Nora's Western Civ Blog

Dear Future Self,  This year was not what I expected, this year was not what anyone expected. I went into my freshman year so excited. There were so many opportunities and I enjoyed those first months so much. As things started to settle down and the beginning of the school year was over, I still felt so excited to be able to be in high school and I loved being at school every day. When I started to hear about the coronavirus, I saw it as a joke. At that point no one really seemed to be worried about it. I heard about it on social media, but no one was taking it seriously it all was just a joke. When the virus first came to the US, I still was not really worried. Then, it was in Maryland. At this point I started to get worried, I never thought it would get so serious and I definitely never thought we would get out of school for this. Then came March, when we got the first thought about getting out of school. At first, we would just be out for two weeks. Everyone at school was ki...

Today you asked us to take notes on the rest of the power point, slides 43-52. Here are some of the key notes that I took: Octavian takes over the throne at 18 with his own triumvirate with Mark Anthony and Lepidus Octavian forces Lepidus to retire and he and Mark Antony become rivals  Mark Antony partners up with Cleopatra from Egypt Octavian is now ruling Rome alone new Rome is an empire not a republic Octavian started Pax Romana, which was 207 years long Octavian had many accomplishments including building a network of roads and collecting taxes Octavian died of natural causes and the power was passed down to emperors Tiberius ruled from AD 14-37 and was excellent general but a reluctant emperor Caligula ruled from AD 37-41 and won a power struggle after Tiberius' death Claudius ruled from AD 41-54, he suffered from many infirmities but was a good ruler Nero ruled from AD 54-68 who emphasized the arts and who wanted to rebuild Rome to make it more majestic  ...

I will be taking my test at 8 on June 2nd. Here are my notes on slides 32-42: the plebs like to revolt and fight against the government bread and free entertainment is used to keep them distracted so they don't revolt Tiberius Gracchus saw advantages in courting the plebs military generals had a similar mindset: conquer a land and then share Julius Caesar: (100-40 BC), a highly successful general, conquered the huge territory of Gaul he made the common folk happy and made friends in high places him along with Pompey, and Crassus formed the first triumvirate  Caesar serves as a consul for one year, appoints himself governor of Gaul Pompey is his jealous rival in 44 BC he is named dictator- first for six months then for life Caesar did many things during his rule including granting citizenship to people in provinces, expanding the state, creating jobs for the poor, increasing pay for soldiers, and starting colonies where those without land could own property Caesar was ...

Today you asked us to pick out of three choices what we wanted to write our test essay on. I am going to choose option A, which is to compare and contrast Rome and the US government.

Today you asked us to take notes like we would in our notebook from pages 160-165 in the textbook. Here are some key notes that I took: main idea: empire building- The creation of the Roman empire transformed Roman government, society, economy, and culture. why it matters now: The Roman Empire has served throughout history as a model of political organization and control. civil war: a war between people in the same country Julius Caesar: a military leader who was elected consul in 59 B.C. triumvirate: a group of three rulers Augustus: unchallenged ruler of Rome aka Octavian Pax Romana: the period of peace and prosperity most Romans survived on the produce from their local area, the rich often got luxury food from trade gravitas: a person that withholds the qualities of discipline, strength, and loyalty the Romans had more slaves than any other previous civilization numina: the gods, or the divine forces that the Romans believed resided in everything around them free enter...

Today you asked us to explain all the details about the Punic Wars. The Punic Wars were fought from 264-146 BCE. They were fought between Rome and Carthage. There were three wars in the Punic Wars. These wars were a struggle between two empires for control and power. In the first Punic War, there were naval battles for control of Sicily. This battle Rome won. Then, in the second Punic War Carthage strikes back and Hannibal takes Rome. He attacks Rome from the North and lays siege to the peninsula for 15 years, but he never reaches Rome. Lastly, in the third Punic War, Rome no longer wanted to have Carthage as a threat. So, many men attacked Carthage, including Scipio, Tiberius, and Gracchus. Carthage was burned for 17 days and everything was destroyed. At the end of the war, anyone that was left in Carthage was sold into slavery. This led to many economic changes and social upheaval.

