CONSOLATA INSTITUTE OF PHILOSOPHY

CHM 938

GREEK-ROMAN HISTORY

Lecturer: Fr. Joseph Mwaniki, imc

Email: frmwaniki@tangaza.ac.ke

Outline of the course

1) Introduction to Greek-Roman History

2) Greek History; An Introduction

3) Early Aegean Civilisations

4) Rise of Greek City states

5) Wars and Expansion

6) The Glory that was Greece

7) Alexander and the Hellenistic age

8) Roman History and its major divisions

9) The Roman Republic, Its Culture and Life

10) The Roman Empire and Pax Roman

11) Roman Law, Philosophy, Literature and Art

12) The Crisis, Decline and the Causes

13) Western Civilization, Roman Heritage and Christianity.

Outline of the course

1) Greek History; An Introduction; 2) Early Aegean Civilisations; 3) Rise of Greek City states;4) Wars and Expansion; 5) The Glory that was Greece; 6) Alexander and the Hellenistic age. 7) Roman History and its major divisions, 8) The Roman Republic, Its Culture and Life, 9) The Roman Empire and Pax Roman, 10)Roman Law, Philosophy, Literature and Art, 11)The Crisis, Decline and the Causes, 12)Western Civilization, Roman Heritage and Christianity.

Lesson 9

PAX ROMANA, ROMAN

LAW, PHILOSOPHY

LITERATURE AND ART

The Pax Romana

The term "Pax Romana," which

literally means "Roman peace," refers

to the time period from 27 B.C.E. to

180 C.E. in the Roman Empire.

This 200-year period saw

unprecedented peace and

economic prosperity throughout the

Empire, which spanned from England

in the north to Morocco in the south

and Iraq in the east.

During the Pax Romana, the Roman

Empire reached its peak in terms of

land area, and its population swelled

to an estimated 70 million people.

The Pax Romana

The Pax Romana began when Octavian

became the leader of the Roman Empire

and took the title Augustus. For this reason,

it is sometimes referred to as the Pax

Augusta.

The Romans regarded peace not as an

absence of war, but as the rare situation

that existed when all opponents had been

beaten down and lost the ability to resist.

Thus, Augustus had to persuade Romans

that the prosperity they could achieve in

the absence of warfare was better for the

Empire than the potential wealth and

honour acquired when fighting a risky war.

Origin of Pax Romana After the murder of Julius Caesar, a period of civil

war erupted in Rome. Out of this turmoil emerged

the Second Triumvirate, consisting of Lepidus,

Antony, and Octavian, who was Julius Caesar's

nephew. This new triumvirate ruled Rome for a

decade, but differences among the leaders

eventually emerged.

Octavian defeated Lepidus in battle, and then

turned his armies against the more powerful Mark

Antony.

Antony had fallen in love with and married the

spellbinding queen of Egypt, Cleopatra.

At the Battle of Actium off the coast of Greece in 31

B.C.E., Octavian's navy defeated the navy of

Antony and Cleopatra, who later both committed

suicide.Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile

Origin of Pax Romana

Octavian returned to Rome triumphant and gave

himself the title of princeps or "first citizen."

Octavian was careful not to upset the Senate by

declaring himself dictator as his uncle Julius

Caesar had done.

Even though Octavian ruled as a de facto dictator,

he maintained the Senate and other institutions of

the republican government.

In 27 B.C.E., the Senate bestowed the holy title of

Augustus upon Octavian.

Augustus, as he became known, ruled for 41 years,

and the policies he enacted lay the groundwork

for the peace and stability of the Pax Romana.

Augustus

The Glorious Roman Empire

The 200 years of the Pax

Romana saw many

advances and

accomplishments,

particularly in engineering

and the arts.

To help maintain their

sprawling empire, the

Romans built an extensive

system of roads. These

durable roads facilitated

the movement of troops

and communication.

The Romans built

aqueducts to carry water

overland to cities and

farms.

The Glorious Roman Empire

Many of the advances in

architecture and building

relied upon the Romans'

discovery of concrete.

Concrete made possible

the creation of huge

rounded arches and domes.

One of the most famous

structures built during the

Pax Romana, the

Pantheon in Rome, has

one of the largest

freestanding domes in the

world to this day.Inside the Pantheon as it is today

The Glorious Roman Empire

After Emperor Augustus (r. 27

BCE-14 CE), the Roman Empire

steadily grew in power through

the reigns of the Five Good

Emperors, so called because

of the prosperity and order

they maintained.

