Literature proves the Romans’ answer to the terrible question was nationalism as seen through the creation stories that display the main character having to commit the ultimate sacrifice for Rome. Rome’s first creation story was called “Romulus and Remus”, in this story two brothers Romulus and Remus set out to start their own kingdom, Rome. Ultimately Romulus kills his brother because he did not believe Remus was right about where they should start up Rome. The second creation story was called “The Aeneid” this story was created to prevent civil war and to remind the Romans of who they were. The next two stories deal with the rape of women, “The Tragedy of Lucrecia” and “The Rape of the Sabine women” and in both stories women are rapped but sacrifice themselves for Rome instead. Architecture proves the Romans’ answer to the terrible question was nationalism as seen through the technological advances made to better Rome’s quality of life. …show more content…
The technological advances I am referring to are the Roman aqueducts and the Roman coliseum. The Roman aqueducts were simply sewage systems that provided the city and everyone in it with clean water as well as a clean living environment. In summary, the Roman aqueducts provided the Romans with public baths where the citizens could go and socialize, exercise, bathe, and just relax. The Roman emperor Vespasian had the Roman coliseum built in 80 AD but because of its size, it took the Romans 10 years to complete. The Roman coliseum was a way for the emperor and the politicians to distract the people of Rome from having a civil war with entertainment, celebrations, and even sporting events. With the Roman aqueducts and the Roman coliseum life in Rome was pleasant because of these technological advances. Politics proves the Romans answer to the terrible question was nationalism as seen through the way the people of Rome allowed their Emperors to die. The fate of Rome’s emperors depended upon how loyal he stayed to Rome throughout the course of his reign. In 54 AD to 68 AD, Emperor Nero ruled Rome in a manner that was not for Rome at all. He spent a lot of Rome’s money constructing a house for himself, and thus causing Rome debt. It is even said that he started a fire causing thousands to die just so that he could build his palace over this new found land. At the end of his reign Nero slit his own throat when he found out that he was going to be murdered by the