did the Romulus/Remus myths start?
350-300 BCE
When did the Roman republic begin?
509 BCE
How many kings did Rome have?
7
Who were the last there kings of Rome?
Tarquinius Priscus, Seruius Tullius, ans Tarquinius Superbus
Tarquinia
City north of Rome; part of Etruscan land; Fusion of Italians and Italian invaders, sophisticated and advanced
How did the Romans envision themselves starting?
Noble but unimportant, slowly corrupted by imported goods
How was Rome in the time period of the kings?
Important and major player in the Med. world
How did Etruscans come to rule Rome?
Upper classes were fiends with each other, they may have joined the upper class of Rome
La Grande Roma dei Tarquinius
1979 catalog which proved Rome was an important city in the 7th and 6th centuries
When were there evidence of huts at Rome and what does this mean?
700 BCE, Rome grew fast (hella)
Tiber river
Connects with ocean and goes through Rome and Etruscan territory; 2 islands in the middle; Ferries and bridges could cross the river
Area around Rome
Latium
Etruscan culture
Rich and advanced
Capitoline hill
Foot of: early port; Temple under current water level; Capitolium: temple on the hill
Archaic temple at the foot of the Capitoline
One temple with two newer ones on top of it; Later temples were based of this one; on podium to prevent flooding; oldest evidence of writing here; religious site; arguably earliest Italian style temple; Early Rome was important
When was the Roman Republic started?
509 BCE
Res Publica
“The public thing” or “commonwealth”
Dual consulship
Annual magistracy; Veto each other; Elected; Patricians were eligible for office at first
Patrician
Hereditary body of families
Plebeians
Lower class, not patricians, barred from office
Low level warfare in early Rome
Booty raiding, common, eventually developed into a military organization with the wealthy being armed and on the front lines and social status contributing to how much you fight. However, lined blurred and wealthier Plebs could arm themselves and fight
More complicated warfare
Military service was no longer tied to how well you could arm yourself and Plebs fought more so started calling for equality
Magistracies
Higher offices which had quasi religious power
10 tribunes
Elected from Plebeians, could not be touched by anyone, vetoed consuls, annual office
Sacrosanct
No on can touch you
Provocatio
“call forth” Tribune can help someone and step between them and a Patrician hurting them
Intercessio
Step between
Struggle of the Orders
Ongoing battle touring concessions from the Patricians
Sextio Licinian Rogations
One consul must be Pleb; 367-366 BCE
Lex Hortensia
Makes decrees of the assembly of the Plebeians binding upon all Romans; 287 BCE
Why did people want to be consul
Triangle of good things: Money, status, and military command; Heightened competition for the office
Battle of the Allia
Rome loses to the Gauls and they capture Rome; 390 BCE
Meus hostilis
Fear of the enemy; People were terrified after the Battle of Allia of leaving their backs unguarded so they start conquering everyone to make sure their backs were never unguarded
Mithridates VI Eupator
Coordinated attacks on Romans and killed a lot of people; cut off access to the far east; 88 BCE
Pompeius “Pompey” Magnus
Plebeian general; 66 BCE-attacks Mithridates; despised by aristocrats; climbed his way to the top; Used a tribune to bring a law to the Pleb assembly to give him command against Mithridates; bought his election; stopped M; allies self with Julius Caesar and Licinius Crassus; gets jealous of JC’s power, killed and Caesar rules
Tricaranus
3 headed monster; Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus; united in 59 BCE
Julius Caesar
Young aristocrat; Gets elected with help of the other two; Does illegal stuff in office for them; gets the governship of Gaul; marches on Rome in 49 BCE; becomes dictator
Licinius Crassus
Helps other two; dies
End of the Republic date
49 BCE
New aristocracy
Combo of Patricians and Plebs elected to consulship
Etruscans
1st big civilization in Italy, Modern day Tuscany, grew out of Villanovans, Italics, international contacts, flourish in 7th and 6th centuries, some Roman kings were Etruscan, had temples
Etruscan temples
Influenced by Greek architecture, influenced later Roman temples, wood and stone, high podiums, emphasize front, gabled roof with decorations, own deities linked to the Greek ones, no nudity
Nacropolies
Cities of the dead; In vallies, looked house-like, homes with stone bases covered in dirt, family tombs of the wealthy, sarcophagi, inner walls: happy, banqueting, athletics, parties, roofs look like canopies, nude servants, women had high status (Dined with men), leopards (Tomb of Leopards)
Etruscan sarcophagi
Fancy, kline, banqueting or sleeping, emphasized upper parts of the body
