Chapter Four:The Roman Legacy

Culture and Values, 6th Ed.Cunningham and Reich

The Importance of Rome

Cultural achievements Assimilation of influences

Role of musicHistorical division:

Monarchy/ Etruscan Age (753-510 B.C.E.)Republican Rome (509-31 B.C.E.)Imperial Rome (31 B.C.E. - C.E. 476)

The Etruscans and Their ArtRome founded in mid-8th c. by LatinsEtruscans gained control by 616 B.C.E.

Urban centers, engineeringSocial, leisure activitiesTrade, expansion

Etruscan ArtPrimitive but sophisticated, natural focusValue emotion over intellectual appeal

[Image 4.2]Capitoline She-Wolf

[Image 4.3]Apollo of Veii

[Image 4.4]Wall painting from the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing

Republican Rome

Etruscan expulsion in 510 B.C.E.New government

Consuls, Senate, Patricians/Plebeians

Political equality / Balance of PowerHortensian Law

Increasing power / expansionSocial and political unrest civil war

[Image 4.6]The Roman Forum

Literary Developments During the Republic

Ennius (239-169 B.C.E.)AnnalsTragedies adapted from Greek models

Plautus (254-184 B.C.E.) and Terence (185-159 B.C.E.)Roman adaptations of Greek comedies

Catullus (80-54 B.C.E.)Roman lyric poetryInfluenced by Sappho

Literary Developments During the Republic

Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.E.)CommentariesAssassinated on March 15, 44 B.C.E.

Marcus Tullius CiceroLawyer, oratorEpistolary legacy

Roman Philosophy and Law Epicureanism

Founded by Epicurus (341-271 B.C.E.)Extolled by Lucretius (99-55 B.C.E.)

Intellectual and rational vs. self-indulgentOn the Nature of Things

Gods play no part in human affairsPleasure and calm composure

Roman Philosophy and LawStoicism

World governed by ReasonRole of Divine ProvidenceRoman Stoics

SenecaEpictetusMarcus Aurelius

Roman Philosophy and Law

Julius Caesar’s Ius CivileLaw of the Twelve TabletsJustinian’s Corpus Iuris CivilisRoman science of law

Legal experts

Natural justice

Republican Art and Architecture

Roman portraitureRealistic detailsExpress outer appearance and inner characterPropagandistic

Architecture as political mediumPublic buildings for glory of leaders

[Image 4.7]Bust of Cicero

Imperial Rome (31 B.C.E. - C.E. 476)

Julius Caesar assassinated 44 B.C.E.Battle of Actium (31 B.C.E.)

Octavian vs. Mark AntonyOctavian inaugurated as Augustus (27 B.C.E.)Vast, multiethnic empireEmperor, bureaucracy, civil serviceRoman army

Augustan Literature: Vergil

Roman art promoted Augustan worldviewOfficial, public, served state purposes

Vergil’s AeneidTribute to Rome and AugustusNational epic of RomeHuman destiny and personal responsibility

Eclogues (Bucolics) and Georgics

[Image 4.9]View of the Garden from the villa of Livia

and Augustus

Augustan Sculpture

Ara PacisCharacteristics of Vergil’s poetryPolitical and social messageDedicated to the spirit of PeaceCelebrates the abundance of nature

Augustus of Prima PortaVictory over ParthiansNational pride

Evidence of Pompeii

Vesuvius: August 24, C.E. 79Pliny the YoungerPreservation of ordinary Pompeian life

BuildingsDomestic ornamentsFood

Roman Imperial Architecture

Triumphal arches, internal arches, vaultsBarrel VaultDome (hemispherical vault)

Hadrian’s Pantheon and imperial foraDome, oculus

Engineering AchievementsAqueducts (Pont du Gard)Covered sewers

Rome as the Object of Satire

OvercrowdingHumble private residencesJuvenal (C.E. 60-130)

Satirical poet (sixteen Satires)Biting sarcasmMisogyny

The End of the Roman Empire

Gradual decline and political disunityInsufficient army / use of mercenary troopsIncreased taxes, decreased value of moneyImpossibility of trade

Emperor Diocletian (284-305)Emperor Constantine (306-337)Deposition of Romulus Augustulus (476)

Late Roman Art and Architecture

Last great Roman imperial buildingsBasilica of ConstantinePalace of Diocletian

Abandonment of Classical idealsLack of perspective and precisionEnthusiasm for Eastern religious cultsRole of Christianity

Chapter Four: Discussion QuestionsIn what ways did the vast acquisition of land affect the Roman Republic? Consider the social, political, and economic implications.Discuss the absence of original literature and visual art in Republican Rome. What elements prevented the creation of new artistic expression? What were the priorities of the Republican culture?How did Imperial Rome allow for socio-economic mobility and create a “middle-class”? What was the effect of this on the Imperial government? Explain.Explain the propagandistic value of Vergil’s Aeneid. In what ways does it support both the reign of Augustus and the superiority of the Roman Empire?