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Authority in Ancient Rome: Auctoritas, Potestas, Imperium, and the Paterfamilias
Authority in ancient Rome was complex, and as one can expect from Rome, full of tradition, myth, and awareness of their own storied history. Perhaps the ultimate authority was imperium, the power to command the Roman army. Potestas was legal...
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Digging History 8: The Regal Period
The regal period largely coincides with the Archaic period, for Rome's development. Of course, a lot was going in what would develop into Rome before the famed foundation date of 753 BC (which was debated by ancient historians nevertheless...
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The Rape of the Sabine Women
The Rape of the Sabine Women, painting by Nicolas Poussin, 1637-1638 CE.
Louvre, Paris
Photo credit: Francisco Anzola
Video
The History of Valentines Day: From the Lupercalia to Cupid
Before chocolates, roses and letters from your valentine were given on Valentines Day, there was the Ancient Roman Festival of the Lupercalia in honour of both the agricultural god Luperca and the she-wolf who sucked Romulus and Remus, Lupus...
Definition
Roman Republic
In the late 6th century BCE, the small city-state of Rome overthrew the shackles of monarchy and created a republican government that, in theory if not always in practice, represented the wishes of its citizens. From this basis the city would...
Definition
Roman Religion
In many societies, ancient and modern, religion has performed a major role in their development, and the Roman Empire was no different. From the beginning Roman religion was polytheistic. From an initial array of gods and spirits, Rome added...
Definition
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine’s Day, or simply Valentine’s Day, is celebrated on the 14th of February, almost internationally but primarily in western societies. It is a commemorative Christian feast for some but a secular occasion for others who see it...
Definition
Juno
Juno was the Roman goddess who protected the nation as a whole but also kept special watch over all aspects of women's lives. She is often thought of as the Roman version of the Greek goddess of love and marriage, Hera. Juno was the wife...
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Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (70-19 BCE), better known to most modern readers as Virgil, was one of the greatest poets of the early Roman Empire. His best-known work, the Aeneid, told of a Trojan prince, Aeneas, who escaped the burning of Troy...
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Camillus
Marcus Furius Camillus (c. 445/446-365 BCE) was the first great general of the Roman Republic to also prove himself an able administrator and honorable politician. He was chosen as dictator five times, celebrated four triumphs, and was hailed...