HANDOUT 8
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Robert L. Cleve, Ph.D.
FALL OF THE REPUBLIC;
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE
Parthian Empire: The successor state to the Seleucid Empire.
Cleopatra: Last Macedonian ruler of Egypt; political ally and lover of Mark
Antony.
Julian Calendar: The 365 day calendar introduced by Julius Caesar; with
one minor change, it is the same calendar that is still in use
today.
Marcus Brutus, Gaius Cassius, Cato the Younger: Leaders of the
conspiracy to murder Caesar.
Mark Antony: Caesar’s lieutenant; became a rival of Octavian for the
supreme power after Caesar’s murder.
Octavian: Nephew and adopted son of Caesar; became Augustus, the first
emperor of Rome, 27 B.C.E.–14 C.E.
Lepidus:
One of Caesar’s commanders; the junior member of the Second
Triumvirate.
Second Triumvirate: Political alliance between Antony, Octavian and
Lepidus in 43 B.C.E., but after the elimination of Lepidus in 36
B.C.E., it became a two-way struggle between Octavian and
Mark Antony.
Actium:
The naval battle off the coast of western Greece in which
Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra, in 31 B.C.E.
Augustus: “Blessed;” title given to Octavian in 27 B.C.E.; this date marks
the beginning of the Empire or Principate.
Princeps: “First citizen;” another title given to Augustus; the English
words prince and principate are derived from this title.
Tribunicia potestas: “Tribunition power;” the power of the tribunes
granted to Augustus.
Imperator: “General;” another title granted to Augustus in his capacity as
commander in chief; the English word “emperor” is derived from
this title.
Imperium maius: “Greater power” than all the other magistrates; a power
given to Augustus when he stopped holding the office of consul
each year.
Pontifex Maximus: Chief priest of the state religion; another title assumed
by Augustus.
Auctoritas: “Authority;” the real basis of Augustus’s position as head of the
state was not based on any particular office or title.
Praetorian Guard: The imperial bodyguard and urban police established
by Augustus.
Tiberius: Second emperor, 14–37 C.E.; the son of Augustus’ wife Livia by
her first husband, Claudius, and adopted son of Augustus.
Julio-Claudian: The dynasty established by Augustus.
Claudius: Fourth emperor, 41–54 C.E.; he was forced upon the senate by
the Praetorian Guard.
Nero:
Last Julio-Claudian emperor, 54–68 C.E.
Vespasian: Founder of the Flavian dynasty, 69–96.
Domitian: last Flavian emperor, 81–96.
The “Five Good Emperors,” 96–180:
Nerva (96–98)
Trajan (98–117)
Hadrian (117–138)
Antoninus Pius (138–161)
Marcus Aurelius (161–180)
Commodus: the extravagant and worthless son of Marcus Aurelius; his
reign (180–192) marks the beginning of the decline of the Roman
Empire.
Intellectual and Cultural Life of Roman
Civilization
Livius Andronicus: Greek prisoner-of-war who translated the Odyssey into
Latin. This is considered the beginning of Latin literature.
Plautus, Terence: Early Latin comic playwrights.
Quintus Fabius Pictor: First Roman historian; wrote in Greek.
Tacitus:
Latin historian of the early Empire.
Suetonius: Biographer of the Imperial Period.
Lucretius: Latin poet and philosopher; de Reum Natura (On the Nature of
Things)
Vergil = Virgil: Most famous Latin poet; Aeneid, Bucolics, Georgics, etc.
Horace:
Roman poet of Augustan period; Odes, Epistles, etc.
Ovid:
Lyric poet of Augustan period; Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love),
Metamorphoses, etc.
Cicero:
Roman politician, philosopher and most prolific writer of the late
Republic.
Livy:
Latin historian of the Augustan period; Ab Urbe Condita (From
the Founding of the City).
Pliny:
First century C.E. writer; Natural History.
Seneca:
Philosopher and politician of the early Empire; On Providence,
On the Happy Life, etc.
Abacus:
Ancient calculating device; pegs moving in slots indicated the
numbers.
Aesculapius = Asclepius: God of healing and medicine; his cult was
established on the Tiber Island in 293 B.C.E. after a plague.
Triad of the Capitoline Hill:
Jupiter, King of the gods
Juno, Protectress of women
Minerva, Goddess of craftsmen
Mars:
Originally god of fertility; later god of war.
Saturn:
God of agriculture.
Vesta:
Goddess of the hearth.
Lares:
Spirits of each locality and household.
