Even more politically aware were the two imperial consorts Livia wife of Augustus and mother of Tiberius, and Agrippina the Younger, wife of Claudius and mother of Nero implies that both poisoned their husbands. Whether or not suggestions of strings of other murders and, in the case of Agrippina, of lovers too, including her own son, are justified, both women undoubtedly manipulated the system to ensure that their sons by an earlier marriage became emperor, and both sons grew actively to demonstrate distaste for their mothers. Livia had a distinguished aristocratic pedigree. At 19, however, and six months pregnant, she was forced to divorce, or be divorced by, her husband, in order to marry Octavian, who had conveniently divorced his own wife.…
In his prosecution of noblewoman Clodia, Cicero’s berates Clodia for essentially being free with her body, and in control of her own life. Romans believed women should not be “voracious” for this out of control nature “would spread through all registers of society—social, economic, cultural, military—and destroy the boundaries by which that society defines itself”. In all, Ormand notes that in Cicero’s accusations, he believes Clodia is acting more like a man in society; but as a woman in Rome, her freedom and sexual promiscuity is a factor that could destroy the very fabric of Roman…
Chronicling the fate of the House of Atreus - a bloodline destined to beget suffering and bleed until it is bled dry - the closing moments of Aeschylus’ Oresteia depict, more optimistically, the very best of what Aeschylus hoped society could be. Yet to ignore the issues of gender and sexuality - the binary opposition and conflicting gendering of its two female ‘heroines’ and their subsequent inversion of societal norms, for example - is to confine the text and its characters unnecessarily. It is a disservice to limit Aeschylus’ sprawling text - to fail to see the unambiguous connection between justice and feminism, or to ignore the blaring gender issues within The Oresteia, is to allow the text’s reception and its lasting relevance to begin and end in antiquity. A multifaceted analytical approach is essential in order to gauge the social significance of a feminist reading of Agamemnon. The study of classical reception…
In the Iliad, the story ends with the women of Troy crying out, grief-stricken as they cast their eyes upon Hector’s lifeless body. The author chooses not to end the tale with dramatic action, but instead with the external exploration of human emotion. Though the Iliad is filled with scenes depicting the brutality of war-related violence, it also contains scenes of humanity, such as Hector’s touching reunion with his wife and young child. Similarly, The Trojan Women immediately continues the Iliad’s closing theme of grief, but now their despair is for their own fate. And like the Iliad, The Trojan Women does have moments of brutality; Andromache’s young child is killed by order of their captors.…
Lysistrata, a play written by Aristophanes in 410 BC is a comedic battle of the sexes as the women of Athens decide to take it upon themselves to end the Peloponnesian War. Lead by the titular character Lysistrata, women from both sides of the war agree to abstain from having sexual relations with their husbands to have the men cease fighting. In the end men from both sides, in obvious and extreme sexual frustration, agree to end the war and return home with their wives. Although Lysistrata is a comedic play, it was written in a time of deep-conflict and offers an insight on how the long war affected both sexes. Women in Athens were not included in the democracy, and had no say on any political matters, thus it was a humorous and safe choice…
For more than a half-century, Livia Drusilla was recognized as the most noticeable and powerful woman in ancient Rome. Her noticeable quality and power were not because of her riches or patrician family, in spite of the fact that she had both, rather it was the way that she had the favorable luck to marry the man who turned into Rome 's first emperor, Augustus, and bring forth its second, Tiberius. While coincidence placed Livia in recognitions way, she was brilliant and sufficiently skillful to exploit her circumstance and obtained a genuine impact during an era when women couldn 't vote, hold open office, or show up out in the open without a guardian. While Augustus directed the lives of women around Livia by proclaiming strict good and marriage…
I believe that the story indubitably represents our modern lifestyle's values. Among the Roman kings, it's obvious that the reign of Tarquinius superbus was the most gruesome and disturbing. Not only were the Romans more accustomed to having frequent wars, their overall treatment of people around them was horrible. From the story, our lives depend on the notions and ideas that it gives: the mistreatment of anybody will result in prosecution. The reason Larentia was a hero was defined on the fact that her will to live was lost because of a man who clearly had many problems in and of himself.…
These first five books in the first series layout the history that Livius was writing about in Rome’s earliest inception and during his lifetime. Unfortunately, there was a fire that destroyed much of Rome’s recorded history which Livius records in his sixth book. Much of Rome’s literature, legends, and myths were borrowed heavily from the Greeks who had a heavy influence on Roman culture. Titus Livius is attempting to portray the first five books in an accurate historical setting that future historians and…
Laertes is a character that is presented in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Laertes is a young college student around Hamlet 's age. His father is Polonius, and has a younger sister named Ophelia. He is overprotective of his sister Ophelia and shows signs to have much love for his family.…
While I think that all of us did really utilize values of improvisation, I would like to discuss Larissa’s performance during the show. One thing that Larissa has really done well all semester but especially during the show is commit to the scene. One example of this was during the Gibberish Poet game where Larissa was the interpretive dancer. Larissa really committed to her role and did not hold back, which made all the difference. One of the most important techniques in effective improvisation is trusting your gut and fully committing to the character, the scene, and to your group members.…
The Modern Wife What do you think of when you hear the words “The Modern Wife?” For me personally, when I hear these words I think of Titania from the book A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. In this book, there are a lot of things going on with various characters throughout the story.…
Foil characters have both similarities and differences that are used to emphasize certain traits. More specifically, a foil’s life mirrors its counterpart but his/her differences reveal to the readers the subtle traits in the other character. In “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Demark”, Hamlet, the protagonist, and his old friend, Laertes, reunite in their home town after the death of King Hamlet. Laertes acts as a very useful foil for Hamlet in that the two men share life experiences yet they have different personalities and behaviors.…
This doesn’t lend to Titus being more sympathetic in the eyes of the audience, but it does paint him as a round character going from the cold father that had no interest in the Roman throne, to enacting passionate revenge on Tamora for her family’s actions. In fact, it’s possible to look at his brutal actions as the culmination of his fall to the brutal style of the Goths themselves. All three characters require their anagnorisis as catalysts for the changes they go…
There were some Indo-European people during the late bronze age. These people arrived and lived in Italy known as the Latium people. Around hilltop areas, Latium people built earthen ramparts and these ramparts grew to become an oppida of early Latium and the fortified towns. These are territories within the Alban Hills. These territories were bounded by countries Samnium, Sabina, Etruria and Campania.…
In the Aristophanes’ play Lysistrata, is satire that not only links sex and politics in ancient Greece, but also shows the faults of the Athenian democracy and the relationship between men and women. In straight forward terms the play Lysistrata shows the struggle to come to a solution to ultimately end the disastrous Peloponnesian War. More Specifically the need to understand why the women were so essential to end the Peloponnesian War is vital in the play. Thus, the author constructs a vision into understanding political and gender issues of the period.…