After Marcus Aurelius, his son

Commodus (r. 180-192 CE)

became emperor and

dissipated Rome’s power

through self-indulgent and

inefficient rule. He was

eventually assassinated. By

this time, the Empire was

struggling to hold off attacking

tribes on the frontiers.

The Roman Law

The Romans had a complex system of

government and laws.

Many of the basic systems and ideas

that we have about laws and

government today come from Ancient

Rome.

Laws were made by a number of

different ways. The primary way of

making official new laws was through the

Roman Assemblies. Laws were voted on

by citizens who were members of the

assemblies.

Laws were implemented by the Plebeian

Council, decrees by the senate,

decisions by elected officials

(magistrates), and edicts by the

emperor.To the People and the Senate of Rome

The Roman Law

The laws were enforced by an official

called the praetor.

The praetor was the second highest

ranking official in the Roman republic

(after the consuls).

The praetor was responsible for the

administration of justice.

To keep the laws in the city, the Romans

had a police force called the Vigiles. The

Vigiles dealt with petty criminals like

thieves and runaway slaves.

When more force was needed, like

during riots or against gangs, other more

military groups were used such as the

Praetorian Guard and the urban cohorts.

The Roman Law

The Roman Constitution was an

agreed upon set of principles that was

followed by the Roman government.

It wasn't written down in one place but

was established through tradition and

individual laws.

Because many of the laws were

unwritten or unavailable for the

people to see, there was much room

for corruption by public officials.

The people eventually revolted

against the leaders and, in 450 BC,

some laws were written on stone

tablets for everyone to see. These laws

became known as the Law of the

Twelve Tables.

The Roman Law

Many of the protections and rights that were given to people under Roman

law only applied to Roman citizens. It was a big deal to be a full Roman

citizen.

There were even different levels of Roman citizenship, each one having

more or less rights than the next.

The punishment for committing a crime in Rome was not the same for

everyone. What punishment you received depended on your status. If you

were a wealthy patrician, you would receive far less punishment than a

slave would for the same crime.

Punishment could include beatings, lashings, exile from Rome, fines, or

even death.

The Romans generally didn't send people to prison for crimes, but they did

have jails to hold people while their guilt or punishment was determined.

The Roman Law

Many aspects of Roman law and the Roman Constitution are still used

today. These include concepts like checks and balances, vetoes,

separation of powers, term limits, and regular elections. Many of these

concepts serve as the foundations of today's modern democratic

governments.

The Romans had three branches of government including the legislative

assemblies (branch of the people), the senate (branch of the nobles and

patricians), and the consuls (executive branch).

Roman women had limited rights as citizens. They could not vote or hold

public office, but they could own property and businesses.

In 212 AD, the Roman Emperor Caracalla declared that all freedmen in the

Roman Empire were full Roman citizens.

Emperor Justinian I had the laws of Rome written down and organized.

These laws became known as the Justinian Code and were used

throughout the empire.

The Roman Philosophy

Roman men didn’t begin studying

philosophy until about 200 BC. At that

time, the Romans were conquering

Greece. So, a lot of Roman soldiers and

generals spent a lot of time in Greece

and got a chance to talk to Greek

philosophers.

The Romans discovered that Greek

philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and

Aristotle had been doing a lot of thinking

about philosophy. Some Romans got

interested.

By about 50 BC these Romans were even

beginning to write philosophy themselves,

though most of it was pretty much just

translating Greek philosophy into Latin.A Particular of Plato and Aristotle

The Roman Philosophy

One of the first Roman men who wrote

about philosophy was Lucretius. He

followed Greek Epicurean philosophy

and he left us a long poem, called On

the Nature of Things, explaining

Epicurean philosophy in Latin for

people who couldn’t read Greek.

Cicero was another man who wrote

about philosophy at just about the

same time as Lucretius. He was mostly

a Skeptic philosopher.

About a hundred years later, in the

time of the emperors Claudius and

Nero, another philosopher called

Seneca wrote another set of essays

about Stoic philosophy.

The Roman Philosophy

Soon after Seneca’s time, many men and

women began to look for a closer, more

direct relationship to the gods or to God.

Some people, like the Christian Gnostics,

tried to use magic spells and secret

knowledge to get closer to God.

The Christian followers of Montanus thought

you could get closer to God through

prayer.

Pagan Neo-Platonists used philosophical

ideas that came from Plato’s ideas about

the perfect form. They tried to perfect

themselves and get closer to God that way.

At the same time, a revival of Cynic

philosophy formed a protest movement

against imperial power.

