Scavenger Hunt

Question: Imagine you are a Roman in the year 264 BCE (the year of the 1st Punic War). What does your future look like? Then, look at the world around you today. What does your future look like? Think about politics, technology, culture, dominance, balance.

Question: Imagine you are a Roman in the year 264 BCE (the year of the 1st Punic War). What does your future look like? Then, look at the world around you today. What does your future look like? Think about politics, technology, culture, dominance, balance.

If I was a woman living in 264 BCE I wouldn’t have much of a future at all.  I could pretty much guarantee I would be married off to someone in the army as they were passing through.  Maybe I would even worry that an enemy army would take control of the area where I lived and I could be killed.  Hopefully as I got older and time went on people would treat women with a little more respect, but it would be doubtful.  The technology would progress as time went on and I’m very interested in technology so maybe I could get a job with technology, but because of the way woman were treated that probably wouldn’t have happened.  I would be a hard life to live and I would have to greatly support my family.  I would have to spend my time cooking and cleaning, I probably wouldn’t be allowed outside a lot.  I love the outdoors so not being able to go outside would make me very upset.  Since the war would be going on I’d probably be scared a lot and have to go to further measures to complete my day’s duties.  I would have a very tough time living back then.   

Question: Do you think Caesar's killers were justified in their actions?

Question: Do you think Caesar's killers were justified in their actions?

II don’t believe Caesar’s killers were justified in their actions.  They had crazed reasons to assassinate Caesar that didn’t really make much since.  Caesar was a great leader and many people looked up to him and respected him.  Some people even considered him to be a role model.  People had a high respect for him and were devastated by his death.  It’s understandable that they feared him gaining power and going power crazy but that was no legitimate reason to kill him.  The senators were a little bit to power crazy themselves and just wanted him killed so they could gain powered.  They didn’t even consider the power he had as a great king and the things he could do to benefit them.  They killed him in 44 B.C.  They stabbed him over 20 times which was no way a great king like Caesar should die.  I understand that some people felt threatened by his power and disliked him but I believe there is no reason at all they should’ve killed him.  I also believed he could’ve helped Rome benefit in many ways and help them to rise.  He could’ve really benefitted Rome.  The senators had awful motives and the act was wrong.  It is unbelievable to me that they would kill someone out of jealousy of power when that person could’ve helped them greatly.  They got what was coming to them though and two of them ended up committing suicide. 

Question: What elements of the Roman Republican political and legal system appear present in the systems of modern democracies?

Question: What elements of the Roman Republican political and legal system appear present in the systems of modern democracies?

The Roman Legal system has a lot in common with today’s system of modern democracies.  One distinct similarity is the amount of power the government has.  The power isn’t all given to one person though it is distributed equally throughout different branches of the government.  The different branches of our modern day government, the Executive Branch, the Judicial Branch, and the Legislative Branch, they all have equal power over different things.  In the Roman government every person was giving equal power and if someone thought they had more power they were taken out of the government.  The Roman system also had a law system every similar to our modern day constitution.  These laws included things such as checks and balances, the ability to veto, giving to the Plebeians, and impeachment.  As you can see our modern day democracy is very similar with these laws.  The Plebeian who had the ability to veto served as the Tribune of Plebs.  The Plebeians ability to veto laws is very similar to our President’s ability to veto laws.  This was a very important position for the Plebeians because before they were giving the Tribune of Plebs they didn’t really have any say when it came to what happened in the democracy.  When  it came to politics they didn’t have much of a say in anything so when they were finally given the power to veto it was a very huge and important thing for them.     

Question: Why do many historians consider Hadrian to have been the "best emperor"?

Question: Why do many historians consider Hadrian to have been the "best emperor"?

