What is Hellenism?
A) The study of Roman culture and traditions.
B) The spread of Greek culture, language, and ideas throughout the Mediterranean and Near East following the conquests of Alexander the Great.
C) The worship of Roman gods and goddesses.
D) The isolation of Greek city-states from other cultures.
The Roman Republic was on the Italian Peninsula, and was built off of many of the earlier Greek ideas and innovations including art/architecture, religion, and government
Roman religion was polytheistic & based on the Greek gods (usually only the names changed)
Roman writing was called Latin & was based on Greek writing
Roman architecture borrowed heavily from Greek styles
Like Greek agoras, Roman cities had a forum for markets & public gatherings
Society was divided among 3 major groups:
At the top were the nobles, called patricians, who controlled most of the land & held key military & gov’t positions (made up 5% of Roman citizens)
Most people were commoners, called plebeians, who were farmers, shopkeepers, or peasants; Plebeians paid the majority of taxes (made up 95% of Roman citizens)
At the bottom of society were slaves & other non-Roman citizens
Rome was originally ruled by kings, but in 509 B.C. the Romans created a republic
A republic is a form of government in which citizens have the power to elect their leaders
Is the U.S. a republic? a) yes b) no
The most important feature of the republic was the Senate, whose 300 members were elected by citizens to make laws & taxes
In 451 B.C., government officials wrote down Rome’s laws onto the Twelve Tables which were hung in the forum for all citizens to see
The Twelve Tables were based on the idea that all citizens had a right to the protection of the law
Why were the Twelve Tables important?
A) They listed the names of Roman emperors.
B) They provided the foundation for Roman law.
C) They were a collection of Roman myths.
D) They were a guide to Roman architecture.
Define a republic in your own words: