The Roman Empire

1. Name of site: The Roman Empire

What it contained: This site contained all sorts of information involving the Roman Empire. They looked at everything from religion to the many leaders that controlled the powerful empire.

What I learned: One thing that I thought was very interesting and different from other cultures we have studied was how the Roman Empire had a diverse group of leaders. Unlike most cultures we have been studying, they allowed foreigners to come into their empire and become leaders. As stated on the website, by the end of the first century AD Rome was ruled by a Spaniard. To my knowledge, this is one of the first civilizations to start allowing foreign influence in their leadership. By bringing in these assorted leaders and letting them take power, it opened up a gateway for the expansion of culture. It seems like they were the first group of people to use the idea of a "melting pot."

2. Name of site: Marcus Tullius Cicero

What it contained: This site had everything involving the poet and philosopher, Cicero. It contained things like his biography, letters to and from himself, and some of his work.

What I learned: I read a lot about Cicero and got a good idea of where he came from and how he started. On the website they classified him as one of Rome's greatest orators, or public speakers. He seemed to have a lot of influence on social change and the people of Rome in general. The part that I found to be most interesting about him was the fact that he fought for justice. Whenever there was corruption or exploitation going on in Rome, he seemed to take the lead on bringing the truth. He was a philosopher, but he seemed to take politics much more seriously. His writings are used as great sources for explaining specific events that happened during his time in Rome.

3. Name of site: Art in the Roman Empire

What it contained: Showed and discussed the many types of art that was created during the Roman Empire. Looking at paintings, sculptures, and pottery. It also has somewhat of a timeline discussing the leaders and events that took place over the course of the Roman Empire.

What I learned: I learned the different types of themes that took place through art in Rome. Many of the pieces shown on this site showed the theme of still life. I also noticed that sculptures were much more relevant and popular during this time than that of paintings. A lot of the sculpture art that is shown depicts roman battles and tries to display the heroes of Rome during that time. I also noticed they liked giving visuals of animals and scenes from everyday life during that time. Overall Roman painting provided a wide variety of themes including animals, still life, scenes from everyday life, portraits, and some mythological subjects.

II. Seeing the big picture:

Based on what you learned from the textbook, the mini-lecture, and websites you visited, answer the following questions.

1. What are four words that describe the prevailing styles of the culture (cite and explain a specific example for each)?

a. Greed- It seems