Final

The Horatii

According to Livy, the Horatii were male triplets from Rome. During a war between Rome and Alba Longa during the reign of Tullus Hostilius, it was agreed that settlement of the war would depend on the outcome of a battle between the Horatii and the Curiatii. The Curiatii were male triplets from Alba Longa and of the same age as the Horatii. In the battle, the three Curiatii were wounded, but two of the Horatii were killed. The last of the Horatii, Publius, turned as if to flee. The Curiatii chased him but, as a result of their wounds, became separated. This enabled Publius to slay them one by one.

Actium

Actium (Greek: Ἄκτιον) was the name of an ancient town on a promontory of western Greece in northwestern Acarnania, at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf). Actium is chiefly famous as the name given to the nearby naval Battle of Actium, in which Octavian won a decisive victory over Mark Antony on September 2, 31 BC. Actium is situated on the southern side of the strait opposite the later city of Nicopolis built by Octavian.[1] The Battle of Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic, a naval engagement between Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra on 2 September 31 BC, on the Ionian Sea near the promontory of Actium, in the Roman province of Epirus Vetus in Greece. Octavian's fleet was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, while Antony's fleet was supported by the power of Queen Cleopatra of Ptolemaic Egypt. Octavian's victory enabled him to consolidate his power over Rome and its dominions. He adopted the title of Princeps ("first citizen") and some years later was awarded the title of Augustus ("revered") by the Roman Senate. This became the name by which he was known in later times. As Augustus, he retained the trappings of a restored Republican leader, but historians generally view this consolidation of power and the adoption of these honorifics as the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire.[1]

New Achilles

After that, the Sibyl busts out some prophecies. Specifically, she says that things are going be tough: they will have to fight a war to secure their territory in Italy. She predicts that a new Achilles will arise in the territory of Latium. (Achilles was the greatest of the Greek warriors fighting against Troy in the Trojan War.) Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid, are two great legendary epics encompassing the formative years of Greek and Roman mythology. Both the writings pursue heroism, war, glory and love, amidst the influence and authority of supernatural powers. However, there is a wide time margin between the formative and literary integrity of both the compositions. Since Rome has borrowed heavily from the Greek pantheon and mythos, Virgil is seen to prevent the influence of Homer in his content. Though he portrays the characters in a more contemporary and developed environment, his literature shows the same themes and prodigal influences. Both seem to blame fate as the extraneous power and the deciding factor in their lives, both are vivid in glorious descriptions of war...both are epitomized and influenced by fate and destiny, determined by supernatural influence...both have " blessed protagonists", Achilles and Aenes, armed with bravery and chivalry.

Alecto

Alecto ("the implacable or unceasing anger") is one of the Erinyes, or Furies, in Greek mythology. Ddaughter of Gaea fertilized by the blood spilled from Uranus when Cronus castrated him. She is the sister of Tisiphone (Vengeance) and Megaera (Jealousy). Alecto is the Erinys with the job of castigating the moral crimes (such as anger), especially if they are against other people. Her function is similar to Nemesis, with the difference that Nemesis's function is to castigate crimes against the gods. Alecto appeared in Virgil's Aeneid, in Dante's Inferno. In the Aeneid (Book 7), Juno commanded Alecto to prevent the Trojans from having their way with King Latinus by marriage or besiege Italian borders. Alecto's mission is to wreak havoc on the Trojans and cause their downfall through war. To do this, Alecto takes over the body of Queen Amata, who clamors for all of the Latin mothers to riot against the Trojans. She disguises herself as Juno's priestess Calybe and appears to Turnus in a dream persuading him to begin the war against the Trojans. Met with a mocking response from Turnus, Alecto abandons persuasion and attacks Turnus with a torch, causing his blood to "boil with the passion for war". Unsatisfied with her work in igniting the war, Alecto asks Juno if she can provoke more strife by drawing in bordering towns. Juno replies that she will manage the rest of the war herself: You're roving far too freely, high on the heavens' winds, and the Father, king of steep Olympus, won't allow it. You must give way. Whatever struggle is still to come, I'll manage it myself. (Virgil, Aeneid)

Remember Almo

Almo was in ancient Roman religion the eponymous god of a river in the vicinity of Rome.[1] Like Tiberinus and others, he was prayed to by the augurs of Rome. In the water of Almo the statue of the mother of the gods, Cybele, used to be washed.[2][3] He had a naiad daughter named Larunda.[4]

What's Amata?

Amata, in Roman mythology, was the wife of King Latinus of the Latins. She and Latinus had a daughter Lavinia, and no sons. When the hero Aeneas sued for Lavinia's hand in marriage, Amata opposed him because she had already promised Lavinia to Aeneas' nemesis Turnus. At the same time, she was instigated by Alecto, who acted according to the request of the goddess Juno. Hiding her daughter in the woods and arousing the womenfolk of the Latins, managed to stir up the war between the people of King Mezentius, the Etruscans (now allied with Turnus) and Aeneas' Trojans (allied with King Evander's people and the Aborigines). This story fills the greater part of the seventh book of Virgil's Aeneid. When Amata was informed that Turnus had fallen in battle, she hanged herself.

Exemplum/a

An exemplum (Latin for "example", pl. exempla, exempli gratia = "for example", abbr.: e.g.) is a moral anecdote, brief or extended, real or fictitious, used to illustrate a point.

Ardea

Ardea (IPA: /ar'dɛa/ or /'ardea/) is an ancient town and comune in the province of Rome, 35 kilometres (22 miles) south of Rome and about 4 kilometres (2 miles) from today's Mediterranean coast. The economy is mostly based on agriculture, although, starting from the 1970s, industry has had an increasingly important role. Ardea is one of the most ancient towns in western Europe, founded about in the 8th century BC was the capital of the Rutuli, mentioned in the Aeneid.

Ascanius/Iulus

Ascanius is a legendary king of Alba Longa and is the son of the Trojan hero Aeneas and Creusa, daughter of Priam. He is a character in Roman mythology, and has a divine lineage, being the son of Aeneas, who is son of goddess Venus and the hero Anchises, a relative of the king Priam; thus Ascanius has divine ascendents by both parents, being descendant of god Jupiter, his wife Juno and Dardanus. He is also an ancestor of Romulus, Remus and the Gens Julia. Together with his father, he is a major character in the Aeneid, and he is depicted as one of founders of the Roman race.

Death of Nero

At this time, a courier arrived with a report that the Senate had declared Nero a public enemy and that it was their intention to execute him by beating him to death and that armed men had been sent to apprehend him for the act to take place in the Forum. The Senate actually was still reluctant and deliberating on the right course of action as Nero was the last member of the Julio-Claudian Family. Indeed, most of the senators had served the imperial family all their lives and felt a sense of loyalty to the deified bloodline, if not to Nero himself. The men actually had the goal of returning Nero back to the Senate, where the Senate hoped to work out a compromise with the rebelling governors that would preserve Nero's life, so that at least a future heir to the dynasty could be produced.[150] Nero, however, did not know this, and at the news brought by the courier, he prepared himself for suicide, pacing up and down muttering "Qualis artifex pereo" which translates to English as "What an artist dies in me."[151] Losing his nerve, he first begged for one of his companions to set an example by first killing himself. At last, the sound of approaching horsemen drove Nero to face the end. However, he still could not bring himself to take his own life but instead he forced his private secretary, Epaphroditos, to perform the task.[152] When one of the horsemen entered, upon his seeing Nero all but dead he attempted to stop the bleeding in vain. Nero's final words were "Too late! This is fidelity!" He died on 9 June 68, the anniversary of the death of Octavia, and was buried in the Mausoleum of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, in what is now the Villa Borghese (Pincian Hill) area of Rome.[153] With his death, the Julio-Claudian dynasty ended. The Senate, when news of his death reached Rome, posthumously declared Nero a public enemy to appease the coming Galba (as the Senate had initially declared Galba as a public enemy) and proclaimed Galba the new emperor. Chaos would ensue in the year of the Four Emperors.[97]

Augustus

Augustus was born Gaius Octavius on 23 September 63 BC in Rome. In 43 BC his great-uncle, Julius Caesar, was assassinated and in his will, Octavius, known as Octavian, was named as his heir. He fought to avenge Caesar and in 31 BC defeated Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium.

Brennus

Brennus was a chieftain of the Senones. He defeated the Romans at the Battle of the Allia (18 July 390 BC). In 387 BC he led an army of Cisalpine Gauls in their attack on Rome and captured most of the city, holding it for several months. Brennus's sack of Rome was the only time the city was occupied by a non-Roman army before the fall of the city to the Goths in 410 AD.

Cloelia

Cloelia is a legendary woman from the early history of ancient Rome. As part of the peace treaty which ended the war between Rome and Clusium in 508 BC, Roman hostages were taken by Lars Porsena. One of the hostages, a young woman named Cloelia, fled the Clusian camp, leading away a group of Roman virgins. According to Valerius Maximus, she fled upon a horse, then swam across the Tiber. Porsena demanded that she be returned, and the Romans consented. Upon her return, however, Porsena was so impressed by her bravery that he allowed her to choose half the remaining hostages to be freed. She selected the young Roman boys, so that they could continue the war.

Seneca's didacticism

Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature and other types of art. The term has its origin in the Ancient Greek word διδακτικός (didaktikos), "related to education and teaching", and signified learning in a fascinating and intriguing manner.[3] Didactic art was meant both to entertain and to instruct. Didactic plays, for instance, were intended to convey a moral theme or other rich truth to the audience.[4][5] An example of didactic writing is Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism (1711), which offers a range of advice about critics and criticism. An example of didactism in music is the chant Ut queant laxis, which was used by Guido of Arezzo to teach solfege syllables. Around the 19th century the term didactic came to also be used as a criticism for work that appears to be overburdened with instructive, factual, or otherwise educational information, to the detriment of the enjoyment of the reader (a meaning that was quite foreign to Greek thought). Edgar Allan Poe even called didacticism the worst of "heresies" in his essay The Poetic Principle.

Dido

Dido was, according to ancient Greek and Roman sources, the founder and first queen of Carthage (in modern-day Tunisia). She is primarily known from the account given by the Roman poet Virgil in his epic, Aeneid.

Anna

Dido's sister Anna counsels her, by marrying Aeneas she would increase the might of Carthage, because many Trojan warriors follow Aeneas. Anna says, "What do the dead care if you're faithful or not? Anyway, Carthage is surrounded by enemies. We could use a strong alliance. At least get the Trojans to stay for the winter." For the moment, consumed by love, Dido allows the work of city building to fall by the wayside. Then Dido sends her sister's old nurse to tell Anna to get a pyre ready; she claims that she wants to burn some stuff that Aeneas left behind. After Anna builds the pyre, Dido climbs on top of it and stabs herself with a sword once given to her by Aeneas. Anna climbs onto the pyre herself and tries to save the dying Dido, but it is too late.

