Personal Statement
My aspirations for this class originally was to study and learn the history of the Romans, in particular the Roman Republic Era, but when I learnt that we were to study Greek culture and society, I was disappointed. Although the class had surprised me and intrigued me, I still was still fascinated and oblivious to Roman history. Therefore I chose Pompey, a famous general and great rival of the legendary Caesar. Other than these two statements, I had not known any background information on Pompey.
My only real primary source, Plutarch, was a very direct and informative source, but lacked in the areas which would have helped my report. Plutarch retold Pompey’s life from beginning till end, but did not give any biased
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I found I had to sift through a lot of information about his military efforts before I could get to his political actions, which in comparison were short. I overcame this by choosing to rely on the texts and Plutarch, and if I found information coming from other sources which support that, I would use it. If I found new information that wasn 't found in the texts, I would not use it. This was my tactic to play it safe and not give out false information and perspective views.
My main problem when writing the report was that I had introduced too much of the historical side of Pompey, and ignored his influence on to society, or the society itself, which is the core of this report. I worry that even my final draft is still too much like a biography than a report.
I had to also study other important individuals such as Sulla, Caesar and Crassus, all who is just as difficult to study as Pompey. I found that more information about the political ambition of Pompey was given through texts about Caesar than texts about Pompey himself. This was probably because Pompey was a military minded individual, while Caesar relied on politics and the people for his power.
My opinion on Pompey was that he was too hasty and was not aware of the consequences for his actions. This would specifically affect me, for I too can relate and say that I am very boisterous and rash, do first
Primary sources are essential to understanding historical time periods because they give a give a glimpse into what life or an event was like in the time that the source was created. They can help to contextualize what was going on and clarify initial understandings of the time period. This primary source, is a poem written by Martial about Gladiator fights in Ancient Rome in 103 CE. It describes Carpophorus who specialized in fighting against animals, and Priscus and Verus, two equally matches Gladiators. The document helps understand the circumstances in Rome at that time.
A Comparison of Plutarch's The Lives of the Ancient Grecians and Romans and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
So to conclude; given the extract of Polybius’ Histories, Book VI (53-54), in respect to his view on the Roman funeral procession. It is used as an educational tool for Roman youth. Polybius does this by using various and numerous core values in which he hopes to inspire the
Oedipus’ character speaks the truth, acts openly, and is concerned with honor, but he did not have the gift of fortune. He acts rash and takes swift action that had consequences on his fate. Oedipus acted swiftly in finding Laios’ killer and more evidence led to himself, even though his wife told him to stop investigating his past. In today’s society it is tough to see any one worthy of being labeled “High-Minded”. People care more of what others see in them, than truth itself. Oedipus fought to find the truth of his past, though he knew there could be dire consequences. His honest approach proceeds to make him fit more high-minded qualities than most people would in today’s
Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles around 430 BC, is one of, if not the most, important and influential tragedy ever written. It became the base for most of the tragedies written since. In spite of the fact that some of the story line may seem a little out of place now, parallels can be very easily drawn with the present time. Even though it was written over 2000 years ago, Oedipus the King is still fitting and applicable in today's society.
Tacitus, Suetonius and Plutarch, although major historians of their time, were not completely reliable and (now we realise) their works contained bias, mainly a result of upon the writers personal opinion and beliefs. Another cause of bias within primary text was the influence of the Roman elite hierarchy upon the contemporary writers of the time. Plutarch himself admitted this in many statements and claimed to not be a historian but a biographer. Plutarch regarded biography as a different class of writing, and his primary goal was to entertain the audience, as opposed to informing them. He did this by writing only what the reader wanted to read rather than the actual event that had taken place. This is the number one reason why much of ancient Roman sources are unreliable, and biased.
In the Greek literature of mythology, we have examined Odysseus. Students and scholars alike debate whether Odysseus was a true hero, as read in The Odyssey. There is much supporting evidence to prove all sides of the debate and opinions held of Odysseus. It is of my opinion that Odysseus is a hero in his homeland, his family, the Greek people, and for us to learn from to this day. Odysseus had encompassed three many qualities that I believe made him a hero. He embodied, mental strength, physical strength, and spiritual strength. I would like to advocate for why Odysseus was a hero.
In Greek literature of mythology, we have examined Odysseus. Students and scholars alike have held debates about Odysseus. The discussion is whether Odysseus was a true hero, as read in The Odyssey. There is abundant supportive evidence to verify all sides of the debate and opinions held about Odysseus. Odysseus had encompassed many qualities that I believe make him a hero. The qualities he embodied were mental strength, physical strength, and spiritual strength. I would like to advocate for why Odysseus was a hero.
Plutarch presented history through biographical stories of the people that were important and influential during the time period he wished to address. However, after having read some of his work, one realizes that Plutarch inserts his own personal opinion and views of the people at hand into the factual documentation of their lives. For example, in The Life of Crassus, Plutarch expresses a general dislike and negative view of the man, but in The Life of Caesar he portrays the life through a lens of praise. It also seems that he uses his opinions of the people that he writes about to subtly extend moral lessons to the reader. What follows is a further isolation of Plutarch's opinions and
Domitius had brought his army upon Pompey but their was a ravine between them. The ravine was hard to cross, and at the time there was a heavy storm pouring down rain and blowing big gusts of wind. Domitius was ready to retreat but Pompey was waiting for this moment. With his troops he quickly advanced and crossed the abyss, the enemy was in a state of great confusion and disorder and not all of them were present. The rain had made it hard to see and the battle was a flurry, many were fighting against their own army, Pompey himself narrowly escaped death. Pompey’s troops won the battle and his troops gave him the title imperator meaning commander or a victorious general. Pompy said he could not accept the title with some of the enemy camp still standing, and if they wish to make him worthy of honor they must demolish the enemy camp. So they assaulted the adversary and thereafter Domitius perished at the hands of Pompey.
Sophocles gives the readers many different views of the play Oedipus the King in which we can take and analysis accordingly to things we are most interested in. Throughout the play Oedipus personally changes. He starts off as a being a smart leader, calm, and determined, but at the end of the play it reveals how he is angry, irrational and is blind to certain aspects, which becomes his downfall.
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, better known as Pompey, once said, “More people worship the rising than the setting sun.” He transformed the last generation of the Roman Republic forever. He solved many of Rome’s problems. Pompey was a great military and political figure.Need a specific thesis statement
In the early stages of his career, Pompey resorted to the formation of connections with powerful individuals to advance his popularity. Born and raised in a wealthy and influential family in Rome, Pompey had familial connections to famous individuals who would help him climb the ladder of the senate. In addition, he was related to the famous poet, Gaius Lucilius, whose wealth Pompey had inherited (John Leach, 1978). Due to his father’s position in the government, Pompey was in possession of considerable fame and fortune prior to his appearance in the senate. As a result of his associations, Pompey was given several opportunities to battle in his father’s army, therefore giving him valuable experiences and increasing his expertise (Finley Hooper, 1979). In 83 B.C.E, Sulla and his army
Throughout the course of history, political philosophy has been dominated by two great thinkers: Niccolo Machiavelli and Socrates. Although both highly influential, Socrates and Machiavelli may not see eye to eye. When it comes to the idea of how an “ideal prince” would act, Machiavelli believes that they should lead through fear and follow a thirst for power, no matter the cost. Socrates, on the other hand, believes that they should lead through morality and have a healthy thirst for knowledge. Overall, these two would not exactly agree on what the actions of a good leader would look like or how a political system should be run.
In Oedipus the king, he was a very intelligent man, who choose his fate and that led him to a tragedy later on throughout his years a king. A few factors that find their way into the