Chapter Four: The Roman Legacy Culture and Values, 7 th Ed. Cunningham and Reich
Feb 25, 2016
Chapter Four:The Roman Legacy
Culture and Values, 7th Ed.Cunningham and Reich
Augustan Literature: Vergil
Roman art promoted Augustan worldviewOfficial, public, served state purposes
Vergil’s AeneidTribute to Rome and AugustusNational epic of RomeHuman destiny and personal responsibility
Eclogues (Bucolics) and Georgics
[Image 4.9]View of the Garden from the villa of Livia
and Augustus
Augustan Sculpture
Ara PacisCharacteristics of Vergil’s poetryPolitical and social messageDedicated to the spirit of PeaceCelebrates the abundance of nature
Augustus of Prima PortaVictory over ParthiansNational pride
Evidence of Pompeii
Vesuvius: August 24, C.E. 79Pliny the YoungerPreservation of ordinary Pompeian life
BuildingsDomestic ornamentsFood
Roman Imperial Architecture
Triumphal arches, internal arches, vaultsBarrel VaultDome (hemispherical vault)
Hadrian’s Pantheon and imperial foraDome, oculus
Engineering AchievementsAqueducts (Pont du Gard)Covered sewers
Rome as the Object of Satire
OvercrowdingHumble private residencesJuvenal (C.E. 60-130)
Satirical poet (sixteen Satires)Biting sarcasmMisogyny
The End of the Roman Empire
Gradual decline and political disunityInsufficient army / use of mercenary troopsIncreased taxes, decreased value of moneyImpossibility of trade
Emperor Diocletian (284-305)Emperor Constantine (306-337)Deposition of Romulus Augustulus (476)
Late Roman Art and Architecture
Last great Roman imperial buildingsBasilica of ConstantinePalace of Diocletian
Abandonment of Classical idealsLack of perspective and precisionEnthusiasm for Eastern religious cultsRole of Christianity