Kline
Couch/bench, used to recline on when you dine
Republican Rome
2nd-1st centuries; Rome wins Punic Wars and has growing pains
Rome after Punic wars
Growing pains; goes from growing city to empire but refuses to change their government, causes civil wars
Political art during electoral times
Politicians would have art made depicting them
Aule Mete
Statue of politician found in an Etruscan city giving a political speech, normal body, middle-age
Middle-age Roman ideal
Youth=inexperience and age=wisdom and political office
Verism
“truthfulness”, head of old man, shows new Roman ideal, Patricians want to hold onto the old ways
Temple of Portunus
Made by generals wanting to run for office, built stuff with money from war to increase their prestige, Greek and Etruscan influences to make the Roman style, built with concrete
Building with concrete
Cheap, strong, kinds set underwater, but hid it with stone
Roman Architectural Revolution
Arch and concrete
Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia
Damaged today, important sanctuary, all concrete, terraced, barrel vaults, landscape architecture
Domestic architecture
Pompeii, Forum, Grid, Atrium house
Forum
Large, open space lined by buildings with a temple at one end and government buildings
Grid
Organized into blocks
Atrium houses
Houses for the wealthy, public and private parts, entry, places of clients, paintings, pool, decorations
Triclinium
Dining rooms, lined with couches, big deal to be invited to dine here
Tablinum
Where the master of the house would meet people
Wax masks of ancestors
Status display
4 styles of paintings
1st is simple, 2nd is architectural, 3rd and 4th are later chronologically
Civil war after death of Caesar
Octavian vs Mark Antony and Cleopatra
What does Octavian do once he is in power
Kills his political enemies, tries to distance himself for the was, changes his name, says he is restoring the Republic, creates propaganda
Octavian’s propaganda
Aeneid, Portrait of himself, buildings, etc..
Portrait of Octavian
Referencing Polykleitos (Spear bearer/Greek statue), looks young, Rome=High classical Athens, Golden Age, has clothes and armor, orator pose, close cropped hair and cowlick like Alex the Great, distinctive face, Cupid (Lineage from Venus)
Armor of portrait of Octavian
Scene of return of Parthian standards in a diplomatic victory
Parthian wars
53 BCE, Roman loss
Return of standards
20 BCE, negotiated by Augustus/Octavian
1st Emperor
Augustus
Pax Romana
Roman peace (golden age ushered in by Augustus)
Ara Pacis Augustae
Altar of Augustine Peace; A procession commemorating Augustine peace ended here; made of marble, emphasized piety; Box of reliefs around the alter
Reliefs around the Ara Pacis Augustae
Detailed, delicate, plants, orchids, animals, symbols of fertility, festival scenes mimicking those at the Parthenon, imperial family, Aeneas and Trojans, Personifications of maternal figure (Rome, Earth, or Peace) that are fertile with Remus and Romulus on her lap, and the winds and sky sitting beside her
Aqueducts
Built everywhere, from mountains to cities, hard to build, had to build bridges for (Arches, water proof concrete, military constructed them (Peace frees up military))
Flavian amphitheater
Colosseum; Falvian built it over Nero’s golden palace to move away from reign of Nero, gladiators, arches, columns, retractable cloth roof, trap doors, underground rooms, elevators, etc…
Amphitheater
Two Greek theaters smashed together
Arch of Titus
80 CE; Republican style monument; huge victory celebrated; triumphal arch to remember the victory; for the emperor; concrete; gives inscription of victory; celebrates destruction and raid of Jewish temple; 3D reliefs, Titus looking down at you riding on eagle (divine)
High empire
96-192 CE; largest it will be; Really good emperors
Trajan
Last “good emperor”; Marks high pt of empire; good guy; builds forum with a basilica and a column with Dacian campaigns that look like scrolls, he is buried here
Pantheon
Building to all gods; built by Hadrian; redid building by Marcus Agrippa (Leaves the inscription); dome; converted to a church; concrete which gets lighter as you go up; largest interior space until St. Peter’s; top open
Late Empire
193-337 CE; soldier emperors
3rd century struggles
Corrupt and brutal emperors from the military; border conflicts; economic collapse
Diocletian
Forms Tetrarchy
Tetrarchy
Rule of 4, divided into E and W, 4 capitals, 4 emperors, Augustus and Caesar, each rule 10 years, but people don’t want to give up their power and it fails
Carculla
Depicts himself as a mean soldier
Constantine
Unites empire, moves capital to Byzantium, gets whole new Senate, builds Christian churches, arch in Rome (triumphal): 3 archways, entirely of reused materials, took artwork from good emperors and a new style for his own reliefs
