Gender Issues in "Antigone" One of the most devastating problems for the Classical Greeks was the women's issue. Women in Classical Greece were not citizens, held no property, and indeed were not even allowed out of the house except under guard. Their status differed from that of the slaves of Greece only in name. This alone, however, was not a problem -- the problem was that the Greeks knew, in their hearts, that this was wrong. Indeed, their playwrights harangued them about it from the stage...

Roman History: Crossing the Rubicon With a setting of over two thousand years ago, Saylor accurately depicts an era of murder, treachery, assassination, and the sense of uprooted-ness that the Romans felt while dealing with the fall of their civilization. Rubicon is concerned with the beginning of the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey, which would eventually lead to the end of the Republic and the establishment of the Empire. As Caesar crosses the Rubicon river into Italy with his...

Etruscan Influence on Roman Architecture Etruscan architecture was really the beginning of Roman architecture. For example in Etruscan tombs people would find many types of architectural traits found in many Roman buildings. Like the fact they had vaulted entrances. Some cities had an influence, such as the fortified city of Norba. After this Greece started to gain control in Italy that greatly affected the Roman architecture of this time but not as much as Etruscan does in the future. When...

Question: Analyze the prophecy from Hades of Roman virtues-to-be near the end of Aeneas' trip to the Underworld; relate these prophesied virtues both to Virgil's project in writing the Aeneid as a support to imperial government and also to what you may know about the values emphasized in traditional elite Roman culture, and why these were important to the Augustan empire. If you want, and have space, top it off with informed speculation about how important these virtues are to American...

The fourth and fifth centuries saw a profound change in the great Roman army. What was once a predominantly Roman institution became increasingly “barbarized”, a term used by historians for the Germanization of Roman culture, with more and more northern peoples being used in the army, which, some modern historians claim had a negative impact on the Empire itself. Many modern historians claim that this was a key factor in the decline and fall of Rome itself. But to understand the...

Orestia: The Death Of Love, The Birth Of Vengeance It all started when Thyestes seduced Atreus’ wife and contested his right to the throne. To get even, Atreus killed Thyestes children and fed them to him. When Thyestes realized what his brother had done he cursed him and his descendants. From that point on the house of Atreus saw many wrongs and much retaliation. Vengeance was the theme that surrounded it. There‘s a Spanish quote that comes to mind when I think of the House of...

Caesar's Reign as Roman Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar, a patrician and noble, became one of the most powerful men in Ancient Roman history. Caesar was a populare1, and eventually became the people's hero. His leadership qualities gained him the consulship of 59 B.C., and eventually perpetual dictatorship. Caesar's acquired power soon became immense, and soon the ruling class began to fear his power. This wealth of power brought back images of the ruthless Roman monarchy, abolished centuries...

Alexander The Great is very important because he was made a king at the age of twenty. He was a great leader as well, and had conquered most of the known world in only a thirteen year span. During 355 B.C. to 323 B.C. Alexander lived a good life, he was able to construct great battle plans so he could win a battle even if he was greatly out numbered. Three of his most memorable battles where at Granicus, Issus, and Gaugamela. Alexander’s first battle was at Granicus. The Prtsian...

History of Roman Gladiators The subject on Ancient Rome I am writing about is Roman Gladiators. To watch men kill each other was what the Roman loved to watch. It was entertaining to the Romans. They took pleasure in watching elaborate show that involved danger to life and bloodshed. Originally they were for funerals but turned into holidays then into ways to exploit for political purposes. When holidays were announced all public business stopped and all citizens had a holiday. In this paper...

Love In Epic And Lyric Greek Traditions As Aristotle once said: “…but only does so (love) when he longs for him when absent and craves for his presence.” When we look at this definition it seems to be timeless and holds true even today, Love is that longing for someone in his or her absence. This theme of love can be seen in both the lyrical and epic poetry of the Greek. Though at first look the epic work the Odyssey by Homer and the Lyrical works of Sappho are strikingly different...