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WHY JULIAN BELIEVED CORRECT WORSHIP OF THE GODS COULD SAVE
THE ROMAN EMPIRE FROM CHAOS

A Thesis
Presented to the faculty of the Department of Humanities and Religious Studies
California State University, Sacramento

Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS in
Humanities

by
Alejandra Meléndez-Silva
SPRING
2020
WHY JULIAN BELIEVED CORRECT WORSHIP OF THE GODS COULD SAVE
THE ROMAN EMPIRE FROM CHAOS

A Thesis by
Alejandra Meléndez-Silva

Approved by: _________________________________, Committee Chair Dr. Jeffrey Brodd

_________________________________, Second Reader Dr. Bradley Nystrom

__________________ Date

ii
Student: Alejandra Meléndez-Silva I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and this thesis is suitable for electronic submission to the library and credit is to be awarded for the thesis.

___________________________, Graduate Coordinator Dr. Harvey Stark
_____________________ Date

Department of Humanities and Religious Studies

iii
Abstract of
WHY JULIAN BELIEVED CORRECT WORSHIP OF THE GODS COULD SAVE
THE ROMAN EMPIRE FROM CHAOS

by
Alejandra Meléndez-Silva

The Roman emperor Julian is famously remembered for being Rome’s last pagan

emperor and he has been vilified for his dislike of Christianity. Sufficient analysis of

Julian’s own perspective reveals a complex individual who does not conform with the

simplified caricature of Julian “the Apostate” who was focused on assailing Christianity.

His aversion to the Christians was mainly motivated by the fact that they refused to

participate in the state cult. This thesis will explore the relationship between properly

honoring the gods and state health, its origins, and why it was essential to sacrifice to the gods. It will also focus on why Julian believed that Greco-Roman harmony in the Roman

empire was broken, why it was so important for him to act in accordance with the ways

of the past, and why he believed he was the only one that could once again restore this balance.

______________________________, Committee Chair Dr. Jeffrey Brodd

____________________ Date

iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my readers for being part of this project:

Dr. Brodd for taking a chance on me since before I even started this program. It was serendipitous that the first person that I got in contact with who was a part of this department, is a Julian scholar, and that we were both interested in an emperor that is usually omitted from most Roman history books. It has been a joy to have been able to continue to work on Julian scholarship––something I thought that would have been more difficult to do because of how niche the topic is when compared to other topics in Roman history. You managed to understand what I was trying to do even when I somehow explained what I wanted in the most confusing and muddled way possible. Thank you for your patience and your support.

Dr. Nystrom for agreeing to be my second reader even though what I wanted to write my thesis on was not even clear to me. You have my sincerest gratitude for sticking with me.

It meant the world to me to feel so supported as I took on this project. I would also like to thank Dr. Stark for helping this semester. You were always so kind and welcoming anytime I had any questions, it helped make my final semester less stressful.

v
Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Shinbrot. It meant a lot to me that when I was going to write a paper that was completely out of my comfort level, you told me that I could do it. You had complete confidence in me. Every time I have struggled with something for school, I just recall that memory and you telling me that I can.

vi
DEDICATIONS
I would like to thank Maria and Raul, my parents and my constant source of support. Since I started this journey into the world of academia, they have never doubted my ability to meet every goal I have had to conquer along the way. The love that they have given me has kept me going even when things got too difficult and I could not see a path forward. They have worked very hard to support me and this has enabled me to be where I am at today.

To Yvonne, who helped me out when I needed her most and never doubted that her little sister could pursue her dreams in academia.

For Adoración, who showed me you can go through hell and persevere. She maintained her dignity and became a fierce protector of the people she loved.

For Lusi, she was a wife, a mother, and teacher. She showed me that I could be a mother and a wife if I wanted. I could also do other things with my life as well. She taught me that I could do whatever I wanted to do with my life, be what I wanted to be, as long as I got a good education first.

To Amy, for being a good friend, never doubting me, and cheering me along as she watched me from the sidelines.

vii
To Jimmy, who has stuck with me since high school and every bump along the way I have had since. Every time I needed a good friend, he has been there for me.

To Massimo, who helped me out during one of the most difficult periods of my life. I would not have gotten here without you.

