Roman Civilization: Values, Mythology, Architecture, and Culture

This document explores the values, mythology, architecture, and culture of Roman Civilization. It discusses the class system, religion, music, and more. The document also includes a discussion on the concept of ataraxia and the book The Aeneid.

Running head: ROMAN CIVILIZATION
Roman Civilization
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ROMAN CIVILIZATION
Part A: 1
Superstitio: The adoption of positive attitude by an individual for providing his services to
God. The concept was mainly associated with preserving the freedom of the individual while
he offered his services to the spiritual entities. It required complete submerging of an
individual in the process of worship. It advocated that the individuals should live in the fear
of gods as they will punish them if any wrong doing is done on the individual’s part. It was
associated with a religion that created terror among the individuals who followed it by
projecting the divine as tyrannical figure who never forgives only offers punishment for the
sins.
Hestia-Vesta: Hestia is a Roman goddess who is regarded as virgin and is associated with the
concepts of architecture and orderliness at the domestic sphere. She was considered the
pioneer of the art of ruling the home and the state. This placed her in the position to obtain
the first share of the offerings that were done in the household. The ancient structures are
associated with her name in the public sphere. She symbolized all the activities that are
related with the new establishments and beginnings.
Seneca the Younger: Seneca the Younger was an eminent dramatist in Rome. He held the
center figure during the reign of Emperor Nero. He was his advisor for a brief period of time
during the period of the first five years of his rule. Later he was forced to leave his position
on the charges of plotting the assassination of the emperor. Due to all the allegations that he
never agreed during his lifetime, he committed suicide to prove his innocence.
Part A: 2
Freedman: This term is associated with slavery in the Roman period. This term denoted those
slaves who were freed from slavery by willingness of the masters. The releasing of the slaves

2ROMAN CIVILIZATION
gave them freedom from the authority of their masters as well as the rights for participating in
the politics of the country. The freedom attained was also reflected in other term that was
used for them. The freedman were entitled key positions during the ancient Roman period.
The children who were born to the freedman were entitled to freedom in their life and were
not affected by the past of their parents.
Arval Brothers: This term is associated with the body that consisted of a group of priests who
made the sacrifices that were meant for the gods for attaining good harvest. Their existence is
substantiated by inscriptions that were found in Rome. The group consisted of the selected
individuals who were from the higher social sphere for a period of their lifetime. They
guaranteed fertility and flourishing of the state by performing sacrifices.
Amphitheatre: Amphitheatre are the places where the royal events took place. They were
used by the royals for staging gladiator combats and to make the execution of the slaves as an
event of public display. These structures are found all across the country of Rome. The
circular and oval structure of the amphitheaters distinguished them from the structures
namely circuses and hippodromes.
Part B
Rome is an ancient entity that has fascinated individuals since generations. They have had
their own set of values, mythology and a unique state of architecture. The city of Rome has
an interesting story about the foundation. The mythical characters that led the foundation of
Rome are Romulus and Remus who were left in bewilderment (Blundell, 2016). The roman
empire expanded and conquered many countries that included England. Rome waged war
against Carthage which found appreciation in the historic events of Rome. The Roman
Empire lasted for 244 years that was a long passage of time. In the later part Rome became
republic and the structure of rule transformed (Gibbs, Nikolic & Ripat, 2014). The different

