Was Caesar a Reformer or a Tyrant?

In my opinion, Julius Caesar was, in fact, a reformer. As he was a great leader, he ended the ruling of the dishonest, and corrupt nobles. Caesar upheld justice, which means he was fair. He restored the cities and aided the poor, and homeless. On top of that he also granted more citizenship and brought peace to Rome. Many people might say that he enjoyed the attention, the fame, and the power, but in my opinion, Julius Caesar was a motivation to people, and an admirable one. Everyone should always have a reason to do something. Even if Caesar's motive was definitely not selfless, his actions were for the good for many, and he was respected and appreciated him by most of the people of ancient Rome. By the end, when he was murdered by the senators of Rome themselves, a civil war started in Rome, which proves that he was the great leader, and reformer, of Rome.

Augustus and Julius Caesar

Gaius Octavius (Augustus), born September 23, 63 B.C., was the son of Octavius, a praetor from Velitrae, and Atia, the daughter of Julius Caesar's sister Julia. When Caesar went to Spain to fight the Pompeians in 45 B.C., Gaius Octavius went with him. Caesar arranging the schedule in advance, named Gaius Octavius Master of the Horse for 43 or 42 B.C. Caesar died in 44 B.C. and in his will adopted Gaius Octavius. Octavius took the name C. Julius Caesar Octavianus at this point.

I think Julius Caesar was a much more critical and major leader than his grand nephew Augustus. Julius Caesar did so much more for Rome; he was a disciplined and very strong leader, he was a great military commander, and he was a tactical genius. Julius Caesar also tried to prevent poverty in his homeland and was loyal to his followers and friends, and would punish criminals who broke the laws. He was the individual who started the Roman Empire. In the end he might have been crazy, had a disease, or he could have just been hungry for power and control, but in this debate, what he accomplished is what counts. Once he was murdered, in other words stabbed by all his friends and followers who were in the room, Rome went into another civil war. The other side of the debate, Augustus did bring 200 years of peace to Rome and expanded its Empire, but without the commence of Julius Caesar, Augustus would have been just another senator; bringing me to the point that without Julius Caesar, Rome would have never become the almighty Empire we know of.

The Geography of Rome

Geography of Rome is characterized by the Seven Hills and The Tiber River. Rome city situated on the eastern banks of river Tiber has a geographical position of 41° 54' N and 12° 29' E. Rome lies to the west of the Apennine Mountains that forms the backbone of peninsular Italy. Being close to the Tyrrhenian Sea, Rome experiences a Mediterranean climate. 

Rome is popularly called 'the city of seven hills'. These seven hills namely, Viminal, Quirinal, Palatine, Esquiline, Capitoline, Caelian, and Aventine were separated by marshy land and the River Tiber. Of these seven hills, the Caelian, Esquiline, Quirinal and Viminal hills were portions of a volcanic ridge. The Aventine, Capitoline, and Palatine hills formed the western group of hills. In ancient Rome each of the seven hills had separate walled cities. 

Works cited:

www.mariamilani.com%2Fancient_rome%2FAncient%2520Rome%2520Geography_.htm&ei=p9vETuHAE8X1-gaG3NXZDQ&usg=AFQjCNGpSjoA_9GISz5Vho2mvOIh9V4j9Q&sig2=cls-7dQR_086U8mx8uSymA

Founding of Rome

                 Remus and Romulus, twin brothers that were abandoned near the Tiver River, found by a wolf, and reaised by a shepherd, were the two who founded Ancient Rome.at around 753 B.C. they decided to build a city. The twins quarreled over the wall that Romulus built, and eventually lashed out at Remus and killed him.
                Even farther back than Remus and Romulus though, the famous epic by Virgil, the Roman poet, 
have really flashed out the creation of the empire. Aeneid was the story of the great Trojan hero Aeneas. According to the lefend, him and his band of travelers, crossed the mediterranean Sea after the Greeks captured Troy. As the Trojan armies managed to reach the Tiber River, Aeneas united both Trojans and the Latins, and become what is known as the "father" of Rome.
                Historians of today are not quite sure how Rome really began. Some say that Latins lived there at about 1000 B.C. The built hurts on Rome's hills, tended herds, and grew crops.
  

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great. Great. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the word great means: Remarkable or outstanding in magnitude, degree, or extent. Was Alexander III of Macedon remarkable in degree or extent? In my opinion he was. Alexander is known as Alexander the Great, Alexander III of Macedon, and the leader who conquered Europe and half of Asia, he is known as a ruler who wasn't ruthless and included Greek culture in his rule, and he tried to tie the Greek culture and the culture's of the cities he conquered together. Alexander is believed not to have lost a single battle he fought, and that just proves the man's superiority physically and mentally. 


Historians say "Alexander was very intelligent, he was even tutored by the great philosopher Aristotle. While conquering the world, Alexander came across the great Gordian knot, which was untied for centuries, he just cut it." This quote will show a person Alexander's mental preparation and readiness for it all, and how his intelligence was the key to success on the battlefield.


