Exam Essays Outline (Martin Luther, Socrates, and Caesar

Three important leaders we studied this semester were Socrates, Julius Caesar, and Martin Luther.  Discuss what these men had in common, and how they differed, especially in relation to their teachings, how the establishment reacted to them, and how they lived their life.

Socrates- A philosopher that believed the unexamined life is not worth living, always tried to dig for the deepest understanding of whatever question being asked. Got people to question themselves and their moral character. He believed that absolute standards did not exist for truth and justice. He was charged of corrupting the youth, and neglecting the gods. He was given a trail and claimed his teachings were right, and was then killed by poison.

Julius Caesar- A powerful individual, very successful general, crossed the rubicon even when told not to. Was in the first triumvirate, but quickly turned it into a one man show and took power all for himself. Elected himself dictator, the senators could tell the power was getting to him and killed him.

Martin Luther- He was originally studying at law school but dropped out when he promises to become a monk. He threw himself into his life work and became a priest, got his phd, and 2 bachelor degrees before he was 30. Had 95 objections of the Roman Catholic Church; in particular, he disputed the view on indulgences.  He thought that the church was becoming corrupt, and didn't agree with this teaching. His 95 Theses spread all throughout Europe and got a lot of people to agree with him. Luther suggests to drive the pope from the Church, and gets excommunicated from the church. A religious group called the Lutherans was born, because so many people agreed with his ideas in the end.

These men all were very important people of their time, and had a great impact on their people and their towns. Along with this, most of them had ideas or teachings that went against what most people said. Socrates with his unique teaching style, Caesar with his come to power, and Luther with his disagreement with indulgences. Along with this, all of these men threw themselves into their mission and spent their whole lives working on it. Socrates and Luther both were given trials to explain themselves, but did not back down from their opinions and were both punished for it.

They differed because Julius Caesar was all about power, and worked his whole life to gain leadership and power over Rome. Socrates and Luther gained their 'fame' from doing what they thought was right. Also, Caesar was able to get people on his side and never really saw his death coming, where as Socrates was respected but in the end his opinion caused his death. Luther also eventually wound up 'winning' in a sense because his ideas started a new religion, and got some of the old Catholic rules to not be used. 

The people disagreed with all three of these men at some point, though they all had supporters. Both Caesar and Socrates were killed for their beliefs, and Luther was also excommunicated from the Church, stopped from doing his whole life work. They did have supporters but the support did not outweigh the opinions of those against them. 

Exam Essay Outline 2 (US gov vs Athens gov)

Compare and contrast the government of ancient Athens with the government of the United States in the year 2019.

Similarities -Both function under the democratic style where citizens have a large voice in the rules and function of the country. -Three branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial). Within the legislative branch of both places, it is split into two parts. Athens has the Council of 500 and an Assembly of 6000. The USA has the House of Representatives (435) and the Senate (100- 2 per state). -One main person in charge of the function of the country, supported by many other people Differences -Athens experience three different types of government (Aristocracy, Direct democracy, Athenian democracy) and democracy lasted the longest. The USA only had to experience democracy. -The Athenian rules about representation and voting was very exclusive. Women, slaves, and children were among the group that couldn’t vote or have a say in government. In the USA, as long as you’re a legal citizen over the age of 18, you can vote. -When the Judicial branch was used and trials are taking place, there was no attorneys, appeals, or lengthy trials in Athens. During court cases in the USA, the defendant and the plaintiff get an attorney, long appeals and a very lengthy trial. - President in the USA is voted on by the citizens while in Athens, the officials were chosen by a lottery. No matter popularity or wealth, every citizen had a chance.

Book Work pt 2

1. Utopia- means "no place", it has come to mean an ideal place, a soft of fantasy
William Shakespeare- most famous writer of the Elizabethan Age, some believe he is the greatest playwright of all time.
Johann Gutenberg- A craftsman from Mainz, Germany, developed a printing press that incorporated a number of technologies in a new way.

3. Albrecht Dürer's work influenced the Italian Renaissance because his work became very popular and helped spread the Renaissance styles.

4. The Renaissance changed society by its arts, the style and the realism of the art work had improved greatly from before this period.

