CATO THE ELDER AND THE ROMAN REPUBLICWeek Four
less = without
speech_____ fear_____ breath_____
ology = the study of
cosmetology psychology meteorology
I. Cato the Elder A spokesperson for
traditional values, even as he benefits from the new world of commerce and internationalism
II. Hellenistic GreeceA. The Rise of
Macedon Philip II (359-336)
fills the vacuum left by the Greek disunity
Assassination leaves the throne to son Alexander
II. Hellenistic GreeceB. Empire of Alexander
the Great1. Alexander’s conquests
(334-323) Military victories to India
2. Binding together an empire
Respected local customs Alliances through marriage New cities: Alexandria in
Egypt
Alexander’s empire
III. The Roman Republic
A. Roman ideals Farming in Latium Paterfamilias:
system in which father has total authority; curia
Traditional values Honesty, hard work,
frugality, and farming
Legends of early Rome: Cincinnatus and Remus and Romulus
paterfamilias
Cincinnatus plowing his land
Roman legend of Romulus and Remus
III. Roman RepublicB. Etruscan realities (800-
500) Not so provincial
Etruscan League. Urban growth
Not so ideal Class divisions between patricians
and plebeians Political inequalities in the new centuriate
Legacy of the Etruscans Rome transforms into a unified,
prosperous urban center
IV. Roman ImperialismA. Political
expansion Military
campaigns brought all of Italy under Roman control by 264.
B. Punic Wars First Punic War
(265-241): Rome outlasts Carthage
The Punic Wars
IV. Roman Imperialism Second Punic War
Cato joins the army Hannibal’s epic
march—with elephants!—inflicts devastation on Romans.
Romans rally; defeat Hasdrubal; take the fight to North Africa
Third Punic War Cato: “Carthage must
be destroyed”
Hannibal’s elephants
IV. Roman ImperialismC. Expansion into the Hellenistic East
phobia = the fear of
acrophobia claustrophobia arachnophobia
ian/or = a person who . . .
What suffix could finish these?
centenar_____ vegetar_____ librar_____
V. The Roman RepublicA. Cato’s rise to
power Public service
An arbitrator of disputes
Patronage Flaccus: a young
nobleman from a patrician family
Sabine farm
V. The Roman RepublicB. Cato’s offices and
republican civilization Military tribune Aedile Quaestor Censor Consul: Oppian Law and
the women’s rebellion Governor of Hispania:
ruthless destruction and then incorporation of the conquered
V. The Roman Republic Plebeian
resistance Law of the Twelve
Tables Cato’s support of
democratic reform Traditional values
Severity Frugality Simplicity
Reading the Twelve Tables
Tour of a Roman home
V. The Roman Republic
Crisis of Roman Virtue
Gender roles change
More luxury Urban squalor Cato, like many
others, complicit in these changes
Cato as a transitional figure—Janus-faced
Roman fly-over
Epilogue The Cato Institute
A prominent libertarian think tank in Washington, D.C.