3ROMAN CIVILIZATION
historical structures that are found in Rome are a center for amazement. The unique dome
shaped architecture made it evident that the Romans were way ahead of their times. The
institutions that led the governance in the Roman Civilization. The cultural aspects of Rome
developed through the period of 1200 years. The Roman culture was a mix of many cultures
as they brought with themselves the people from all the states they conquered and they left
their influence on all the practices. It was a nation that possessed immense military power
that was necessary for the growth of the empire. The Roman class system comprised of four
different classes that were aristocrats, equestrians, commons and the slaves. The most
powerful were the aristocrats that included of the rulers and their advisors. The class of
equities consisted of the merchants, bankers and builders employed by the government
(Flower, 2014). The commons included the farmers and people who worked in the industries
and lastly were the slaves who were mostly the prisoners of war and were forced to serve as
gladiators. The religion in Rome consisted of numerous gods and who had an eminent impact
on the art and architecture of the land. A number of temples were built that were dedicated to
them. Most of the structures have turned into ruins but those structures that are still standing
present the grandeur of that era. The differentiation in the class was evident in the structure of
the buildings too. The people who did not belong to the upper class used to live in the houses
made from the bricks dried in the sun with only one room whereas the aristocrats lived in the
mansions that were constructed using precious materials. The aristocrats often possessed
multiple places to live. The eating habits also differed as poor individuals were put under
restrictions and were not allowed to eat certain food items (Zimmerman, 2014). The music of
Rome held an important place in the lives of the individuals living there. There were special
songs for every occasion called Carmen. The use of instrument was also seen in Roman
music. The use of natural melody was evident in their music. The buildings were decorated
using paintings on the walls and mosaic on the floor that presented a beautiful view and made

4ROMAN CIVILIZATION
those places attractive. Thus, it can be assumed that the Roman Civilization was very rich in
heritage and culture (Wacher, 2013).
Part C
In the book The Aeneid: “Safe Haven after Storm”, Vigil presents that gods are the central
theme of an individual’s life who determine the course of an individual’s action and his life.
They are described as mystical concept that invoked the interest of the individual. Gods
according to Vigil possessed distinctive personalities that made them the concept of an
individual’s quest throughout his life (Bruce). The hero of his story Aeneas is the center of
attention from the Gods because he was the child of goddess Venus. Aeneas in his quest for
the new city was not affected and controlled by the gods as his destiny was decided at the
time of his birth. The relationship that Aeneas had with his mother Venus was very
supportive as she saved him whenever he was attacked by Juno. She was the savior of the
land of Troy. The tendency of saving her son every time he faced aggression from other gods
created a conflict between Venus and the other gods. Juno possessed an attitude of hatred for
Venus as she was picked over her. Venus had promised that Paris, the man from Troy would
have the most beautiful mortal creature as his wife. It was rumored that the Trojans were
about to destroy the city of Carthage that happened to be the dearest city to Juno. Thus, it
fuelled her anger and she inflicted it on the son of goddess Venus, Aeneas. She conspired
against Aeneas with Aeolus, the god of
Wind to create a storm that will lead to the destruction of Aeneas and his fleet. Goddess
Venus led a question in front of Jupiter to seek answer that why is he letting Juno to punish
the people of Troy and her son. The destruction of the city of Carthage was the main reason
for the revenging attitude she possessed towards the Aeneas.

5ROMAN CIVILIZATION
The concept of ataraxia in the literal sense meant peaceful which invested in it the
quality of possessing a calm attitude towards life in stressful and adverse situation. It is the
art in which an individual masters controlling his emotions. In Vigil’s concept it was
advocated that religion is a devotional practice that requires hard work from the individuals
towards the god whereas ataraxia relied on the concept of calmness and peace in the life of an
individual to follow the divine part. It is the art that aims at the achievement of excellence in
the life of an individual. It proposes that the good life of an individual is the result of his
constant efforts. It lead to the attainment of ultimate peace that rewarded the individual in the
end when his efforts are fulfilled. It depends on the ability of an individual in adopting it as a
habit that he does not need constant effort in practicing it. The conscious efforts should be
replaced by habits that will lead to the ultimate happiness of the individual.

6ROMAN CIVILIZATION
References
Blundell, S. (2016). The Origins of Civilization in Greek and Roman Thought (Routledge
Revivals). Routledge.
Bruce, D. Virgil’s Aeneid: A Discussion Guide.
Flower, H. I. (Ed.). (2014). The Cambridge companion to the Roman republic. Cambridge
University Press.
Gibbs, M., Nikolic, M., & Ripat, P. (Eds.). (2014). Themes in Roman Society and Culture:
An Introduction to Ancient Rome.
Wacher, J. (2013). The Roman World. Routledge.
Zimmerman, C. C. (2014). Family and civilization. Open Road Media.