Reason vs. Passion

Duty is a recurring theme throughout Virgil's The Aeneid. It plays a crucial role as a key character trait for the individuals that we encounter. If one takes the protagonist Aeneas aside and analyzes his persistent adherence to his own destiny, along with his unending concern for the welfare of his Trojan people, one could entertain the idea that his dedication and responsibility foreshadow the concept of duty to the Republic and obedience to Caesar that might have prevailed in Virgil's Roman society. "Duty-bound Aeneas", as Virgil often describes him (The Aeneid, p. 110, l. 545), often has to make difficult decisions, sometimes at the expense of his own immediate happiness, to fulfill his destiny as founder of Rome. Throughout his journeys, he encounters various trials where each refines a different aspect of his character, evolving him into a hero and a leader. Indeed, his romantic affair with Dido of Carthage forces him to make the difficult choice of duty over love (p. 107), and the remorse that he displays as he placates her spirit in the Underworld demonstrates his sincere regret for having hurt her (p. 175). Concerning Dido, one clearly sees that responsibility holds a greater importance than emotion for Aeneas. However, in the war with the Latins, one no longer perceives such a defined moral code. Aeneas' inconsistent behavior is apparent in his last battle with Turnus. Turnus pleads with Aeneas to return his dead body to his father Daunus for a proper burial (p. 402, l. 1270-3), yet Aeneas, at the site of his fallen comrade's swordbelt on the shoulder of Turnus, fills with rage and kills Turnus without answering his request. It is evident that one can only explain such a display of savagery on the part of Aeneas through a loss of emotional control. Indeed, Aeneas lost his sense of duty and respect for his fellowman in the instant he took Turnus' life.

Ekphrasis

Ekphrasis or ecphrasis, from the Greek description of a work of art, possibly imaginary, produced as a rhetorical exercise, often used in the adjectival form ekphrastic, is a graphic, often dramatic, description of a visual work of art. In ancient times, it referred to a description of any thing, person, or experience. The word comes from 'out' and 'speak', and the verb "to proclaim or call an inanimate object by name".

Tota Italia

Essays in the Cultural Formation of Roman Italy.

Fasces

Fasces ("bundle") is a bound bundle of wooden rods, sometimes including an axe with its blade emerging. The fasces had its origin in the Etruscan civilization, and was passed on to ancient Rome, where it symbolized a magistrate's power and jurisdiction. The image has survived in the modern world as a representation of magisterial or collective power. The fasces frequently occurs as a charge in heraldry, it is present on an older design of the Mercury dime and behind the podium in the United States House of Representatives, it is used as the symbol of a number of Italian syndicalist groups, including the Unione Sindacale Italiana, and it was the origin of the name of the National Fascist Party in Italy (from which the term fascism is derived).

Roman hero vs. Greek hero

From the cultural views, there are some differences between the Greek and Roman concept of heroes: the Achaeans attach importance to individuality whereas the Romans to community. Unlike the Roman Empire which we know is a kingdom, in the ancient Greece-also called Hellas-there are no countries but only city states scattered around the Balkan Peninsula. In this sense, the Achaeans do not have the notion about collective consciousness or what "country" is, so they tend to possess individual will, and so do the heroes at that time. Culturally, the Roman, or Virgilian ideology of heroes is distinctly different from that of the Greeks. The chief difference of their model heroism is that the Greek heroes symbolize individual will, glory, and feelings whereas the Roman heroes an ideal nationalistic ruler (Augustus, whom Virgil writes the Aeneid for) who with sacrifice, devotion, and duty for his people is regarded as a servant rather than the served.

Mucius Scaevola

Gaius Mucius Scaevola was a Roman youth, famous for his bravery. During the war between Rome and Clusium, the Clusian king Lars Porsena laid siege to Rome. Mucius, with the approval of the Roman Senate, sneaked into the Etruscan camp with the intent of murdering Porsena. Since it was the soldiers' pay day, there were two similarly dressed people, one of whom was the king, on a raised platform speaking to the troops. This caused Mucius to misidentify his target, and he killed Porsena's scribe by mistake. After being captured, he famously declared to Porsena: "I am Gaius Mucius, a citizen of Rome. I came here as an enemy to kill my enemy, and I am as ready to die as I am to kill. We Romans act bravely and, when adversity strikes, we suffer bravely." He also declared that he was the first of three hundred Roman youths to volunteer for the task of assassinating Porsena at the risk of losing their own lives.

Suetonius

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus [ˈɡaː.ɪ.ʊs ˈswɛ.tɔn.jʊs traŋˈkᶣɪl.lʊs], commonly known as Suetonius (/swɪˈtoʊniəs/; c. 69 - after 122 AD), was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies of twelve successive Roman rulers, from Julius Caesar to Domitian, entitled De Vita Caesarum. He recorded the earliest accounts of Julius Caesar's epileptic seizures. Other works by Suetonius concern the daily life of Rome, politics, oratory, and the lives of famous writers, including poets, historians, and grammarians. A few of these books have partially survived, but many have been lost.

Gravitas

Gravitas was one of the Roman virtues,[1] along with pietas, dignitas and virtus. It may be translated variously as weight, seriousness and dignity, also importance, and connotes a certain substance or depth of personality.

Death of Turnus

In Book X, Turnus slays the son of Evander, the young prince Pallas. As he gloats over the killing, he takes as a spoil of war Pallas' sword belt and puts it on. Enraged, Aeneas seeks out the Rutulian King with full intent of killing him. Virgil marks the death of Pallas by mentioning the inevitable downfall of Turnus. To prevent his death at the hands of Aeneas, Juno conjures a ghost apparition of Aeneas, luring Turnus onto a ship and to his safety. Turnus takes great offense at this action, questioning his worth and even contemplating suicide. In Book XII, Aeneas and Turnus duel to the death; Aeneas gains the upper hand amidst a noticeably Iliad-esque chase sequence (Turnus and Aeneas run around the lines of men several times, similar to the duel of Achilles and Hector), wounding Turnus in the thigh. Turnus begs Aeneas either to spare him or give his body back to his people. Aeneas considers but upon seeing the belt of Pallas on Turnus, he is consumed by rage and finishes him off. The last line of the poem describes Turnus' unhappy passage into the Underworld. Turnus' supporters included Latinus's wife, Amata, Juturna, his sister and minor river/ fountain deity, Mezentius, the deposed king of the Etruscans, and Queen Camilla of the Volsci, who helped him fight Aeneas. Turnus decides to go and fight Aeneas alone for both the kingdom and Lavinia's hand. King Latinus and Queen Amata protest, wanting Turnus to surrender and protect his life, but Turnus ignores their pleas, valuing his honor over his life. Latinus draws up the appropriate treaty, with Aeneas's consent. The next day, the armies gather as spectators on either side of a field in front of the city. Juno worries about Turnus because she suspects that Aeneas outmatches him. She calls Juturna, Turnus's sister, and tells her to watch out for her brother's safety. Latinus and Aeneas both come out onto the battlefield, and each vows to uphold his side of the pact. But Juturna, not wanting her brother to risk the duel, appears to the Latin army disguised as a noble officer named Camers and goads the Latins to break the treaty and fight now that the Trojans are off their guard. Turnus's troops begin to agree, and suddenly one of them hurls a spear at the Trojans' ranks, killing a young soldier. This unprovoked shot ignites both armies. They fly at each other with sword and lance. Aeneas calls for his men to stop, but as he yells, a stray arrow wounds him in the leg, forcing him to retreat. Watching Aeneas leave the field gives Turnus new hope. He enters the battle and lays waste to a slew of soldiers on the Trojan side. Meanwhile, Aeneas is helped back to camp, but the physician cannot remove the arrow from his leg. Venus pities her suffering son and sends down a healing balm. The physician uses the balm, dislodging the arrow and closing the wound. Aeneas takes up his arms again and returns to the battle, where the Latin troops before him scatter in terror. Both he and Turnus kill many men, turning the tide of the battle back and forth. Suddenly, Aeneas realizes that Latinus's city has been left unguarded. He gathers a group of soldiers and attacks the city, panicking its citizens. Queen Amata, seeing the Trojans within the city walls, loses all hope and hangs herself. Turnus hears cries of suffering from the city and rushes back to the rescue. Not wanting his people to suffer further, he calls for the siege to end and for Aeneas to emerge and fight him hand-to-hand, as they had agreed that morning. Aeneas meets him in the city's main courtyard, and at last, with all the troops circled round, the duel begins. First, Aeneas and Turnus toss their spears. They then exchange fierce blows with their swords. At Turnus's first strike, his sword suddenly breaks off at the hilt—in his haste, he had grabbed some other soldier's weaker sword. Turnus flees from Aeneas, calling for his real sword, which Juturna finally furnishes for him. Juno observes the action from above, and Jupiter asks her why she bothers—she already knows the struggle's inevitable outcome. Juno finally gives in and consents to abandon her grudge against Aeneas, on one condition: she wants the victorious Trojans to take on the name and the language of the Latins. Jupiter gladly agrees. Jupiter sends down one of the Furies, who assumes the form of a bird and flaps and shrieks in front of Turnus, filling him with terror and weakening him. Seeing Turnus waver, Aeneas casts his mighty spear and strikes Turnus's leg, and Turnus tumbles to the ground. As Aeneas advances, Turnus pleads for mercy for the sake of his father. Aeneas is moved—but just as he decides to let Turnus live, he sees the belt of Pallas tied around Turnus's shoulder. As Aeneas remembers the slain youth, his rage returns in a surge. In the name of Pallas, Aeneas drives his sword into Turnus, killing him.

Aeneas

In Greco-Roman mythology, (possibly derived from Greek αἰνή meaning "praised") was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Venus (Aphrodite). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons of Ilus, founder of Troy), making Aeneas a second cousin to Priam's children (such as Hector and Paris). He is a character in Greek mythology and is mentioned in Homer's Iliad. Aeneas receives full treatment in Roman mythology, most extensively in Virgil's Aeneid where he is an ancestor of Romulus and Remus. He became the first true hero of Rome.

Penates

In ancient Roman religion, the Di Penates or Penates (/pᵻˈneɪtiːz/; Latin: dī penātēs [ˈdiː ˈpɛ.naːteːs]) were among the dii familiares, or household deities, invoked most often in domestic rituals. When the family had a meal, they threw a bit into the fire on the hearth for the Penates.[1] They were thus associated with Vesta, the Lares, and the Genius of the paterfamilias in the "little universe" of the domus.[2] Like other domestic deities, the Penates had a public counterpart.[3]

Furies

In Greek mythology the Erinyes also known as the Furies, were female deities of vengeance; sometimes referred to as "infernal goddesses". A formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes them as "those who beneath the earth punish whosoever has sworn a false oath".Burkert suggests they are "an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath".[9] Some suppose that they are called Furies in hell. According to Hesiod's Theogony, when the Titan Cronus castrated his father Uranus and threw his genitalia into the sea, the Erinyes as well as the Meliae emerged from the drops of blood when it fell on the earth, while Aphrodite was born from the crests of sea foam. According to variant accounts, they emerged from an even more primordial level—from Nyx ("Night"), or from a union between air and mother earth. Their number is usually left indeterminate. Virgil recognized three: Alecto or Alekto ("endless"), Megaera ("jealous rage"), and Tisiphone or Tilphousia ("vengeful destruction"), all of whom appear in the Aeneid. Dante followed Virgil in depicting the same three-character triptych of Erinyes; in Canto IX of the Inferno they confront the poets at the gates of the city of Dis.

