Part 41 (2/2)

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE AMPHITHEATER AT ARLES The amphitheater at Arles in southern France was used during the Middle Ages as a fortress then as a prison and finally became the resort of criminals and paupers. The ill.u.s.tration shows it before the removal of the buildings about 1830 A.D. Bullfights still continue in the arena, where, in Roman times, animal baitings and gladiatorial games took place.]

MONUMENTS OF ROMAN RULE

The best evidence of Rome's imperial rule is found in the monuments she raised in every quarter of the ancient world. Some of the grandest ruins of antiquity are not in the capital city itself, or even in Italy, but in Spain, France, England, Greece, Switzerland, Asia Minor, Syria, and North Africa. Among these are Hadrian's Wall in Britain, the splendid aqueduct known as the Pont du Gard near Nimes in southern France, the beautiful temple called La Maison Carree in the same city, the Olympieum at Athens, and the temple of the Sun at Baalbec in Syria Thus the lonely hilltops, the desolate desert sands, the mountain fastnesses of three continents bear witness even now to the widespreading sway of Rome.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A MEGALITH AT BAALBEC A block of stone 68 feet long 10 feet high and weighing about 1500 tons.

It is still attached to its bed in the quarry not far from the ruins of Baalbec in Syria. The temples of Baalbec seen in the distance were built by the Romans in the third century A.D. The majestic temple of the Sun contains three megaliths almost as huge as the one represented in the ill.u.s.tration. They are the largest blocks known to have been used in any structure. For a long time they were supposed to be relics of giant builders.]

ROMANIZATION OF EAST AND WEST

The civilized world took on the stamp and impress of Rome. The East, indeed, remained Greek in language and feeling, but even there Roman law and government prevailed, Roman roads traced their unerring course, and Roman architects erected majestic monuments. The West became completely Roman. North Africa, Spain, Gaul, distant Dacia, and Britain were the seats of populous cities, where the Latin language was spoken and Roman customs were followed. From them came the emperors. They furnished some of the most eminent men of letters. Their schools of grammar and rhetoric attracted students from Rome itself. Thus unconsciously, but none the less surely, local habits and manners, national religions and tongues, provincial inst.i.tutions and ways of thinking disappeared from the ancient world.

STUDIES

1. On an outline map indicate the additions to Roman territory: during the reign of Augustus, 31 B.C.-14 A.D.; during the period 14-180 A.D.

2. On an outline map indicate ten important cities of the Roman Empire.

3. Connect the proper events with the following dates: 79 A.D.; 180 A.D.; and 14 A.D.

4. Whom do you consider the greater man, Julius Caesar or Augustus? Give reasons for your answer.

5. Compare the Augustan Age at Rome with the Age of Pericles at Athens.

6. What is the _Monumentum Ancyranum_ and its historic importance (ill.u.s.tration Monumentum Ancyranum, section 66. Augustus, 31 B.C.-l4 A.D., topic The Augustan Age)?

7. How did the wors.h.i.+p of the Caesars connect itself with ancestor wors.h.i.+p?

8. In the reign of what Roman emperor was Jesus born? In whose reign was he crucified?

9. How did the ”year of anarchy” after Nero's death exhibit a weakness in the imperial system?

10. How many provinces existed under Trajan?

11. What modern countries are included within the limits of the Roman Empire in the age of Trajan?

12. Compare the extent of the Roman Empire under Trajan with (a) the empire of Alexander; and (b) the empire of Darius.

13. Give the Roman names of Spain, Italy, Gaul, Germany, Britain, Scotland, and Ireland.

14. Contrast the Roman armies under the empire with the standing armies of modern Europe.

15. Trace on the map, page 205, the Roman roads in Britain.

16. ”To the Roman city the empire was political death; to the provinces it was the beginning of new life.” Comment on this statement.

17. Why should Rome have made a greater success of her imperial policy than either Athens or Sparta?

<script>