1. FROM CITY TO EMPIRE: STORY OF ROMULUS AND REMO

Transcription

1 UNIDAD INTEGRADA ROMA 1. FROM CITY TO EMPIRE: STORY OF ROMULUS AND REMO 1.1. Listen to your teacher or English assistant and fill the gaps with the following words Tiber Mediterranean Africa long Italian Britain Roman civilisation started with the city of Rome. Rome was on the river on the Italian Peninsula. This peninsula is the centre of the -sea. Consequently,it is a strategic location to extend their territoriores on the three continents: Europe, -and Asia. The growth of the Roman Empire was a process: First they conquered the whole peninsula Later, The Iberian peninsula, the Gaul, Greece, North Africa and Turkey Finally,, Egypt and central-east Europe ROMULUS AND REMO Romulus and Remus are the mythological twin brothers who founded the city of Rome. Here is their story: Romulus and Remus were twin boys born to a princess named Rhea Silvia. Rhea Silvia was the daughter of Numitor, the King

2 of an important city called Alba Longa. Her uncle, Amulio, was jelous of Numitor because he wanted to be king. Amulio killed Silvia's brother and put in jailed Numitor. But Rhea Silvia was pregnant by the fierce Roman god of war, Mars. The new king Amulio was scared that someday Romulus and Remus would overthrow him and take his throne. So he had the boys left in a basket on the Tiber River. He figured they would soon die. But the boys were found and raised by a She- Wolf, called Luperca. The she-wolf cared for them and protected them from other wild animals. Eventually, One shepherd found them and took the boys home and raised them as his own children. When they were older, the shepherd told them the story, so they realised that they were the true kings of Alba Longa. They went to the city and overthrown his uncle. Then they decided to found a new city, their own city. They chose a place between seven hills. Romulus drew a line in the ground as a symbol of the new foundation and he swore to kill anyone who tried to cross it. Remo disobeyed him, and Romulus killed Remo. Romulus became the 1st king of Rome in 754 BC Speak in English. Make sentences about the real and mithological origin of Rome 2. HISTORY OF ROME:MONARCHY,REPUBLIC AND EMPIRE History of Rome is so long that Historians divided into 3 main periods: 1. Monarchy: When Rome had Kings and Senate 2. Republic: When Rome didn't have Kings, only Senates and Magistrates 3. Empire: When Rome was ruled by Emperors 2.1. Read aloud. Read the following paragraphs about Rome's History. Your teacher or English Assistant will help you.

3 MONARCHY ( BC) 753 BC Romulus founds Rome, and is the first King. Rome is a monarchy for the next 250 years. In the Roman Kingdom, the most important familias (patricians) elected their Kings. Once a king is elected, he had absolute power. There was a council called the Senate which helped the King. The Senate was made up of the heads of the most important patricians families. But the senate was weak. Tarquin the Proud is the last king of Rome. He was a very bad king, so the people of Rome overthrow him in 509 BC. They implemented a Republic REPUBLIC ( BC) INSTITUTIONS: Now people of Rome decided that they dind't want a new king. Instead they created a new type of democracy called Republic. It had 3 main institutions: 1. The Comitias (comicios): These were assemblies where Roman citizens met to vote for laws and elect magistrates 2. The Magistratus (Magistraturas): Magistrates governed Rome. They had political, military and sometimes religious power. They were elected for a year. The Highest magistrate were two consuls who controlled political life and the army

4 3. The Senate (Senado): this was the most important institution. It was a council of citizen from the most important families (patricians). It established the laws. Directed foreign policy and gave instructions to magistrates. SOCIETY: During the Republic. Society was divided into main two groups: PATRICIANS: were a minority formed by the richest and the most powerful families. They claimed to be descendants of the founders of Rome. PLEBEIANS: were all the other citizens Initially only the patricians had political rights, but the plebeians fought for equal rights and they got: a new magistarte: The Tribune of the Plebeians, to defend their interests in the Senate SLAVES, people were considered things, so they could be bought and sold. In Rome you could become a slave for 3 main reasons: Your mother or parents were slaves, Captured in a war, Due to debts LIBERTOS, were old slaves that gained their freedom. In Rome there is a big difference between being a citizen and non-citizen: CITIZEN: They had more rights: can vote, can be magistrates, can own property. NON-CITIZEN: They had less rights. They were women and slaves 2.2. Exercise: Math up the two halves: 1. The Plebeians complained because a. they were not citizens 3. As women were not citizens, c. foreigners could be own property 2. Slaves could not own property because 4. Since all free men were citizens, b. they were not allowed to vote d. they didn't have the same rights as patricians ROMAN EXPANSION: For a long time this system of government works very well, so Rome becomes more and more powerful. First it takes control of all Italy, then it defeats Carthage in North Africa, and the Hellenistic kingdoms (Greece). Rome controls the whole Mediterranean sea = Mare Nostrum.

5 ROMAN ARMY: 2.3. Exercise:Put the sentences in the right order: a) a very good army. powerful Rome became because it had b) was well trained, many battles As the Roman army it won 2.4. Exercise:Look at the picture: This formation was called tortoise because the outside was very hard, like a tortoise`s shell. What do you think it was for? CRISIS OF THE REPUBLIC: During the Republic, Rome controlled most of Europe, Africa and Asia. It became difficult to control such a vast territory. In the 1st century BC, the Republic was weakened by corruption and internal conflicts. The power of the military increased, beacuse they were the only people who could control Rome. To prevent disorders, they found TRIUMVIRATES = Alliances of three men who shared power The First Triumvirate was formed by Julius Caesar, Crassus and Pompey. They soon disagreed and a civil war started. Julius Caesar won and became DICTATOR, but he was assassinated by a group of senators. The Second Triumvirate was formed by Mark Antony, Lepidus and Octavian. Octavian took control after several wars and became the FIRST EMPEROR OF ROME in 27 BC

6 DID YOU KNOW...? 2.5.Exercise: Investigate and look up on the Internet the name of the first TEN MONTHS of the Romans. Which months were later added? Why? EMPIRE (27BC-476 AD) THE EMPIRE: In 27 BC, Octavian (known now as Augustus = chosen by the gods ) became the First Roman Emperor. First he eliminated his enemies and pacified the situation and he intoduced a new form of government = the Empire: The Emperor commands the Army The Emperor is the highest religious leader The Emperor controls foreign policy, dictates laws and decide taxes There is still a Senate but is very weak STABILITY OF EMPIRE: Augustus brought stability to Rome. The first 200 years of the Roman Empire are known as PAX ROMANA = during this period the Empire is safe and prosperous. This is when the Roman built the Coliseum and other many important buildings. With the hispanian emperor TRAJAN the Roman Empire reached its biggest extension.

7 THE CRISIS AND CIVIL WAR AGAIN: In the 3rd century the Roman Empire had a crisis: Lots of Roman generals wanted to be Emperor, so there was a constant civil war Germanic Tribes attacked Roman towns, and Roman people escaped to the countryside It was dangerous to transport goods, so there was less trade. Prices, therefore, went up, and people became much poorer The power of emperors decreased because they were unable to solve these problems THE RECOVERY: In the 4th century DIOCLETIAN came to power to resolve problems. The economy recovered and frontiers were strengthned. The emperor CONSTANTINE introduced changes =tolerance to Christianity, and moved the capital from Rome to Constitnople (Istambul) THE FALL OF THE WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE: In 375 the Huns (Atila) entered from Asia and pushed the Barbarian tribes. The Germanic tribes went into the Roman empire. In 395, THEODOSIUS, divided the Roman Empire between his two sons, to try to defend them easily: WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE, capital Rome to Honorio. Germanic tribes invaded this area in 476, de barbarian leader, ODOACER killed the last roman emperor ROMULUS AUGUSTUS. EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE, capital Constantinople to Arcadio. This part became the BYZANTINE EMPIRE which survived until RELIGION POLYTHEISM: Romans believed in many gods. They didn't have any problem to adopt new gods. The most importants romans gods were: The greek gods with different names Local gods, for example Isis from Egypt

8 Emperors were considered gods Household gods (Dioses Lares): protect the family and home. They had small altar called Lararium 3.1. Exercise: Complete the table. You have to remember the name of the greek gods. CHRISTIANITY: When Augusts is emperor a new religion appeared in the roman province of Judea. A jew called Jesus teaches that: There is only one God All people are equal People must love and forgive each other Jewish leaders were worried about these new ideas. They took Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Palestine, who sentenced him to die crucified. His disciples spread his message through the Roman Empire. The Christians refused to worship the Roman Emperor so the emperor started to persecute them: Nero crucifies christians Diocletian makes them fight as gladiators CHRISTIANITY IS THE OFFICIAL RELIGION: In the 313 AD the emperor Constantine published the Edict of Milan = recognised Christianity as a religion. In 380 AD, Theodosius makes Christiany the official religion of the Roman Empire. Now people who refuse to worship the Christian God are persecuted.

9 4. THE CITY TOWNS: Roman towns were well organised and planned carefully. There was a main road from North to South called CARDO There was another road from East to west called DECUMANUS Where the Cardo and Decumanus meet they build the FORUM = A big square with the most important temples and buidings. It was the political, economic and religious center. The rest of the roads were pararllel to Cardo and Decumanus, so they made a grip. ROMAN ROADS (Calzadas Romanas): there were good roads between all important cities of the Empire. They needed good roads to move their armies quickly throughout Empire. AQUEDUCTS: supplied fresh water to roman towns. For drinking or for the public baths VIGILES AND FIREMEN: Fires and crimes were a big problem in a big city like Rome. Rome therefore had Vigiles = policemen and firemen PUBLIC BATHS (ThERMAE): All Roman towns had public baths

10 called Thermae. The baths were very cheap so people could go once a day. People go there to wash, do exercise and meet friends. 4.1.Exercise: Write down the roman name for: 1. changing room 2. warm bath 3. hot bath 4. cold bath 5. Answer the question: What could the romans do in the thermae? HOUSING: In cities, the Romans lived in two types of housing, Domus and Insulae. In the countryside the prefered Villas. DOMUS: It was the home of wealthy Romans. It generally had one floor and was organized around a central courtyard called PERISTILUM. The most important rooms were decorated with paintings on the walls and mosaics on the floor.

11 INSULAE: It was a block of very small apartaments which were rented to poor people. It was usually a badly constructed building made of brick and wood. It had no running water. A fire was very dangerous because just one staircase led to all the homes. VILLAS: In country, villas were built. These were large farms with just one owner. The owner and his family lived in a mansion. The peasants and slaves who worked on the farm lived in huts neraby. ENTERTAINMENT: There were not weekends in Ancient Rome,but they had a lot of Religious festivals. Romans loved spare time. They usually went to chariot races, gladiators fights and theatre. CIRCUS: Roman circus is very different to a modern circus. Building is long and narrow and it doesn`t have a roof The most popular shows were chariot races and horse races AMPHITHEATRE: Was where gladiators fought. Gladiators were normally slaves or criminals, and mainly men. They usaully fought each other but sometimes they also fought against animals like lions and tigers. Being a gladiators is obviously very dangerous, but there

12 were some advantages: Gladiators were fed well to make them strong Gladiators were allowed to keep their money when they won fights A few gladiators became very popular and famous Some really good gladiators were freed from slavery. Emperor could give them a wooden sword as a symbol of freedom. 5. ROMAN ARCHITECTURE Romans were great architects and engineers. They built many big public buildings. Some new techniques the Romans used included: *Archs helped to build taller buildings and larger bridges. *Domes created big open rooms with high ceilings. *Concrete and mortar made buildings really strong. (Concrete is a mixture of small stones, sand,cement and water. Mortar is a mixture of sand, cement and water.) IMPORTANT ROMAN STRUCTURES: Triumphal Arch - they were built to honor an important victory. Bridge - Arches were used to build bigger bridges that had longer spans. Basilica - A large builing with one main room that was used for business. Aqueduct - They were built to carry water to Roman cities. They had one or more rows of arches. Theatre - They were semi-circular and very similar to Greek culture. Ampitheatre - They were round and used for fights between gladiators and wild animals. Circus - They were used from chariot races and horse races. Temple - They were round or rectangular buildings used as houses for the gods. An altar was inside the temple, but religious ceremonies took place in front of the temple.

13 5.1. Exercise: Write the name of the following roman constructions and explain their main characterisics 6. ROMAN ART SCULTUPTURE:Many Roman sculptures were copies of Greek ones. Portraits were very realistic. Reliefs told the story of Rome s military victories. PAINTINGS: Romans painted portraits, scenes of everyday life, and scenes from myths and legends. They were the first to paint landscapes. Murals were used to decorate walls and public buildings. MOSAICS: Romans used small stones, glass or ceramic of different colors to make pictures on walls and floors Exercise:

14 7. PROJECT: LUDUS (ROMAN GAMES) Con el siguiente prezi, vamos a trabajar y divertirnos conociendo y jugando a juegos de época romana. Are you ready?