Anchises

In Greek mythology, Anchises (/ænˈkaɪsiːz/ an-ky-seez or /æŋˈkaɪsiːz/ ang-ky-seez; Ancient Greek: Ἀγχίσης, pronounced [aŋkʰi͜ísɛ͜ɛs]) was the son of Capys and Themiste (daughter of Ilus, who was son of Tros). He was the father of Aeneas and a member of the royal family of Troy.[1] His major claim to fame in Greek mythology is that he was a mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite (and in Roman mythology, the lover of Venus). One version is that Aphrodite pretended to be a Phrygian princess and seduced him.[2] She later revealed herself and informed him that they would have a son named Aeneas.[2] Aphrodite had warned him that if he boasted of the affair, he would be blasted by the thunderbolt of Zeus.[2] He did not heed her warning and was struck with a thunderbolt, which in different versions either blinds him or kills him.[3] The principal early narrative of Aphrodite's seduction of Anchises and the birth of Aeneas is the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite. According to the Bibliotheca, Anchises and Aphrodite had another son, Lyrus, who died childless. He later had a mortal wife named Eriopis, according to the scholiasts, and he is credited with other children beside Aeneas and Lyrus.[3] Homer, in the Iliad, mentions a daughter named Hippodameia, their eldest ("the darling of her father and mother"), who married her cousin Alcathous.[4]

Cinyras

In Greek mythology, Cinyras was a king of Cyprus. In many sources he is associated with the cult of Aphrodite on Cyprus, and Adonis, a consort of Aphrodite, is mentioned as his son.

Hippolytus

In Greek mythology, Hippolytus (Greek: Ἱππόλυτος meaning "unleasher of horses")[1] was a son of Theseus and either Antiope or Hippolyte. He was identified with the Roman forest god Virbius. The most common legend regarding Hippolytus states that he was killed after rejecting the advances of Phaedra, his stepmother, the second wife of Theseus. Spurned, Phaedra deceived Theseus saying that his son had raped her. Theseus, furious, used one of the three wishes given to him by Poseidon to curse Hippolytus. Poseidon sent a sea-monster—or, alternatively[citation needed], Dionysus sent a wild bull—to terrorize Hippolytus's horses, who dragged their rider to his death. Versions of this story appear in Euripides' play Hippolytus, Seneca the Younger's play Phaedra, Ovid's Metamorphoses, and Jean Racine's Phèdre.

Phaedra

In Greek mythology, Phaedra /ˈfiːdrə, ˈfɛdrə/ (Ancient Greek: Φαίδρα, Phaidra) is the daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus, sister of Ariadne, and the mother of Demophon of Athens and Acamas. Phaedra's name derives from the Greek word φαιδρός (phaidros), which meant "bright". Though married to Theseus, Phaedra fell in love with Hippolytus, Theseus's son born by either Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, or Antiope, her sister. Euripides placed this story twice on the Athenian stage, of which one version survives. According to some sources, Hippolytus had spurned Aphrodite to remain a steadfast and virginal devotee of Artemis, and Aphrodite made Phaedra fall in love with him as a punishment.[1] He rejected her. In one version, Phaedra's nurse told Hippolytus of her love, and he swore he would not reveal her as a source of information. In revenge, Phaedra wrote Theseus a letter that claimed Hippolytus raped her. Theseus believed her and cursed Hippolytus with one of the three curses he had received from Poseidon.[2] As a result, Hippolytus's horses were frightened by a sea monster and dragged their rider to his death. Alternatively, after Phaedra told Theseus that Hippolytus had raped her, Theseus killed his son and Phaedra committed suicide out of guilt for she had not intended Hippolytus to die. Artemis later told Theseus the truth. In a third version, Phaedra simply told Theseus this and did not kill herself; Dionysus sent a wild bull which terrified Hippolytus's horses.

Sinon

In Greek mythology, Sinon (Greek: "Σίνων",[1] from the verb "σίνομαι"—sinomai, "to harm, to hurt"[2]) a son of Aesimus (son of Autolycus), or of the crafty Sisyphus, was a Greek warrior during the Trojan War. In the Aeneid, he pretended to have deserted the Greeks and, as a Trojan captive, told the Trojans that the giant wooden horse the Greeks had left behind was intended as a gift to the gods to ensure their safe voyage home. He told them that the horse was made so big that the Trojans would not be able to move it into their city, because if they did they would be invincible to later Achaean invasion. His story convinced the Trojans because it included the former details as well as an explanation that he was left behind to die by the doing of Odysseus, who was his enemy. The Trojans brought the Trojan Horse into their city against the advice of Cassandra (given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but condemned to never be believed for not returning his love) and Laocoön (because two serpents came out of the water and strangled him and his sons, which the Trojans saw as a punishment for attacking the horse with a spear). Inside the giant wooden horse were Greek soldiers, who, as night fell, disembarked from the horse and opened the city gates, thus sealing the fate of Troy.[3] He was also an Achaean spy who told the Greeks when the soldiers in the horse had begun their fight. This scene is in neither the Iliad nor the Odyssey but is in the Aeneid; it is central to the perspective Virgil builds, in support of the actual Roman sentiment, of the Greeks as cunning, deceitful, and treacherous.

Temple of Janus

In ancient Rome, the main Temple of Janus stood in the Roman Forum near the Argiletum. It had doors on both ends, and inside was a statue of Janus, the two-faced god of boundaries. The Temple doors (the "Gates of Janus") were closed in times of peace and opened in times of war. According to Livy 1.19 the second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius, decided to distract the early, warlike Romans from their violent ways by instilling in them awe and reverence. His projects included promoting religion, certain priesthoods, and the building of temples as a distraction with the beneficial effect of imbuing spirituality. The Temple of Janus was Numa's most famous temple project.

Evander

In Roman mythology, Evander ("good man" or "strong man": an etymology used by poets to emphasize the hero's virtue) was a culture hero from Arcadia, Greece, who brought the Greek pantheon, laws, and alphabet to Italy, where he founded the city of Pallantium on the future site of Rome, sixty years before the Trojan War. He instituted the festival of the Lupercalia. Evander was deified after his death and an altar was constructed to him on the Aventine Hill. Evander plays a major role in Virgil's Aeneid Books VIII-XII. Previous to the Trojan War, Evander gathered a group of natives to a city he founded in Italy near the Tiber river, which he named Pallantium. Virgil states that he named the city in honor of his son, Pallas, although Pausanias, Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus say that Evander's birth city was Pallantium in Arcadia, after which he named the new city. The oldest tradition[which?] of its founding ascribes to Evander the erection of the Great Altar of Hercules in the Forum Boarium. In Aeneid, VIII, where Aeneas and his crew first come upon Evander and his people, they were venerating Hercules for dispatching the giant Cacus. Virgil's listeners would have related this scene to the same Great Altar of Hercules in the Forum Boarium of their own day, one detail among many in the Aeneid that Virgil used to link the heroic past of myth with the Age of Augustus. Also according to Virgil, Hercules was returning from Gades with Geryon's cattle when Evander entertained him. Evander then became the first to raise an altar to Hercules' heroism. This archaic altar was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome, AD 64. Because of their traditional ties, Evander aids Aeneas in his war against Turnus and the Rutuli: the Arcadian had known the father of Aeneas, Anchises, before the Trojan War, and shares a common ancestry through Atlas with Aeneas's family.

Lavinia

In Roman mythology, Lavinia is the daughter of Latinus and Amata and the last wife of Aeneas. Lavinia, the only child of the king and "ripe for marriage", had been courted by many men who hoped to become the king of Latium. Turnus, ruler of the Rutuli, was the most likely of the suitors, having the favor of Queen Amata. King Latinus is later warned by his father Faunus in a dream oracle that his daughter is not to marry a Latin. "Propose no Latin alliance for your daughter, Son of mine; distrust the bridal chamber Now prepared. Men from abroad will come And be your sons by marriage. Blood so mingled Lifts our name starward. Children of that stock Will see all earth turned Latin at their feet, Governed by them, as far as on his rounds The Sun looks down on Ocean, East or West." Lavinia has what is perhaps her most, or only, memorable moment in Book 7 of the Aeneid, lines 69-83: during sacrifice at the altars of the gods, Lavinia's hair catches fire, an omen promising glorious days to come for Lavinia and war for all Latins. Aeneas and Lavinia had one son, Silvius. Aeneas named the city Lavinium for her. According to an account by Livy, Ascanius was the son of Aeneas and Lavinia; and she ruled the Latins as a power behind the throne, for Ascanius was too young to rule.

Mezentius

In Roman mythology, Mezentius was an Etruscan king, and father of Lausus. Sent into exile because of his cruelty, he moved to Latium. He reveled in bloodshed and was overwhelmingly savage on the battlefield, but more significantly to a Roman audience he was a contemptor divum, a "despiser of the gods." He appears in Virgil's Aeneid, primarily book ten, where he aids Turnus in a war against Aeneas and the Trojans. While in battle with Aeneas, he is critically injured by a spear blow, but his son Lausus bravely blocks Aeneas's final blow. Lausus is then killed by Aeneas, and Mezentius is able to escape death for a short while. Once he hears of Lausus' death, he feels ashamed that his son died in his place and returns to battle on his horse Rhaebus in order to avenge him. He is able to keep Aeneas on the defensive for some time by riding around Aeneas and loosing javelins. Eventually, Aeneas kills the horse with a spear and pins Mezentius underneath. He is overcome by Aeneas, but remains defiant and fearless unto his death, not begging for mercy as Turnus later does, but simply asking that he be buried with his son. In the traditional myth that predates the Aeneid, Mezentius actually outlived Aeneas, who 'disappeared' into the river which Aeneas became associated with in a hero cult. However, since his benefactor Maecenas was a native Etruscan, Virgil portrayed Mezentius as a tyrant,[1] attributing to him personally the evils which the Greek authors had previously accused the Etruscans of, such as torture and savagery, an ethnic prejudice already present in the Homeric Hymns.[citation needed] Thus he created something of a scapegoat of Mezentius and portrayed the Etruscan people as a good race who fight alongside Aeneas.

Pallas

In Roman mythology, Pallas was the son of King Evander. In Virgil's Aeneid, Evander allows Pallas to fight against the Rutuli with Aeneas, who takes him and treats him like his own son Ascanius.[1] In battle, Pallas proves he is a warrior, killing many Rutulians.[2] Pallas is often compared to the Rutulian Lausus, son of Mezentius, who also dies young in battle.[3] Tragically, however, Pallas is eventually killed by Turnus,[4] who takes his sword-belt, which is decorated with the scene of the fifty slaughtered bridegrooms, as a spoil.[5] Throughout the rest of Book X, Aeneas is filled with rage (furor) at the death of the youth, and he rushes through the Latin lines and mercilessly kills his way to Turnus. Turnus, however, is lured away by Juno so that he might be spared, and Aeneas kills Lausus, instead, which he instantly regrets.[6] Pallas' body is carried on his shield back to Evander, who grieves at his loss.[7] However, Pallas' story does not stop there - at the end of Book XII, as Turnus is finally defeated and begs for his life, Aeneas almost spares him, but catches sight of Pallas' baldric, Turnus' fateful spoils.[8] This drives Aeneas into another murderous rage, and the epic ends as he kills Turnus in revenge for Pallas' death. There is an obvious similarity between the latter killing and Achilles killing Hector in revenge for the death of Patroclus in the Iliad.

Romulus

In Roman mythology, Romulus and his twin brother Remus were the children of Rhea Silvia and Mars (or in some variations the demi-god hero Hercules). Romulus and Remus are best known for being the founders of the city of Rome.

Turnus

In Virgil's Aeneid, Turnus was the King of the Rutuli, and the chief antagonist of the hero Aeneas. According to Virgil, Turnus is the son of Daunus and the nymph Venilia. Prior to Aeneas' arrival in Italy, Turnus was the primary potential suitor of Lavinia, daughter of Latinus, King of the Latin people. Upon Aeneas' arrival, however, Lavinia is promised to the Trojan prince. Juno, determined to prolong the suffering of the Trojans, prompts Turnus to demand a war with the new arrivals. King Latinus is greatly displeased with Turnus, but steps down and allows the war to commence.

Aeneas' duty (to whom/what?)

In the Aeneid, the themes of Duty, Religion, and Family are very closely intertwined. The nexus of all these ideas comes in the epithet "pius," by which Virgil regularly refers to Aeneas. Although it's related to our word "pious," this Latin word also includes a strong sense of "devotion to one's family." So, when Aeneas is on his mission to Italy, he is performing a service for his gods, for his ancestors, for his descendents, and for the other Trojans under his command. Some of the Aeneid's main drama arises from conflicts between Aeneas's sense of duty and her personal desires - as when he temporarily falls under the spell of Dido. In the end, though, duty wins out - though Virgil doesn't shy away from depicting how painful this can be. When, in the underworld, Aeneas's father, Anchises, presents a tableau of the events that will lead to Rome's pinnacle, Aeneas comes to understand his historical role with greater clarity and immediacy. The scenes depicted later in the epic on the shield made by Vulcan further focus Aeneas's sentiments and actions toward his destined future. There are moments, of course, when Aeneas seems to lose track of his destiny—particularly during his dalliance with Dido in Carthage. Aeneas is recalled to his duty in this case not by a long historical vision, but by an appeal from Jupiter to his obligation to his son, Ascanius, to whom Aeneas is devoted. Even prior to Virgil's treatment of the Trojan War, Aeneas held a place in the classical tradition as a figure of great piety, just as Ulysses was known for his cunning and Achilles for his rage in battle. The value Aeneas places on family is particularly evident in the scene in which he escorts his father and son out of Troy, bearing his elderly father on his back. He behaves no less honorably toward the gods, earnestly seeking to find out their wishes and conform to them as fully as possible. His words to Dido in Books IV and VI express his commitment to obey fate rather than indulge his feelings of genuine romantic love. This subordination of personal desire to duty defines Aeneas's character and earns him the repeated moniker "pious Aeneas." His behavior contrasts with Juno's and Turnus's in this regard, as those characters both fight fate every step of the way.

Roman fate

In the Roman world, Fate and the Gods played a huge part in the lives of humans. Roman people believed that Fate predetermined their destiny, and the Gods influenced every area of their lives. They looked to the Gods for both assistance and approval, and because they believed the Gods to have power over every area of daily life, the Romans went to great lengths to gain the favour and approval of the Gods. However, while Romans generally lived a life of morals, they did not do this in order to please the Gods. The Gods themselves were neither good nor bad and did not seem to be overly concerned with the virtue of their followers. They did not reward good morals, or punish people who did not live moralistically. Instead, people attempted to please the gods by following an elaborate and specific set of rituals, including prayers and sacrifices. These rituals would be carried out within each individual home on a daily basis, and were also a significant part of all religious (for example weddings and funerals) and political ceremonies.

Temptations of Aeneas

In the course of the poem we find an Aeneas who attempts to live in accordance to the dictates of reason or fate, to do his duty and fulfill his destiny, but who is constantly frustrated in these efforts. He is also very human in his weakness (again, a trait that distinguishes him from the Homeric Achilles), yielding in turn to the "temptations" of amor and ira. Books 1-4 present an Aeneas who is worn out with cares and wandering, and who is tempted to settle with Dido and her people. Dido is an altogether sympathetic figure, an individual who herself has suffered deeply and who has undergone a fate very similar to that of Aeneas. It is altogether natural for him to want to give in — to simply stop struggling to fulfill his as yet only vaguely defined destiny — yet in the end he is compelled by Jupiter and by his fate to go on, thus condemning Dido to a grisly and ignominious end and leaving the formerly peaceful and harmonious Carthaginians in a state of civil disarray. Dido's character serves two other distinct purposes. First, Virgil uses the Dido/Aeneas conflict to explain the antagonistic relationship between Rome and Carthage in the real world, which came to a head during the Punic Wars. More interesting, however, is the notion that Virgil employs Dido in order to reveal Aeneas's humanity. The protagonist usually seems too perfect: a flawless, unfailingly moral paragon of virtue and courage. By creating a situation in which Aeneas reveals his weakness in the face of love, tempted to stray from his fate - forcing his fleet to dock in Carthage for an uncomfortably, irresponsibly long period of time - Aeneas is revealed as not just a goddess-born hero, but as an imperfect man. His decision to give up love for the betterment of future generations is truly difficult for him, making his decision arguably more honorable. Another interesting aspect of Book IV is its frequent reference to Ascanius. Aeneas is distracted from his destiny by the temptation of love, and he is only able to regain his focus when he realizes that he will not only be depriving himself of an empire, but will be denying his son the great future that awaits him on Italian soil. This circumstance recalls the importance placed on family, as has been seen in Aeneas's relationship with Anchises. The multi-generational aspect of the epic reveals the value that Virgil's contemporaries placed on respecting one's ancestors and providing for one's descendants.

Juturna

In the myth and religion of ancient Rome, Juturna was a goddess of fountains, wells and springs. She was a sister of Turnus and supported him against Aeneas by giving him his sword after he dropped it in battle, as well as taking him away from the battle when it seemed he would be killed. She was also the mother of Fontus by Janus. Jupiter turned her into a water nymph and gave her a sacred well in Lavinium, Latium, as well as another one near the temple to Vesta in the Forum Romanum. The pool next to the second well was called Lacus Juturnae. Juturna had an affair with Jupiter but the secret was betrayed by another nymph, Larunda, whom Jupiter struck with muteness as punishment.

Laocoon

Laocoön (/leɪˈɒkoʊˌɒn, -kəˌwɒn/;[1][2] Ancient Greek: Λαοκόων, IPA: [laokóɔːn]), the son of Acoetes, is a figure in Greek and Roman mythology and the Epic Cycle.[3] He was a Trojan priest who was attacked, with his two sons, by giant serpents sent by the gods. Though not mentioned by Homer, the story of Laocoön had been the subject of a tragedy, now lost, by Sophocles and was mentioned by other Greek writers, though the events around the attack by the serpents vary considerably. The most famous account of these is now in Virgil's Aeneid where Laocoön was a priest of Poseidon (or Neptune for the Romans), who was killed with both his sons after attempting to expose the ruse of the Trojan Horse by striking it with a spear.[4] Virgil gives Laocoön the famous line "Equō nē crēdite, Teucrī / Quidquid id est, timeō Danaōs et dōna ferentēs", or "Do not trust the Horse, Trojans / Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even bearing gifts." This line is the source of the saying: "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts." In Sophocles, however, he was a priest of Apollo, who should have been celibate but had married. The serpents killed only the two sons, leaving Laocoön himself alive to suffer.[5] In other versions he was killed for having committed an impiety by making love with his wife in the presence of a cult image in a sanctuary,[6] or simply making a sacrifice in the temple with his wife present.[7] In this second group of versions, the snakes were sent by Poseidon[8] and in the first by Poseidon and Athena, or Apollo, and the deaths were interpreted by the Trojans as proof that the horse was a sacred object. The two versions have rather different morals: Laocoön was either punished for doing wrong, or for being right.[9]

Lars Porsenna

Lars Porsena was an Etruscan king known for his war against the city of Rome. He ruled over the city of Clusium.

Latinus

Latinus was a figure in both Greek and Roman mythology. In Hesiod's Theogony, Latinus was the son of Odysseus and Circe who ruled the Tyrsenoi, presumably the Etruscans, with his brothers Ardeas and Telegonus. Latinus is also referred to, as the son of Pandora II and brother of Graecus, although according to Hesiod, Graecus had three brothers, Hellen, Magnitas, and Macedon, with the first being the father of Doros, Xuthos, and Aeolos. In later Roman mythology (notably Virgil's Aeneid), Latinus, or Lavinius, was a king of the Latins. He is sometimes described as the son of Faunus and Marica, and father of Lavinia with his wife, Amata. He hosted Aeneas's army of exiled Trojans and offered them the chance to reorganize their life in Latium. His wife Amata wished his daughter Lavinia to be betrothed to Turnus, king of the Rutuli, but Faunus and the gods insisted that he give her instead to Aeneas; consequently, Turnus declared war on Aeneas and was killed two weeks into the conflict. Ascanius, the son of Aeneas, later founded Alba Longa and was the first in a long series of kings leading to Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. This version is not compatible with the Greek one: the Trojan War had ended only eight years earlier, and Odysseus only met Circe a couple of months later, so any son of the pair could only be seven years old, whereas the Roman Latinus had an adult daughter by then.

Lausus

Lausus was the son of the ousted Etruscan king Mezentius, and fought with him against Aeneas and the Trojans in Italy. He appears in Virgil's Aeneid in Books VII and X. When his father is wounded by Aeneas, Lausus steps in between them, and Aeneas strikes them down. In doing so, Lausus embodies the idea of pietas that Virgil praises throughout, exemplified in the relationships of Anchises and Aeneas and of Pallas and Evander. Aeneas immediately feels remorse for having killed the boy, and reproaches Lausus' men for keeping a distance rather than caring for the body: "Then to the stripling's tardy followers / he sternly called, and lifted from the earth / with his own hand the fallen foe: dark blood / defiled those princely tresses braided fair."[1] Lausus is considered a foil to Pallas, the son of King Evander: both are young, come down from royal blood, are handsome, strong, full of filial piety, and both die at the hands of greater heroes.

Lucian

Lucian of Samosata (/ˈluːʃən, ˈluːsiən/; Ancient Greek: Λουκιανὸς ὁ Σαμοσατεύς, Latin: Lucianus Samosatensis; c. AD 125 - after AD 180) was a rhetorician[1] and satirist who wrote in the Greek language during the Second Sophistic. He is noted for his witty and scoffing nature. Although he wrote solely in Greek, mainly Attic Greek, he was ethnically Assyrian.[2][3] Lucian claimed to be a native speaker of a "barbarian tongue" (Double Indictment, 27) which was most likely Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic Lucian admired the works of Epicurus, for he breaks off a witty satire against Alexander of Abonoteichus, who burned a book of Epicurus, to exclaim: What blessings that book creates for its readers and what peace, tranquillity, and freedom it engenders in them, liberating them as it does from terrors and apparitions and portents, from vain hopes and extravagant cravings, developing in them intelligence and truth, and truly purifying their understanding, not with torches and squills [i. e. sea onions] and that sort of foolery, but with straight thinking, truthfulness and frankness.[7]

Places Lucian 'visited'

Lucian's practice was to travel about, giving amusing discourses and witty lectures improvised on the spot, somewhat as a rhapsode had done in declaiming poetry at an earlier period. In this way Lucian travelled through Ionia and mainland Greece, to Italy and even to Gaul, and won much wealth and fame.

Seneca

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (often known as Seneca the Younger or simply Seneca /ˈsɛnɪkə/; c. 4 BC - AD 65) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was a tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero. While he was forced to commit suicide for alleged complicity in the Pisonian conspiracy to assassinate Nero, some sources state that he may have been innocent.[1][2] His father was Seneca the Elder, his elder brother was Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus, and his nephew was the poet Lucan.

Collatinus

Lucius Tarquinius Ar. f. Ar. n. Collatinus was one of the first consuls of the Roman Republic in 509 BC, together with Lucius Junius Brutus. The two men were leaders of the revolution which overthrew the Roman monarchy; ironically Collatinus was forced to resign his office and go into exile as a result of the hatred he had helped engender in the people against the former ruling house.

Tarquinius Superbus

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (died 495 BC) was the legendary seventh and final king of Rome, reigning from 535 BC until the popular uprising in 509 that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic. He is commonly known as Tarquin the Proud, from his cognomen Superbus (Latin for "proud, arrogant, lofty").[1] Ancient accounts of the Regal period mingle history and legend. Tarquin was said to have been the son or grandson of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome, and to have gained the throne through the murders of both his wife and his elder brother, followed by the assassination of his predecessor, Servius Tullius. His reign is described as a tyranny that justified the abolition of the monarchy.

Rape of Lucretia

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, last king of Rome, being engaged in the siege of Ardea, sent his son, Sextus Tarquinius, on a military errand to Collatia. Sextus was received with great hospitality at the governor's mansion, home of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, son of the king's nephew, Arruns Tarquinius, former governor of Collatia and first of the Tarquinii Collatini. Collatinus' wife, Lucretia, daughter of Spurius Lucretius, prefect of Rome, "a man of distinction",[3] made sure that the king's son was treated as became his rank, although her husband was away at the siege. In a variant of the story,[4] Sextus and Collatinus, at a wine party on furlough, were debating the virtues of wives when Collatinus volunteered to settle the debate by all of them riding to his home to see what Lucretia was doing. She was weaving with her maids. The party awarded her the palm of victory and Collatinus invited them to visit, but for the time being they returned to camp. At night Sextus entered her bedroom by stealth, quietly going around the slaves who were sleeping at her door. She awakened, he identified himself and offered her two choices: she could submit to his sexual advances and become his wife and future queen, or he would kill her and one of her slaves and place the bodies together, then claim he had caught her having adulterous sex (see sexuality in ancient Rome for Roman attitudes toward sex). In the alternative story, he returned from camp a few days later with one companion to take Collatinus up on his invitation to visit and was lodged in a guest bedroom. He entered Lucretia's room while she lay naked in her bed and started to wash her belly with water, which woke her up. Hearing of the doings at Rome, the king, his sons and a party of retainers rode posthaste for the city, leaving Titus Herminius and Marcus Horatius in command of the troops at Ardea. The gates of Rome being barred and armed men on the wall, they returned to camp. Meanwhile, letters had arrived from the revolutionary committee and were read to the troops by Herminius and Horatius. The men were assembled by unit for a vote, by which the revolution was confirmed. In one story the Tarquins escaped to Gabii. A 15-year truce was made with Ardea. The troops returned to Rome. Superbus was not long in Gabii. He had to retire with his men to Tarquinii, where he raised the standard of intervention among the Etruscans. In an alternative story he went directly to Tarquinii with two of his sons; the third, Sextus, attempted to resume control of Gabii, but was assassinated. The Romans had to face one intervention by the Etruscans (Horatius Cocles) and another by the Latin League (Battle of Lake Regillus). Sentiment ran high against the Tarquins. Collatinus was asked to resign over constitutional issues. He complied and was replaced by Publius Valerius Publicola.

Lucretia

Lucretia was a legendary Roman matron whose fate played a vital role in the transition from a Roman Kingdom into a Roman Republic. While there were no contemporary sources, accounts from Roman historian Livy (Livius) and Greek-Roman historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus from the time of Emperor Caesar Augustus (around the start of the Common Era) agreed that there was such a woman and that her suicide after being raped by an Etruscan king's son was the immediate cause of the anti-monarchist rebellion that overthrew the monarchy.

Camillus

Marcus Furius Camillus was a Roman soldier and statesman of patrician descent. According to Livy and Plutarch, Camillus triumphed four times, was five times dictator, and was honoured with the title of Second Founder of Rome.

Brutus

Marcus Junius Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic. After being adopted by his uncle he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, but eventually returned to using his original name. He is best known in modern times for taking a leading role in the assassination of Julius Caesar.

Nero

Nero (/ˈnɪəroʊ/; Latin: Nerō Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus;[1] 15 December 37 AD - 9 June 68 AD)[2] was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his grand-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death. Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade and enhancing the cultural life of the Empire, but according to the historian Tacitus he was viewed by the Roman people as compulsive and corrupt. He ordered theatres built and promoted athletic games. During his reign, the redoubtable general Corbulo conducted a successful war and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire. His general Suetonius Paulinus crushed a revolt in Britain. Nero annexed the Bosporan Kingdom to the Empire and began the First Jewish-Roman War. In 64 AD, most of Rome was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome, which many Romans believed Nero himself had started in order to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea. In 68, the rebellion of Vindex in Gaul and later the acclamation of Galba in Hispania drove Nero from the throne. Facing a false report of being denounced as a public enemy who was to be executed, he committed suicide on 9 June 68 (the first Roman emperor to do so).[3] His death ended the Julio-Claudian dynasty, sparking a brief period of civil wars known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Nero's rule is often associated with tyranny and extravagance.[4] He is known for many executions, including that of his mother,[5] and the probable murder by poison of his stepbrother Britannicus. Nero was rumored to have had captured Christians dipped in oil and set on fire in his garden at night as a source of light.[6] This view is based on the writings of Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio, the main surviving sources for Nero's reign, but a few surviving sources paint Nero in a more favourable light.[7] Some sources, including some mentioned above, portray him as an emperor who was popular with the common Roman people, especially in the East.[8] Some modern historians question the reliability of ancient sources when reporting on Nero's tyrannical acts.[9]

Nero's influence

Nero was not expected to become Emperor because his maternal uncle, Caligula, had begun his reign at the age of 24 with enough time to produce his own heir. Nero's mother, Agrippina, lost favour with Caligula and was exiled in 39 after her husband's death.[15] Caligula seized Nero's inheritance and sent him to be brought up by his less wealthy aunt, Domitia Lepida, who was the mother of Valeria Messalina, Claudius's third wife.[12] Caligula, his wife Caesonia and their infant daughter Julia Drusilla were murdered on 24 January 41.[16] These events led Claudius, Caligula's uncle, to become emperor.[17] Claudius allowed Agrippina to return from exile.[12] Claudius had married twice before marrying Valeria Messalina.[18] His previous marriages produced three children including a son, Drusus, who died at a young age.[19] He had two children with Messalina - Claudia Octavia (born 40) and Britannicus (born 41).[19] Messalina was executed by Claudius in the year 48.[18] In 49 AD, Claudius married a fourth time, to Nero's mother Agrippina, despite her being his niece.[19] To aid Claudius politically, young Nero was adopted in 50 and took the name Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus (see adoption in Rome).[20] Nero was older than his stepbrother Britannicus, and thus became heir to the throne.[21] Nero was proclaimed an adult in 51 at the age of 14.[22] He was appointed proconsul, entered and first addressed the Senate, made joint public appearances with Claudius, and was featured in coinage.[22] In 53, he married his stepsister Claudia Octavia.[23] According to Suetonius and Cassius Dio, the people of Rome celebrated the death of Nero.[154][155] Tacitus, though, describes a more complicated political environment. Tacitus mentions that Nero's death was welcomed by Senators, nobility and the upper class.[156] The lower-class, slaves, frequenters of the arena and the theater, and "those who were supported by the famous excesses of Nero", on the other hand, were upset with the news.[156] Members of the military were said to have mixed feelings, as they had allegiance to Nero, but were bribed to overthrow him.[157] Eastern sources, namely Philostratus II and Apollonius of Tyana, mention that Nero's death was mourned as he "restored the liberties of Hellas with a wisdom and moderation quite alien to his character"[158] and that he "held our liberties in his hand and respected them."[159] Modern scholarship generally holds that, while the Senate and more well-off individuals welcomed Nero's death, the general populace was "loyal to the end and beyond, for Otho and Vitellius both thought it worthwhile to appeal to their nostalgia."[160] Nero's name was erased from some monuments, in what Edward Champlin regards as an "outburst of private zeal".[161] Many portraits of Nero were reworked to represent other figures; according to Eric R. Varner, over fifty such images survive.[162] This reworking of images is often explained as part of the way in which the memory of disgraced emperors was condemned posthumously (see damnatio memoriae).[162] Champlin, however, doubts that the practice is necessarily negative and notes that some continued to create images of Nero long after his death.[163] Apotheosis of Nero, c. after 68. Artwork portraying Nero rising to divine status after his death. The civil war during the year of the Four Emperors was described by ancient historians as a troubling period.[97] According to Tacitus, this instability was rooted in the fact that emperors could no longer rely on the perceived legitimacy of the imperial bloodline, as Nero and those before him could.[156] Galba began his short reign with the execution of many allies of Nero and possible future enemies.[164] One such notable enemy included Nymphidius Sabinus, who claimed to be the son of Emperor Caligula.[165] Otho overthrew Galba. Otho was said to be liked by many soldiers because he had been a friend of Nero's and resembled him somewhat in temperament.[166] It was said that the common Roman hailed Otho as Nero himself.[167] Otho used "Nero" as a surname and reerected many statues to Nero.[167] Vitellius overthrew Otho. Vitellius began his reign with a large funeral for Nero complete with songs written by Nero.[168] After Nero's suicide in 68, there was a widespread belief, especially in the eastern provinces, that he was not dead and somehow would return.[169] This belief came to be known as the Nero Redivivus Legend. The legend of Nero's return lasted for hundreds of years after Nero's death. Augustine of Hippo wrote of the legend as a popular belief in 422.[170] At least three Nero imposters emerged leading rebellions. The first, who sang and played the cithara or lyre and whose face was similar to that of the dead emperor, appeared in 69 during the reign of Vitellius.[171] After persuading some to recognize him, he was captured and executed.[171] Sometime during the reign of Titus (79-81), another impostor appeared in Asia and sang to the accompaniment of the lyre and looked like Nero but he, too, was killed.[172] Twenty years after Nero's death, during the reign of Domitian, there was a third pretender. He was supported by the Parthians, who only reluctantly gave him up,[173] and the matter almost came to war

Numa

Numa Pompilius was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political institutions are attributed to him.

Pius/pietas

Pietas, translated variously as "duty", "religiosity"[1] or "religious behavior",[2] "loyalty",[3] "devotion", or "filial piety" (English "piety" derives from the Latin), was one of the chief virtues among the ancient Romans. It was the distinguishing virtue of the founding hero Aeneas, who is often given the adjectival epithet pius ("religious") throughout Vergil's epic Aeneid. The sacred nature of pietas was embodied by the divine personification Pietas, a goddess often pictured on Roman coins. The Greek equivalent is eusebeia (εὐσέβεια).[4] Cicero defined pietas as the virtue "which admonishes us to do our duty to our country or our parents or other blood relations."[5] The man who possessed pietas "performed all his duties towards the deity and his fellow human beings fully and in every respect," as the 19th-century classical scholar Georg Wissowa described it.

Imperium/imperator

The Latin word imperator was originally a title roughly equivalent to commander under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part of the titulature of the Roman Emperors as part of their cognomen. The English word emperor derives from imperator via Old French Empereür. The Roman emperors themselves generally based their authority on multiple titles and positions, rather than preferring any single title. Nevertheless, imperator was used relatively consistently as an element of a Roman ruler's title throughout the principate (derived from princeps, from which prince in English is derived) and the dominate.

