Roman Republic

In one iconic and powerful exchange in the movie The Dark Knight, Two-Face, a heroic district attorney turned villain said to one of the protagonists, Jim Gordon, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain.” This quote eloquently describes the ideology of characters who are neither a hero nor truly a villain, but fall somewhere between. For many, morally grey characters are fascinatingly terrifying since their actions are understandable, but also condemnable.…

Through their powerful renderings of war and politics, Niccolò Machiavelli's iconoclastic 1532 political treatise The Prince and Shakespeare's 1599 historical tragedy Julius Caesar mutually seek to explore the nature of human weakness. A manifestation of Machiavelli's radically realpolitik interpretation of Renaissance humanism, The Prince subverts the traditional Christian moral zeitgeist, redefining weakness in instrumental terms - that a leader's results are superior in importance to his…

William Shakespeare’s plays have survived and celebrated through the ages for their extreme drama and attention-grabbing plot. “Othello”, one of his widest know works, is no exception. Othello, an African American man who is married to his love Desdemona, serves as a General and creates conflict with Iago when he passes him up for a promotion to the Lieutenant position and instead promotes an inexperienced soldier, Michael Cassio. Iago turns for revenge from Othello and decides to strike him…

his heavenly orations brought peace wherever he went. Before he spoke the word of God to those gathered around him, he first prayed for peace: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (Romans 16:20, RSV) He then preached repentance and the "Good News" based on the Gospels: Luke 24:44-49 (RSV) Then he said to them, “These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of…

Shakespeare is a master in his art of constructing five act plays that tell a lifetime of stories. In the Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare presents a band of unique characters that all have strong opinions on Julius Caesar. Throughout the exposition of the play, Cassius is attempting to lead a group of men into the termination of Julius Caesar. Through this, the men show their true colors, and share their deep down opinions on Caesar. On the governmental side of things, Cassius holds a…

Akbar was an enlightened and successful administrator. It goes to the credit of Akbar that the subsequent Mughal rulers followed in principle the administrative policy developed by him. Babur and Humayun had little time to take any initiative in formulating any administrative policy worth the name. Important features of Akbar’s administration are given below: Akbar’s ideal of Kingship. According to him, “Upon the conduct of a monarch depends the efficiency of any course of action. His…

Just like Plutarch, Herodotus treated Themistocles ambivalently in his writing. He stated many times Themistocles was a greedy man. However, Herodotus also praised Themistocles’ success as an Athenian commander during the Persian Wars. This is comparable to how Plutarch treated Themistocles; except while Plutarch critiqued Themistocles on his ambition, Herodotus critiqued him on his greed. Herodotus included anecdotes that explained how Themistocles was greedy. In book eight of his Histories,…

In this art piece called “Bull Leaping” there are two light skinned figures corralling the charging bull, as a tan skinned figure jumps over the arched back of the bull. This piece was very important to the Minoan culture because of its vibrant colors and the curved lines. Bull leaping was significant in the Minoan culture because it showed their understanding and knowledge of nature. In the Minoan culture the bull was worshiped because it symbolized their connection with nature. This artwork…

The writer frequently forgets to mention information, which might be intriguing and interesting for the historians. Hirtius, in his prolongation of the Gallic War, notice unsuccessful Roman activities and merciless executions of vanquished adversaries, data which Caesar repressed in the first seven books. At times, absence of progress was too notable in Rome to be disregarded. Caesar clarifies his mishap at Gergovia by faulting his troopers…

I believe that the two main figures in Livy’s History of Rome Book 21 and Suetonius’ Julius Caesar is Julius Caesar and Hannibal. The two men are very similar in that they both are very ambitious and don’t let anything stand in their way. The Life of Julius Caesar tells the story of Julius Caesar’s life in Rome and how he became a dictator. Livy’s History of Rome Book 21 is about the Second Punic War and Hannibal’s campaign. In The Life of Julius Caesar, Julius Caesar was forced to go into…