I thought this week's readings of Livy's History of Rome was, like Madeleine said, centered around violence. I saw this by using violence to help in a struggle for power and control. This is seen on page 12 when Romulus kills his brother, Remus, because he threatened his safety inside his walls. By doing this, he "... became the sole ruler, and the city was named after him...". This was another example I found of the violence seen already this early in the booklet.
This example of violence for power didn't ever stop until the downfall of Rome's walls! Rome was not the only country that did this for power. Obviously people did not simply hand over their countries to tyrants or rebels, they fought to the death for their honor and their homes.
This week I took one word out of the whole book, sewers. The sewer system was an amazing engineering accomplishment for the Romans. The amazing part about this is the way in which they built the sewers. They must have used stone and flimsy tools or at least more brittle than what we use. As I wrote in my journal this week it is amazing to think that this technology was lost for hundreds of years. This may be due in part to the fact that the Roman empire was conquered by barbarians.
I think its interesting how much the Romans stole from Greece, but also built off of it or modified it themselves. One direct example from the text is the mention of birds as portents. When the vultures appeared to Romulus and Remus I could not help but compare it to the significance of birds in the Odyssey, giving signs and predictions of the events of the future. The Romans also "borrowed" many other things from the Greeks as well. Their gods were all the same, (just going by different names), their languages were similar, their forms of government were similar (primarily the republic and Spartan oligarchy), and their art and architecture were similar as well. The Romans were very Greek in their ways.
I thought this weeks reading covered alot of information. I thought the part about Romulus and Remus was interesting. The sstory of them being almost drowned then raised by a wolf. It is interesting to wonder how stories like these got started. In this weeks reading they said the story could have come from the nickname of the woman who raised them. I just thought that was interesting
This weeks reading was really interesting the part that popped out to me was how Romulus and Remus were saved by she wolves and how the shepherd saved them knowing that they were possibly the children that were supposed to be put to death I found it interesting that the shepherd put his life in risk to save Romulus and Remus.
When I read through this week's reading I found a quote that I thought was very interesting. When Romulus was battling the Sabines for the possession of the citadel, the Roman ranks were eventually broken and swept away. Romulus called out to Zeus asking why he had been given an omen of his favor if they were only to lose. After he had spoken, Romulus felt as though his prayer had been answered. He called out to his army and said, "Back Romans, Jupiter Optimus Maximus bids you to stand and renew the battle!" This quote really expressed Romulus's boldness and courage. It really struck me how one person could change the outcome of a huge ordeal, arrange the actions of hundreds of soldiers and have the power to defeat the enemy.
This week I found it interesting how the story of Romulus and Remus was similar to the story of Moses. In the both stories they were supposed to drown as babies but instead were put in a basket and found and raised by someone else. In the end both Moses and the twin boys rose up and became great and influence men in their societies. Another thing I found interesting was that in a way the Roman Empire started from the fallen city of Troy. I hadn't realized that fact before and thought it was cool.
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8 comments:
Hey everyone,
I thought this week's readings of Livy's History of Rome was, like Madeleine said, centered around violence. I saw this by using violence to help in a struggle for power and control. This is seen on page 12 when Romulus kills his brother, Remus, because he threatened his safety inside his walls. By doing this, he "... became the sole ruler, and the city was named after him...". This was another example I found of the violence seen already this early in the booklet.
Another addition to what i said:
This example of violence for power didn't ever stop until the downfall of Rome's walls! Rome was not the only country that did this for power. Obviously people did not simply hand over their countries to tyrants or rebels, they fought to the death for their honor and their homes.
This week I took one word out of the whole book, sewers. The sewer system was an amazing engineering accomplishment for the Romans. The amazing part about this is the way in which they built the sewers. They must have used stone and flimsy tools or at least more brittle than what we use. As I wrote in my journal this week it is amazing to think that this technology was lost for hundreds of years. This may be due in part to the fact that the Roman empire was conquered by barbarians.
I think its interesting how much the Romans stole from Greece, but also built off of it or modified it themselves. One direct example from the text is the mention of birds as portents. When the vultures appeared to Romulus and Remus I could not help but compare it to the significance of birds in the Odyssey, giving signs and predictions of the events of the future. The Romans also "borrowed" many other things from the Greeks as well. Their gods were all the same, (just going by different names), their languages were similar, their forms of government were similar (primarily the republic and Spartan oligarchy), and their art and architecture were similar as well. The Romans were very Greek in their ways.
I thought this weeks reading covered alot of information. I thought the part about Romulus and Remus was interesting. The sstory of them being almost drowned then raised by a wolf. It is interesting to wonder how stories like these got started. In this weeks reading they said the story could have come from the nickname of the woman who raised them. I just thought that was interesting
This weeks reading was really interesting the part that popped out to me was how Romulus and Remus were saved by she wolves and how the shepherd saved them knowing that they were possibly the children that were supposed to be put to death I found it interesting that the shepherd put his life in risk to save Romulus and Remus.
When I read through this week's reading I found a quote that I thought was very interesting. When Romulus was battling the Sabines for the possession of the citadel, the Roman ranks were eventually broken and swept away. Romulus called out to Zeus asking why he had been given an omen of his favor if they were only to lose. After he had spoken, Romulus felt as though his prayer had been answered. He called out to his army and said, "Back Romans, Jupiter Optimus Maximus bids you to stand and renew the battle!" This quote really expressed Romulus's boldness and courage. It really struck me how one person could change the outcome of a huge ordeal, arrange the actions of hundreds of soldiers and have the power to defeat the enemy.
This week I found it interesting how the story of Romulus and Remus was similar to the story of Moses. In the both stories they were supposed to drown as babies but instead were put in a basket and found and raised by someone else. In the end both Moses and the twin boys rose up and became great and influence men in their societies.
Another thing I found interesting was that in a way the Roman Empire started from the fallen city of Troy. I hadn't realized that fact before and thought it was cool.
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