Cincinnatus 458 BC Fasces and Plough/Plow Early Agriculture

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Cincinnatus 458 BC Fasces and plough/plow Juno Moneta

Reminder: Short quiz on Wed., but no class on Friday

Quiz will be three ID’s: In about three sentences idenfy and give signiﬁcance of key terms, people, or dates. Try, in your answer, to show that you read Livy.

WHICH DATES??? Don’t fret-- only three important dates so far! 1184 753 509

Early Agriculture Two snapshots of Rome’s (rural) early society • Decline aer 509 BC: war, trade disrupon, • The 12 Tables 451-50 BC crop failure, epidemics = debt bondage (comes out of patricians vs. plebeians, wrien by decemvirs during struggle of the orders) • Subsistence farming: small farms 3-10 acres - Agricultural emphasis • Pasture on public land, ager publicus - focus on boundaries (distribuon of ager publicus becomes key in fall of Republic) • Lan language a fossil showing agricultural roots in key terms and concepts

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Agricultural Roots of Language How Farming Shaped Rome: • Debt Crisis • Pecunia –money (from word for herd/ﬂock) • Family - paterfamilias, father of the family • Laetus –happy (ferle) - patriapotestas, paternal power • Felix –blessed, lucky (ferle, fruiul) - marriage: manus (hand), or “free” • Cernere –to decide (to sep. wheat from chaﬀ) - familia, family = primive agricultural unit • Army • Putare –to think (to prune) - campaigning season and the Roman year • Legere –to read (to pick or harvest ripe fruit) - March vs. January

• Roman Character: - land Is life; soldier-farmer ideal; authoritarianism; group identy

Typically Roman aributes Ancestors: mos maiorum (reﬂect peasant values):

• Auctoritas (authority of senator / respected elder) • Virtus (courage, manliness) • Pietas (respect for duty: pius = duful) • Mos maiorum (the custom of the ancestors, tradionalism)

“exemplum”—a representaon of behavior designed to serve as a model or guide to conduct.