LS2-180 IMAGES OF THE TWELVE
CAESARS
BO382 MWF 1.25-2.20PM
Prof. Leslie
Mechem, x5464, Harder 208C
The first century B.C. in Republican
Rome witnessed a succession of bitter civil wars which nearly destroyed
the most powerful and influential civilization of its day. When Julius
Caesar assumed control of the dying Republic he laid the groundwork for
a new style of world governance, placing the reins of power into the hands
of one man. Caesar's successor, the young Octavian, consolidated this authority
and with his defeat of Antony and Cleopatra in 31 B.C., established peace
throughout the known world - the pax Romana - and a new magistracy - the
principate. For the next 125 years Octavian (now called Augustus) and his
successors, the Julio-Claudians and the Flavians, ruled the greatest empire
the world had ever seen, embracing all of the Mediterranean and stretching
from Scotland in the northwest to Parthia and India in the east. The arts,
education, science, philosophy, literature and politics all flourished
under these first 12 Roman emperors, as the nascent empire struggled to
find its place in the history of world civilizations.
Students will acquire a greater
understanding of the lives of 12 Caesars and of the most prominent members
of their families, in particular how they viewed themselves and how their
contemporaries perceived them. Since each ruler from Julius Caesar until
Domitian, and on occasion their wives and children, were deified, the students
in this course will consider the origins and development of the imperial
cult and the promotion of a state religion championed and led by the emperor.
This will generate considerations as well of the role of women, particularly
members of the imperial family, in Roman life. Critical examinations by
imperial historians and biographers, together with careful analyses of
artistic interpretations, will help to shed light on the vast changes which
occurred in the Roman empire from 59 B.C. until 96 A.D.
DISCUSSION
GROUP