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Ancient Rome
Origins of Rome
- Remus and Romulus/ Shewolf legend (Livy, Ab Urbe
condita); 7 hills
- Aeneid epic (Virgil and
Aeneas (a Trojan prince))
- Tarquins (Etruscan kings) –
Rome was first a monarchy
(753 BCE-509 BCE)
The Start of the Roman Republic
-In 509 BCE Tarquinus Superbus is
deposed as the result of a revolt
-New, mixed form of government is
established over time
a. Centuriate assembly (comitia
centuriata) – popular assembly,
representing the Roman army
b. 2 consuls, each with veto power, are
elected by the Centuriate assembly
c. Quaestors = financial officials
d. Praetors = judges
e. Censors = conduct censuses, etc.
f. Senate = the most important
governmental body
g. Dictator = temporary office
The Struggle of the Orders: Phase One
-Patricians (aristocrats) vs. Plebeians (commoners)
-Plebeian goal: Equality (in terms of influence in the
state, social equality, and more generally, what we
would today call equality of opportunity)
-Tribunes –elected by Plebeian assembly (from 494
BCE onward); powers comparable to those wielded
by consuls
-Lex Canuleia (445 BCE) – intermarriage between
the orders is now allowed
- Lex Hortensia (287 BCE) – resolution passed by
Plebeian assembly is now binding on all w/o need
for confirmation by either the Centuriate Assembly
or the Senate
The Punic Wars (i.e., Rome vs. Carthage)
- Structure of Carthaginian govt. and
society is very different than Rome
--The First Punic War: 264-241 BCE
Main Cause: Dispute
over Sicily
Impt. Carth. general: Hamilcar Barca
- The Second Punic War : 218- 201 BCE
Main cause: Saguntum (Spain)
Impt. generals: Hannibal/ Scipio
-The Third Punic War: 149-146 BCE
Cato the Censor: “Cathago delenda
est” (“Carthage must be destroyed”)
The Struggle of the Orders: Part Two
-Clash between Optimates
(aristocrats) and Populares
(commoners, lower class)
-Civil War is sparked by the
assassination of the tribune
Tiberius Gracchus in 133 BCE
-His brother Gaius Gracchus is
killed in 123 BCE
- Eventually military leaders like
Marius and Sulla, and patricians
like Julius Caesar, benefit from this
clash; in some cases, they even
form private armies
The First Triumvirate
-Pompey, Crassus and Julius
Caesar divide up territory
-Caesar defeats Celtic
leader Vercingetorix and
conquers Gaul; later, he
crosses the Rubicon, is
victorious in civil war and
seizes power; in the end,
he is assassinated by
Brutus, Cato et alii (44
BCE)(“Beware the Ides of
March!”)
The Second Triumvirate
-Octavian (Augustus), Mark
Antony, and Lepidus
--They defeat Caesar’s murderers,
eliminate others (like Cicero) as
well but soon come into conflict
themselves
--Civil War: Augustus defeats Mark
Antony and Cleopatra (battle of
Actium) in 30 BCE and eventually
becomes sole ruler; republic
continues mostly in name only
Roman Literature during the Republic and Early Empire
-Plautus (ca 254-184 BCE) and Terence (ca 195
BCE- 159 BCE) = playwrights
-Cicero (106-43 BCE) = famous orator,
philosopher, politician
-Lucretius (ca 99 – ca 55 BCE) = poet and
thinker
-Catullus (ca 84-ca 54 BCE) = lyric poet
-Julius Caesar = wrote Gallic Wars
(veni, vidi, vici)
-Horace (65-8 BCE) = poet, known for Odes and
Satires
-Virgil (70-19 BCE) = poet, wrote Aeneid
-Ovid (43 BCE- 18 CE) = wrote Metamorphoses
- Pliny the Younger (61 CE – 113 CE)= nephew
of famous scientist Pliny the Elder
In his Letters Pliny the Younger tells us much about the
Roman Empire, including instances in which it had to
cope with disasters (such as the eruption of Mt.
Vesuvius near Pompeii in 79 C.E.)