The Roman Philosophy

Later Christians

developed their own

philosophical ideas.

St. Augustine and St.

Ambrose, in the late 300s

AD, both studied earlier

philosophers.

They tried to create a

Christian philosophy that

would include both

Christian ideas and

Greek and Roman

philosophy.

Their Christian philosophy

would include Aristotle

and Neo-Platonism.

The Roman Literature

Roman literature was, from its very inception, heavily

influenced by Greek authors.

Some of the earliest works we possess are historical

epics telling the early military history of Rome, similar

to the Greek epic narratives of Homer, Herodotus,

and Thucydides.

Virgil, though generally considered to be an

Augustan poet, represents the pinnacle of Roman

epic poetry. His Aeneid tells the story of the flight of

Aeneas from Troy, and his settlement of the city that

would become Rome.

As the Republic expanded, authors began to

produce poetry, comedy, history, and tragedy.

The genre of satire was also common in Rome, and

satires were written by, among others, Juvenal and

Persius.Bust of Virgil

The Roman Literature

Cicero has traditionally been considered the master of Latin prose. The

writing he produced from approximately 80 BCE until his death in 43

BCE, exceeds that of any Latin author whose work survives, in terms of

quantity and variety of genre and subject matter. It also possesses

unsurpassed stylistic excellence.

Cicero’s many works can be divided into four groups: letters, rhetorical

treatises, philosophical works, and orations.

His letters provide detailed information about an important period in

Roman history, and offers a vivid picture of public and private life

among the Roman governing class.

Cicero’s works on oratory are our most valuable Latin sources for

ancient theories on education and rhetoric.

His philosophical works were the basis of moral philosophy during the

Middle Ages, and his speeches inspired many European political

leaders, as well as the founders of the United States.

The Roman Art

Under Augustus, arts of Hellenic

tradition were adapted to

proclaim the permanence and

universality of Roman power.

Artists and craftsmen from

Alexandria, Athens, and Asia

Minor flocked to the imperial

court to create models that

celebrated the best of all

possible worlds.

During the crisis years of the

reign of Commodus, artists

developed the independent

artistic language that led to the

remarkable works of late

antiquity.Arts of Hellenic tradition

The Roman Art

The enduring image of Rome represents one of

mankind's greatest collective achievements.

Reflected in imperial art from the accession of the first

Roman emperor Octavian (31bc), to the deposition of

the last, Romulus Augustus (ad476), it was continued

by the Byzantine dynasties ("emperors of the Romans"

until 1453) and revived at intervals in the medieval

and modern Western world.

During the reign of Augustus (31bc-ad14), imperial art

- whether in the context of public celebration or in

the form of portraits of the sovereign - imperial art

was promoted at even, social and economic level

and exported to the most distant bounds of the

empire.

This mood of ideological fervour permeated the art of

the entire imperial era.

The Roman Art Roman sculpture played an

important part of the Roman daily

life.

Sculptures took the form of full

statues, busts (sculptures of just a

person's head), reliefs (sculptures

that were part of a wall), and

sarcophagi (sculptures on tombs).

The Ancient Romans decorated with

sculptures in a number of places

including public buildings, public

parks, and private homes and

gardens.

Roman sculpture was heavily

influenced by Greek sculpture. In

fact, many of the Roman sculptures

were just copies of Greek sculptures.

Sarcophagus (sculptures on tombs)

The Roman Art

One of the most popular types of

sculpture in Ancient Rome was

the bust. This is a sculpture of just

the head.

Wealthy Romans would put the

busts of their ancestors in the

atrium of their homes. This was a

way for them to show off their

lineage.

The wealthy Romans decorated

their large homes with sculptures.

Other popular subjects for

sculptures included gods and

goddesses, philosophers, famous

athletes, and successful

generals.

The Roman Art

The walls of the homes

of wealthy Romans

were often decorated

with paintings.

These paintings were

frescos painted

directly on the walls.

Most of these paintings

have been destroyed

over time, but some of

them were preserved

in the city of Pompeii

when it was buried by

the eruption of a

volcano.

A fresco in the fallen city of Pompeii

The Roman Art

The Romans also made pictures

from coloured tiles called

mosaics.

The mosaics have been able to

survive the test of time better than

the paintings.

Sometimes the tiles would be

applied direct at the site of the

mosaic.

Other times the tiles and the base

would be made in a workshop

and the entire mosaic installed

later.

Mosaics could be art on a wall,

but also worked as decorative

flooring.An example of a Roman mosaic