Finally, to Todd, my husband. He has taken on this enormous burden of supporting me and the dogs (Peanut and Pongo) while I dedicated the first years of our marriage to completing this program. No matter how difficult things got for him, he never once asked me to stop what I was doing, he encouraged me as I worked through this program, and has made it so that I had the luxury of just focusing on earning my master’s. I could not have asked for a better or more supportive partner.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page

Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. v Dedications............................................................................................................. vii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 1 2. HELLENISM, GRECO-ROMAN RELIGION, AND THE GODS......................... 8 3. PROBLEMS BETWEEN THE CHRISTIANS AND THE ROMAN STATE....... 19 4. INTELLIGENCE A GIFT FROM THE GODS AND NEO-PLATONISM............ 26 5. WHAT MAKES A GOOD EMPEROR................................................................... 33 6. CONCLUSION......................................................................................................... 40 Bibliography................................................................................................................. 42

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1

Chapter 1. Introduction

The Roman emperor Julian is best remembered for being Rome’s last pagan

emperor and for his aversion of Christianity. He was the nephew of the emperor

Constantine, who is famously Rome’s first Christian emperor. By embracing the old

Greco-Roman gods and abandoning Christianity, which had become interlinked with his

family’s legacy, Julian has earned the epithet “the Apostate.” When trying to understand the motives behind Julian’s dislike of the Christians, his apostasy from Christianity is

usually cited as being the motivating factor. Highly regarded scholars like G. W.

Bowersock and Robert L. Wilken, write about Julian and they both focus on Julian’s

apostasy as his motivating factor. However, this thesis will instead focus on Julian’s proHellenistic intentions and actions as revealed first and foremost on his own writings, and argue his Hellenism was the driving force behind his agenda as emperor of Rome. What this actually reveals was that his focus was not on antagonizing Christianity or his fellow Roman citizens who were Christian. Rather, he sought to improve the health of the

Roman empire as a whole, believing that Rome’s health depended on proper worship of

the gods. Julian was more in line with traditionally minded emperors, for whom pax deorum was considered essential for the well-being of the Roman state, than the antiChristian interpretation of him makes him out to be.
It is no secret how much Julian loathed anything having to do with Constantine.1
However, I believe that the spotlight put on dysfunctional family dynamics of the NeoFlavian Dynasty shifts the focus away from what I believe to be the most significant

1 This can easily be found throughout Julian’s writings.

2

reason which contributed to Julian’s aversion of Christianity: Christianity made it

impossible to properly honor the gods. In order to accurately assess Julian’s actions, it is crucial that the historian takes fully into account his belief that the health of the Roman state was being negatively affected by having a group of Romans living within her borders that refused to engage in the religious rites of sacrificing to the gods. Christians were effectively creating a barrier between the state and the divine.
Towards the end of Hymn to King Helios, Julian prays to the god: may he grant, and further may he, of his grace, endow my city as a whole with eternal existence, so far as is possible, and protect her; and for myself personally, may he grant that, so long as I am permitted to live, I may prosper in my affairs both human and divine; finally may he grant me to live and serve the state with my life, so long as is pleasing to himself and well for me and expedient for the Roman Empire!2

In Hymn to the Mother of the Gods, Julian calls Rome “that city beloved by the gods.”3

Julian knew that there had been a time-honored relationship between the Roman state and the gods. Thus, the health of the Roman state was tied in directly with the Roman emperor and the Roman people worshipping the gods correctly. This was the way things had been done for centuries. It was necessary for Julian to restore this break with longestablished Roman traditions. If he could make it so that the Romans worshipped the gods as profusely as they had done in the past, the gods would once more bestow

blessings upon the Roman empire. Under Julian’s command not only would the empire

thrive but it would be better than it ever was before. In this paper, I will explore the deep-

2 Julian, The Works of the Emperor Julian, 3 vols., trans. W. C. Wright, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1962), 1:431. 3 Julian, Julian, 1:445.