Maiestas

The Law of treason, or lex maiestatis, refers to any one of several ancient Roman laws (leges maiestatis) throughout the republican and Imperial periods dealing with crimes against the Roman people, state, or Emperor. majesty, dignity, prestige treason

Polydorus

Polydorus (Polydoros; Ancient Greek: Πολύδωρος) is the youngest son of Priam and Hecuba in the mythology of the Trojan War. Polydorus is an example of the fluid nature of myth, as his role and story vary significantly in different traditions and sources. In Homer's Greek epic the Iliad, Polydorus is depicted briefly as a foe to Achilles. According to this source, Polydorus was the youngest son of Priam, and thus his father would not let him fight. Achilles, however, sees him on the battlefield showing off his great speed running through the lines and spears him, ending his life. Seeing his brother Polydorus' death causes Hector to challenge Achilles.[1] In Euripides' tragedy Hecuba, the ghost of Polydorus is a character, and his death is the cause of the main conflict of the play. Polydorus' ghost presents the prologue of the play, explaining that he was sent to Thrace under the protection of King Polymestor in case Troy fell. With his son, Priam sent gold so that if Troy should fall his son could continue to support himself. Once Troy fell, however, Polymestor killed Polydorus by throwing him into the sea and stole the gold. Polydorus laments the fact that his body is adrift in the sea without the proper death rites. Later in the play, a slave woman tells Hecuba that Polydorus' body has been found washed up on shore. Hecuba explains that she saw the murderer of Polydorus in a dream and it is Polymestor. Aided by Agamemnon and the other captive women, Hecuba proceeds to avenge her son's murder by killing Polymestor's sons and blinding him.[2] This same story of Polydorus is the subject of an episode in Ovid's Metamorphoses.[3] In Vergil's Roman epic the Aeneid, Aeneas lands in Thrace hoping to establish a colony for his people. The land is overgrown with various plants, and as Aeneas begins to uproot them, they begin to spout blood. The plant begins to speak and explains that it is Polydorus - the spears that were used to kill him stuck into the ground and took root, transforming into plants. It is explained that Priam sent Polydorus to Thrace with payment to the Thracian king[4] so that he would be protected if Troy fell. When Troy did fall, the king broke his pact with the Trojans, killed Polydorus in order to ingratiate himself with Agamemnon and kept the payment. Aeneas goes on to give Polydorus a proper burial.[5]

Horatius Cocles

Publius Horatius Cocles was an officer in the army of the ancient Roman Republic who famously defended the Pons Sublicius from the invading army of Lars Porsena, king of Clusium in the late 6th century BC, during the war between Rome and Clusium.

Vergil

Publius Vergilius Maro (Classical Latin: [ˈpuː.blɪ.ʊs wɛrˈɡɪ.lɪ.ʊs ˈma.roː]; October 15, 70 BC - September 21, 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil /ˈvɜːrdʒᵻl/ in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues (or Bucolics), the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid. A number of minor poems, collected in the Appendix Vergiliana, are sometimes attributed to him. Virgil is traditionally ranked as one of Rome's greatest poets. His Aeneid has been considered the national epic of ancient Rome from the time of its composition to the present day. Modeled after Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the Aeneid follows the Trojan refugee Aeneas as he struggles to fulfill his destiny and arrive on the shores of Italy—in Roman mythology the founding act of Rome. Virgil's work has had wide and deep influence on Western literature, most notably Dante's Divine Comedy, in which Virgil appears as Dante's guide through hell and purgatory.

Pyrrhus/Neoptolemus

Pyrrhus (/ˈpɪrəs/; Πύρρος, Pyrrhos; 319/318-272 BC) was a Greek general and statesman of the Hellenistic period.[1][2][3][4] He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians,[3][5] of the royal Aeacid house (from c. 297 BC),[6] and later he became king of Epirus (r. 306-302, 297-272 BC) and Macedon (r. 288-284, 273-272 BC).[citation needed] He was one of the strongest opponents of early Rome. Some of his battles, though successful, caused him heavy losses, from which the term Pyrrhic victory was coined. He is the subject of one of Plutarch's Parallel Lives. Neoptolemus (/ˌniːəpˈtɒlᵻməs/; Greek: Νεοπτόλεμος, Neoptolemos, "new warrior"), also called Pyrrhus (/ˈpɪrəs/; Πύρρος, Purrhos, "red", for his red hair), was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia in Greek mythology, and also the mythical progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the Molossians of ancient Epirus. Achilles' mother Thetis foretold many years before Achilles' birth that there would be a great war. She saw that her only son was to die if he fought in the war. She sought a place for him to avoid fighting in the Trojan War, due to a prophecy of his death in the conflict. She disguised him as a woman in the court of Lycomedes, the King of Scyros. During that time, he had an affair with the princess, Deidamea, who then gave birth to Neoptolemus. Neoptolemus was originally called Pyrrhus, because his father had taken Pyrrha, the female version of that name, while disguised as a woman.

Romanness

Romanitas is the collection of political and cultural concepts and practices by which the Romans defined themselves. It is a Latin word, first coined in the third century AD, meaning Roman-ness and has been used by modern historians as shorthand to refer to Roman identity and self-image. Romanitas means, as a rough approximation, Roman-ness in Latin,[1] although it has also been translated as "Romanism, the Roman way or manner". It was not a word used in ancient times, but it is used by modern writers to express the ideals which inspired the Roman state. It meant a great many things, but in short it meant what it was to be Roman (that is, Roman-ness). The Roman ideal was the citizen/soldier/farmer. The farmer was a hard working, frugal, practical man who worked the land with his own hands. The soldier was a courageous, strong man who obeyed orders and risked his own life in the name of Rome. Prior to the formation, under Gaius Marius, of the standing Roman Army, Rome had a militia-type defence-force which could be called up in time of war and then disbanded during peacetime. The ideal of the citizen/soldier/farmer was Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. According to Roman legend, Cincinnatus was tending his farm when a messenger arrived, telling him that Rome was under attack and that he had been elected dictator. He was at first reluctant to go, but the Senate pleaded with him. He defeated the enemy tribe within a matter of weeks and, despite there remaining most of his six-month term as dictator with absolute power, returned to his farm.

Rome

Rome (/ˈroʊm/ rohm; Italian: Roma [ˈroːma] ( listen), Latin: Rōma) is a city and special comune (named Roma Capitale) in Italy. Rome is the capital of Italy and of the Lazio region. With 2.9 million residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi), it is also the country's largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. The Metropolitan City of Rome has a population of 4.3 million residents.[2] The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of Tiber river. The Vatican City is an independent country geographically located within the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states.[3][4] Rome's history spans more than two and a half thousand years. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe.[5] The city's early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and Sabines. Eventually, the city successively became the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and is regarded as one of the birthplaces of Western civilization and by some as the first ever metropolis.[6] It is referred to as "Roma Aeterna" (The Eternal City) [7] and "Caput Mundi" (Capital of the World), two central notions in ancient Roman culture.

Remus

Romulus /ˈrɒmjᵿləs/ and Remus /ˈriːməs/ were the twin brothers and main characters of Rome's foundation myth. (The pronunciation in English is different from the Latin original Rōmulus and Rĕmus). According to Roman tradition, of which Livy's account is now the earliest to survive in full, their mother was Rhea Silvia, daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa. Before their conception, Numitor's brother Amulius seized power, killed Numitor's male heirs and forced Rhea Silvia to become a Vestal Virgin, sworn to chastity. Rhea Silvia conceived the twins by the god Mars. Once the twins were born, Amulius had them abandoned to die in the Tiber river. They were saved by a series of miraculous interventions: the river carried them to safety, a she-wolf found and suckled them, and a woodpecker fed them. A shepherd and his wife found them and fostered them to manhood as simple shepherds. The twins, still ignorant of their true origins, proved to be natural leaders. Each acquired many followers. When they discovered the truth of their birth, they killed Amulius and restored Numitor to his throne. Rather than wait to inherit Alba Longa, they chose to found a new city. While Romulus wanted to found the new city on the Palatine Hill, Remus preferred the Aventine Hill.[2] They agreed to determine the site through augury but when each claimed the results in his own favor, they quarreled and Remus was killed.[3] Romulus founded the new city, named it Rome, after himself, and created its first legions and senate. The new city grew rapidly, swelled by landless refugees; as most of these were male and unmarried, Romulus arranged the abduction of women from the neighboring Sabines. The ensuing war ended with the joining of Sabines and Romans as one Roman people. Thanks to divine favour and Romulus's inspired leadership, Rome became a dominant force, but Romulus himself became increasingly autocratic, and disappeared or died in mysterious circumstances. In later forms of the myth, he ascended to heaven and was identified with Quirinus, the divine personification of the Roman people. The legend as a whole encapsulates Rome's ideas of itself, its origins and moral values. For modern scholarship, it remains one of the most complex and problematic of all foundation myths, particularly Remus's death. Ancient historians had no doubt that Romulus gave his name to the city. Most modern historians believe his name a back-formation from the name Rome; the basis for Remus's name and role remain subjects of ancient and modern speculation. The myth was fully developed into something like an "official", chronological version in the Late Republican and early Imperial era; Roman historians dated the city's foundation to between 758 and 728 BC, and Plutarch reckoned the twins' birth year as c. 27/28 March 771 BC. An earlier tradition that gave Romulus a distant ancestor in the semi-divine Trojan prince Aeneas was further embellished, and Romulus was made the direct ancestor of Rome's first Imperial dynasty. Possible historical bases for the broad mythological narrative remain unclear and disputed.[4] The image of the she-wolf suckling the divinely fathered twins became an iconic representation of the city and its founding legend, making Romulus and Remus preeminent among the feral children of ancient mythography.

Sextus Tarquinius

Sextus Tarquinius was the third and youngest son of the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Proud). According to Roman tradition, his rape of Lucretia was the precipitating event in the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the Roman Republic.

Silver Age of Latin Literature

Silver Age, in Latin literature, the period from approximately ad 18 to 133, which was a time of marked literary achievement second only to the previous Golden Age (70 bc-ad 18). By the 1st century ad political patronage of the arts begun in the Augustan Age (43 bc-ad 18) and a stifling reverence for the literature of the Golden Age, particularly for the poetry of Virgil, had led to a general decline in original literary output. Under such tyrants as Caligula and Nero, speech making was a dangerous art, and rhetoricians turned to literature, influencing the development of the elaborate and poetical style characteristic of Silver Age prose. An increased provincial influence in Rome, while leading to an adulteration of the pure classical forms, contributed to the cosmopolitan outlook that was reflected in the psychologically perceptive and humanist tone of much of the best works of the period. A great variety of literary forms was evident during the Silver Age. Of these, satire was the most vigorous, as exemplified by Juvenal in virulent satires of rich and powerful figures; by Martial in elegant epigrams on contemporary society; by Petronius in the picaresque novel Satyricon (1st century ad); and by Persius in poetic satires supporting the stoic philosophy. History was the particular realm of Tacitus and Suetonius; Pliny the Elder and the Younger wrote letters on biography, science, natural history, grammar, history, and contemporary affairs. Quintilian excelled in literary criticism, Lucan in the epic form, Statius in poetry, Lucius Annaeus Seneca in rhetoric, and his son of the same name in tragedy.

