“The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it.” - Epicurus
Rome--expansive, sprawling across the Mediterranean and throughout Europe, and eternal, sparking centuries of philosophical, engineering, and political growth through revivals and frameworks of classical learning--few other four letter words carry such weight. Admired throughout time for its superior philosophers, politicians, ideas, engineering, and conquests, for over two thousand years, Rome has been dissected by scholars seeking to understand their advanced wisdom and technology that has been emulated by everyone from architects to social activists and from psychologists to politicians. How did a town supposedly founded by orphaned twins morph to become such a …show more content…
Not confined only to wars for religious or political reasons or against terrorists and enemies, Rome went to battle for the sake of its very survival. Their economy depended greatly on the acquisition of new territories, whose “plunder was a major source of wealth for commanders and soldiers alike...the Romans developed highly formalized ways of acquiring it and distributing it” (Boatwright 146). With each new conquest, the size of the republic ballooned, enabling them to control much of the trade and travel around the Mediterranean and replenishing food supplies through the annexation of hundreds of miles of farmland and crops. The quality of life skyrocketed with the influx of slave labor that enhanced the travel infrastructure with new roads, provided amenities such as running water from new aqueducts to beautiful bathhouses, and promoted religious zeal by creating impressive temples to honor the gods. The jobs that the military created provided an economic boost as well since “the boundaries between citizen and soldier were neither firm nor long-lasting, and large numbers of adult males performed both roles.... citizens eligible for military service came to Rome for the levy, or dilectus, in which some were chosen to be soldiers in the consuls’ armies in the upcoming season...after a season’s campaigning, soldiers were discharged, returning to their places in civil life” (Boatwright 76). Finally, the republic grew stronger as a whole by extending Latin …show more content…
Livy lamented the republic’s early days, when morality seemed to play a more important role in the patricians’ careers, and wondered, “such decency of feeling, such fairness and magnanimity [that] characterized...the whole body of the Roman commons,” wondering “where would you find it today in a single man” (4.6)? The system was incredibly political; alliances formed, bargains made, blackmail mounted, and careers won and lost by seemingly subtle shifts in favor. This fickle and nebulous power structure threatened to collapse, as it later did with Julius Caesar, if the massive system of checks and balances within the flat government failed to prevent an overwhelming concentration of power in one position or person. To this effect, “some of the governing elite were concerned to prevent prominent and popular senators from overshadowing their peers by too wide a margin. Senators after all, especially the most prominent among them, were participants in a constant competition for fame and glory, and certain very ambitious individuals within this circle may occasionally have desired to achieve an unduly preeminent place in the city. From the beginning of the senate's rise in the late fourth and early third centuries,
Rome--expansive, sprawling across the Mediterranean and throughout Europe, and eternal, sparking centuries of philosophical, engineering, and political growth through revivals and frameworks of classical learning--few other four letter words carry such weight. Admired throughout time for its superior philosophers, politicians, ideas, engineering, and conquests, for over two thousand years, Rome has been dissected by scholars seeking to understand their advanced wisdom and technology that has been emulated by everyone from architects to social activists and from psychologists to politicians. How did a town supposedly founded by orphaned twins morph to become such a …show more content…
Not confined only to wars for religious or political reasons or against terrorists and enemies, Rome went to battle for the sake of its very survival. Their economy depended greatly on the acquisition of new territories, whose “plunder was a major source of wealth for commanders and soldiers alike...the Romans developed highly formalized ways of acquiring it and distributing it” (Boatwright 146). With each new conquest, the size of the republic ballooned, enabling them to control much of the trade and travel around the Mediterranean and replenishing food supplies through the annexation of hundreds of miles of farmland and crops. The quality of life skyrocketed with the influx of slave labor that enhanced the travel infrastructure with new roads, provided amenities such as running water from new aqueducts to beautiful bathhouses, and promoted religious zeal by creating impressive temples to honor the gods. The jobs that the military created provided an economic boost as well since “the boundaries between citizen and soldier were neither firm nor long-lasting, and large numbers of adult males performed both roles.... citizens eligible for military service came to Rome for the levy, or dilectus, in which some were chosen to be soldiers in the consuls’ armies in the upcoming season...after a season’s campaigning, soldiers were discharged, returning to their places in civil life” (Boatwright 76). Finally, the republic grew stronger as a whole by extending Latin …show more content…
Livy lamented the republic’s early days, when morality seemed to play a more important role in the patricians’ careers, and wondered, “such decency of feeling, such fairness and magnanimity [that] characterized...the whole body of the Roman commons,” wondering “where would you find it today in a single man” (4.6)? The system was incredibly political; alliances formed, bargains made, blackmail mounted, and careers won and lost by seemingly subtle shifts in favor. This fickle and nebulous power structure threatened to collapse, as it later did with Julius Caesar, if the massive system of checks and balances within the flat government failed to prevent an overwhelming concentration of power in one position or person. To this effect, “some of the governing elite were concerned to prevent prominent and popular senators from overshadowing their peers by too wide a margin. Senators after all, especially the most prominent among them, were participants in a constant competition for fame and glory, and certain very ambitious individuals within this circle may occasionally have desired to achieve an unduly preeminent place in the city. From the beginning of the senate's rise in the late fourth and early third centuries,