3rooted connection between the proper worship of the gods and the health of the Roman

state, how this was established since the very beginning of Rome’s history. I will make

my case as to why honoring the gods correctly was at the center of Julian’s plan to rehabilitate the Roman state, why Julian believed that sacrificing was essential in maintaining a good relationship with the gods, and why Julian decided that the best way to save the empire was to restore traditional worship of the gods in accordance with his Neo-Platonic Hellenist religious worldview.
Part of the reason why Julian has been so misunderstood some highly influential early opinions of Julian were set forth by hostile Christian authors. The texts that tend to demonize Julian were written by Christians like Gregory of Nazianzus, Ephrem the Syrian, and John Chryosotom, their anti-Julian opinions were not uncommon. There were plenty of writers who to the task and responded to Julian’s writing, Against the

Galileans.4 As a consequence, the characterization of the “Apostate” took hold early on

because for the most part those writing about him were Christians and they often portrayed Julian as being a sinister man. Turning to other ancient sources, we see that are very different perceptions of the emperor.
His friend, the pagan rhetor Libanius, wrote a beautiful eulogy to express the sadness of not only losing a good friend, but the sadness of Rome losing a good man as

her emperor. He writes, “alas, great indeed is the grief that has beset not just the land of

Achaia but the whole empire where laws of Rome hold sway. It is perhaps greater in that

part where Greeks live…Gone is the glory of the good; the company of the wicked and

4 What remains of Against the Galileans are fragments. Wright, Julian, 3:314.

4licentious is uplifted.” 5 As a rhetor, Libanius had a flair for the dramatic. One can feel his anguish in his words. While there were other pagans in high ranking places of political power within the Roman empire,6 no one was able to take over for Julian and to succeed in igniting the rekindling of Hellenism throughout the Roman empire.

With Constantine’s conversion to Christianity there was a conversion explosion as

more Romans abandoned their old gods and embraced Christianity. As Christianity spread throughout the empire and gained traction among the powerful and influential of Rome, there was a perceived need to squash anything that could be regarded as a threat to Christianity. Thus, Christians began a campaign of destroying the pagan temples that had stood for hundreds of years, or they repurposed pagan temples (particularly those that were important places of pilgrimage or learning), they destroyed pagan relics, and they demonized those with a favorable view of paganism––like Julian. It did not take long for

the smears against Julian’s character to start. Gregory of Nazianzus,7 a contemporary and

former friend of Julian, labeled him as instrument of the devil.8 Like so many other writers after him, when Gregory wrote about Julian it was to demonize the emperor and portray Julian much like a one-dimensional villain.9 As an enemy of Christendom, any

5 Libanius, (Or. 17. 1-2) quoted in Robert L. Wilken, The Christians as the Romans Saw Them (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1894), 165. 6 For example, Salutius who was a pagan, refused the purple when Julian’s army wanted him to become the new emperor of Rome after Julian died in battle in 363 CE. G. W., Bowersock, Julian the Apostate (Cambridge: Harvard University Press 1978), 118. 7 He would later become Saint Gregory of Nazianzus. He would also be known as Gregory the Theologian. 8 Robert Browning, The Emperor Julian (Berkeley: University of California Press 1976), 224. 9 Browning, 224.

5human virtues he possessed, any accomplishments he had achieved that ended up benefiting the Roman state were made irrelevant.10
To get more of an unbiased opinion of Julian from one of his contemporaries,
Ammianus Marcellinus is, in the words of Bowersock, “a godsend.”11 He served in Gaul as an officer when Julian was Caesar12 and was with Julian at his disastrous Persian campaign where the emperor lost his life.13 Robert Browning writes that although Ammianus writes sympathetically about Julian he is also critical of him.14 Browning briefly discusses Ammianus’ final assessment of Julian. He finds Julian heroic and is distinguished by his achievements and natural dignity.15 However, Ammianus does not hold back in his criticism of Julian’s shortcomings.16 Browning paraphrases Ammianus and writes that Julian “was inclined to flippancy, but trained himself how to avoid it; he talked too much; he was too much addicted to divination and other superstitious practices; sought popularity and was over fond of praise.”17 Of Julian’s infamous

education edict18 issued in 362 CE, Bowersock writes that “the admiring Ammianus

10 Browning, 224.

11 Bowersock, Julian, 6.

12 Diocletian’s reign began in 284 CE over the course of the next ten years he implemented the tetrarchy. He

split the empire into two parts, the east and west. Each empire had its own “Augustus” (senior emperor) to rule over it. They were in turn aided each by their own “Caesar” (junior emperor). The Caesars were to be

the eventual successors of the Augusti. Thus, the tetrarchy was born. While the tetrarchy brought stability to the Roman empire, it was the beginning of the end for a unified Roman empire. By the time that Constantius became the emperor of Rome, the tetrarchy system had dissolved. However, Constantius continued to use Casears to help him rule over Rome. Both Gallus and Julian were made Caesars under Constantius’ reign. Anthony Kamm and Abigail Graham, The Romans: An Introduction (New York: Routledge, 2015), 114. 13 Bowersock, Julian, 6-7.

14 Browning, The Emperor, 225.

15 Browning, 225. 16 Browning, 225. 17 Browning, 225.

18 Julian demanded that those who were going to be teaching the classics had to be “men of upright character, and ought not to harbour in their souls opinions irreconcilable with what publicly profess.” This

6judged [the education edict] deserving of everlasting silence.”19 What emerges from the writings of Ammianus is a more realistic portrait of Julian.20 He is neither the god-like figure of Libanius nor the demon of Nazianzus.
Julian was a prolific writer. Scholars such as Polymnia Athanassiadi are focusing more on Julian’s own writings to better understand him. There is no better source from which to get what Julian was like and what his motivations were, than Julian himself. Source material aside, scholars have produced widely varying portals of the emperor. For the most part Julian has become one of those tragic characters in history. Depending on the scholar, their critique of Julian can be quite harsh,21 like he is a man on a fool’s errand.22 Or the scholar can have a more sympathetic view23 of him; he is seen as a man full of dreams and ambitious plans whose life was cut tragically short before he really even began to live.
By explaining the history which established the ties between proper worship of the gods and state health and why sacrifice was an essential component in honoring the gods, I shall explain why Julian believed that re-Hellenizing Rome was key to saving

made it impossible for Christians to teach the classic pagan texts because they did not believe in what was written in those texts, which were the core of the education system in place during the time that Julian lived. This would ensure that within a generation the educated elite of Rome would exclude the Christians.

See Letter 36. Julian, Julian, 3:117-119. 19 Bowersock, Julian, 83.

20 Bowersock writes the scholars Edward Gibbon and Joseph Bidez both heavily relied on the writings of

Ammianus when writing about Julian. While Ammianus’ analysis of Julian tries to be as neutral as

possible, Bowersock notes that he wrote about Julian three decades after his death. Bowersock, Julian, 7. 21 Bowersock is an example of this. His view of Julian in his book Julian the Apostate, comes off as a very straight forward, no frills, sober, analysis of the emperor. 22 While Bowersock does not use this phrase, it is my assessment of his attitude toward Julian after reading his book. 23 Browning has a more romanticized view of Julian. He obviously admires him and goes so far as to compare his short reign to the short presidency of John F. Kennedy. Browning, The Emperor, 235.

7

Rome from chaos. With the use of Julian’s own writings, I shall make it clear that his

primary concern was with nurturing the health of the Roman state by maintaining the pax deorum. I shall establish that Julian’s apostasy from Christianity was not the most important motive behind his dislike of Christianity.
8

Chapter 2. Hellenism, Greco-Roman Religion, and the Gods

In Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon notes of Julina: “a

devout and sincere attachment to the gods of Athens and Rome constituted a ruling passion of Julian.”24 Although Julian was a Roman, his culture was Hellenic. The Greeks had already been spreading their culture, language, values, virtues and gods to their neighbors before the time of Alexander the Great. But as Alexander spread his empire there was a more deliberate push to spread Hellenic culture. After his death Hellenism began to influence not only the places he conquered around the Mediterranean like Syria, Palestine, Asia Minor, and Egypt, but spread elsewhere. The reason why Hellenism could take hold in vastly different places was because it adapted itself to the different indigenous cultures that were located around the Mediterranean.25 In Hellenism in Late Antiquity, Bowersock writes that he believes that the reasons why Hellenism was able to flourish in so many different locations was because “it didn’t necessarily threaten local cultures, nor was it imperialistic…[it was] itself a modern idea, reflecting modern forms

of cultural domination.”26 As time went by the meaning of the word “Hellenism” started

to change. In late antiquity the word Hellênismos takes on a new meaning “that proclaims in the most eloquent way possible the relation between paganism and Greek culture.”27

So by Julian’s time “Hellenism” had become synonymous with paganism. Thus a

24 Edward, Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. Xxiii (vol. ii, p.432 ed. Bury) quoted in Rowland Smith, Julian’s Gods (London: Routledge 1995), 222. 25 G. W., Bowersock, Hellenism in Late Antiquity (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1990), xi. 26 Bowersock, xi. 27 Bowersock, 9.

9
“Hellene” like Julian was a pagan.28 When Julian refers to others as Hellenes in his writings, he is specifically referring to fellow pagans such as himself. At no point does he refer to any Christian that may know Greek, or have studied the Classics, as a “Hellene.”
In her book Julian: An Intellectual Biography, Athanassiadi writes that not only did the Romans inherit a rich legacy from the Greeks but they also improved upon it. She

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    Lawrence University Lux Lawrence University Honors Projects 2005 A Medallion of Constantius II Julia Ruff Lawrence University Follow this and additional works at: https://lux.lawrence.edu/luhp Part of the Byzantine and Modern Greek Commons © Copyright is owned by the author of this document. Recommended Citation Ruff, Julia, "A Medallion of Constantius II" (2005). Lawrence University Honors Projects. 70. https://lux.lawrence.edu/luhp/70 This Honors Project is brought to you for free and open access by Lux. It has been accepted for inclusion in Lawrence University Honors Projects by an authorized administrator of Lux. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This honors these submitted by Julia Ruff has been read and found acceptable for Honors in Independent Study Randall McNeill, Member of the Examinin~ Committee Je#ld Podair, Member of the Examining Committee Carol Lawton, Thesis Adviser A MEDALLION OF CONSTANTIUS II Julia Ruff TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface 1 Introduction 2-3 The Sources 4 Historical Background 4-9 Ammianus Marcellinus 9-12 Reign of Constantius II 13-18 Medallions: Definition 18-19 Medallions: Occasions for Minting 19-22 Medallions: Intended Recipients 23-27 Description of the Medallion 28 Obverse 28-33 Reverse 34-39 Medallions: Production 39-45 The Messages of the Medallion of Constantius 45-50 Conclusions 50-51 Figure 1 52 Figure 2 53 Figure 3 54 Figure 4 55 Figure 5 56 Figure 6 57 Figure 7 58 Figure 8 59 Figure 9 60 Bibliography 61-62 ( 1 ( PREFACE I would like to acknowledge those individuals who have helped to make this work possible.
  • Attempts at Restoring Pagan Hellenism During the Reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate

    Attempts at Restoring Pagan Hellenism During the Reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate

    International Journal of Orthodox Theology 5:4 (2014) 177 urn:nbn:de:0276-2014-4082 Marius Telea Attempts at restoring pagan Hellenism during the Reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate. Figures of Christian Martyrs Abstract In the Orthodox Church, martyrdom has always been regarded and understood as being the supreme trial of faith, through which Christians confess their faith in Jesus Christ the Saviour, even at the expense of their life. The violent and atrocious persecutions against Christians lasted almost three centuries, more precisely until 313, when Emperor Constantine the Great granted freedom to the Christian religion through the so-called Edict of Milan. Later, after persecutions ceased, the Marius Telea is PhD., relics of the holy martyrs were taken Associate Professor of History and Spirituality of out of their tombs and place with Byzantium at the Faculty devoutness in open vaults or of Orthodox Theology of reliquaries, and on the tombs of “December 1st 1918” saints and martyrs were built the first University of Alba Iulia, churches called martyria. Here, Romania. 178 Marius Telea Christians began to assemble so as to glorify God and to pray the saint martyrs for intercession before the throne of the Holy Trinity for the salvation of people. Keywords Paganism, Julian the Apostate, Hellenism, Martyrs 1 Introduction The fourth century AD meant the final victory of Christianity over paganism. The Greek-Roman paganism with its gods and culture was drawing to an end. The Christian religion and culture sprang bright and powerful on the ruins of the pagan religion and culture. The temples of Greek and Roman gods were destroyed by Christian missionaries, and Christianity became a state religion.
  • Ammianus and Constantius: the Portrayal of a Tyrant in the Res Gestae

    Ammianus and Constantius: the Portrayal of a Tyrant in the Res Gestae

    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 12-2009 Ammianus and Constantius: The Portrayal of a Tyrant in the Res Gestae Sean Robert Williams University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Williams, Sean Robert, "Ammianus and Constantius: The Portrayal of a Tyrant in the Res Gestae. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2009. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/572 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Sean Robert Williams entitled "Ammianus and Constantius: The Portrayal of a Tyrant in the Res Gestae." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in History. Michael Kulikowski, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Maura Lafferty, Christine Shepardson Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Sean Robert Williams entitled “Ammianus and Constantius: The Portrayal of a Tyrant in the Res Gestae .” I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in History.
  • The Saracen Defenders of Constantinople in 378 Woods, David Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Fall 1996; 37, 3; Proquest Pg

    The Saracen Defenders of Constantinople in 378 Woods, David Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Fall 1996; 37, 3; Proquest Pg

    The Saracen defenders of Constantinople in 378 Woods, David Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Fall 1996; 37, 3; ProQuest pg. 259 The Saracen Defenders of Constantinople in 378 David Woods RITING ca 391, the historian Ammianus Marcellinus has left us a vivid description of the Roman defense of W Constantinople against the Goths shortly after their crushing defeat by these Goths at Adrianopolis on 9 August 378 (31. 16.4ff): Unde Constantinopolim, copiarum cumulis inhiantes amplis­ simis, formas quadratorum agmimum insidiarum metu ser­ vantes, ire ocius festinabant, multa in exitium urbis inclitae molituri. Quos inferentes sese immodice, obicesque portarum paene pulsantes, hoc casu caeleste reppulit numen. Saracen­ orum cuneus (super quorum origine moribusque diversis in locis rettulimus plura), ad furta magis expeditionalium re­ rum, quam ad concursatorias habilis pugnas, recens illuc accersitus, congressurus barbarorum globo repente con­ specto, a civitate fidenter e rup it, diuque extento certamine pertinaci, aequis partes discessere momentis. Sed orientalis turma novo neque ante viso superavit eventu. Ex ea enim crinitus quidam, nudus omnia praeter pubem, subraucum et lugubre strepens, educto pugione, agmini se medio Goth­ orum inseruit, et interfecti hostis iugulo labra admovit, effusumque cruorem exsuxit. Quo monstroso miraculo bar­ bari territi, postea non ferocientes ex more, cum agendum appeterent aliquid, sed ambiguis gressibus incedebant. 1 1 "From there [Perinthus] they [the Goths] hastened in rapid march to Con­ stantinople, greedy for its vast heaps of treasure, marching in square forma­ tions for fear of ambuscades, and intending to make mighty efforts to destroy the famous city. But while they were madly rushing on and almost knocking at the barriers of the gates, the celestial power checked them by the following event.
  • The Roman Republic

    The Roman Republic

    1 The Roman Republic MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES POWER AND AUTHORITY The Some of the most fundamental • republic • senate early Romans established a values and institutions of • patrician •dictator republic, which grew powerful Western civilization began in the •plebeian •legion and spread its influence. Roman Republic. • tribune • Punic Wars •consul • Hannibal SETTING THE STAGE While the great civilization of Greece was in decline, a new city to the west was developing and increasing its power. Rome grew from a small settlement to a mighty civilization that eventually conquered the Mediterranean world. In time, the Romans would build one of the most famous and influential empires in history. The Origins of Rome TAKING NOTES Outlining Use an outline According to legend, the city of Rome was founded in 753 B.C.by Romulus and to organize the main Remus, twin sons of the god Mars and a Latin princess. The twins were aban- ideas and details. doned on the Tiber River as infants and raised by a she-wolf. The twins decided to build a city near the spot. In reality, it was men not immortals who built the I. The Origins of Rome A. city, and they chose the spot largely for its strategic location and fertile soil. B. Rome’s Geography Rome was built on seven rolling hills at a curve on the II. The Early Republic Tiber River, near the center of the Italian peninsula. It was midway between the A. B. Alps and Italy’s southern tip. Rome also was near the midpoint of the III.