Lycurgus was an important figure throughout Sparta as he was responsible for setting up a large amount of the Spartan’s social and political institutions. In source A Herodotus shows just how effective Lycurgus was “Later he reorganised the army…by these changes Spartan Government was put upon a sound basis.” He was responsible for introducing laws and advice or prophecies received from a god through the medium ship of a priest or priestess. As Plutarch, on Sparta explains: “Lycurgus . . . brought an oracle about it from Delphi, Which they called a rhetra.” Therefore with the evidence provided, it is quite obvious that Lycurgus had significant importance to not only Spartan Society but also the government and the military. Through Plutarch it is evident that Lycurgus reformed the military quite significantly as he states “The Egyptians claim that Lycurgus visited them too, and that it was from the Egyptians that he got the idea of separating the military from the menial workers, thereby giving Spartan society its refinement and beauty.” Therefore, Lycurgus had travelled to research new militaristic tactics. According to Xenophon there was a Spartan Cavalry. It was not large enough to protect the hoplite infantry however it was often used for reconnaissance. (The ancient…
Livy. "Book One." The Early History of Rome. Trans. Aubrey De Selincourt. New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1960. 33-101.…
Livy who was born in the city of Padua in 59 BC wrote a history of Rome that spanned the period from mythic times to his own day. An artist more than a scholar Livy was a marvelous storyteller. His stirring accounts of Rome's early struggle for freedom inspired painters, poets and political leaders through the centuries.…
Hingley and Unwin note that Tacitus was “writing within living memory of the events. His close relationship with his father-in-law, Agricola, suggests that some of his knowledge of historical events in Britain at this time may have been passed down directly to him” (Hingley & Unwin, 2005, 43).…
Before doing so we must analyse the reliability of our main primary sources; Tacitus, Julius Caesar and Cassius Dio. All three sources were well educated but each have individual disadvantages. Tacitus was writing about his father-in-law which means there is probably a bias towards him in an attempt to impress him. Caesar was writing about himself which suggests that he would have made his achievements seem greater. Cassius Dio wrote about the events of the Roman invasion 200 years after they occurred. This means he is only as reliable as his sources.…
Epictetus’ views on how a person should live as a good human are very clearly stated in his handbook. He explores many different values and virtues throughout his writing. The lesson of virtue is one he explores in great deal and ties to many other ideas in his work. His views on how we judge ourselves, our possessions and others are eloquently written throughout his virtues. Judgment can be a dominating factor in one’s life, which Epictetus seems to appreciate and talk a great deal about. He uses the governing body of self-judgment and our judgment of others to express his ideas of how humans should live a good life. An important value that Epictetus discusses is destiny and nature and how humans should appreciate their role in each other lives. He ties the ideas of nature and destiny to his views on how a person should use judgment.…
Then serving in Africa in the wars against Jughurta, the roman forces were not successful so in 108BC Marius returned to Rome and stood for the office of Consul where he won the election.…
Mizzini, L. (2005). Sparta and the Rise of Militarism. Journal of Greek History , 50-55.…
Gaius Cornelius Tacitus (c. 56 - c. 117AD), Roman Historian. His surviving works are life Agricola, Germania, Histories and Annals. Tacitus wrote about the eruption of Versuvius and the death of Pliny the Elder about 25 years after the event. He wrote to his friend, Pliny the Younger, asking for an accurate description of events…
This letter was written by Pliny the Younger to the Emperor Trajan while he was serving as the Governor of the Roman Province of Asia Minor during the time frame 111 through 113. This letter was written after Pliny had his first interactions with the Chirsitans. This letter seems to have been written as a letter of concern, asking the Emperor for guidance on how to handle legalities of his interactions with Christians. This concern was seen in his opening statement to the Emperor, “It is my invariable rule, Sir, to refer to you in all matters where I feel doubtful; for who is more capable of removing my scruples, or informing my ignorance.…
Tacitus’ “The Burning of Rome” translated by George Gilbert Ramsay shows its significance, style, and beliefs of the burning of Rome. A large portion of Ancient Rome flares during the Emperor Nero 's reign. Rather than rebuild the city to it 's old plan, Nero built a gigantic palace where the burned buildings had been. Rumors were told that Nero started the fire. To put an end therefore to this rumor, he shifted the charge onto others, and inflicted the most cruel tortures upon a body of men detested for their abominations, and popularly known by the name of Christians (Ramsay 327).…
“ He was carried away above all by the benefits of the plan, because he thought that nothing better or more splendid could possibly happen to Italy, and gave no consideration to the difficulties surrounding it.” (Appian Roman history, Extract 11) Tiberius brought up his arguments when the voting approaches, through his formidable speaking skills he inspired the rich to consider the “Hopes for the future” of giving lands to the poor, so they are able to raise children for more “manpower and conquest” Through this, we are able to see he aroused the poor, for everyone to feel their pain and their desperate situation. From this, many people agreed to help. From this, Tiberius motive was from “ his utter despair at witnessing.. The wretched physical state of the land.. And the plight of the peasants.” (J.M.…
Many known historians have existed throughout time, Titus Livy was one of the many well-known Roman historians that told their own opinion and version of stories. Livy worshiped roman history and enjoyed the storytelling aspect of history. He works constrained on teaching Romans about moral values and virtues. Two of his most popular legends have been “Romulus and Remus” and the “Rape of Lucretia.”…
Marius was a very influential and strong general during the time of the romans. Although he had good military tactics, his time as a statesman was different he was ill equipped to be a statesman. He wasn't smart and did not have good impacts on the roman people. He was covered up in (as plutarch states) “ smoke screen of moralizing”.…
Herodotus, who many call the “father of history,” had no schooling or historical records to study as Plutarch did. The narrative he wrote consisted of stories he gathered from different lands that had been passed down from generation to generation. Also he was not biased toward the Greeks as Plutarch was (Dutton, Marchand, and Harkness, 37-39). Other ancient historians, such as Thucydides and Xenophon, wrote about events that occurred in their own time as opposed to the past. Like Herodotus, they did not have schooling or written historical records to study. Unlike Herdotus, they did not claim that gods had a hand in historical events (History.com, “Thucydides”). None of these ancient historians were educated in philosophy or rhetoric like Plutarch was. Plutarch also differed from these historians in that he was the first historian to use comparative analysis. He was also the first historian to write about the thought and behavior of his subjects, which added a new dimension to historical writing (Halkias, "Why Plutarch Matters"). Plutarch stretched the truth and distorted quotes in favor of his own arguments. He was more interested in getting his point across than being historically accurate, although his writing was undoubtedly much more accurate than that of…