THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ROMAN/CLASSICAL CULTURE FOR
STANDARDIZED TESTS
Periods of Roman History= Prehistory, Monarchy, Republic, Empire
Prehistory/Myth—Rome
--Aeneas—see handout and notes for more, but, generally, fled Troy with father
Anchises and son Ascanius (Iulus), failed love affair with Dido (queen of
Carthage)founder of the Roman civilization.
--Romulus—see handout, twin brother is Remus, father is Mars mother is Vestal virgin
Rhea Silvia, suckled by she-wolf (lupa), killed his brother, founded Rome 753 B.C. 1st
king of Rome.
Monarchy—7 kings
Romulus, Numa, Tullus Hostilius, some guy, Tarquinius Priscus(Tarquin the Old),
Servius Tullius, Tarquinius Superbus(Tarquin the Proud)
Republic
--Lucius Iunius Brutus—First consul, defeated Tarquin the Proud, co-consul with him
was Collatinus whose wife Lucretia was raped by Sextus Tarquinius.
--Appius Claudius—Appian Way, acqueduct
--Scaevola—“Lefty”, burnt off his own right hand
--Cincinnatus—1st Roman Dictator, called from plow to lead the Roman army, after
success in battle laid aside Dictatorship and resumed farming
--Punic Wars—Rome vs. Carthage
264-146 BCE—there were 3 Punic Wars
Hannibal—the Carthaginians best general, defeated the Romans in numerous battles,
used elephants in battle, disastrous crossing of the Alps, finally defeated by Fabius
Cunctator.
--Scipio Africanus (Aemilius Scipio)—Rome’s greatest general in the Punic Wars.
--Cato the Elder—Roman senator, stern moralist, repeatedly urged the destruction of the
city of Carthage—“Karthago delenda est”—“Carthage must be destroyed”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Spartacus—an escaped slave who was a gladiator. Lead a slave revolt that was
suppressed by Crassus.
The Death of the Republic(Prosecution of Verres 70s BC-Battle of Actium 31BC)
--Cicero—Rome’s greatest orator, prosecuted Sicilian governor Verres; suppressed
conspiracy of Catiline; had his head and right hand lopped off at Mark Antony’s bidding.
--Marcus Iunius Brutus (“Brutus, of ‘et tu, Brute” fame” ) and Caius Cassius
Longinus (Cassius)—leaders of the conspiracy in the assassination of Julius Caesar on
the Ides of March (March 15th) 44 BC.
--Julius Caesar(Gaius Iulius Caesar)—Conquered Spain(Hispania) and Gaul (Galli),
member of first Triumvirate with Crassus, and Pompey. Victorious in Civil War
against partisans of Pompey. Named Dictator for Life. Assassinated, officially named a
god by his grand nephew and adopted son Octavian, who would become the first
emperor, Augustus.
--Marc Antony—an ally of Julius Caesar. Defeated Cassius and Brutus in Civil War
following Caesar’s assassination. Member of 2nd Triumvirate with Octavian and
Lepidus. Paramour of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Defeated by Octavian at the Battle
of Actium in 31 B.C.
Empire ()=years of emperorship
--Augustus(31BC-14AD)—see Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, et al. Rome’s first
emperor. Pax Romana, patron of the arts and poetry, Augustan poets—Vergil, Horace,
Ovid, Propertius.
--Tiberius(14AD-37)—2nd emperor. Led successful military campaigns against
Germans.
--Caligula(37AD-41AD)—3rd emperor. Known for his eccentric and violent behavior.
Appointed a horse named Incitatus senator among other acts of lunacy.
--Claudius(41AD-54AD)—4th emperor. Known for being lame and for stuttering.
Successfully invaded Britain.
--Nero(54AD-69AD)—5th emperor. Known for persecuting Christians, and “fiddling
while Rome burned”. Had a golden palace, the domus aurea.
--79 AD—the city ofPompeii is destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius
--Hadrian(117AD-138AD)—Hadrian’s wall, a small wall in Scotland.
--Constantine—(306AD-337AD) Established Christianity as the official religion of the
Roman Empire.
Mythological Beasties(adapted from a website)
--Chimera--A fire-breathing beast with a lion's head and body, a serpent for a tail, and a
goat's head in the midsection. The chimaera may have represented fiery volcanic
mountains where goats and lions dwelt and snakes innundated the foothills. It ravaged
Mount Chimaera and was eventually killed by the hero Bellerophon, who shot lead in its
mouth. The lead melted in its fiery breath and burnt its insides.
