... who exhibit them, and telling his story with a great emphasis on Republicanism. Second, he clearly projects the events of his own time onto his history simply because that is what he understands best. Furthermore, Ab Urbe Condita is rife with retrojection because Livy's mindset was firmly entrenched in the Roman ... , as well as general themes of the time show up variously in Livy's books (especially 2 and 3), and shape the way Livy presents his history. The recurring topic of Livy's second and third books is the Conflict of Orders. This was the series of political wars between the patri...

• Word Count: 2928
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the Roman people, and especially those of the senate. Caesar's intentions were not at first to conquer Gaul, but rather Illyria, due to three of his legions being based in Italy. Caesars reason for starting the war was said to be a pre-emptive attack to the possible invasion by the Helvetti, whom he considered to be warlike and prone to violence ... a record of a large usage of slaves for labor as well as entertainment. Not only this, but he also never mentioned spoils of war or booty obtained by the army, which history shows, is a driving factor in an armies desire for victory. This le...

• Word Count: 1502
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... adoration; moreover, in times of political strife they were seen as a means to an end by some. Dr. Thomas Wiedemann states in his book Emperors and Gladiators, "When Caesar invaded Italy in 49 BC, his opponents were particularly concerned about the 5000 gladiators owned by him kept at or near Capua. "3 It is likely that the opponents of Caesar were simply ... by trained gladiators. "4 Despite this memory Roman statesmen continued to use these men in roles outside of the arena. Cassius Dio wrote of Cicero's return from exile in his Roman History, "During the very taking of the vote on th...

• Word Count: 1225
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Vitruvius Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman architect, engineer, and author. He was born in Formiae, Italy. Little is known of his life, except what can be gathered from his writings, which are somewhat obscure on that subject. It is thought that he was an artillery engineer ... the subject have been lost. The earlier Greek and Roman writings were descriptions of individual buildings or dealt with specific problems, such as the proportions of temples. For the subsequent history of the architectural theory, Vitruvius's ten books can and must be taken as a whole. The work's patchwork charact...

• Word Count: 721
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate