LIFE UNDER AUGUSTUS (B.C. 31-A.D. 14)
Following the assassination of Julius Caesar, a young Roman arriviste named Octavian arrived on the scene. Renamed Augustus, he was the founding father of the government that ruled the Roman Empire for hundreds of years. History remembers him as the man who not only ended the Civil War, but brought peace, prosperity, and cohesion to the empire. Thus, began the historical period known as Pax Romana or Roman Peace. In Discourses, Epictetus tells us, "For you see that Caesar appears to furnish us with great peace. There are no more enemies, nor battles, robbers, or pirates, but we can travel at every hour and sail from the rising sun to the setting." However, history has begun to disclose a different account. …show more content…
Their meals consisted of porridge and loaf. Meat on the board would be cause for celebration. Wedged together like sheep, the citizens of the city lived in shanty towns of a destitute build. These dwellings were not only uncomfortable but dangerous. Fire and fear of collapse haunted these poor souls daily. They had no running water, heat nor sanitary plumbing. Chamber pots were either dumped into large vats or onto the street. The apex of their poverty and misery can be found in the abandonment of newborns they could neither shelter nor support. These wretched souls made up a tremendous percentage of the Roman population. They were the mob and knew nothing of Pax Romana. Epictetus writes, "If we see a man lamenting, he is undone. If we see an exiled man, we say he is miserable. If we see a poor man, we say he is wretched. We wish to eradicate these bad opinions."
In the light of this discussion, we must now accept that some encroachment on the fallow was achieved by Roman farmers. The extent of the breach in practice is unknown; it is highly probable that the naked fallow system was still practiced by backward farmers, especially in remote districts. These farms were worked by slaves, many of whom were generational. Uneducated and unaware of their plight, the became the majority populace in the outlying districts. These slaves, exposed to cruel and painful indignities, were often chained, had no families and, by law, were murdered by their
Following the assassination of Julius Caesar, a young Roman arriviste named Octavian arrived on the scene. Renamed Augustus, he was the founding father of the government that ruled the Roman Empire for hundreds of years. History remembers him as the man who not only ended the Civil War, but brought peace, prosperity, and cohesion to the empire. Thus, began the historical period known as Pax Romana or Roman Peace. In Discourses, Epictetus tells us, "For you see that Caesar appears to furnish us with great peace. There are no more enemies, nor battles, robbers, or pirates, but we can travel at every hour and sail from the rising sun to the setting." However, history has begun to disclose a different account. …show more content…
Their meals consisted of porridge and loaf. Meat on the board would be cause for celebration. Wedged together like sheep, the citizens of the city lived in shanty towns of a destitute build. These dwellings were not only uncomfortable but dangerous. Fire and fear of collapse haunted these poor souls daily. They had no running water, heat nor sanitary plumbing. Chamber pots were either dumped into large vats or onto the street. The apex of their poverty and misery can be found in the abandonment of newborns they could neither shelter nor support. These wretched souls made up a tremendous percentage of the Roman population. They were the mob and knew nothing of Pax Romana. Epictetus writes, "If we see a man lamenting, he is undone. If we see an exiled man, we say he is miserable. If we see a poor man, we say he is wretched. We wish to eradicate these bad opinions."
In the light of this discussion, we must now accept that some encroachment on the fallow was achieved by Roman farmers. The extent of the breach in practice is unknown; it is highly probable that the naked fallow system was still practiced by backward farmers, especially in remote districts. These farms were worked by slaves, many of whom were generational. Uneducated and unaware of their plight, the became the majority populace in the outlying districts. These slaves, exposed to cruel and painful indignities, were often chained, had no families and, by law, were murdered by their