Pax deorum: “Peace of the gods;” the harmony between the material and
the spiritual worlds, upon which the prosperity of the state and
society depended.
Pietas:
“Piety,” the acceptance of one’s duty to the gods and to one’s
parents. Octavian’s revenge of Caesar’s murders was considered
an act of piety.
Fiedes:
“Faith,” or trust, between humans and the gods.
Pontifices: Priests of the state religion.
Cybele:
“Great Mother Goddess” brought from Phrygia to Rome in 205
B.C.E.
Dionysus = Bacchus: God of trees and fruit, especially of wine, he became
the center of a “mystery cult” which promised its believers a life
after death.
Bacchanalia: Celebration of the festival of Dionysus with music and
dancing; an “orgy.”
CHRISTIAN PERSECUTIONS
Four Questions Concerning the Persecutions
1.
2.
Why did the ordinary pagan demand persecution?
What were the legal principles involved?
3.
4.
Why were the Christians singled out?
What was the rôle of martyrdom in the persecutions?
Edward Gibbon: Enlightenment historian (1737–1752); author of The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; he called the pax
Romana “the happiest age of human history.”
Soter:
Hero of a mystery cult; also a title sometimes given to a
powerful ruler.
Mystery Cults: Religions from the East; they all had one thing in common;
they offered a life after death through a soter (savior) who had
died and been resurrected.
Isis:
The old Egyptian cult of Osiris, which was Hellenized and
spread throughout the Roman Empire.
Eschatology: Explanation of the eschatos, or “last things,” such as death
and the meaning of life.
Mithra:
The Persian god of light; hero or savior, of a mystery cult.
Cybele:
The “Great Mother Goddess;” savior of a mystery cult.
Taurobolium: Initiation rite into the mystery cults of Mithra, Cybele and
others; involved washing in the blood of a sacrificial bull.
Orpheus, Adonis, Dionysus: saviors of popular mystery cults.
Carpe diem: “seize the day,” the doctrine of classical humanistic philosophy;
live for today, because there is no hope of a life beyond the
grave.
Paganism: Non Judeo-Christians religions; specifically, classical polytheism; originally a derogatory term (lit. “country hick. Redneck,
hillbilly”), but now used by scholars simply to designate the nonChristian religions at the time when they were in competition
with Christianity.
Paul:
The first great Christian theologian and missionary.
Tacitus:
Roman historian who recorded the first persecutions of the
Christians under Nero in Rome, 64 C.E.
Nomen Christionum: “The name of Christian,” this became a crime under
Roman law, something like conspiracy in modern law.
Constantine: Roman emperor who legalized Christianity in 313 and made
it the favored religion of the Roman state. Favored religion
means that the resources of the state, which had hitherto been
at the service of paganism, was not placed at the service of the
Christian church. Christianity became the official religion (i.e.
the only legal religion) in 380 under Theodosius.
Decius:
Emperor who launched the first general persecution of the
Christians in 250.
Valerian: Emperor who ordered the second general persecution of the
Christians in 257–259.
Diocletian: Emperor who ordered the last general and most serious
persecution in 303–304.
Gaius Pliny: Governor of Bithynia in 112, he sent a letter to Trajan asking
instructions concerning the prosecution of Christians.
Trajan:
Emperor who ordered Pliny to pursue investigations against
Christians “in accordance with the law” and not based on
anonymous accusations.
Mos majorum: “customs of our ancestors;” the basis of Roman law.
Carpus and Papylus: second century Christians martyred in Pergamum.
Agathonice: Christian woman who threw herself upon the martyr’s pyre.
TERMS #20
Triumph of Christianity;
Fall of the Roman Empire
Four reasons proposed for the triumph of Christianity:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The appeal of its promise of salvation.
Its rational theology.
The strong organization of the church.
The support and coercion of the government.
Ethnocentrism: The attitude that one’s own culture, nation or race is
superior to all others.
Cybele:
The “Great Mother Goddess;” her priests castrated themselves
as part of their initiation into her priesthood.
Saturnalia: Pagan festival of Saturn, the Italian god of agriculture, held on
December 25; slaves and masters changed places for a day,
presents were exchanged; special foods were eaten, etc.
Cultural Interpenetration: The mutual exchange of traits and customs
between cultures.
Constantine: Emperor, 306–337; made Christianity the favored religion of
the Roman Empire in 313 and worked toward the demise of
polytheism.
Sophia:
Byzantine princess and last heir to the throne; married Ivan III
of Russia, giving him the title Caesar, or “Czar.”
Werner Jaeger, Early Christianity and Greek Paideia (1961)