Today you asked us to go over slides 9-22 in your power point and discuss the two main topics that were talked about in those slides. Slides 9-12 are all talking about how bad it was to live under the rule of a cynical and bad leader. These slides talk about Tarquin and how he seized power and it talks about all the crazy things he did. This kings behavior shaped the peoples ideas about their family. The people never wanted to be subject to the rule of kings again. In slides 13-22 the Roman government is described and compared to the US government. It talks all about how officials were elected and what they did. These slides also continue to discuss the differences between the plebeians and the patricians. The US government and the Roman government have some similarities. Their governments were modeled in very similar ways and both had the three branches of government. In each of those branches there were similarities and differences.

Today our assignment was to take notes on the Chi Cago's guide to ancient Rome. Here are some key notes that I took: Rome was settled by the Etruscans, the Greeks, and the Latins  the Latins were the ones who first settled Rome, and they settled on the banks of the Tiber, also built on the 7 hills Remus wanted the Aventine hill while Romulus wanted the Palatine there was an area between the Palantine and Capitoline hills called the Forum many streams flowed into the Tiber the Cloaca Maxima was the largest ancient drain, which channeled water into the Tiber the 7th and last king of Rome was Tarquinias Superbus aka Tarquin the Proud he was a tyrant in the old and in the modern sense of the word

I started listening to Rome and I honestly thought it was very funny. I feel like I have heard this song before, maybe they played it for us in middle school. This song is a very clever way to learn, because you can listen to the song and sing along and then remember the facts from it. But, overall, I though it was a funny song and it made me laugh.

In Rome, before 451, there were not fixed laws. The laws that were present, were not written down. All the laws just went through the patricians, and the leaders just interpreted them by themselves, the way they saw them. This started a conflict between the plebeians and the patricians called the conflict of the orders. The plebeians staged a protest so the patricians were forced to do something to make them stop. This resulted in the common people finally having a say in the law, which later lead to the laws being written down. All the laws were first carved on wooden tablets, but then later on bronze. These tablets were out in public for everyone to see. The twelve tables were an important step in the development of Rome's government and it was a very important step for the relationship between the patricians and the plebeians. The twelve tables showed that all citizens had the right to protect and talk about the law.

This is a picture of the Circus Maximus. The Circus Maximus was a racetrack and was used for various forms of entertainment for the Roman people. There was chariot racing and horse racing. In the earlier years there were gladiator shows here, but when the Colosseum was built all the gladiator shows started happening there. The Circus Maximus also hosted many important religious processions. The Circus Maximus was used for many purposes and is a landmark of ancient Rome.

In Rome there were two main groups the patricians and the plebeians. The patricians were wealthy landowners who held most of the power, while the plebeians were the common farmers, artisans, and merchants who made up the majority of the population. This means that the patricians were the ones who owned most of the land and therefore controlled most of the land. The patricians were viewed as superior, not much different than how wealthy people are still viewed in our society to this day. The plebeians, however, were not superior. They would have to work harder for many things and they did not have control of much land. They were viewed as lesser than, even though most of them were average people and not necessarily poor. The plebeians also did not have much say in anything especially political matters. Their view on matters were not as important as what the patricians thought and their votes would not have been considered first. This mindset is hard, and it is one that still is had by m...

republic: a form of government in which power rests with citizens who have the right to vote for their teachers patricians: wealthy landowners who held most of the power plebeians: the common farmers, artisans, and merchants who made up the majority of the population tribunes: an assembly to elect representatives made by the plebeians consuls: Rome's two officials senate: the aristocratic branch of Rome's government dictator: a leader who had absolute power to make laws and command the army legions: large military units Punic Wars: the wars between Rome and Carthage Hannibal: 29 year old Carthaginian general, a brilliant military strategist who wanted to avenge Carthage's earlier defeat

