Agrero's Interpretation Of Agrippina The Younger

54) Despite his success, Agricola never let people’s high opinions of him go to his head. As a result, he treated soldiers under his command fairly and for that, they confided their trust in him. Agricola’s leadership was also great because of his ambitious and passionate nature. Early in his youth, he had a passion for military glory, which Tacitus described as “… thankless in an age in which a sinister construction was put upon distinction and a great reputation was as dangerous as a bad one.” (p.55) Because of his well-disciplined upbringing and humility, however, this passion became motivation to succeed in Roman conquest, not his own. Together, those qualities made Agricola an adept leader who did not accept the glory that leaders traditionally receive. Conversely, Rome had been ruled during and around A.D. 98, when the Agricola was completed, by tyrants who governed for their own benefit. Tacitus’ book shows, however, that Agricola nevertheless served the interests of his legions and the Roman Empire, not its emperor.

Where this evidence survives it usually portrays any women who had any role in public affairs as not behaving in a manner that was befitting of a proper Roman women. For example, Fulvia is presented as “a counter-example of correct Roman women’s behavior” by literary sources for reportedly imposing her will upon the senate, and getting herself involved in

Volumnia’s character in Coriolanus both supports and breaks the normal gender roles and basis of what is feminine and what is masculine. Since Coriolanus’s father is not around, Volumnia plays both parts of a mother and a father in the family. Volumnia raises her son to be masculine and to exude power despite that she is a woman. She sends him to war and does not think about the consequences or hardships he must face. Unlike a regular mother, she loves seeing Coriolanus’s wounds because they represent strength and show his manly struggles. How Volumnia raises Coriolanus is reflective of herself because she thinks that men who do not fight in the war should not be respected by their country, and furthermore, that one is not a “man” but only a boy before going to war. Like his mother, Coriolanus sees the plebeians as cowards because they have done nothing and have not fought in the war. Because of this, Coriolanus believes he is better than them and that they should respect him and not the other way around. Coriolanus’s masculinity makes him all the more powerful-- his violent and aggressive behavior gives him more power than those men who have not fought in war. Evidently, masculinity is a foundation for power and Volumnia has raised her son to adhere to masculine qualities in order for him to be more powerful. By being a man and fighting for Rome, he is to be made council, giving him power to rule over others. Furthermore, Volumnia acts more as a general to a soldier than is

Cassius Dio insists the empire and Augustus owe an extraordinary amount to Gaius Maecenas, Marcus Agrippa, and to a lesser extent, Livia. While the empire had problems with stability from time to time, the three of them had their roles in cultivating prosperity. The role of lifelong friend and confidante is attributed to Agrippa, as his loyalty ceased to cultivate throughout the years. The trifecta aided Augustus in ruling and improving the empire, while sporadically corralling the Octavian mindset inside of Augustus. Augustus single-handedly appointed Agrippa to settle disputes that arose on the frontier, and in Rome. He was the ultimate plug-n-play general of the empire, and proved his worth early on until his death in 12 B.C through military ventures and building projects. Gaius Maecenas had a profound impact on Augustus’ decision to retain the power that he acquired after defeating Marc Antony and Cleopatra, which shaped the government into what eventually existed in Dio’s time. He also handled important business in Rome while the emperor was absent, acting as a sit-in caesar, if you will. Livia attempted to promote the women of Rome, while also helping Augustus soothe relationships with the latter’s enemies. However, mischievous presumptions loom from Dio around Livia regarding certain disastrous events. Nonetheless, without Livia, Maecenas, and especially Agrippa, Octavian might not have ever had the chance to rule Rome.

Writing has always been the primary vehicle for social commentary and reform. From Upton Sinclair’s damning exposure of the meat processing industry in The Jungle, to George Orwell’s grave warning concerning communism in Animal Farm, to William Goulding’s disturbing look at human nature post World War 2 in Lord of the Flies, countless authors have attempted to expose flaws in their society through writing. Rome, as a growing republic, and later as a sprawling empire, was consistently rife with corruption, abuse of power, and the degradation of morals. Writers like Sallust, Juvenal, and Tacitus saw these social flaws as opportunities, whether to drive social or political change, or to increase their influence, or just to make a statement to the government and the Roman people. However, these three writers each took a different approach to his commentary. Through comedic hyperbole and satire, Juvenal looked to expose the moral degradation of Roman women in Satire VI. On the other hand, Sallust focused on political corruption in the late Roman Republic, using the history of the Jugurthine War as a lens by which to observe the corruption he despised. With yet another approach, Tacitus aimed to criticize despots like Emperor Domitian and to denounce imperialism through the biography of Agricola, the Roman general who conquered Britain.

Over the course of time, the roles of men and women have changed dramatically. As women have increasingly gained more social recognition, they have also earned more significant roles in society. This change is clearly reflected in many works of literature, one of the most representative of which is Plautus's 191 B.C. drama Pseudolus, in which we meet the prostitute Phoenicium. Although the motivation behind nearly every action in the play, she is glimpsed only briefly, never speaks directly, and earns little respect from the male characters surrounding her, a situation that roughly parallels a woman's role in Roman society of that

Born on 1 August 10 BC in Gaul, Claudius had a reign that would always represent a turning point. Claudius Nero Germanicus had been the third emperor for the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Claudius stuck out from other Roman Emperors because of the things that he'd decided to do during his reign. Claudius had promoted administrators who he knew did not deserve senatorial classes. For a man with such high powers, Claudius did not seem to mind the fact that his relationships with his wives and children were not he best. It was very simple to tell how many difficulties Claudius had faced during his reign. Although, Claudius had faced mant hardships his reign had been mixed with success and failure which had lead into the end of the Julo-Claudian line.

    In ancient Greece the females were considered to be conniving and deceiving whisperers, and men almost never trusted their wives.  The ideal woman was an obedient and placating wife.  They believed that the female should be strong but still yield to the power of the male in charge, whether it was older brother, father, or husband.  Euripides often used females in uncommon ways; he did not simply show them as complacent animals.  Women in Euripides' plays were used for social commentary.  They were not just simple characters; they could be both agathos and kakos.  The females in the works of Euripides were extremely strong and devious and they were loyal but at the same time

Agrippina the Younger had four main factors that highly influenced her power before her marriage to Claudius. She was born into the Julio-Claudian bloodline making her an Imperial woman of a noble dynasty, she was as a result of her family background reasonably wealthy and educated, she had the backing of the Roman Army as her father Germanicus was the commander of the 5th legion of the army in Germany and finally her two marriages which provided her with wealth and a son to be heir of the throne.

However, Valerius, like Cato, associates women with matters that are less substantial and not entirely connected to the empire as a whole. “No offices, no priesthoods, no triumphs, no decorations, no gifts, no spoils of war can come to them; elegance of appearance, adornment, apparel-these are the woman’s badges of honor.” The apparent connection between women and appearance shows that women in Roman society were something to be looked at or shown off. Women were the prizes of men and the better they looked or the more they had been directly linked to his status in society.

Many of Agrippina’s strengths were also her greatest weaknesses. Her political ability and ambition were great strengths of character, as was her determination, but at times she aimed too high and was ultimately brought down by the very traits that had enabled her to achieve positions of power. Agrippina was able to become one of the most significant women of the Ancient Roman World, but at the same time she was considered manipulative, and was despised by many, including eventually her son - the Emperor Nero, who had her killed in the year 59 CE. Despite holding no official political status, and being limited by her gender, Agrippina reached unprecedented heights and helped stabilise the Claudius Regime, demonstrating her strength as a

In ‘An Ancient Roman Perspective’, Gemma Wilson’s account for Rome’s feelings towards the Queen is one of great hostility. According to Wilson, “at best, the Romans viewed Cleopatra with suspicion. At worst, they hated her.” Cleopatra was of coarse despised for utilizing the two public figures of Rome’s world, Caesar initially and then Mark Antony. Peter Roberts describes how it was Octavian that initiated Rome’s hatred towards Rome, relying on ‘sexual slander’ to tarnish her reputation. Many Roman poets continued this tradition of condemnation such as Lucan in ‘Pharsalia’, referring to Cleopatra as “Egypt’s shame.” Horace continues to embellish this image; “the queen, with a contaminated gang of creatures’ in his Ode XXXVII, referring to

The binary oppositions of masculine and feminine are thus personified by Caesar and Cleopatra, not by Antony, whose men often regard him as the "pawn" of the deceptive queen and thus not a real man. On the contrary, Robert Miola says, "Caesar's sense of purpose and public responsibility directly opposes Cleopatra's love of idleness and luxury" (129), a conclusion supported by the fact that it is Caesar who, after the deaths of Antony and Cleopatra, provides some closure to the political chaos that has dominated the play.

Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was the son of a Roman aristocrat whose family had regularly held the highest offices of state for the past century. Tiberius achieved much in his life and was a man of high distinction in political circles. He was a man with a prominent background- coming from very powerful families. It seemed also, that many had high expectations of him, and his potential was not seen to its full extent. To a few of us here today, this is a solemn and most momentous occasion. Today I will be critically analysing and assessing the significance of three key areas which have been the crux of historical debate for centuries. Today I will be touching on Tiberius' family background, education, and early career to 134BC, the aims

The story of Agamemnon was really a prime example of the masculinity of Clytemnestra. From the point in the story where Agamemnon has to sacrifice his beloved daughter in order to save the people of his empire and go to war, you could tell that did not sit well with her. I mean it must be the worst thing in the world to have to sacrifice a child of your own, something that a king had to do. It makes you think of how great of a king he was to have the balls to do so, but that decision that he made it stuck with Clytemnestra. It drove her into madness, and ruthless behavior. She wanted her revenge and she was going to have her revenge no matter what, she was going to stop at nothing in order to get it. She ruled the