--Minotaur--The product of Queen Pasiphae's strange lust for the Cretan Bull. The
Minotaur was half-man, half bull and is often depicted with a man's body and bull's head,
though there are representations of it with a bull's trunk and man's head and torso. King
Minos was so appalled at the offspring that he had the master craftsman Daedalus(who
also built a pair of wings to escape Crete, his son Icarus flew too close to the sun melting
the wax of the wings and causing him to plunge to his death) build an enormous
labyrinth for it to hide in. The creature fed upon seven youths and seven maidens sent
annually from Athens. The hero Theseus, aided by Minos's daughter Ariadne slew the
monster with its own horn. The Minotaur is perhaps an allegory created by the Athenians
for Knossos [Crete] who always harvested a strange fascination for bulls.
--Pegasus--The beautiful celebrated winged horse of mythology, he was ironically the
offspring of Medusa(a gorgon, a race of women with snakes for hair that can turn men to
stone if they look directly at them)when Perseus decapitated her. Wild and free, he was
tamed by the hero Bellerophon with the aid of the famed golden bridle.
--Cerberus—3-headed dog, guardian of the Underworld(Hades)
Geography of the Underworld
The Underworld - also known as Hell or Hades - was surrounded by water. The most
important river of them all was the Styx - the river of hate. This was the same river that
the Gods swore their oaths by, and the consequence of breaking the oath would be to lie
as if dead for a year. The other surrounding rivers were Cocytus (wailing), Acheron
(woe) and Phlegethon (fire).
The Underworld was sometimes divided into two areas - Erebus, where most of the dead
were sent, and Tartarus, where the Titans and the extremely wicked were imprisoned.
--Charon—the ferryman who carried the dead across the river Styx.
--Pluto (Hades) the king of the Underworld, had a wife Proserpina (Persephone)
Trojan War: Cast of Characters
MORTALS
Greeks (called Argives, Danaans and Achaians by Homer)
ACHILLES: leader of the Myrmidons and central character of the Iliad; son of the
goddess, Thetis, and the warrior, Peleus.
AGAMEMNON: son of Atreus, king of Mykenai, brother of Menelaus and most
powerful Greek king. His quarrel with Achilles sparks Achilles’ anger and sets in motion
the plot of the Iliad.
AJAX (Telamonian Aias): duels with HeCtor, forms part of the embassy to Achilles,
defends the ships, and leads the effort to recover Patroclus' body.
HELEN: daughter of Zeus and Leda, step-daughter of Tyndareus; wife of Menelaus who
eloped with Paris, causing the Trojan war; she was said to be the most beautiful of all
women
MENELAUS: son of Atreus, brother of Agamemnon, lord of Lacedaemon (Sparta),
husband of Helen.
NESTOR: aged king of Pylos and a wise counsellor who often uses stories from the past
to advise and instruct the Greek warriors. He tries unsuccessfully to make peace between
Achilleus and Agamemnon in book one,
ODYSSEUS: son of Laertes, lord of Ithaca, famed for his wisdom and trickery; he rallies
the troops in book two, forms part of the embassy to Achilles. His wanderings after the
Trojan war are detailed in the Odyssey.
PATROCLUS: companion of Achilles. He enters the battle in Achilleus’ place in book
sixteen and his death at the hands of Hector provokes Achilles’ return to the battle
Trojans and their allies
AENEAS: leader of the Dardanians, a Trojan clan, and son of Anchises and the goddess,
Aphrodite (Venus); he is rescued from Achilles' onslaught by Poseidon (20.288-339)
because he was destined to be a survivor who would continue the Trojan line; his
legendary foundation of a kingdom in Italy is the subject of the Roman epic, the Aeneid,
by Virgil.
BRISEIS: woman captured by the Greeks in a raid and given to Achilles as a slave;
Agamemnon took her from him by force (bk. 1), sparking their quarrel.
HECUBA: queen of Troy, wife of king Priam and mother of Hector.
HECTOR: son of Priam and Hecuba and leading warrior of the Trojans. He duels with
Ajax in book seven, and leads the Trojan onslaught against the Greek ships in book
fifteen. With Apollo’s help, he kills Patroclus in book sixteen. In book twenty-two, he is
slain by Achilles outside the walls of Troy before his parents’ eyes, and his body is
brutally abused by Achilles.
