Monday, March 15, 2010
Why are Vikings such common mascots in American sports?
Vikings are strong, and seem to not have mercy. They go after what they want even if it means pillaging through towns. In American sports, teams want to be portrayed as a strong force so why not look to the Vikings as an example? When you think of vikings you think of strong, fearless men with big hats and horns on them. It is no wonder that one would want to be seen as this.
Late Antiquity-....
The Roman Empire started to crumble when the emperors could not handle anything until, Carinus. Carinus set up the tetrachry, greek for rule of four. He took the Roman empire and split it in half and had two guys control the eastern part and two the western. War broke out between two tetrarchs, Maxentius and Constantine. Battle of the milvian bridge, October 28 312. Constantine wins this battle. That morning Constantine looked to the sky and had a vision of the chi ro and had his soldiers paint this on their shields, because they one Christianity became legal in Rome. Constantine becomes the sole ruler and Christianity becomes the religion. Constantine also decides to move the capitol from the city of Rome to Constantinople. When the Roman Empire started to disintergrate the Byzantine Empire started to arise.
Late antiquity the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages in Europe and the Mediterranean World. Two Views, Gibbons says Roman Empire came to an end and the other view is that Rome formed into Europe today.
Early Christianity the art was first symbolic because it was illegal until Constantine was in charge.
Byzantine, started in Ravenna and Justinian was in charge. He had the church and the military on his side making him very strong. This is a big difference than the Romans because they did not use the church as a political tool. In the middle ages if you wanted to be a strong leader you need the support of the church and the military because without either you fail.
Constantinople ended up being ruled by Byzantine emperors. During the Byzantine Empire the art of Jesus started to look more like it does today.
Friday, March 12, 2010
How does Early Christian and Byzantine portraiture represent both a continuation of and a break from the past?
Early Christian and Byzantine portraiture show both a continuation and a break from the past. They show a continuation because Byzantine portraiture was formed as a continuation of Early Christian portraiture. Byzantine art is just a modified form created to please the Eastern Orthodox church of that time. In Early Christian portraiture the expressions on the faces of the people in the art would not really mean anything in particular, while maybe the form would mean something. In Byzantine portraiture meaning was always present. With the transition between Byzantine and Early Christianity artists felt that they needed to express the unworldly temperament of the sacred figures. Those who painted or made mosaics did not want to model the sacred figures after human form because that would mean they are human and not sacred. Early Christian and Byzantine portraiture are both similar yet also different. They were more evolved forms of the art that came before them which is how they were not only a continuation but a break from the past.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Did the Roman Empire fall?
There are many examples in history were a civilization that was far advanced in history suddenly disappeared. A good example is the Harappan civilization that had even created a sewage system way before the toilet was even invented. After a period of time historians lost complete trace of them. Great civilizations fall all the time, such as the Roman Empire. But, did the Roman Empire actually fall? The Roman Empire like the Ancient Egypt and the Greeks was very influential on modern society. Many of the discoveries that the Romans made are still being used today such as the Republic and certain war strategies. Rome was very successful in everything it did but all good things must end, such as the Roman Empire. Even though the Roman Empire is no more, most of everything that the Romans did is still present today, so did the Roman Empire really “fall”?
The way approach this question is to understand what it means for an empire to fall. According to Encarta Dictionaries the meaning of fall that pertains to the subject of this essay is come down suddenly. Politically it means to lose political power or be defeated. In the political aspect of falling, the Roman Empire did indeed fall. According to the viewpoint that “fall” holds regarding this essay, Rome did not “fall”.
Politically the Roman Empire did fall because while it was strong for a long time, the strength did not last long. The political system of the Roman Empire went downhill when Commudus became emperor in AD 180. Political institutions collapsed and because politics were basically the core of Rome everything else also went downhill. Another reason the politics fell is because emperors after Commudus started tormenting and oppressing those in the Senate. The reason Rome was so strong as an Empire was because although the Empire was widespread Rome still had power in its different regions. When politics collapsed so did power over residents outside of Rome. When Commudus died a civil war broke out. Politics was very important to the Roman Empire and without it politics Rome failed.
The definition of fall is to come down suddenly, the thing with the Roman Empire “falling” is that Rome did not fall suddenly. You can actually say that Rome reached a peak and after that it was all downhill. Rome was not built in a day and it did not fall in a day either. Rome actually went through a steady decline because of wild Emperors that ruled it. Rome’s empire started its deterioration when the government switched to Constantinople. The empire was then split in half, turning into the Western Empire and The Eastern Empire. The western emperor was eventually driven from his half of the empire by a military general and the Germans saw had their own uprising. A man by the name of Odoacer decided he would take the job as ruler and took away the senate’s right to choose an emperor. The actually decline of the empire started around AD 180 and the Western Empire collapsed in AD 476. It took Rome about 296 years to actually fall.
.Rome did not actually “fall” as some would say because it did not just crash in one day. The Roman Empire was one of the greatest in its day and such as all good things must come to an end, so did the Roman Empire. Augustus the first emperor of the Roman Empire saw a great future for Rome. He was right to see a great future, but not everything is perfect. The Roman Empire started out as a way to make Rome better; Romans were always interested in getting better and being great. The Roman Empire was indeed a great period in history and although it reached its peak to early it still has a great effect on the modern world.
Citation: Encarta Dictionaries
Mellor, Ronald J. "Roman Empire." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
"TopThrillDragsterCedarPointe." commons wikimedia. Web. 11 Mar 2010..
The way approach this question is to understand what it means for an empire to fall. According to Encarta Dictionaries the meaning of fall that pertains to the subject of this essay is come down suddenly. Politically it means to lose political power or be defeated. In the political aspect of falling, the Roman Empire did indeed fall. According to the viewpoint that “fall” holds regarding this essay, Rome did not “fall”.
Politically the Roman Empire did fall because while it was strong for a long time, the strength did not last long. The political system of the Roman Empire went downhill when Commudus became emperor in AD 180. Political institutions collapsed and because politics were basically the core of Rome everything else also went downhill. Another reason the politics fell is because emperors after Commudus started tormenting and oppressing those in the Senate. The reason Rome was so strong as an Empire was because although the Empire was widespread Rome still had power in its different regions. When politics collapsed so did power over residents outside of Rome. When Commudus died a civil war broke out. Politics was very important to the Roman Empire and without it politics Rome failed.
The definition of fall is to come down suddenly, the thing with the Roman Empire “falling” is that Rome did not fall suddenly. You can actually say that Rome reached a peak and after that it was all downhill. Rome was not built in a day and it did not fall in a day either. Rome actually went through a steady decline because of wild Emperors that ruled it. Rome’s empire started its deterioration when the government switched to Constantinople. The empire was then split in half, turning into the Western Empire and The Eastern Empire. The western emperor was eventually driven from his half of the empire by a military general and the Germans saw had their own uprising. A man by the name of Odoacer decided he would take the job as ruler and took away the senate’s right to choose an emperor. The actually decline of the empire started around AD 180 and the Western Empire collapsed in AD 476. It took Rome about 296 years to actually fall.
.Rome did not actually “fall” as some would say because it did not just crash in one day. The Roman Empire was one of the greatest in its day and such as all good things must come to an end, so did the Roman Empire. Augustus the first emperor of the Roman Empire saw a great future for Rome. He was right to see a great future, but not everything is perfect. The Roman Empire started out as a way to make Rome better; Romans were always interested in getting better and being great. The Roman Empire was indeed a great period in history and although it reached its peak to early it still has a great effect on the modern world.
Citation: Encarta Dictionaries
Mellor, Ronald J. "Roman Empire." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
"TopThrillDragsterCedarPointe." commons wikimedia. Web. 11 Mar 2010.
Games and Reviews
http://www.discovery.com/games/pyramid/pyramid.htmlDiscovery.com has created an interactive game where not only can you learn about the history of the Giza pyramids but you can learn about them also. While building the pyramid it gives you a limit on the time that it takes to build a pyramid, about 23 years. It is very realistic, down to point where you have to get barracks for the workers. This game is good for anyone who wants to learn what it felt like to be in charge of having one of the Pyramids at Gize built.
BBC has a an interactive game that goes through the process of digging up ancient civilizations in the Indus Valley. His name is Professor Indus and he is the archaeologist who gives you the mission of finding the lost city of Mohenjodaro. IT is very realistic as he gives you the tools that you will be needing as a good archaeologists.In this interactive game you learn about where the Indus Valley is located. It is quite clever and fun to play and i recommend it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/indusvalley/flash/ivl0_index.shtml
Game: Dig it up: Romans
Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/
Review: In this game, you are trying to dig up Roman items, hence the name. You are set in a place where there are many underground Roman items. There are places where you can dig up specific items from Roman time period. This is a great game to see old Roman items.
Game: Mesopotamia Farming Game
Link: http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/geography/challenge/cha_set.html
Review: In this game you are a farmer in Mesopotamia. You have to take care of three different plots of land, farm, sow your crops, water, and maybe flood your crops even. This game can be helpful to learn about farming, but it doesn't teach much about Mesopotamia, except that people from there were farmers because of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. This game could be better if it was more interactive with more facts about Mesopotamia and if it had more things to do than just farm.
In this game, Gladiator: Dressed to Kill, you dress up Roman gladiators for battle. The game gives information about the Roman gladiators like how they were armed in a variety of styles that were designed to mimic mythical figures as well as Rome’s past enemies. Specific gladiators were matched together so there would be an exciting fight.
In the game you have sixty seconds to dress up the specific gladiator for his
specific battle. You can ask for clues that will help you to figure out which weapons and armor your gladiator should were into battle. You only have four clues and you need to choose four weapons and armor. The four weapons that you can give to your gladiator are a trident, a sword, a spear, and a dagger. Other things that may be given to the gladiator are different types of armor as well as shields and a net. The clues can give you a hint as to what weapon and what armor to send the gladiator in with. An example is “The Retiarius gladiator is lightly armed, and has the equipment of a fisher man.” Based on the clue you can that the weapon that the gladiator should be given is a trident and fishing net. If you choose three of the correct weapons you will be given the palm branch of victory. If you choose all four correctly, you will be given a wooden sword that symbolizes the gladiator’s freedom.This is a fun game that will help you learn about how gladiators fought and what they were like. It gives information on what kinds of weapons and armor they took into the arena with them which can be very interesting.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/launch_gms_gladiator.shtml
In the game "Death in Rome" you play as a Roman sleuth that has to solve the mystery of a murder. you need to piece together the clues to solve the mysterious death. You only have until dawn to solve the mystery. You need to solve the crime by looking at evidence found, eye-witness testimonies and use your intuition.
The location is Ostia, river port in Rome. The year is 80 AD and the victim is Tiberius Claudius Eutychus. He was found dead in his apartment. You need to find the clues around his apartment and solve the case. You can interrogate witnesses as well.
You use your mouse to explore the room and find clues. This is a fun game that will help you learn what it would have been like in ancient Roman times. Check it out!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/games/death_rome/index_embed.shtml
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
St. Augustine of Hippo
- A Berber Philosopher and theologian,
Augustine is a key member to the development western Christianity. He helped mold the basis of original sin and just war. He was born in what is now Algeria. His mother (Saint Monica) wanted him to become a Christian but he became a pagan. After he converted and went against pagans himself. When he became Christian he hated his former lifestyle.
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