Roman Cities and Architecture
Video: Roman City by David Macaulay
Roman Empire:
Augustus Caesar
The legions remained
loyal to him…
On a separate piece of paper, answer these
questions, using Primary Sources packet…
1. What are two things you learned from our guest?
2. How do Suetonius and Tacitus differ in their
accounts from that of Augustus’s own account?
3. List the five most significant reforms of Octavian.
Why did you choose these?
4. What evidence is there that Augustus used
“bread and circuses” to gain the support of the
people? (Find a quote and explain it)
Elected Govt Under Augustus
Went On…
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He was consul 13 times; then tribune 37 times
Other Consuls - consulted
Senate – consulted
Other Tribunes – consulted
Civil Service
– Salaried, unelected officials chosen by Caesar
• BUT…
– Silver Age historian Cassius Dio's revealing words:
“Nothing was done that did not please Caesar."
Augustus Unifies Roman Empire
• Large Civil Service
• Enhances Trade
– Denarius
– Ended taxes between provinces
• Widespread Construction
– Aquaducts, temples, roads, the curia (Senate building)
– Concrete
– Marble façade over brick and concrete
Pax Romana continues until death of Last Good Emperor
• 27BCE – 180 AD
The Good, the Bad and the Evil
Emperors
• What made the Julian Emperors Julian?
– Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero
• And the Good Emperors good?
– Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius,
Marcus Aurelius
Pax Romana damaged: How so?
• Plague from the East
• Danube River Attacks by
Germanic tribesmen
• Marcus Aurelius’ son
Commodus was a bad
choice for emperor, civil
conflicts renew
How did literature and attitudes change after
Augustus?
Augustinian Age (31BC-14AD) versus the Silver Age (14AD-138 AD)
• Livy
• Juvenal
“What should I do in Rome? I am no
good at lying.”
• Virgil
• Tacitus
“Remember Romans, these are your
talents; to rule people by law, and to
establish the ways of peace,
To spare the conquered, and to crush the
haughty.”
“They make a desert and call it peace.”
• Suetonius
Find a quote in the packet
• Satire
Culture: What do you know?
Contrasts Marked Roman Society
• Describe the differences between the rich and
poor lifestyles ….
Urban Home for a Wealthy Family
Roman Villa in the
Country
The Insulae
Roman Baths, or Thermae in Bath, England
Calderium, Tepiderium, Frigiderium, or Palaestra?
Roads/Bridges
Who built these? How? For what what
reasons?
What’s it used for? How was it built?
Dome, Oculus
The Pantheon
118-125 AD
Note the Greek temple pediment and
Corinthian columns…
Aqueducts
• Click on link to build and learn about
aqueducts PBS Aquedict Link
Why does you book say that the law
was Rome’s most lasting Influence??
1. No person should be judged guilty of a crime
until after the facts of case are examined.
2. All accused of a crime have a right to face
accusers and defend themselves before a
judge.
3. Guilt must be proved beyond a reasonable
doubt.
4. Unreasonable laws should be eliminated or
altered.
Stoics and the Law
Philosophy
• From Greek word for “porch”
• A pervading “logos” rules everything
• Logos is natural law
• Each person has this logos also
within
• The Universe is logical
• Teaches self-control to individuals
•Virtue, wisdom, and integrity of
character
• Clear thinking, eliminate bias
•Change laws to be rational:
Cicero was a Stoic, as was
Marcus Aurelius (emperor 162pater familias 180 AD) who wrote the Book,
Meditations.
• Detachment from distracting emotions.
Epicurean Philosophy:
Pursuit of Pleasure
• The Question is: what gives the most
and highest pleasure?
• Epicurus: The highest pleasure was
obtained by knowledge, friendship,
and living a virtuous life.
– Enjoy simple pleasures,
– Turn away from excessive bodily desires.
– When eating, one should not eat too richly, for it could
lead to dissatisfaction later.
• Later Romans altered the basic
meaning
– Focus: The love of pleasure or hedonism.
• An excuse to indulge in food, wine and other
activities.
• Roman Parties would last days and include meal
after meal, purging themselves (vomitorium).
Epicurus was a Greek
(c. 340–c. 270 BC)