PARIS): a son of Priam; according to later legend, he had been asked to judge which of
the three goddesses, Hera(Juno), Athene(Minerva) or Aphrodite(Venus), was the most
beautiful; each goddess tried to bribe him and he accepted Aphrodite's offer of Helen, the
most beautiful mortal woman.
PRIAM: aged king of Troy, married to Hecuba, father of fifty sons; he ransoms the body
of his son, Hektor, from Achilleus in book twenty-four.
CASSANDRA: a prophetess of doom destined to never be believed.
Various myths
--Daphne—was pursued by Apollo and turned into a laurel tree
--Arachne—was envied Athena (Minerva) for her weaving ability, was turned into a
spider.
--Orpheus—was a semi-divine musician. Convinced Hades, by means of his music to
release his dead wife, Eurydice, from the Underworld. Orpheus looked back at her
when they were escaping from the underworld, and she disappeared.
Titans(some important Titans lifted from a website)
The Titans, also known as the elder gods, ruled the earth before the Olympians
overthrew them. The ruler of the Titans was Cronus who was de-throned by his son
Zeus. Most of the Titans fought with Cronus against Zeus and were punished by being
banished to Tartarus. During their rule the Titans were associated with the various
planets.
Gaea
Gaea is the Earth goddess. She mated with her son Uranus to produce the
remaining Titans.
Uranus
Uranus is the sky god and first ruler. He is the son of Gaea, who created
him without help. He then became the husband of Gaea and together they
had many offspring, including twelve of the Titans. His rule ended when
when Cronus, encouraged by Gaea, castrated him. He either died from
the wound or withdrew from earth.
Cronus
Cronus was the ruling Titan who came to power by castrating his Father
Uranus. His wife was Rhea. There offspring were the first of the
Olympians. To insure his safety Cronus ate each of the children as they
were born. This worked until Rhea, unhappy at the loss of her children,
tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock, instead of Zeus. When he grew up
Zeus would revolt against Cronus and the other Titans, defeat them, and
banish them to Tartarus in the underworld. Cronus managed to escape to
Italy, where he ruled as Saturn. The period of his rule was said to be a
golden age on earth, honored by the Saturnalia feast.
Rhea
Rhea was the wife of Cronus. Cronus made it a practice to swallow their
children. To avoid this, Rhea tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock,
saving her son Zeus.
Oceanus
Oceanus is the unending stream of water encircling the world. Together
with his wife Tethys produced the rivers and the three thousand ocean
nymphs.
Tethys
Tethys is the wife of Oceanus. Together they produced the rivers and the
three thousand ocean nymphs.
Hyperion
Hyperion is the Titan of light, an early sun god. He is the son of Gaea and
Uranus. He married his sister Theia. Their children Helius (the sun),
Selene (the moon), and Eos (the dawn).
Mnemosyne
Mnemosyne was the Titan of memory and the mother of Muses.
Themis
Themis was the Titan of justice and order. She was the mother of the
Fates and the Seasons.
Iapetus
Iapetus was the father of Prometheus, Epimetheus, Menoetius, and Atlas
by Clymene.
Phoebe
Phoebe is the Titan of the Moon. Mother of Leto.
Prometheus
Prometheus was the wisest Titan. His name means "forethought" and he
was able to foretell the future. He was the son of Iapetus. When Zeus
revolted against Cronus Prometheus deserted the other Titans and fought
on Zeus side. By some accounts he and his brother Epimetheus were
delegated by Zeus to create man. In all accounts, Prometheus is known as
the protector and benefactor of man. He gave mankind a number of gifts
including fire. He also tricked Zeus into allowing man to keep the best
part of the animals sacrificed to the gods and to give the gods the worst
parts. For this Zeus punished Prometheus by having him chained to a rock
with an eagle tearing at his liver. He was to be left there for all eternity or
until he agreed to disclose to Zeus which of Zeus children would try to
replace him. He was eventually rescued by Heracles without giving in to
Zeus.
Atlas
Atlas was the son of Iapetus. Unlike his brothers Prometheus and
Epimetheus, Atlas fought with the other Titans supporting Cronus against
Zeus. Due to Cronus's advance age Atlas lead the Titan's in battle. As a
result he was singled out by Zeus for a special punishment and made to
hold up the world on his back.
Jason and theArgonauts
--Jason is a hero who led the Argonauts on the search of the Golden Fleece.
--Medea—Queen of Colchis fell in love with Jason.
ADDITIONALLY, YOU SHOULD REVIEW THE GODS AND GODDESSES
HANDOUT WHICH HAS BEEN GIVEN TO YOU ALREADY.