Ancient Cleverness – and Cruelty

Dear 7C,

INTRODUCING THE ROMANS… The Romans built superbly designed roads, triumphal arches and aqueducts. They administered a massive empire for hundreds of years, but despite their brilliance in many fields they had a brutal streak.

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The Colosseum: A feat of ancient architecture and engineering, a scene of ancient bloodbaths…This building symbolizes the inventiveness and the cruelty of the Romans.

For instance, they are still famous for their cruel punishments, such as the one inflicted on Jesus and the thousands of slaves they executed for rebellion along the Appian Way. We remember them for the blood sports in their amphitheatres, where by all accounts they bayed for blood and got it. Their banquets were evidently lavish – and were of course served by slaves. These are just a few examples of how they often used their inventive ideas in cruel and unprincipled ways.

Nevertheless, their influence on the modern world has been immeasurable, like that of the ancient Greeks. The script used by the Romans is the one used in most countries for writing today. The words of their language, Latin, have found their way into many modern languages. Their administrative methods, architecture and engineering have been admired and copied ever since their empire finally collapsed.

In the early 1400s, during the Renaissance, the architect of Florence’s famous cathedral, “Il Duomo”, visited the Pantheon in Rome to get some ideas about how to build a dome. That shows that the Romans were advanced for their time – despite their unfortunate violent tendencies.

The Western Roman Empire officially came to an end in 476AD, a date that is usually considered to mark the end of the ancient period and the beginning of the medieval period. This depends on which historian you read, of course.

Even though they were warlike and vicious, they imposed an enforced peace upon their large empire. In the midst of all their decadence, the learning and ideas that flourished during that time of peace (known as “Pax Romana”) provided a basis for later civilisations to build upon.

I hope you enjoy finding out about this clever, violent and influential civilisation.

Kind regards,

Ros.

JB Jordan chariot race IMG_0468
Our family friend, John Bayley, took this shot of a reenactment of a Roman chariot race during his visit to Jordan some years ago. The picture below shows a reenactment of a Roman legion in formation.

Reenactment of a Roman legion in formation, taken by John Bayley during his trip to Jordan some years ago

Click HERE for the Gladiator: Dressed to Kill Game from the wonderful BBC website. (You can also click on the pic below.) Roman Mosaics: The Romans loved to make pictures with small tiles.

A mosaic in modern Rome

Click HERE for some pictures of Roman mosaics to inspire you. Then try making your own by clicking on my mosaic below to go to a site that lets you design one online.

Click HERE to view a Roman mosaic of a dog – you will love it.

A Roman Street

Toss everything that doesn’t belong in a Roman street into the time tunnel in this game from the BBC.

An ancient street in Pompeii

Click HERE.

The History of Pizza

Another ancient mosaic snapped in modern Rome

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Read this interesting story by clicking HERE.

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My husband David looks up in awe at the Colosseum in 1995

Tyranny
1. Go to this site to find a simple definition of tyranny. Write down your own definition of tyranny, doing your best to use some of the words introduced in class.
http://dictionary.kids.net.au/word/tyranny

2. Read a straightforward account of the history of the Roman republic at this site. Write a brief account of the meaning of the word republic. In what ways was Rome’s republic similar to Athens’ limited democracy?

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/government/republic.htm

3. Write a comment in response to this question: When does a person in authority, such as a parent, a teacher or a leader of a country, overstep the mark and begin to act in a tyrannical manner? Think hard about this question.

4. Question for class discussion: What can ordinary people (children, adults and citizens) do to reduce the chance of tyranny? Why might this be a difficult and sometimes even a dangerous task?