Plutarch

Virgil’s Foundation Story, The Aeneid, illustrates the virtues of Ancient Roman society. The virtue pietas means that one shows devotion to ones obligations whether it be the gods, family or their city. In Book 2 of The Aeneid the main character, Aeneas, and his family are forced to flee their home in the city of Troy because of a Greek attack. Whilst escaping Aeneas’ father, Anchises show piety to the gods by telling them he “is with [them]” and he will “follow wherever [they] lead [him]”.…

In the year 51 B.C. Ptolemy XII named Cleopatra VII, who was his 18 year old daughter, as his co regent before his death. It was his desire that Cleopatra rule Egypt with his son Ptolemy XIII, who was only 10 years old. The consuetudinary law dictated that Cleopatra also became Ptolemy XIII’s wife. As the male, it was inferred that Ptolemy be the chief ruler. Considering his age, Ptolemy was also appointed three advisors who were to assist him in leading his nation. However, Cleopatra was…

Despite stark differences between Athens and Sparta, both city-states constructed a hierarchical society in which a minority of privileged citizens had access to resources and public roles that was beneficial to them. Although Athens’ interest and preference in philosophy, art, cultural activities, and a form of direct democracy had a significant impact on the variety and flexibility of citizen-roles, and later, the Western governments. This is in contrast to Sparta’s militarized society which…

Han China’s attitude toward technology was more favourable than the Romans; they had a rather organized and class-divided society, making the populous’ general attitude toward technology to be lower. This can be proven through the constant concern on the part of the Han dynasty over the less than stellar opinion on the part of the Romans. As a foreword, every document provided was written by a higher class citizen or government official, giving no insight into how the common people, lower…

has something or someone that inspired their stories. So let’s look into a new file of the mysterious Shakespeare called the inspiration of Shakespeare. Scholars say that the two persons that inspired Shakespeare the most were Geoffrey Chaucer and Plutarch. Geoffrey Chaucer is a well know author one of his most famous stories is the Canterbury tales. People say that this author inspired poems written by Shakespeare, for example, he inspired the poem “Queen Mab” in the tragedy Romeo and Juliet.…

Throughout history there has been a plethora of superb leaders who have made their mark on the world, but what makes each one of them unique? Many of those who fall under the category of a strong leader have a similar set of skills, as well as connections leading to their overall success during each specific reign. With that being said, rulers such as Augustus, and Alexander met these qualifications as they each held a strong significance in regards to ancient history. Over the course of time…

handle it’s stress. As a child, you were groomed your entire life to become a warrior. At age 7, the child would leave home to the barracks to train both mentally and physically. The educational method was to be extremely disciplined and tough. As Plutarch quotes in chapter 16 of The Life of…

Roman history revolves around Julius Caesar’s dictatorship—and everything seemed to cease after his assassination. After Caesar’s death, Marc Antony actually went on to lead much of the Roman Empire before his suicide with Cleopatra in 30 B.C.E. Plutarch, a Greek biographer and essayist, was quoted to saying that…

The Acropolis is one of Greece's most monumental pieces that still stands today. It was erected as a place of worship; the area stands on top of an elevated area and towers over the city of Athens as a dedication to the God Athena. In 5th century BC, the city of Greece had emerged victorious after war. They had been rewarded with a greater sense of being, self-pride, and this opened their eyes to discovering themselves to a greater extent. Greece and its people had grown in confidence,…

In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the line “Et tu, Brute?” stands out as one of the most famous lines in the play. The only problem, however, is that Julius Caesar did not say that line upon being stabbed twenty-three times. Although the play Julius Caesar seems quite credible, Shakespeare has indeed embellished a few parts of it. In the play, the character of Marc Antony does not correspond to historical texts; but the assassination of Julius Caesar in essence does stand validated with…