The III fates

The Fates were a common motif in European polytheism, most frequently represented as a group of three mythological goddesses (although the numbers differed in certain eras and cultures). They were often depicted as weavers of a tapestry on a loom, with the tapestry dictating the destinies of men. The 3 Fates were the mythological seamstresses who would spin, measure, and cut every mortal's life line. They decide what a person is, will be, and will become. They are independent of the Gods, and they keep destiny, and own the eternity. LACHESIS She would measure and decide the destiny of the thread of life. She measured with her divine staff, and choose the persons pathway through life. Her along with her sisters she would appear 3 days after the birth of a child. Even though they weren't technically gods they played a major role in mythological history and make appearances in many stories. Some present day stories they feature in are Disney Hercules, and Percy Jackson. Clotho is the spinner of the life line. She decides when a person is born and when they will die. She is the youngest of the sisters and is credited in multiple stories in Greek mythology. Most notably she created the Alphabet along with Hermes. As the eldest of the three fates she was known as the "Inevitable." By cutting the thread with her shears she chose the mechanism of death and ended the life of each individual.

Republican revolution

The Roman Republic (Latin: Res publica Romana; Classical Latin: [ˈreːs ˈpuːb.lɪ.ka roːˈmaː.na]) was the period of ancient Roman civilization beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom, traditionally dated to 509 BC, and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire. It was during this period that Rome's control expanded from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. During the first two centuries of its existence, the Roman Republic expanded through a combination of conquest and alliance, from central Italy to the entire Italian peninsula. By the following century, it included North Africa, Spain, and what is now southern France. Two centuries after that, towards the end of the 1st century BC, it included the rest of modern France, Greece, and much of the eastern Mediterranean. By this time, internal tensions led to a series of civil wars, culminating with the assassination of Julius Caesar, which led to the transition from republic to empire. The exact date of transition can be a matter of interpretation. Historians have variously proposed Julius Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon River in 49 BC, Caesar's appointment as dictator for life in 44 BC, and the defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. However, most use the same date as did the ancient Romans themselves, the Roman Senate's grant of extraordinary powers to Octavian and his adopting the title Augustus in 27 BC, as the defining event ending the Republic. Roman government was headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and advised by a senate composed of appointed magistrates. As Roman society was very hierarchical by modern standards, the evolution of the Roman government was heavily influenced by the struggle between the patricians, Rome's land-holding aristocracy, who traced their ancestry to the founding of Rome, and the plebeians, the far more numerous citizen-commoners. Over time, the laws that gave patricians exclusive rights to Rome's highest offices were repealed or weakened, and leading plebeian families became full members of the aristocracy. The leaders of the Republic developed a strong tradition and morality requiring public service and patronage in peace and war, making military and political success inextricably linked. Many of Rome's legal and legislative structures (later codified into the Justinian Code, and again into the Napoleonic Code) can still be observed throughout Europe and much of the world in modern nation states and international organizations.

Character of Turnus

The Rutulian warrior Turnus represents is different from Aeneas in a lot of ways. He's brash, hotheaded, and seems to care only for himself. That said, he is also an extremely courageous warrior, doing stuff Aeneas seems to have outgrown since the fall of Troy made him take a good hard look at himself and decide to become a responsible leader for his people. For example, you've got to give Turnus major props for running into the Trojan fort alone and taking on the entire garrison. (OK, this was kind of an accident, because they shut the doors behind him, but a lesser man definitely would have surrendered.) Then, apparently in full armor, he throws himself into the Tiber river, just to avoid being killed or captured. Another thing Turnus seems to have that Aeneas doesn't show much of is a capacity for passionate romance. Sure, Aeneas showed his sensitive side for Dido...while trying to get her to stop crying about him abandoning her and claiming they weren't married. But Turnus really feels his blood boiling when he sees Lavinia blushing in front of him. In fact, he gets so mightily aroused that he decides to...go off and kill some guys. OK, maybe this is less like romance and more like good old fashioned lust. And maybe lust for the power that would come with a marriage to Latinus's daughter has something to do with it. Turnus certainly shows his greedy side when he takes the ornamental belt from the corpse of Pallas. Turnus also gets himself into hot water in the classic (make that classical) scenario of the guy who can dish it out but can't take it. This is because, after refusing any possibility of accommodation with the Trojans, or of accepting a less prestigious woman as his wife, Turnus pretty much guarantees that he's going to have to fight Aeneas one-on-one. When it actually comes down to it, though, Turnus doesn't stand a chance. Maybe we're being a bit hard on him here, because there was a bit of bad luck involved, what with him having the wrong sword and the gods backing up Aeneas. Still, he doesn't come off very well when, just before Aeneas is about to kill him, Turnus suddenly remembers that he has a dad - after not seeming like the slightest bit of a family man up until now - and tries to use him as an excuse for Aeneas to spare his life. We're not saying that Aeneas was justified in killing Turnus, but the Rutulian warrior still doesn't put in a very good showing. Turnus is a counterpart to Dido, another of Juno's protégés who must eventually perish in order for Aeneas to fulfill his destiny. Both Turnus and Dido represent forces of irrationality in contrast to Aeneas's pious sense of order. Dido is undone by her romantic desire, Turnus by his unrelenting rage and pride. He is famous for courage and skill in battle, and justly so: he has all the elements of a hero. What distinguishes Turnus from Aeneas, besides his unmitigated fury in battle, is his willfulness. He tries to carve out his own understanding of history with his prediction of his own success, based on the events of the Trojan past, as told in Homer's Iliad. Though Turnus may appear to us a Latin version of Achilles, the raging hero of the Iliad, Turnus's powers as a warrior are not enough to guarantee him victory. Jupiter has decreed another destiny for Turnus, an outcome Turnus refuses to accept. Turnus's interpretation of signs and omens is similarly stubborn. He interprets them to his own advantage rather than seeking their true meaning, as Aeneas does. Turnus's character changes in the last few battle scenes, when we see him gradually lose confidence as he comes to understand and accept his tragic fate. He is angry earlier when Juno tries to protect him by luring him out of the battle and onto a ship. In this episode she humiliates him, making him look like a coward rather than the hero he so desperately wants to be. By the final scenes, however, his resistance to the aid of Juturna, his sister, is motivated no longer by a fiery determination to fight but by a quiet resolve to meet his fate and die honorably.

Sack of Rome

The Sack of Rome occurred on August 24, 410. The city was attacked by the Visigoths led by King Alaric. At that time, Rome was no longer the capital of the Western Roman Empire, having been replaced in that position by Ravenna in 402. Nevertheless, the city of Rome retained a paramount position as "the eternal city" and a spiritual center of the Empire. The sack was a major shock to contemporaries, friends and foes of the Empire alike. This was the first time in almost 800 years that Rome had fallen to a foreign enemy. The previous sack of Rome had been accomplished by the Gauls under their leader Brennus in 387 BC. The sacking of 410 is seen as a major landmark in the fall of the Western Roman Empire. St. Jerome, living in Bethlehem at the time, wrote that "The City which had taken the whole world was itself taken."

Second Sophistic

The Second Sophistic is a literary-historical term referring to the Greek writers who flourished from the reign of Nero until c. 230 AD and who were catalogued and celebrated by Philostratus in his Lives of the Sophists (481). However, some recent research has indicated that this Second Sophistic, which was previously thought to have very suddenly and abruptly appeared in the late 1st century, actually had its roots in the early 1st century.[1] It was followed in the 5th century by the philosophy of Byzantine rhetoric, sometimes referred to as the "Third Sophistic."[2] Writers known as members of the Second Sophistic include Nicetas of Smyrna, Aelius Aristides, Dio Chrysostom, Herodes Atticus, Philostratus, Lucian, and Polemon of Laodicea. Plutarch is also often associated with the Second Sophistic movement as well, although many historians[who?] consider him to have been somewhat aloof from its emphasis on rhetoric, especially in his later work.

Founding of Rome

The founding of Rome can be investigated through archaeology, but traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous of all Roman myths, is the story of Romulus and Remus, the twins who were suckled by a she-wolf.[1] This story had to be reconciled with a dual tradition, set earlier in time, the one that had the Trojan refugee Aeneas escape to Italy and found the line of Romans through his son Iulus, the namesake of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. The national epic of mythical Rome, the Aeneid of Virgil, tells the story of how Trojan prince Aeneas came to Italy. The Aeneid was written under Augustus, who claimed ancestry through Julius Caesar from the hero and his mother Venus. According to the Aeneid, the survivors from the fallen city of Troy banded together under Aeneas and underwent a series of adventures around the Mediterranean Sea, including a stop at newly founded Carthage under the rule of Queen Dido, eventually reaching the Italian coast. The Trojans were thought to have landed in an area between modern Anzio and Fiumicino, southwest of Rome, probably at Laurentum or, in other versions, at Lavinium, a place named for Lavinia, the daughter of King Latinus whom Aeneas married. This started a series of armed conflicts with Turnus over the marriage of Lavinia.[3] Before the arrival of Aeneas, Turnus was engaged to Lavinia, who then married Aeneas, starting the war.[3] Aeneas won the war and killed Turnus.[3] The Trojans won the right to stay and to assimilate with the local peoples. The young son of Aeneas Ascanius, also known as Iulus, went on to found Alba Longa and the line of Alban kings who filled the chronological gap between the Trojan saga and the traditional founding of Rome in the 8th century BC. Toward the end of this line, King Procas was the father of Numitor and Amulius. At Procas' death, Numitor became king of Alba Longa, but Amulius captured him and sent him to prison; he also forced Numitor's daughter Rhea Silvia to become a virgin priestess among the Vestals. For many years, Amulius was the king. The tortuous nature of the chronology is indicated by Rhea Silvia's ordination among the Vestals, whose order was traditionally said to have been founded by Romulus's successor Numa Pompilius. Romulus and Remus[edit] Main article: Romulus and Remus The myth of Aeneas was of Greek origin and had to be reconciled with the Italian myth of Romulus and Remus, who would have been born around 771 BC if taken as historical figures. They were purported to be sons of Rhea Silvia and Mars, the god of war. They were abandoned at birth, in the manner of many mythological heroes, because of a prophecy that they would overthrow their great-uncle Amulius, who had overthrown Silvia's father Numitor. They were abandoned on the Tiber River by servants who took pity on the infants, despite their orders. The twins were nurtured by a she-wolf until a shepherd named Faustulus found the boys and took them as his sons. Faustulus and his wife Acca Larentia raised the children. When Remus and Romulus became adults, they killed Amulius and restored Numitor. They decided to establish a city; however, they quarreled, and Romulus killed his brother. Thus, Rome began with a fratricide, a story that was later taken to represent the city's history of internecine political strife and bloodshed.

The nurse

The nurse is Phaedra's confidante, but she reveals her mistress' illicit desire to Hippolytus, causing Phaedra's suicide.

Princeps/principate

The principate (27 BC - 284 AD), the first period of the Roman Empire, extended from the beginning of the reign of Augustus Caesar to the Crisis of the Third Century, after which it evolved into the dominate. The principate is characterized by a concerted effort on the part of the emperors to preserve the illusion of the formal continuance of the Roman Republic. It is etymologically derived from the Latin word princeps, meaning chief or first, the political regime dominated by such a political leader, whether or not he is formally head of state and/or head of government. This reflects the principate emperors' assertion that they were merely "first among equals" among the citizens of Rome.

