Book/movie review -Roman Empire
Order instructions:
Write a 3-4 page essay addressing the topic below. Make sure to include an introductory paragraph that outlines the structure of your essay and central points you will make–and make sure to read through comments on essays 1-4, and avoid errors (especially in grammar, spelling, and organization) that were noted in those comments.
In these very famous lines from book 6 of Virgil’s Aeneid, Anchises makes the following point to Aeneas:
“Your mission, Roman, is to rule the world.
These will be your arts: to establish peace,
To spare the humbled, and to conquer the proud.”
Based on your reading of Josephus on the siege of Jerusalem, and on the experiences and behavior of Gaius (and other Romans) in Arc 4, how does Roman culture in the “high” imperial period seem to both exemplify and violate Anchises’ advice? Do the Romans establish peace? How? Are there times when they spare the humbled—but also times when they do not?
Looking back to Arc 3, does Augustus behave with clemency toward Terentia and the family of the Fulvii? In comparison, what compromises must Terentia make in order to both restore her family while NOT plunging Rome back into civil war? Make sure to carry your discussion of this through to the final scene of Arc 3—where is it set? What makes this setting significant?
