Chapter 2 Culture in Ancient Rome

第二章：古罗马文化，罗马，文化，包括The Historical Development of Ancient Rome，The RomanSocial andEconomic Conditions，Other aspects(myth,religion,literature,architecture,law)等内容。

Chapter 2 Culture in Ancient Rome

• 1.The Historical Development of Ancient Rome
  • Origin : a small villages in central Italy
  • Seven-Hill Ally（During 700 BC -800 BC,it took shape and cities and tribes came into being.)
  • The early development: 753 BC--509 BC 王政时期（the rule of seven kings ,two consuls（archons)anad a senate.
  • became arepublic(509 BC)
  • Octavius took supreme power as emperor with the title of Augustus(27 BC)
  • During the 4th century BC, Rome unified Italy by military conquest.
  • From about 264 BC, Rome came into the hundred years’ conflict with Carthage and defeated Carthage in 146 BC.
  • Overseas expansion: Rome conquered such Mediterranean countries as Greece and Macedon and built up overseas provinces. (frequent wars) --ambition, violence, ruthlessness.
  • In 59 BC, Julius Caesar with other two formed the alliance of the first Triumvirate (knights, common people and the army) to fight against aristocrats until his death.
  • the Pax romana lasted for two centurie
  • divided into East(the Byzantine Roman)and West(395 AD)
  • the West Rome ended(476 AD)
  • the East Rome collapsed(1453 AD)
• 2.The RomanSocial andEconomic Conditions
  • Social structure and Tendencies
    • hierarchy --legal distinction between
      • the ruling class <--->the ruled
      • the rich <-->the poor
      • aristocracy <-->the ordinary people
      • the citizen <-->the noncitizen
    • Diparties between city and countryside
    • politics is a combination of democratic forms and oligarchic dominance
  • Family Life and Customs
    • Military service
    • Male-domination inherent
    • Name assigned way
      • males had three names
        • Forename
        • middle name
        • last or family name
      • Roman women,only have one name
    • Slave
      • Physical labour
        • Farming
        • mining
      • Manual labour
        • Bookkeeping
        • teaching
        • music -playing
        • housework
    • Leisure time
      • games
      • religious rituals
      • carefree conversation
  • Building of Houses and Towns
    • Every section of the city had its function
    • water supply was at an advanced level of engineering
  • Roman Law
    • Justinian Law code
• 3.Other aspects(myth,religion,literature,architecture,law)
  • Myth and religion
    • influenced by Greek culture and myth ,the Etruscans and Greek migrants brought Greek myths in modified form
    • Three important gods
      • jupiter: a god of lightning -->a Chief god like Zeus
      • Juno :-->Hera
      • Minerva : -->Athena in charge of arts,science and wisdom
  • Literature
    • Roman poetry
      • Virgil(70-19 BC)
        • Aeneid
        • Eclogues
      • Horace (65-8 BC)
        • Book of satires
        • The odes
          • compact pomes on universal subjects such as love,pleasure and the brevity of life
        • Epistles
      • Ovid(43 BC-AD17)
        • Works
          • the metamorphoses
          • Philomon and Baucis
          • Ceyx and Halcyone
        • style -not just the expression of strong feeling but to amuse
    • Roman Drama 
      • Tius Maccius Plautus (254-184 BC)
        • The Boastful Armyman
        • A pot of Gold
        • The Twin Brothers
      • Terence(195 or 185-159 BC)
        • Style -clear,simple and finished
        • works
          • the Mother -in-law
          • Two Brothers
    • Prose writers
      • Gaius Julis Caesar (102-44BC)
        • Commentaries on the Gallic War
        • The Civil war 
      • Cicero (106-43 BC)
        • Works
          • speech
            • Brutus
            • orator
          • Ethical writings
            • On friendship
            • On old Age
          • rhetoric writings
            • an abstract of the topica of Aristotle
            • A perfect to lost translations of the speeches of Aeschion and Demosthenes,on the crown and de otimo Genere oratorum.
    • Philosophy(2)
      • Roman philosophy was greatly influenced by the Greek philosophers, especially by the Stoic and Epicurean schools. They also provide practical explanation and application of philosophical principles. There are two philosophers famous for their contribution to the interpretation of Greek philosophy, namely Lucretius and Seneca.
        • Lucretius
        • Epicureanism
  • Roman Law
    • The Law of Twelve Tables
      • Law of the Twelve Tables 十二铜表法：The law of the Twelve Tables was the oldest oral law made by ten magistrates called decimvir, which was inscribed on the bronze and wooden tablets in 450 BC. The original tables were destroyed in 390 BC. They are a series of articles about various private rights and the strict penalties. The code is the basis of Roman laws, existing for almost 1000 years.
      • The law abolished the system of slavery and banned the intermarriage of aristocrats and common people.
    • Justinian Law
  • Roman Architecture
    • features
      • unusual use of the arch
      • innovation
    • reproduced
      • the channels of Rome
      • the Baths of Caracalla
      • the Baths of Diocletian
      • the pantheon
      • Rome
      • the Basilicas
      • the Colosseum
  • Art 
    • augustan art was in a fusion of the prevailing attic and Hellenistic models with Italian naturalism
    • Sculpture
      • Venus of Cyrene
      • Torso valentini
      • head of hypnos
      • boxer resting
      • Discobolos of castel porziano
      • maiden of Anzio
      • Discobolos of castel Porziano
      • alter from ostia
      • Head of Vespasian
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