Roman Ethos, Morals, And Values

In both readings we receive a picture of Rome that the writers paint for us. Augustus provides for us a very biased view on Rome. In “ The Deeds of the Divine Augustus”, Augustus makes a point that Rome is superior to all other places. He takes pride in Rome, so much so that he does not point out the faults in Rome, rather he praises it for all its glory. In contrast, Juvenal’s “Satires”, takes a more realistic approach and explains to us the downfalls of Rome. He explains the good and the bad of Rome and writes with sense of truth. He explains to us that Rome is not perfect by any means. Through his writings, Juvenal is hoping to help the citizens realize their faults and return to their traditional Roman values, through this we can come to an understanding of the true Rome.

Antony has a better example of ethos because he explains the details of what happened to Caesar better. In the story Antony explains the details of exactly what happened to Caesar and who done it. Antony states, "Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabbed. And as he plucked his cursed steel away, mark how the blood of Caesar followed it," (III:2:170-172). This quote states that Brutus stabbed Caesar and when he pulled the knife out of him, the blood from Caesars

Polybius, a Greek commander who spent years on military campaigns with Roman armies in the second century B.C.E. (Hunt, Al., 2012, 160) Polybius venerated the Roman camp but it was army discipline that authentically fascinated him. It was rigorous to the point of inhumanity. Polybius believed the ideal Centurion was instilled with the Core Values of the Arête, the Greek value of competitive individual excellence. This commitment or drive imbues a zealousness of self-sacrifice, accolade, obligation, and a commitment to culminate ones ' life in the accommodation rather than peregrinate home in disgrace. Utilizing this philosophy a committed army, led by Centurions who Rome wanted “not so much to be bold and eager to take risks, but rather to be capable of leadership and steady and solid in character, nor do they want them to initiate attacks and precipitate battle”. (Vegetius, F. 2011, 176) It was prosperous in incrementing Rome 's elevate in a troglodytic time into a more Western Civilization.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions”

The cultural of the Roman Empire was a melting pot of the religious and cultural influences of the conquered societies that had been assimilated into the Empire. The various religions and cultural practice created a complex pantheon of “gods.” Ever larger temples and statues were erected to bring glory and honor to cities and give honor the Emperor. Additionally, cities would host gladiatorial games to bring honor to the Emperor. These events and building projects were facilitated by those who sought to bring greater glory and honor upon themselves with Roman society.

At the beginning of the Roman Empire, the whole state is united under Augustus, but slowly the Empire begins to lose its moral values causing a rise in opposition from Horace and Juvenal, leading to the deterioration of the Roman Empire. Juvenal, a middle class military failure, declares that "I am no good at lying" and therefore does not know how to act or what to do in Rome (Juvenal 8). Because Juvenal failed in the military and now could not join the ladder of power, it caused him to become very bitter. In Rome lying, cheating, and fraud were all part of daily life. Business owners and politicians would trick the community into believing their propaganda so that they could be successful.

The single most important philosophy in Rome was Stoicism, which originated in Hellenistic Greece. The contents of the philosophy were easily persuaded to the Roman worldview, especially to repeat what the Romans considered their crowning achievement. The centrepiece of Stoic philosophy was the concept of the logos. The universe is ordered by God and this order is the logos, which means ?meaning of the universe?. Rome at its beginning was basically agricultural and martial culture. As a result, the earliest Romans stressed effortlessness, strength, and toughness, which are all requirements of both the agricultural and martial lifestyles.

Roman ideology is best represented by Aeneas’ sense of duty. The Roman’s believed that in order to live a valid

The ethos of the Roman nobility at the time of the second century BCE was driven by ambitious military and political careers. These where brought about by a rigorous set of ideals which were built upon Rome’s cultural foundations. “The four terms that ascribe such a rigorous set of ideals are gloria, nobilitas, virtus and auctoritas ”.

Throughout the history of Rome, from the monarchy to the late empire, religion had played a great role in it's society and was involved in almost every aspect of the life of the Roman citizen. It was common for each house to have it's own patron god/gods and ,on special occasions, the head of the house would make a sacrifice to the personal gods of the family. Also, great festivals were usually held in honor of certain gods and would include spectacles like chariot races and Gladiatorial fights.

The Romans once proud and established society who valued duty and responsibility to their Gods, family, friends, and to the state (Jones, Rome, Podcast 1). Romans like to believe they were descended from the noble Trojans. (Backman, Cultures of the West, p.171).

Religion played a significant role in the Roman civilization but, “many people believe that Rome was not a religious place. What they probably mean is that it was not a moral place.” (Burrell, 65) The Romans had innumerable gods that they worshiped which included giving gifts and sacrificing for their gods. Sacrificing animals was common for ancient Roman civilization. The idea of sacrificing came from the people before the Roman Empire was built. Religion primarily used sacrificing as a means of showing appreciation to the gods but later became a way to get things from the gods. The increases in the expansion of Rome lead to an increasing number of sacrifices. Roman sacrifice was done in many different ways and there were numerous

There are three qualities that shaped the world view of the Romans and made up their value system. These beliefs included: Imperialism, Eclecticism, Practicality. These ideals help in explaining how the Romans were viewed by the world.

The Roman system of values can be described as practical, imperialistic and eclectic. Differing from the Greeks, the Roman society looked at life from a more hands-on point of view. The Roman world was based on laws and implications if those laws were not followed. The laws established clear lines of right and wrong, and there were even obligations to participate in society. For example, the Greeks pressed for individual rights where the Romans asserted the rights of the common good or State were what was important.

The Roman way of life is different and similar to modern day. Though one may not know much over the Roman’s the culture is fascinating and still remembered in history. The clothes, food, customs, and leisure are major in Roman lifestyle.