Historians believe that Hadrian was the best emperor because first off he influenced the architecture of Rome.  Rome’s architecture is one of its bigger distinctions.  Some of the structures he was responsible include the Pantheon.  The Pantheon was one of the greatest Roman structures that is still standing today.  He also was responsible for the Temples of Venus and Roma.  He was also an advocate of the Greek culture.  He even reconstructed Athens to make it the cultural center of the Ancient world.  He strongly admired all of Greece.  Historians appreciated the fact that even though he was a Roman emperor he loved Greece.  He was very involved in the military and strongly respected it by wearing military clothes and participating in military events.  He strengthened his military greatly preparing for the event that there could be an attack in Rome.  He was also good at negotiating peace and did so in 121 A.D. with Parthia.  He was the builder of Hadrian’s Wall which marks the northern boundary of the Roman army.  He also had a deep love for arts.  He knew how to write in different language and enjoyed theatre.  As you can see he was incredibly unique, kind, talented, respectful, and just and all in all fantastic emperor.  Historians love Hadrian for these things that set him apart from many other emperors who weren’t near as kind as him.  His kindness and respect earned him a fantastic reputation.

Question: Were the Julio-Claudians really as bad as they seem?

Question: Were the Julio-Claudians really as bad as they seem?

In my opinion the Julio-Claudians were not as bad as they seemed.  Everyone one of them had a bit of an insanity problem in the course of there lifetime but they accomplished great goals.  When each of them were emperor of Rome they influenced it greatly and helped Rome to become a better and more powerful place.  When Julius Caesar died the first Julio-Claudian took over, Augustus.  Augustus was very loyal to both the military and Roman senate he didn’t favor one or the other.  Augustus gained respect through his loyalty.  The next person in line was Tiberius.  Tiberius was a great general but he didn’t care too much about being emperor.  Tiberius was known for being a bit crazy.  What many people don’t know is that he was forced into being an emperor and didn’t want to be it.  His insanity was caused by a good friend convincing him that everyone hated him.  The next emperor  was Caligula who was a very rude and crazy tyrant.  The next emperor was Claudius who constructed amazing buildings all over Rome.  Then came Nero who insanely played his fiddle during the Great Fire of Rome.  As you can see the emperors were all a little crazy but they made some great contributions to Rome.  

Question: Please write a brief biography of Hannibal and explain whether or not you think his reputation (in Roman eyes) as a monster was deserved.

Question: Please write a brief biography of Hannibal and explain whether or not you think his reputation (in Roman eyes) as a monster was deserved.

Hannibal was born in 247 BC and grew up to be an amazing commander.  During his time the Roman Empire was gaining more and more power.  They had gained power in the Mediterranean.  In 221 BC Hannibal’s brother was killed allowing him to become the military commander of Carthage, a place taken over the in the Mediterranean.  In 218 BC Hannibal began one of his first military expeditions by traveling through the Pyrenees and killing off thousands of enemies.  Hannibal’s army traveled on war elephants making them hard to beat.  The war elephants were a big advantage.  Hannibal’s expedition took him to France and he defeated Rome there.  His journey took him to Italy where he won the battles of Trebia and Traismene.  One of his biggest battles was the battle of Cannae.  The Romans had around 90,000 troops and had a big advantage on Hannibal’s army.  The Romans immediately went to attack the middle while Hannibal’s left and right wings went behind the Romans and circled them in.  They killed all of the Romans and didn’t leave anyone alive.  This was one of Rome’s worse losses.  After this Hannibal was considered a monster in the eyes of the Romans and many people deeply feared him.  No wonder Romans feared him.  His unique battle technique resulted in a terrible loss for Rome.  No soldiers made it out alive.

Question: How was the Struggle of the Orders influential on later Roman politics?

Question: How was the Struggle of the Orders influential on later Roman politics? 

The Struggle of the Orders was a fight in the earl 400 B.C. to make Plebeians equal to the Patricians.  The Patricians were very powerful, rich, and well-known people.  They were the aristocrats of society and were put much higher above then the Plebeians.  The Plebeians were pretty much the rest of society that didn’t consist of the Patricians.  The Patricians had all of the political power and the Plebeians had none.  They really wanted a place in the Roman Senate.  The Plebeians kept fighting and didn’t give up.  Eventually they were giving a spot in the political office called the Tribune of the Plebs.  With their position one Plebeian can represent the whole entire group of Plebeians.  The single Plebeian had power to veto any law that a Patrician purposed that were not fair to Plebeians.  Because of the Patricians gained respect for the Plebeians.  Because of this simple change in the senate the Plebeians gained a lot of more political power they weren’t used to.  They finally had a place in the senate.  A lot of laws the Patricians had were unfair to the large majority of Plebeians.  Since the Plebeians were given this new found freedom they were able to make Rome a little bit of a better place for themselves.  They finally had a little bit more respect and felt like they had a place in the government where they could influence politics. 

