April 30, 2015:Notes

Today in class we had grandparents visit and we took more notes on Rome.

Rome

Who Settled Rome?

Etruscans

- Came from the North-central part of the peninsula 

- metalworkers, artists, architects

- two foundation myths: Virgil's Aeneid (where Aeneas escapes from Troy), plus the story of Remus and Romulus 

Greeks

- They had many colonies around the Mediterranean Sea

- Roman borrowed ideas from them, such as:

   - Religious Beliefs 

   - Alphabet 

   - Much of their art 

   - Military techniques and weaponry 

Latins 

- Descendants of Indo - Europeans 

- Settled onto the banks of the Tiber 

- Situated so trading ships - but not war fleets - could navigate as far as Rome, but no further 

- A commercial port, but not susceptible to attack 

- And built on seven hills (except Palatine)

Swamp Drainage

- Many streams flowed into the Tiber River

- There was a marshy area called the Forum, between Palatine and Capitoline Hills 

- Tarquin the Proud's grandfather built the Cloaca Maxima (largest ancient drain), which channeled water into the Tiber 

Tarquin

- Lucius Tarquinias Superbus 

- The seventh and final king of Rome 

- Known as Tarquin the Proud (also known as Tarquin the Arrogant)

- A true tyrant, in the old and modern sense of the word 

- Tarquin seized the power like an old school tyrant 

April 29, 2015: Class

Today in class we got into groups and decided what we were going to do for the Rome project. Veronica, Rosemary, Zaire, and I are making a four course meal of Ancient Roman food and presenting it in class.

April 28, 2015: Class

Today in Western Civilization we talked about the riots in Baltimore. We discussed what how it is related to Rome and their uprisings and put our opinions in on what we think of it. We told stories of how bad it is and what it's like to grow up in Baltimore.

April 24, 2015: Class

Today in class we went over different types of project we do for the Ancient Rome project. I'm in a group with Rosemary, Zaire, and Veronica.We are going to do the different types of food that were fed at a Roman Dinner Party.

April 23, 2015: Notes

In class today we started to go over the terms in the Rome song.

Rome - By Chi Cago 

Vocabulary Terms

- Tiber River

- Rome

- Tarquin the Proud: ruled from 534 - 510 B.C.E

- Patricians

- Plebians (know the difference)

- Republic: Three forms of government: Democracy, Aristocracy, and Monarchy 

- Aristocracy 

- 12 Tablets/Tables: Laws published in square

April 23, 2015: Class

Today in class we mostly did homework while Mr. Schick graded the last of the Greece papers to give back to us.

April 22, 2015: Notes

Today in class we took notes on Rome and listened to a song that Mr. Schick (Chicago) created.

Rome

City-state and Empire: The Roman Republic (1 of 4)

- Italy and it's people 

- Indo-European tribes moved into the Italian peninsula and some settled along the river creating the city-state known as Rome 

- The Etruscan people, originally form the east, had settled in the north of Italy and were an early influence on the Romans. 

- Romans were also influenced by the Greek settlements to their south and learned the alphabet and city-state organization from them 

City-state and Empire: the Roman Republic (2 of 4)

- The Roman Republic: The Senate and the People 

- Originally, Rome was a monarchy on the Etruscan model with a council of elders called the "senate"

- Around 500 B.C.E., the Romans overthrew their monarchy and established a "republic"

- Since the senate was populated only by Patricians (aristocratic men), the Plebians (ordinary men)fought for a vote in Rome's government 

- Each year the senate elected two rulers, "consuls," who each served one term of one year

- As in the Greek city-states, the Romans would appoint a single dictator in times of war or conflict 

April 17, 2015: Class

Today in western civilization we had a shadow. We talked about our projects briefly and then we did homework for the rest of the class.

April 16, 2015: Class

Today in class we talked about different kinds of projects we could do for Rome other than an essay and a power point. Some suggestions included making different Roman food (not just spaghetti), role-playing the Roman Gods and Goddesses, and making video of a war using different types of techniques like the Phalanx.

April 15, 2015: Class

Today in class we waited for about 10 minutes fro Mr. Schick to pull up a video. The video was about Plato and his book "The Allegory of the Cave." After watching the video, we discussed the interpretation of it and what people thought about the story line of it.

April 14, 2015: Class

Today in Western Civilization we went over the Greece test we took before we went on spring break. I got an 86%.
Questions i got wrong:

15) Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the period from 1150 B.C. to 750 B.C.?
A. the art of writing was neglected
B. Dorians planted the seeds of democracy 
C. trade came to a standstill
D. centralized economy collapsed

32) This war was fought between Sparta and Athens for almost 30 years.
A. Trojan War
B. Persian War
C. Civil War
D. Peloponnesian War

34) This is a notion of excellence and virtue; the act of living up to one's full potential.
A. agora
B. arete
C. helot
D. epic narrative

36) He was the prominent leader during Athens' Golden Age.
A. Socrates
B. Isagoras
C. Pericles
D. Cleisthenes

41) He ran an influential school called the Lyceum
A. Aristotle 
B. Plato
C. Socrates

44) He developed The Allegory of the Cave
A. Aristotle
B. Plato
C. Socrates

50) Which of the following modern-day countries would NOT be considered a member of "western civilization"?
A. Greece
B. England
C. China
D. Italy
E. United States

April 1, 2015: Power-Point & Class

Today in class we took a test to finish up the unit of Ancient Greece. We also had to turn in our 1000 word paper about Ancient Greece.

Gods and Goddesses
- What is unique about the Greeks' relationship with their gods is the interaction with the humans
- Poseidon (god of the sea) interfered with the Odysseus trying to return home
- Aphrodite (goddess of love) had lovers of both gods and men
- Dionysus (God of wine) was the son of Zeus (a god) and of Semele ( a human princess)
- And on and on and on...


Who's who in the Pantheon
- Zeus: ruler of heaven and earth; father of Athena; god of the sky, weather, thunder, lightning, law, order, and justice.
- Had a temper and was known to hurl thunderbolts

Athena
- Goddess of wisdom, skill, warfare (and peace), intelligence, battle strategy, and handicrafts.
- She was born from Zeus' head fully formed and armored.
- A special patron of heroes: such as Odysseus
- She was the patron of Athens (the city was named after her).

Just a few of the many...
Apollo - God of music, arts, knowledge, healing
- Zeus was his father, Artemis was his twin sister
- He's associated with the sun, his sister with the moon
Poseidon - god of the sea, rivers, floods, earthquakes
- Brother of Zeus, king of the sea and waters
Aphrodite - Goddess of love, beauty, desire, sexuality
- Her lovers include Ares (god of war), Adonis (demi-god of desire), and Anchises (a mortal who father a baby)
Demeter- Goddess of grain, harvest, agriculture
- Zeus's sister

The Fighting Spartans
- Greeks were certainly a warlike people: especially the Spartans
- Spartans were known for their tough, ruthless infantry: Soldiers who fought on land
- Spartan boys trained from the time they were seven
- Real Spartans were much more fearsome than those oily gym rats in the movie 300 (IMHO)

A Naval Power
- Athens had a great infantry, too, but nothing could compare with their navy
- Their most effective weapon was trireme
- A technological marvel
- Fastest ship in the world at the time
Rowed by up to 170 men on three levels
- Could be used as a battering ram
- Agile, fast

The Phalanax...
- Close rank, dense grouping of warriors
- Armed with long spears and interlocking shields
- Soldiers would advance slowly toward the enemy, until they broke through their ranks

Socrates
- Looked to science and logic (not the mythological gods) for explanations of how the world worked
- The Socratic method fostered critical thinking
- "The unexamined life is not worth living"
- Socrates was charged with serious crimes: Impiety (disrespecting the gods), Corrupting the youth of Athens
- At his trial, he described himself as a stinging gadfly, and Athens as a lazy old horse
- Did not deny what he had done; asked for free dinners
- Found guilty by an Athenian jury, and sentenced to death by drinking poison hemlock (nasty way to go)

Plato Carries On
- Plato was a student and follower of Socrates
- He wrote out Socrates' teachings, and described his trial in Apology
- Republic was Socrates' discussion of justice and the ideal state - one of the most influential books on philosophy ever written

Aristotle - So ambitious...
- Aristotle was a student of Plato
- He helped foster the idea of Athens as an intellectual destination
- His school - the Lyceum - focused on cooperative research - building on knowledge gathered from all over the world

Did Aristotle invent the internet?
- Not exactly, but he did dream of having the sum of mankind's knowledge easily accesed in one location
- He wrote extensively on such topics:
Logic - physics - biology
Ethics - politics - rhetoric
Motion - theatre - poetry
Metaphysics - psychology - dreams
- He also tutored Alexander the Great