My essay question would be: Why do you think the philosophers took the risk to question traditional Greek teachings. In the first paragraph I would talk about the traditional Greek teaching and explain what exactly the philosophers disagreed with. In the next paragraph, I would talk about all of the Greek philosophers, and talk about what they did and give some information about the most influential ones. In my third paragraph, I would give the example of what happened with the crime of the Athenians sailing back to Athens without picking up any of the soldiers that had fallen overboard. In the fourth paragraph I would start to explain why these philosophers would question the traditional beliefs and risk their lives and continue going into further depth to explain that. The last paragraph, I would wrap up the whole essay by showing why the philosophers were right in standing up for their beliefs and show the impact they made.

1. What was the most effective weapon that Athens navy had? 2. Who was Darius the Great the leader of? 3. What unique type of government did Athens have that they wanted to defend? 4. What does Draconian mean? 5. Did Plato believe that women were equally able to rule in his ideal society?

1. How did Plato define the Forms? He defined forms as the ideal versions of the things and concepts we see around us. 2. Who are the three groups in Plato's ideal society? The three groups in Plato's ideal society were producers, the military, and the rulers. 3. What were Plato's thoughts on women? Plato believed that women were equally able to rule in the ideal society, but he also said at other times that women were like children, and that a women's womb was a live animal that could wander around in her body and cause her illness. 4. What was the Noble Lie that Plato proposed? Plato proposed the Noble Lie that we are all born with gold, silver, or a mixture of brass and iron, which determine our roles in life.

Athena was the goddess of wisdom and warfare. The Parthenon was one of the many temples that was devoted to Athena. Her symbols included owls, olive trees, snakes, Aegis, armor, helmets, spears, and Gorgoneion. Eternal wisdom was what made Athena powerful and why many Greeks worshipped her. Never forgiving, angry, and ruthless in battle is how Athena was described in the Iliad, written by Homer. Athena was created without a mother, Zeus, her father, made her by himself, and she was born out of his forehead, as a fully grown woman,

  This picture shows a building with columns. There were three different types of columns, this one is a doric column. Columns were a big part of Greek architecture and were all over Greece. This pictures shows a Greek pantheon. It is a temple that is dedicated to the goddess Athena. This was the center of religious life in Greece. This picture shows a Greek colosseum. At the colosseum there were many shows including gladiator shows that were often bloody and dangerous. Many Greek people would gather there to watch these shows and it was always exciting.

The kinds of dramas that were preformed in the theaters of ancient Greece were tragedy's and comedy. The tragedy's were serious dramas about common themes such as love, hate, war, or betrayal. They had a main character or a tragic hero, who was usually an important person that had extraordinary powers. The comedy's contained scenes filled with slapstick situations and crude humor. These plays usually were making fun of something, like politics or respected people. I think a lot of the movies and shows I have watched recently relate to Greek comedies. This is because some of the funny movies that I watch will make fun of people just like the Greek comedy would make fun of respected people just to make people laugh. Specifically the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, because at one point in the movie they are making fun of the principal of the school, who could be viewed as a respected person of the school, which is what they did in Greek comedy's. This the picture I f...

Today you asked us to write about our thoughts of what you posted on your blog today about the struggles that everyone is facing regarding cyber school. For me, this is something I think about a lot. The main topic that I worry about is the integrity part. I have found myself multiple times talking to people in my class on the phone and trying to understand the material and then realize that I am probably getting too much information from them. The few quizzes that I have had it is hard to not cleat when you have the opportunity to do it. I think that the workload is a lot and you do not really think about how much work you do at school because you are at school, but when you are at home you have to focus yourself and do all your work with limited help. I also understand that this must be hard on the teachers to help the students and to get their work done as well. I feel like this time is really difficult, but I also feel that the difficulties we face during cyber school are better th...