Barry Strauss Lecture

       The thesis of Barry Strauss' Lecture was that Julius Caesar cared more for the Empire of Rome than the City of Rome. He gave three reasons why it was a good time to be studying this topic because The study of politics in ancient Rome has been greatly advanced over the last few years. There has also been a flurry of work in military history, and a renaissance of Julius Caesar's studies. Much of the evidence he gives in his lecture is a compilation of historical stories about Julius Caesar that have been written down from that time period. He showed many stories such as Julius not standing to greet the Senators, Him making a joke out of the people calling him Rex, and when he was offered the diadem, but didn't accept. I find this method very persuasive because these are true stories that happened and have been recorded, so it is not an author's interpretation or bias (at least there is less room for that), and it something that can barely be disputed. This gives us a pretty objective argument about Julius Caesar that can be seen through things that he did himself.

Polybius Question

        2. Polybius' arguments for starting his history in the 140th olympics is that until this time, the world's history was a series of disconnected accounts of various events, and now it will become a "connected whole." Also, this was a key time in history because this was when the Romans had their first victory over the Carthaginians which made them take their first step towards an empire as they began to expand their borders. And finally, he starts his history here because most people of his time had no knowledge of the power and achievements of Rome and Carthage, so he will start here to demonstrate this to the people.

Punic Wars

       The Punic Wars were definitely the most important era of the Republic. First of all Rome gained a new island, Sicily, that expanded their borders to make their first province outside of Italy. This is also speculated to be the beginning of the Roman Empire. It was also important because the plebeian leaders who had been against Fabius and wanted to battle Hannibal (when they got slaughtered) were taken off of leadership, and the senate became the dominating power which lasted for along time afterwards. Another impact the Punic Wars had on Rome was the scorching of the southern plains to starve Hannibal. The Romans burned the earth in southern Italy because that's where Hannibal was staying, and they wanted to starve him of resources. This resulted in the agriculture being completely destroyed in those parts of Italy, and this has had an affect on the land until modern times. And finally, in the Second Punic War, Rome's enemy Carthage was destroyed, and Rome gained many resources and prestige for their success which made them into a higher power.

Aeneid Book 6 Summary

       Book 6 of the Aeneid begins on the shores of Cumae where Aeneas and his followers have landed their ships. It is here where they meet the Sibyl. Aeneas makes his plea that they could settle there in Italy in peace, but the Sybil says that still more tragedies remain for them in this land. Aeneas then asks to be led to the underworld to see his father, and she grants it, but she says they must bury the dead body of one of their comrades before they descend into the underworld. When they make it down, they encounter the Charon, a ferryman who escorts the dead across the river Styx, and they convince him to bring them across the river safely. After crossing, Aeneas sees the ghost of Dido and laments to her, hoping that she would recognize him. She however, was unmoved by his presence, and turned away. They then reach the outermost fields where the great fallen war heroes live, and Aeneas sees many of his fellow soldiers. They then travel to Tartarus, a massive abyss where the ancient Titans are left. Finally, Aeneas sees his father and embraces him. His father answers many questions about the underworld. Then he sees what is to come of his lineage in Rome, and allofthe great descendants that will come. This makes Aeneas finally realize the significance of his traveling to Italy. Aeneas then makes it back to the his comrades, and they set off again along the coast.

Aeneid Book 4 Summary

       Book 4 of the Aeneid starts with Dido telling her sister Anna about her love for Aeneas. She then sacrifice to the gods, and she calls for the banquet to come again so that Aeneas can tell more of his story. Juno and Venus then make a plan to send a storm while Aeneas and Dido are out hunting, so that they are forced to seek shelter together. Dido and Aeneas go hunting, and the storm hits, then they are forced into a cave where they get married by the gods. When they get back to the city, Aeneas sees Mercury who tells him that his destiny is not with Dido, and that he needs to leave and found Rom, so Aeneas begins to prepare. Dido then confronts him about this, and he says that he wants to stay but he has to leave. Dido then spirals into madness, and asks her sister to build a pyre so that she can burn all the memories of Aeneas. She spirals deeper into madness, and kills herself, much to the dismay of Anna.

Why Was Rome So Successful?

       Rome was so successful in creating her empire for many reasons. The first reason is their creation of the Latin League. This was an alliance that strategically placed allies in the position to defend the east where most of the invaders came in, so that Italy only had to worry about the north. Another reason for Rome's success was their perseverance.  Rome had been brought to its knees by the Gaul invasion, and the Romans were debating whether to move to a different location. however, their strong will remained true, and they rebuilt their city to the point where they could get back to conquering other lands. and finally, Rome's success came because Rome allowed status to be earned. Families that were wealthy and intelligent were able to receive citizenship which made Rome's citizen body become stronger, and filled with more apt people to serve which set Rome up for more success.

Aeneid Book 3 Summary

       Book 3 of the Aeneid is the continuation of Aeneas' retelling of the fall of Troy. Aeneas and his comrades escape Troy and sail to Antander. Upon landing, Aeneas tries to gather wood for a sacrifice, but the tree he cuts turns out to be the spirit of Polydorus who was Priam's son. They have a burial for him, and sail to Delos. While on Delos, Apollo talks to Aeneas and tells him to sail to Crete. They begin to sail to Crete, but a disease grabs the crew, and they go back to Delos. They realize that they misinterpreted the vision from Apollo, and that they were supposed to go to Italy. They set sail again, but a 3-day storm hits, and they land at the Strophades which is a cluster of islands that harbors savage beasts called harpies. The crew departs from here to go to Leucata where Aeneas meets Andromache who tells him about her and Helenus' time in captivity, and then she tells how to get to Italy and avoid troublesome waters. They make it to the southern coast of Italy where they see a man who tells them about a cyclops. The cyclops then appears, and they make a hasty escape off the coast.