Vergil reflecting Homer

The remarkable resemblance between the Underworld of Homer's Odyssey and that of Virgil's Aeneid reveals, upon closer examination, several important differences; these adaptations and corrections by Virgil of the Homeric vision lend credence to the Bloomian concept of influence, and show the many-faceted reactions of Virgil to the "burden" of his eminent precursor. In addition, they provide the reader of the poems with a fascinating basis for comparison, not only between the two poets, but between their characters and poetic creations as well. Still, Virgil does not simply ignore the traces of Odysseus, nor of the Homeric tales. The most important realization of his rival's influence comes into play, in fact, within the realm of Hades. It is in the Odyssey, which of course is told from an exceedingly Greek point of view, that we first hear the story of Neoptolemus, whom the Aeneid calls Pyrrhus: we encounter him when Odysseus calls up the warrior's shade, and recounts to Achilles of the deeds of his great son. Here the story is one of valor and great deeds, and of his courage while the Greeks waited inside the Trojan Horse. Not once is there a mention of the acts perpetrated by Pyrrhus in the Aeneid: his killing of Priam's son before the parents' very eyes, striking him down while undefended. The imagery in Virgil's version of the man's story is so much more violent, so much more vile, that it must be seen as a reaction by the ephebe against his own powerful predecessor; instead of submitting willfully to the stories told by Homer, he reforms them, making them abrasive and unheroic, attempting to belittle the Homeric tales by setting up his own version of them. The same can be said of the reforming of the picture of the Underworld: by making Hades a nightmare vision, full of frightening and horrific punishments, indeed a torture chamber of everlasting punishment, Virgil is taking away from the peaceful (though pitiful) image given to us in the Odyssey. Not only, then, is Virgil's reaction to Homer one of correction and completion, but of anger and resentment as well, culminating in the diminishing of his predecessor's work: a unity of the Bloomian concepts of clinamen, tessera, and daemonization, to produce a work that, much like its hero Aeneas, successfully comes to terms with its past.

Death of Pallas

Then Pallas rushes into the fight and kills various guys. The Arcadians are encouraged by Pallas's speech and behavior, and regain their courage. In the midst of the battle, Pallas is fighting Lausus, the son of the Italian ally Mezentius. When his sister, the nymph Juturna, tells Turnus to go help Lausus, he hops to it. When he gets to where the two young warriors are fighting, he announces that he has come to kill Pallas, and that he wishes Pallas's father Evander were there to watch. (Yikes.) At Turnus's command, the other soldiers back away. Pallas tells Turnus, "I'm not afraid. Bring it on." Before throwing his spear, Pallas prays to Hercules, the god of the Arcadians, for help. Hercules hears him, but is powerless to do anything. Jupiter tells Hercules not to worry, and that no-one can escape fate; his own son, Sarpedon, was killed at Troy, and that Turnus will die soon anyway. Pallas throws his spear with all his strength and grazes Turnus. Then Turnus throws his spear and gives Pallas a mortal blow. As Turnus stands over Pallas's body, he promises that his fallen enemy will be afforded all proper funerary rites. Then he takes Pallas's ornamented belt. When Aeneas hears of Pallas's death, he gets really mad. He kills a bunch of guys around him; then he captures four guys alive so that he can sacrifice them at Pallas's funeral. Next, when some guy named Magus falls at his knees and begs him for mercy, Aeneas refuses and stabs him in the throat. The day after the battle, Aeneas views the body of young Pallas and, weeping, arranges for 1,000 men to escort the prince's corpse to King Evander and to join the king in mourning. When Evander hears of his son's death, he is crushed, but because Pallas died honorably, he forgives Aeneas in his heart and wishes only for the death of Turnus.

Theseus

Theseus (/ˈθiːsiːəs/; Ancient Greek: Θησεύς [tʰɛːsěu̯s]) was the mythical[1] king of Athens and was the son of Aethra by two fathers: Aegeus and Poseidon. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles (Hercules), all of whom battled and overcame foes that were identified with an archaic religious and social order.[2] As Heracles was the Dorian hero, Theseus was a founding hero, considered by Athenians as their own great reformer: his name comes from the same root as θεσμός ("thesmos"), Greek for "The Gathering". The myths surrounding Theseus—his journeys, exploits, and family—have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus was responsible for the synoikismos ("dwelling together")—the political unification of Attica under Athens, represented emblematically in his journey of labours, subduing ogres and monstrous beasts. Because he was the unifying king, Theseus built and occupied a palace on the fortress of the Acropolis that may have been similar to the palace that was excavated in Mycenae. Pausanias reports that after the synoikismos, Theseus established a cult of Aphrodite Pandemos ("Aphrodite of all the People") and Peitho on the southern slope of the Acropolis. Plutarch's vita (a literalistic biography) of Theseus makes use of varying accounts of the death of the Minotaur, Theseus' escape, and the love of Ariadne for Theseus.[3] Plutarch's sources, not all of whose texts have survived independently, included Pherecydes (mid-fifth century BC), Demon (c. 400 BC), Philochorus, and Cleidemus (both fourth century BC).

Livy

Titus Livius (Classical Latin: [ˈtɪ.tʊs ˈliː.wi.ʊs]; 64 or 59 BC - AD 17)—known as Livy /ˈlɪvi/ in English—was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people - Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Books from the Foundation of the City) - covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional foundation in 753 BC through the reign of Augustus in Livy's own time. He was on familiar terms with the Julio-Claudian dynasty, advising Augustus's grandnephew, the future emperor Claudius, as a young man not long before 14 AD in a letter to take up the writing of history.[1] Livy and Augustus's wife, Livia, were from the same clan in different locations, although not related by blood. Livy's only surviving work is the "History of Rome" (Ab Urbe Condita), which was his career from an age in middle life, probably 32, until he left Rome for Padua in old age, probably after the death of Augustus in the reign of Tiberius. When he began this work he was already past his youth; presumably, events in his life prior to that time had led to his intense activity as a historian. Seneca the Younger gives brief mention that he was also known as an orator and philosopher and had written some treatises in those fields from a historical point of view.

Veii

Veii (also Veius, Italian: Veio) was, in ancient times, an important Etruscan city 16 km (9.9 mi) NNW of Rome, Italy; its site lies in Isola Farnese, a village of Municipio XX, an administrative subdivision of the comune of Rome in the Province of Rome. Many sites associated with Veii, which were in the city-state of Veii, are also located in Formello, another comune of the Province of Rome, immediately to the north. Formello is named after the drainage channels first created by the Veians. Veii was the richest city of the Etruscan League, on the southern border of Etruria. It was alternately at war and in alliance with Rome for over 300 years. It eventually fell to the Roman general Camillus's army in 396 BC. Veii continued to be occupied after its capture by the Romans; In the "Parco di Veio" adjacent to Isola Farnese, there are remnants of an apparent temple. Also tumuli and tombs have been found cut into the rock. Tombs were cut into tuff but tumuli were not. The most famous is the Grotta Campana, uncovered in 1843, a chamber tomb with the oldest known Etruscan frescoes. There are additionally long tunnels leading into the mound of the city, which may corroborate Livy's account of the Roman victory in the Battle of Veii.

Arma virumque

Virgil begins his poem with a statement of his theme (Arma virumque cano ..., "I sing of arms and of a man ...") and an invocation to the Muse, falling some seven lines after the poem's inception (Musa, mihi causas memora ..., "O Muse, recount to me the causes ..."). He then explains the reason for the principal conflict in the story: the resentment held by the goddess Juno against the Trojan people. This is consistent with her role throughout the Homeric epics.

Virtus (vir)

Virtus was a specific virtue in Ancient Rome. It carries connotations of valor, manliness, excellence, courage, character, and worth, perceived as masculine strengths (from Latin vir, "man"). It was thus a frequently stated virtue of Roman emperors, and was personified as a deity—Virtus.

Scintharus

We successfully used great beams for the purpose, and then got the ship ready with all the water and provisions we could manage. Scintharus was to navigate her. Next day the whale was dead. Scintharus's son, Cinyras, a fine figure of a man, had fallen in love with Helen some time before. They had taken three of the boldest of my crew into their confidence; Cinyras said not a word to his father, knowing that he would put a stop to it. stern-post suddenly clapped its wings and started cackling; Scintharus, who was bald, recovered his hair; most striking of all, the ship's mast came to life, putting forth branches sideways, and fruit at the top; this fruit was figs, and a bunch of black grapes, not yet ripe. These sights naturally disturbed us, and we fell to praying the Gods to avert any disaster they might portend.

Reflections of Augustus in Livy and Vergil

While both Livy's Early History of Rome and Virgil's Aeneid address traditional Roman values, particularly those of pietas, military valor, and control of destructive passion, the two works approach these themes with differing degrees of subtlety and complexity. For Livy, the distinction between moral and immoral behavior is straightforward; his account of the attempted rape of Verginia and its aftermath clearly presents examples of virtue and vice. He is interested in a rather simplistic tension between good and evil, order and disorder. Virgil's entire poem, on the other hand, is concerned with inner conflicts and ethical dilemmas of near unresolvable complexity. In the following discussion, specific episodes from the two works will reveal the differences in the moralizing purposes of Livy and Virgil. It is difficult to account for the differences between Livy and Virgil's interpretations of traditional Roman values, since they were contemporaries writing during the reign of Augustus. The explanation must lie in the dissimilar temperaments and philosophical outlooks of the authors. Livy sees the glory and power of Rome under Augustus as a sort of golden age. Moral standards may have declined, but he does not question those standards themselves. Livy believes that morality usually triumphs over vice, resulting in acts of pure heroism. As for Virgil, although he is moved by the image of Rome as the civilizing force that brings order to the world, he recognizes it as an impossible fantasy. Further, he is disturbed by the moral ambiguity of the values which, according to Livy and Augustus, led to Rome's dominance. Virgil fully anticipates that the irrational force of passion will subvert the best intentions and ideals, especially in situations of high intensity. And yet, for all his emphasis on the fragility of moral goodness, Virgil must be among the most humane of authors, for he has a profound respect for order and high standards of ethical behavior. Where he finds moral failings, Virgil makes no bitter condemnations, but rather a sad acknowledgement of the inability of men to match their own ideals of heroism and goodness.

Stoicism

the endurance of pain or hardship without a display of feelings and without complaint. synonyms: patience, forbearance, resignation, fortitude, endurance, acceptance, tolerance, phlegm "she accepted her sufferings with remarkable stoicism" antonyms: intolerance 2. an ancient Greek school of philosophy founded at Athens by Zeno of Citium. The school taught that virtue, the highest good, is based on knowledge, and that the wise live in harmony with the divine Reason (also identified with Fate and Providence) that governs nature, and are indifferent to the vicissitudes of fortune and to pleasure and pain. Stoicism (also known as de Stoa or "Stoa" in continental law countries [1]) is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC. The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, of the active relationship between cosmic determinism and human freedom, and the belief that it is virtuous to maintain a will (called prohairesis) that is in accord with nature. Because of this, the Stoics presented their philosophy as a way of life (lex devina), and they thought that the best indication of an individual's philosophy was not what a person said but how that person behaved.[2] To live a good life, one had to understand the rules of the natural order since they taught that everything was rooted in nature.[3] Later Stoics—such as Seneca and Epictetus—emphasized that, because "virtue is sufficient for happiness", a sage was immune to misfortune. This belief is similar to the meaning of the phrase "stoic calm", though the phrase does not include the "radical ethical" Stoic views that only a sage can be considered truly free, and that all moral corruptions are equally vicious.[4] From its founding, Stoic doctrine was popular with a following in Roman Greece and throughout the Roman Empire—including the Emperor Marcus Aurelius—until the closing of all pagan philosophy schools in AD 529 by order of the Emperor Justinian I, who perceived them as being at odds with Christian faith.[5][6] Neostoicism was a syncretic philosophical movement, joining Stoicism and Christianity, influenced by Justus Lipsius.