After all this, I would like to conclude that Alexander the Great, was in fact great. He was truly unbeaten in battle, but he also helped the cultures and people he conquered. Instead of killing the opposing soldiers and devouring their food and wrecking the city down, he hired the soldiers for his own army, he also invested in cities he took over and advanced and improved their living standards. After all this being done, Alexander will keep his title as the Great, and forever it will last with him.

Article Summary - The Spartan Way

Roy Elal

Due: October 11, 2011

Ms. Moore

Humanities 8B

Article Summary #2

For over 200 years, Sparta was considered as the most powerful city-state in Ancient Greece, along with Athens. Its power came from the strong, tough, and professional army. Brutal training that the kids faced from the age of 7 made every man a warrior and the army one of the most-feared fighting forces ever.

 Athens was the birthplace of democracy and freedom. Great artists and thinkers built the foundations of Western culture. Sparta, on the other hand, was a secretive place run by an oligarchy (an oligarchy was a type of government in which the ruling power is in the hands of a couple of people). This city-state has been admired over the centuries for how they valued great discipline over everything else. Sparta also ruled ancient Greece between approximately 600 B.C. and 371 B.C. leaving an immense amount of history behind themselves.

The army consisted of all men above the age of 30, which is also the age when they become full Spartan citizens and are gifted the ability to vote. Sean Price claims, "About 10 percent of Spartan men were full citizens known as equals. Their job was to serve as soldiers in Sparta's army." (Price, 176) This is a very substantial fact, because it tell us that 90 percent of the population was not above the age of 30, that Spartan males die at a young age, and that most males are still in training as boys and young men. Also the women, they were not considered official citizens of Sparta. Boys that are above the age of 7 are forced to join the forces for training, so that when they grow up, they will also be a part of the sturdy Spartan army. When they are born, city elders come over for examination. If the baby was not healthy looking, or did not have a strong organism, they left it on a mountainside to die.

        Women in Sparta had much more freedom versus any other city-state in the whole entire Ancient Greece. They were allowed to move around, and didn't have to stay home all the time. They could own land, which was unacceptable in Athens. They could also do business. Such power was shocking to men from other city-states.

        When Sparta started to fall apart, and getting conquered by the Dorians, all the rituals also became forgotten, but they left a long history behind them, the history of the extroardinary Ancient Greece.

Price, Sean. "The Ancient Olympics." The Ancient World. 2010. Print.

Article Summary *MLA Format*

Roy Elal

Due: October 9th, 2011

Humanities 8

Ms. Moore

Article Summary 

           The number of legends describing the beginning of the first Olympic competition is unknown. According to the legend, the king Enamaus, had a beautiful daughter who's name was Hippodamia. He promised her in marriage, If she would go hiding and the first person to find her and escape in a chariot with her father chasing them would be her lawful husband. Thirteen men have tried and they all failed, and murdered by the king. Then Pelops, the fourteenth came along and survived, so he was the one who married the beautiful Hippodamia. Then he declared himself king, threw a party to celebrate his victory and to give thanks to the god of the gods... Zeus, thus introducing the first Olympic festival.

           The reward given to the winner of the Olympic competition was a wreath of olive branches and the blessing of a god. The competition was a 180 meter long run. The first one to be held was at 776 B.C.E. and eventually ended in 393 A.D., when the Greek empire collapsed. During that time period, 293 Olympic events were held.

Athletic Competitions at the Olympic festivals were limited to male Greek citizens, as viewers and participants. Foreigners, slaves, and women were banned from competition. Each participant had to sign the Olympic 'agreement', swearing he has trained for 10 months and hadn't done anything to offend he gods.

           Records show that boxing, wrestling, and pancratium competitions drew enormous crowds. It probably came from the strong hostilities between cities and tribes. Chariot races also were events that would thrill Olympic spectators. Theodore Knight, historian, claimed, "...the quadrigae - a race for light, two-wheeled chariots pulled by four horses. The distance of the race course was twelve laps around two columns at opposite ends of the hippodrome - about 10,000 meters, or six miles." (Knight, 170.) This is relevant because those Chariot races have been extremely important and sports that would hype up Ancient Greece, and they are basically the reason for the huge crowds at the Games. 

          Once the Ancient Greeks abnegated, that affected the Olympics, that was once the Roman Empire defeated Ancient Greece at around 100 B.C., and the Roman culture and beliefs replaced the Greek ways, and the Olympics went into a decline that lasted for several centuries. For the Romans, war and trade were more important than philosophy religion, or athletics then.

Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863 - 1937) was the man who revived the Olympic Games. Because of his enthusiastic efforts, the first modern Games were finally held in Athens, Greece in 1896.

Bibliography:

Knight, Theodore. "The Ancient Olympics." The Ancient World. 2010. Print.