Chapter 12: The Roman World - Utah State University · PDF fileChapter 12: The Roman World ... – they were mostly transmitters of Greek culture ... Triumvirate (60 bce) Chapter 12:

Chapter 12: The Roman World

Overview of Roman Drama• we owe a great debt to the Romans in

terms of culture, language, politics, DNA• and also theatre, but only in certain ways

– Greek terms: theatre, drama, tragedy, comedy, critic, theory, program, orchestration

– Roman terms: actor, circus, perform, nudity, spectacle, media, transvestite, violence

• not to mention “histrionic opera,” “sports personality,” and “stupid farce”


Overview of Roman Drama• but the Romans were, on the whole, not

innovators in theatre or drama– they were mostly transmitters of Greek culture

• Roman drama was largely dependent on its inimitable Greek forebear– to the Romans, theatre was a diversion and

form of leisure, cf. neg-otium (“no business”)– not an art to be taken seriously per se


Overview of Roman Drama• the works of only three Roman playwrights

have been preserved whole – Plautus (fl. 208-186 BCE): 19 comedies

based on Greek originals by a variety of New Comedy dramatists (Middle Comedy?)

– Terence (fl. 166-160 BCE): 6 comedies, all from Menander and Apollodorus of Carystus

– Seneca (4 BCE - 65 CE): 8 tragedies based on Greek tragedy, 1 fabula praetexta


Geography• Italy is the boot-

shaped peninsula west of Greece

• Alps to the north• Sicily to the south


Early Rome• myth: the Romans

were Aeneas of Troy’s descendants

• reality: they were a branch of the Indo-Europeans– closely related to the

Celts (or Gauls)


Early Rome• myth: the early founders of the city of

Rome were the twin brothers Romulus and Remus in 753 BCE


Early Rome• reality: the early

Romans were the subjects of the Etruscans– culturally, if not

politically too• today, the Etruscans

are a linguistic and historical mystery


The Roman Republic• began in 510 BCE (or so we’re told)• governed by a Senate run by patricians• early Roman history was dominated by the

“Conflict of the Orders”– the struggle for power between the patricians

and the plebeians (commoners)• ultimately, the plebeians won many rights


The Roman Republic• also the period of the

development of the legion


The Roman Republic• the Romans conquered

most of Italy by 264 BCE

• came into contact with Greeks living in Magna Graecia (southern Italy)


The Punic Wars• expansion brought the

Romans into contact with Carthage

• First Punic War(264-241 BCE)

• Second Punic War(218-202 BCE)– Hannibal


The Punic Wars• ultimately, the

Romans won the Battle of Zama(202 BCE)

• led by the general Scipio Africanus


Rome in the Second Century• the Romans were now an international

power, both militarily and economically• they began expanding to the east• conquered Greece by the mid-second

century BCE

• the integration of Greek and Roman culture is called Hellenism


The Roman Revolution• the rise of generals • the first was Marius

– a popularis, from the lower classes

– reformed the army– tied his soldiers to

himself directly by paying for their armor


The Roman Revolution• the next was Sulla

– from the upper class– at first, one of Marius’

lieutenants– rose to confront Marius– attacked and defeated

the Senate– became dictator


The Roman Revolution• next up was Pompey

– one of Sulla’s lieutenants

– adulescens carnufex– defeated Spartacus,

then the Aegean pirates

– by 62 BCE, Rome’s greatest general


The Roman Revolution• finally, Julius Caesar

– from a good Roman family, but poor

– had great charisma– brought together

Pompey and Crassusinto the First Triumvirate (60 bce)


The Roman Revolution• Julius Caesar

– became proconsul of Gaul

– brought the entire area under Roman control

– like Marius, Caesar tied his legions to himself, not Rome



– crossed the Rubicon

– defeated Pompey at Pharsalus

– met Cleopatra in Egypt

– then defeated the Senate twice more



– with that, he was in sole control of Rome

– was assassinated on March 15, 44 BCE(Ides of March)


The Roman Revolution• Octavian

– Caesar’s teenage heir– teamed up with Mark

Antony to defeat Caesar’s assassins at Philippi in 42 BCE



– but Antony went into league with Cleopatra

– Octavian defeated them: Actium, 31 BCE



– became princeps• was renamed Augustus

– “restored” control of the Roman state to the Senate in 27 BCE

– but it was only a hollow shell of representative government


The Roman Empire• The Pax Romana

– 200 years of relative peace (27 BCE -180 CE)

– by then, Rome was run by a succession of imperatores(“generals”)


The Roman Empire• The Pax Romana

– great age of prosperity and art

– emperors: Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius

– authors: Vergil, Horace, Ovid, Juvenal


The Colosseum


Pompeii


Pompeii


Pompeii


Pompeii


Pompeii


The Decline and Fall of Rome


The Middle Ages


The Middle Ages

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Chapter 12: The Roman World - Utah State University · PDF fileChapter 12: The Roman World ... – they were mostly transmitters of Greek culture ... Triumvirate (60 bce) Chapter 12: