CLAS 228: The Roman Republic

Instructor: Kathryn Steed
Classics
Spring 2012

Course Description
Introduction to Rome's political and social history from the Etruscan period to the end of the Republic. Topics include Roman political culture, the acquisition of empire, the role of the army, the psychology of Rome, and interpretation of historical evidence.

Forum Assignment Overview (Microsoft Word 24kB Dec14 12)

Forum Assignments

Forum Assignment 1

For this assignment, use Forum Model 1-186 BCE. Please print your answers and turn them in when you come to class.

Questions

1. Looking at the site plan, what kinds of activities seem to take place in the Forum?
2. When you enter the Forum, what is the first thing you notice? What stands out as important in this space? What are the most impressive buildings in the forum, and what is their purpose?
3. 

   Site Plan for Forum 1
   What is the effect of posting the SC de Bacchanalibus in the Forum outside the repository of state records in the temple of Saturn? How does this placement and format affect the viewer compared to other (ancient or modern) forms of publication like an indoor posting, distribution through neighborhoods, placement in the shops, etc.?
4. Enter the comitium and stand on the speaker's platform as though you're giving a speech. What do you see? What reminders do you have of your role as a representative of the Roman people and senate, and how might you use the physical space of the Forum and city to make your point to the people?
5. What are the monuments on the top of the comitium? Do any of them represent things with which you are familiar? What is that weird black slab standing in the middle of the assembly and voting space?
6. Leave the comitium and stand on the Forum pavement as though you were watching/hearing a speech delivered from the rostra. What do you see? What objects/buildings/memorials frame the speaker you are looking at, and what do his surroundings say about his place in Rome and his authority as a magistrate? Who or what does he represent, and where do you stand in relation to him?
7. Why have individuals put up so many votive offerings in the middle of the Forum? What purpose could they possibly serve?
   

Forum Assignment 2

For this assignment, use Forum Model 2 - Gracchan. Please print your answers and turn them in when you come to class.

Questions

1. Looking at the site plan, what new kind of activity seems to have been introduced to the life of the Roman Forum?
2. What buildings have changed or appeared since your last visit? What are the most noticeable changes (buildings and other elements) in the appearance of the Forum?
3. 

   Site Plan for Forum 2
   Cato the Censor built the forum's first basilica, the Basilica Porcia, in 184 to serve as the public "offices" of the tribunes of the plebs (there was senatorial opposition to this). What significance do the location of this building and the identity of its builder have?
4. By the later 2nd-century, many tribunes of the plebs were speaking from the temple of Castor instead of from the rostra? Why might this be so? What does it reveal about politics in the middle Republic?
5. How do the architecture and appearance of the forum reflect the changes in and expansion of the Roman state? This could be political, institutional, legal, economic, and/or social changes.
   

Forum Assignment 3

For this assignment, use Forum Model 3 – Sullan. Please print your answers and turn them in when you come to class.

Questions

1. What buildings have changed or appeared since your last visit? How have they changed? (2)
2. How is the Fabian triumphal arch between the regia and the temple of Vesta different from previous dedications? What kind of historical trend does it represent in Rome? (2)
3. 

   Site Plan for Forum 3
   How do the rededication of the temple of Concord and the construction of the Basilica Opimia right next to it (see the inscriptions on the buildings) make a political statement? What is that statement, and how does it relate to the developments of the later 2nd century? (3)
4. What is the effect of the large Sullan proscription boards around which people are gathered near the temple of Saturn? How do you as Roman feel when you see them? (3)
5. What decorations (besides proscription boards) has Sulla added to the forum/comitium, and what is their message? What is their effect on you as a Roman? (3)
6. Enter the comitium again. What has changed with the construction of the new curia Cornelia (Sullan senate house)? What statement does the new plan make? How does this line up with politics of the early 1st century and with what you (as you, not as a Roman) know of Sulla's plans for Rome? (4)
7. What is the overall feel of the Forum in this period (both architecturally and ideologically)? Does it feel different from the Forum in 186 or in the Gracchan period? Why? (3)
   

Forum Assignment 4

For this assignment, use Forum Model 4 – Late Republic. Please print your answers and turn them in when you come to class.

Questions

1. What structures/buildings have changed or been added since the Sullan period? How have they changed? (2)
2. Given the obvious reaction against the Sullan settlement, why wouldn't the Romans have erased Sulla's monumental changes to the physical landscape of the Forum? (2)
3. 

   Site Plan for Forum 4
   What are the centers of activity in this period? What does this tell us about the health and functioning of the Republic in the 60s and 50s (what is important, and how are public affairs being transacted)? (3)
4. How does the monumental new tabularium reflect on political trends of the late 60s/early 50s, especially in light of the actions and popularity of men like Caesar? (3)
5. Physical domination of the Forum – through public action like Caesar hauling Cato out of the senate to the prison or through armed presence at public events – seems to have become increasingly important in this period. Why? What would such domination allow the crowd or individuals to accomplish, and what would it imply about their position in the post-Sullan Republic? (3)
6. What is the overall feel of the Forum in this period (both architecturally and ideologically)? How does it compare to the last two versions? Does the Forum seem more like it did in the Gracchan period or Sullan period? What does this say about the political climate of the Republic? (4)
   

Forum Assignment 5

For this assignment, use Forum Model 5 – Early Augustan. Please print your answers and turn them in when you come to class.

Questions

1. What structures/buildings have changed or been added/demolished since your last visit? How have they changed? (3)
2. Which changes that you noted in Question 1 most reflect the changed circumstances of the Roman state under the new principate (era of one-man rule rather than Republican government)? Why? (3)
3. 

   Site Plan for Forum 5
   How has the fundamental layout of the Forum changed? How does the new layout and orientation of the Forum reflect the new social/political order in Rome? (4)
4. What does Caesar's construction – and Augustus' completion and expansion – of the new Forum of Caesar north of the Roman Forum (behind the senate house) tell us about the role of the Forum in Roman public life in this period? Has the function or importance of the Forum changed? (3)
5. In what ways is there continuity between the Republican and Augustan versions of the Forum? What has Augustus (this time pretty much everything new except the new senate house is his doing) done to signal that he is restoring the Republic rather than instituting a completely new era? This obviously includes not tearing down all the old stuff, but you should comment on other things. (3)
6. Think back through the reconstructions of the Forum in various periods. What was the relationship between politics, history, and physical space in the Roman Republic? What does understanding the physical space of the Forum contribute to our understanding of Roman history? (7)