Influenced by Ancient Rome

These columns in front of my house resemble the columns built in Ancient Roman structures.  People probably got the idea for these columns from the structures.

Alexander the Great

                Alexander the Great took over the throne at a young age of 20.  He began his reign by eliminating potential rivals.  This may have arguable been Alexander’s starting point of power.  Alexander the Great is debatably still known as the greatest ruler the world has ever seen; as a result of, the victories he accomplished, his army, and his love of power.

Persepolis, the capital of the Persian Empire, was one of the wealthiest cities in Asia.  Alexander believed it to be their worst enemy among all of the cities, and he ordered his soldiers to attack.  The Macedonian soldiers followed through on their commands and began plundering the city.  Alexander ordered the palace not to be touched, but during a drunken rampage, the palace was set fire by many women.  The events that took place in Persepolis show the extreme power Alexander had.  He was able to barge into possibly the wealthiest city in Asia and take over.

In 331 BC Alexander entered Egypt.  His first order was to have a city designed and he founded his own name at the mouth of the Nile.  Alexander later on made a pilgrimage to the oracle of Amon-Ra in order to be acknowledged as his son, the pilgrimage was successful.  During his stay in Egypt, Alexander traveled across the desert to visit the oracle at the temple of Zeus Ammon; supposedly, the oracle told Alexander he was the son of Zeus Ammon and was going to rule the world.  The Egyptians made Alexander pharaoh, voluntarily.  Persia even offered Alexander a truce that came along with a gift of several provinces in the Persian Empire, but Alexander refused the gift and wanted the whole empire. 

In roughly 330 BC Alexander invades Afghanistan.  In Afghanistan Alexander faces many fierce battles and loses much of his army.  After four years of war in Afghanistan he passes through to Central Asia and gains reinforcements for his army.  He then proceeds to return to Afghanistan and he is able to capture Balkh, Qandahar, Heart, and Kabul.  While in Afghanistan Alexander marries the local chief’s daughter, Rokhsana.

Alexander invades India in a place called Punjab, land of the five rivers.  The kind ruling at the time was Porus, he had many princes under him who were forming a rebellion; as a result, they were thrilled Alexander was invading.  Porus gathered a great army and a war broke out.  A wide river separated the Indians and the Greeks, but eventually Alexander’s army passed through in the middle of the night.  Despite the Indians advantage of using elephants in war, Alexander’s army came out on top.  Despite the war Alexander was gracious to Porus and treated him respectfully.  Alexander continued through India, fighting battles, building temples, and founding cities.  Once city he even named after his favorite horse Bucephalus, the city was name Boukephala.  He also named a city after himself, Alexandreia. 

At the age of 32 in 323 BC Alexander died in the temple of Nebuchadnezzar II, in Babylon at the age of 32.  Many would guess that he died due to battle injuries in war, assignation, or even due to a rebellion; however, Alexander the Great died because of a fever.  His story lives on and so does his legends.  With one of the strongest militaries in the world, Alexander was able to conquer just about everyone and everything.  He was power hungry.  He always wanted more power than what he had and could never stop.  Despite Alexander the Great’s obsession with power, he is arguably still known by some, the greatest ruler of all time. 

"Afghanistan and Alexander the Great." Afghanland.com. Web. 10 Mar. 2011.             <http://www.afghanland.com/history/alexander.html>.

"Alexander the Great." Macedonia FAQ. Web. 10 Mar. 2011.             <http://faq.macedonia.org/history/alexander.the.great.html>.

"Alexander the Great Invades India." About Hinduism - What You Need to Know About    Hinduism. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://hinduism.about.com/od/history/a/alexander.htm>.

"History of Iran: Burning of Persepolis by Alexander the Great." Iran Chamber Society.    Web.    10 Mar. 2011. <http://www.iranchamber.com/history/persepolis/burning_persepolis_alexander.php>.

"Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Main Page." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 Mar. 2011.             <http://www.fordham.edu/HALSALL/ancient/asbook.html>.

Question: What compels someone to lead others?

Question: What compels someone to lead others?

Power is something that compels people to lead others.  At first the person want to lead others to do what’s right and make a good difference.  At some point a realization sinks in that these people have the power to command people and become a great leader.  All great leaders have a lot of respect and have power over a lot.  To lead others and be good at it they must demand respect.  To earn respect, they conquer and do good things for their people.  Through conquering they are just leading more.  Maybe the person aspiring to be a leader wants to lead simply because they have a good idea for their people.  They think they can make a change so instead of waiting around to make the change they put it into action and begin leading.  There is also a scenario where someone may not agree with the current leaders’ judgments or decisions.  In this case someone could be compelled to lead so they can get the other person out of the leadership position and do what they think is better.  All of these cases begin as power.  In order to become a leader you must earn power, which is very compelling.  Eventually, whether or not the original thing that a person was compelled by was power, they begin to go power crazy, just like any good ruler.  Any good ruler gains so much respect and power that there comes a point where they can’t stop.

Question: What do you think should have been done after Alexander's death?

Question: What do you think should have been done after Alexander's death?

After Alexander’s death people should’ve easily been able to recuperate and find a new leader.  First off, Alexander should’ve thought ahead and planned something in case he could’ve died.  Consider he lived a very dangerous lifestyle he should have really considered the idea of himself dying.  The problem with Alexander is he seemed to consider himself to be god-like and maybe thought he was immortal.  They should have taken Alexander’s most high appointed official, general, or assistant and made him king.  Possibly if they had a different law system people could’ve voted someone in to the king’s position.  They were in a tough position to be in, but it would have been very easy to find a logical solution if they weren’t all consumed with power also.  After seeing the respect and treatment Alexander had they wanted that power too.  They saw that he considered himself to be invincible and wanted to live that lifestyle also.  Because of this everyone wanted to be king so everyone fought over it.  If they would’ve just come to a logical and good decision everything would’ve gone a whole lot smoother.   

Question: Could a force like Alexander the Great exist today? Why or why not?

Question: Could a force like Alexander the Great exist today? Why or why not?

It would be incredibly hard for a force and power like Alexander the Great to exist today.  Back in Alexander’s day the government was a lot different, but their government helped shaped the way our government is today.  Some main differences is that the king or leader had a lot more power given to them then what our president might get today.  There was really no one that could challenge the kin’s authority or decisions; whereas, there are many people who can disagree with the president and stop him from doing something.  In other parts of the world political leaders are given more power than in the United States, but it would be very hard for them to take over as much land as Alexander did.  We have newer and more modern weaponry that results in a more gruesome and challenging war.  Because of this if someone were to attempt to take over most of the world there army would have to be unbelievable.  A lot of people would also challenge someone’s authority today if they attempted to take over large areas of the world because many people wouldn’t like the idea of a single ruler with all the power.  As you can see I don’t believe that a force like Alexander the Great could exist today.

Question: How did Alexander create his own myth?

Question: How did Alexander create his own myth?

Alexander created his own myth by doing something no one had ever done before.  He went to the town and untied the Gordian knot.  The knot seemed impossible to undo and many people couldn’t do it.  Alexander stepped up to the challenge though and was able to untie it.  People made up many different stories on how he did it.  One story involved him taking a piece of the shaft and undid the Gordian knot.  Another story said that he took out his sword and said, “There is no rule saying how the not needs to be undone.” And slice it.  On his journey to the Gordian knot Alexander was able to trudge through the ocean with a full army and visit oracles such as the oracle of Didyma in a treacherous journey.  It was evident that he has great luck.  Many people worried that Alexander wouldn’t be able to undo the knot and it would make him look bad, but he proved them wrong.  Alexander the Great achieved many things people didn’t think was possible.  These things were so impossible they became a myth, but they hold some realities to them.  Another thing that made Alexander create a myth for him was how he undid the knot and many stories were told about it.  No one is exactly sure what story is true so it has become a myth that has yet to be uncovered.  Alexander the Greater created a myth for himself by the impossible things he achieved.