5. The invention of the printing press was so important because it made information inexpensive. It also allowed greater availability of books which allowed more people to become educated and also led to a greater quest for knowledge.

Book Work

1.
-Renaissance: A period of time in Italy where there was an explosion of creativity and art, writing and thought that lasted from 1300 to 1600.
-Humanism: A study of classical texts led to this, which was a movement that focused on human potential and achievements.
-Secular: the basic spirit of Renaissance society, worldly rather than spiritual and concerned with the here and now
Patron: church leaders that beautified Rome and other cities by spending huge amounts of money for art, they financially supported the artists
Perspective: shows 3 dimension on a flat surface, a technique Renaissance painters used
Vernacular: writer Dante used this, his native language as opposed to Latin

3. Renaissance men were commonly known as universal men. They were charming, witty, well-educated, and knew how to dance, sing, and play music. Renaissance women were also expected to know the classics and be charming. They were told to inspire art, rather than to create it.

4. Italy's cities helped because it was thriving, with a wealthy merchant class and the classical heritage of Greece.

5. They were the patrons that beautified Rome by spending huge amounts of money on the arts. They did this and then had their portraits hung in public squares.

Test day

Today in class we took the test, it actually wasn't that bad. I was expecting it to be harder but the fact that it was all multiple choice was helpful. If I would've had to write an essay it would've been terrible. There were a few questions I just had to guess on but for the most part I was okay.

Review Day

The 3 first settlers of Rome were:
-the Etruscans
-the Latins, who took over the Tiber River and the 7 hills
-the Greeks, who ruled the Mediterranean Sea

Tarquin was the 7th and final king of Rome, after he did awful things. The final straw was when his son raped a well known older women and caused her to commit suicide.

After Tarquin was thrown out, they set up a new type of government, which was a mix of a democracy, an aristocracy, and a monarchy.

Res publica, a latin term meaning the peoples affairs. Is where we get the word republican.

SPQR- Senatus Populusque Romanum

Rome and the United States have similar governments.
- Both have 3 branches
       - Executive: President and VP are similar to Romes 2 consuls, both had a period of term, and both have some veto power
       - Judicial: 9 members so we have no ties, both have similar forms of written out laws, the 12 tables and the Bill of Rights (10 Amendments)
       -Legislative: Senate (Romes 300 vs the U.S. 100), Romes assemblies resemble our House of Reps.
               2 senators for every US state, H.O.R. members depend on the size of state.
Maryland has 8 HOR members

5000 soldiers- a legion
80 soldiers- a century

3 Punic Wars fought by Rome and Carthage:
     1- over Sicily, Rome wins
     2- Carthage again tries a different strategy to gain control of Sicily with Hannibal, Rome wins
     3- Rome invades Carthage and ends them for good

After the 3rd Punic War, there were many slaves

Latifundia- where rich people would buy the poor farmland and create huge lands called this

Because so many middle class people were unhappy, they distracted them with bread and circuses

Julius Caesar- A powerful individual, very successful general, crossed the rubicon even when told not to

First Triumvirate- Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus
        Caesar over takes the triumvirate and becomes dictator, is eventually killed
"Sic semper tyrannis" (Thus always to tyrants)

The (son-ish) of Caesar, Octavian takes over with a new triumvirate but follows in Caesars footsteps and again becomes an individual.

Octavian becomes Augustus and is Romes emperor, led to an era of 4 empires:

-Tiberius: didn't want to be emperor, took over bc he was related
-Caligula: insane tyrant, was overthrown after 4 years
-Cladius: Suffered infirmities, took over bc he was the last male in the family, his wife ends up killing him so her son can be in power
-Nero: son of Cladius, Rome burns and he does a bad job repairing it

Day 8 (even though he's back)

1. Greco-Roman culture: a mix of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman culture 

Pompeii: a Roman town that was covered by Mount Vesuvius, killing about 2,000 residents

Virgil: a poet who wrote the Aeneid, he speaks of government being Rome's most important contribution to civilization.

Tacitus: a Roman historian who presented accurate facts, who also wrote about Rome's morality 

aqueducts: designed by Roman engineers to bring water into towns and cities 

5. The Latin language influenced the development of Western languages because it was adopted by people and modified to make French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian languages. Latin also influenced the English language, as more than over half of the words have a basis in Latin.