Holy Roman Empire

As a historical figure, the Roman emperor Commodus is a fascinating character. Even more interesting are the varying portrayals of him. Director Ridley Scott saw an opportunity for this character when he directed his 2000 epic, Gladiator. Gladiator has been deemed a visual masterpiece that brings Ancient Rome to modern audiences. There is no doubt that the movie is visually stunning with its sweeping views that show the grandeur of the Coliseum, large gladiator battles, beautiful landscapes,…

Apuleius’ The Golden Ass is the only surviving novel of the second century Roman Empire. The Golden Ass can be interpreted to having many themes. In Apuleius’s Metamorphoses; politics, religion, and violence are conjoined, but can be analyzed into their own characteristics. Regardless of the novel being fiction, Apuleius purposely injects stories with meaning to be extracted for different understandings. These stories were written with comedic purposes to emphasize how often the crimes,…

Hubris can be defined as excessive pride or self-confidence but it can also be described as arrogance. Man’s excessive pride can only lead to one thing, which is his downfall. It can make people blind to the truth. If we let pride get to the best of us, we won’t listen to others because we think that our opinion is the only right answer. Antigone and Haemon both showed hubris in Antigone. The negative impact of hubris was the present theme in Antigone by Sophocles. In the play Antigone, Creon…

Gladiators where entertainment for the Roman Empire. Gladiators lasted about one thousand years. Gladiators were mainly slaves, but freemen could join. The free men that joined were no longer free and were now slaves and had owners. Before becoming a gladiator you had to go to gladiator school. After you completed gladiator school you had to take an oath. When in a gladiator fight the crowd could bet on who’s going to win the fight. The crowd could favor this gladiator for the other and place…

I. Some structures are built for a specific purpose, others as a form of art and some, a symbol of a growing country. After 2 ½ years later the Gateway Arch has become one of America’s iconic symbol of growth and prosperity. The Gateway Arch is located in St. Louis Missouri, it’s also on the east side of the Mississippi River. Eero Saarinen an architect came up with the design and won a contest from it. The Gateway arch is a fascinating historical structure built through the hard work of…

industry in Chicago downtown. As you can see in the picture, the combination of a culminated entrance with a magnificent dome gives both buildings a spectacular view. The museum of science and industry (MSI) has Greek-Roman style architecture. The reason that I cannot classify it as simply Roman or Greek is because it is a combination of both those style of architecture. For example, the existence of dome and columns that support a triangular pediment implies that the…

Peloponnesian war and would arose as the leading power in Greece, however Sparta’s political competence unsuccessfully matched its military repute. It was while Sparta continued to fight against other city-states in Greece that Athens rebuilt its empire after reconstructing its walls and military. Sparta’s military power were ultimately weakened, specifically after several defeats by the Thebans which first occurred in Leuctra in 371 BCE, and then again several years later at Mantinea. However,…

Evangelist, Polycarp defended Jesus’ humanity and divinity fighting against the Docetists and the Gnostics. Most remembered for his martyrdom, his death gives witness to Jesus human nature. Taken to Rome, Polycarp was condemned for his faith before a Roman audience. As Jesus died on the cross, Jesus asks the Father for unity in the Church. As a Father of the Church, Polycarp spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, defended the Church in apologetic writing, and fought the many heresies of the first…

Ancient Greeks became recognized for their amazing designs in art. In Art History and Artists Ancient Greek Art it says, “During the classical era they developed their own style that historians would later call the Severe Style.” In Art History and Artists Ancient Greek Art it says, “The Greeks from the Archaic Period made statues of men called Kouroi and women called Korai. These statues had similar characteristics and stood stiffly with their arms at their sides.” In the Classical Period most…

What if America just vanished one day? What would happen to the land of the free? Many empires have been in the exact same position and have fallen hard, let’s hope America isn’t the next. Societies like the Inca empire, Aztecs, Rome, Persian Empire, Easter Island, and the Byzantine empire have fallen due to war, disease and economic troubles. These societies were weakened by economic troubles and disease which usually lead to being overthrown in war. They just couldn't pick themselves back up.…