Midterm Questions: Roman History
Select ONE of the following questions for your midterm exam response. Be sure to read the instructions for this assignment carefully. Use any sources contained in the course learning resources and any journal articles in the Library. Encyclopedias and general reference books (for example, The Encyclopedia Britannica) are generally not reliable resources. You may, however, use Oxford reference works (for example, The Oxford Classical Dictionary) available through the Library. Resources other than those cited above may be used in your exam only with the instructor’s permission.
The paper should be at least six pages in length. The required six pages do not include the title page or bibliography. Make sure the pages are numbered.
Question Option One
Livy is frequently described as a “moral historian,” and we have seen several examples of his moralism in the first half of the course. Often Livy’s moral message involves women as paradigms of moral behavior or as threats to a man’s disciplina or both. The story of the Numidian Queen Sophonisba is typical of Livy’s methodology. Discuss the background of the episode of Masinissa and Sophonisba, the role that Scipio played and the lesson Livy intends to convey. How does the tale typify Livy’s methodology? Cite at least one other example for comparison.
Option Two
“The world often misunderstands its greatest men while neglecting others entirely. Scipio Africanus, surely the greatest soldier that Rome produced, suffered both these fates. The man who stood like a beacon above his contemporaries on the strength of his brilliance and character during the Republic’s darkest hour; who revolutionized Roman military tactics; who set Rome on its imperial course by propounding a wider strategic view of Rome’s mission than the Roman aristocracy of his time was capable of comprehending; who extended Roman power into Spain, Africa, and Asia; who defeated the great Hannibal and won the Second Punic War; who was the central figure of his time; and who, after all his accomplishments, turned away from the temptation of personal ambition, retired from public life, and preserved the institutions of Roman republicanism remains almost unknown to modern readers. In a cruel paradox one of the men Scipio defeated, Hannibal Barca, captivated the imagination of scholars and laymen over the centuries while the greater soldier and statesman of the two remained unrecognized for his achievements.” [Richard A. Gabriel, Scipio Africanus: Rome’s Greatest General (Potomac Books 2008), preface]
Consider Gabriel’s assessment of Scipio Africanus and provide arguments for or against his position. Be sure to provide specific details to support your opinion.
Option Three
H. H. Scullard makes the following observation about Roman religion:
“The religion of the family, though the expression of a group rather than of individuals, might have led to an advancement of man’s knowledge of the Divine, had not a development taken place which tended to deaden its reality. That feeling of awe and anxiety towards the unknown which the Romans called religio had led men to evolve certain rites by which they maintained the pax deorum, a peace or covenant with their divine neighbors. As the city grew, the state stepped in and undertook this responsibility on behalf of the community.”
Explain what exactly is meant by the pax deorum. Cite examples of Roman efforts, successful and unsuccessful, to maintain the pax deorum. Was there a downside to the state’s undertaking religious responsibilities for the community? Does the state’s takeover suggest a reason for the emergence and popularity of the cults of Cybele and Bacchus?
Option Four
Two memorable episodes mark the changes in Rome’s relations with the Greeks: the so-called liberation of Greece and the destruction of Corinth. In the first the Romans were considered by the Greeks enlightened and compassionate liberators; in the second the Romans were derided as uncouth and savage barbarians. Explain the background of these two episodes. What were the causes of the hardening of Roman foreign policy and the harsher methods employed to carry it out?
Option Five
The history of the early Roman Republic is notoriously difficult to write. What are the impediments that make early Republican historiography so complicated? Using actual historical evidence as well as the hypothetical reconstructions, explain the nature of the problem and the various strategies available to historians to solve or at least alleviate the problems. (History majors and minors might wish to take a crack at this one! (You will find useful information in the Additional Learning Resources for Week One: Roman Historiography.)
