The book Roman Blood, published in 1991, is an exciting and suspenseful murder mystery. Through the tale the author, Steven Saylor, reflects back into the times of Ancient Rome. The story also acknowledges the strict class system in Rome. Roman Blood, dealing with many historical factors, had many themes that went along with the story. Morals and mindsets of the Romans in ancient times are key parts along with unsuspected plot twists. All the parts of the novel come together to make a valuable read. Saylor used many facts and details to enrich the book and give the story a more historical feeling. It is mentioned in the Author’s Note, that all the sources for Sulla’s life come from Plutarch’s biography and Sallust’s Bellum lugurthium. Biographies …show more content…
A few unsatisfied characters are continually hungry for more. More money, more property, more power. Magnus, Capito and Mallius Glaucia are so caught up in this selfishness and are pushed to the point of murder in hopes of increased property. AT the end of the book it is discovered that Sextus Roscius played a part in the murder of his father for similar reasons. Sextus wanted the property passed down to him and was outraged at threats from his father to change the will and leave him out, causing Sextus to collaborate with his cousins. During his speech, and defending Sextus, Cicero makes a point that the reason the people only accused him in the trial and not themselves is because they believe they can get away with it and have the property for themselves. The overwhelming greed of these people is the reasoning for the murder and trail and without it there would be no issue. Power and ranking also plays a big role in book. As a slave herself, Bethesda showed she disapproved in the matter of form between Cicero’s slave, Tiro, and Gordianus. Another example shown is Rufus being Valeria’s brother made Chrysogonus more known and respected for being Sulla’s brother in law, even more than the defender Cicero, and Rufus being merely a pupil. The usage of hierarchy in the book showed what people were able to get away with from their ranking in society. Integrity was another key role in the plot. Although he preaches of his need to prevail justice, Cicero has no problem defending a man he knew was guilty. Shown before, he was just another greedy person who would rather be more known than stick to his
The murder of Mutius indicates that he was not as equally cherished as his older brother, Lucius. Although Titus called Lucius a traitor, Lucius was never in danger of being killed by his father. Lucius, as the oldest, appears to be in a position of immunity while Mutius, and his brothers who were killed in battle, were expendable. It is of no consequence that so many bodies were laid to rest because, most importantly, the eldest son survives and the family name is able to continue. Titus instills loyalty in Lucius and, in turn, Lucius honors his father.
The next character is Cassius. Cassius has an interesting relationship with honor, based on all outward appearances, Cassius is as far away from honor as one can venture, he manipulates others, such as when he tricks Brutus into joining the conspirators by using verbal manipulation and false letters. By doing this he fools Brutus and based on lies and half-truths trick Brutus into becoming a murderer. He also plots a murder out of fear for himself and he betrays the trust of his friend and goes as far as killing him. However, in the eyes of the world, he does all of this for Rome and its
It was during Sulla’s service under Marius’s command in the military, that many of Sulla’s character traits were cultivated that contributed to the way he ruled. His character traits are listed in three main accounts by authors A.J. Koutsoukis, Erik Hildinger, who are both current impartial historical non-fiction writers, and Plutarch. Plutarch was a Greek historian, biographer and essayist, who is most famous for his work Parallel Lives, where he focuses on all of the contributing rulers of the Roman Republic. Plutarch is very even handed and focuses on the influence of character and moral lessons that can be learned from these emperors, good or bad.... ... middle of paper ...
Honor and power is what drives the conspirators to assassinate Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Caesar is now the single leader of Rome, and members of the Senate have concerns that he will abuse his sole power. Therefore, they plot and accomplish the assassination of Caesar in an attempt to rebuild the balance of Rome. Rome falls into chaos with an unknown future with no central leader for the people to follow. In Act I, Scene 2, Cassius, a member of the Senate, explains to his friend, Brutus, that Caesar is not the god he makes himself out to be. Instead, he argues both he and Brutus are equal to Caesar and are just as deserving of the throne. Cassius’ speech to Brutus diminishes Caesar’s godly demeanor through
Livy’s The Rise of Rome serves as the ultimate catalogue of Roman history, elaborating on the accomplishments of each king and set of consuls through the ages of its vast empire. In the first five books, Livy lays the groundwork for the history of Rome and sets forth a model for all of Rome to follow. For him, the “special and salutary benefit of the study of history is to behold evidence of every sort of behaviour set forth as on a splendid memorial; from it you may select for yourself and for your country what to emulate, from it what to avoid, whether basely begun or basely concluded.” (Livy 4). Livy, however, denies the general populace the right to make the same sort of conclusions that he made in constructing his histories. His biased representation of Romulus and Tarquin Superbus, two icons of Roman history, give the readers a definite model of what a Roman should be, instead of allowing them to come to their own conclusion.
Jealousy in Julius Caesar & nbsp; Jealousy causes many of the characters in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar to commit dangerous and foolish acts. Cassius' jealousy drives him to kill. Caesar. All the conspirators, except the noble Brutus, kill Caesar because they feel threatened by his power. Brutus is the only conspirator who murders Caesar. for more honorable reasons. Jealousy is a very important theme in this play. & nbsp; Cassius feels very threatened by Caesar's power. He remembers when he was an equal to Caesar, and doesn't think that Caesar deserves this much power. He comments to Brutus, "I was born free as Caesar; so were you." fed as well, and we can both endure the cold winter as well as he" (Act I, p. 1).
On that first fateful day, when Romulus struck down his own brother Remus, the cauldron of Rome was forged in blood and betrayal. The seeds on the Palatine hill cultured one of the most potent and stretching empires of human history. Though this civilization seemingly wielded the bolts of Zeus, they were infested with violence, vanity, and deception. Yet, one man—or seemingly “un”-man—outshone and out-graced his surroundings and everyone within it. He brought Rome several victories and rescued his beloved country from an early exodus, thus providing her a second beginning. This man was Marcus Furius Camillus, and against a logical and emotional mind, he was oft less than loved and celebrated. At times he was disregarded, insulted and even exiled—irrevocably an unwarranted method to reward Rome’s “Second Founder.” This contrast of character between hero and people was perhaps too drastic and too grand. The people were not yet ready to see Marcus Furius Camillus as a model of behavior to be emulated—to be reproduced. Hence, much of Livy’s Book 5 provides a foundation for the Roman people to imitate and assimilate a contrasting, honest, and strong behavior and temperament
Livius, Titus. The Early History of Rome. Trans. Aubrey De Sélincourt. London: Penguin Group, 2002. N. pag. Print.
The Roman Way is essentially a collection of letters, poems and essays from some of the most famous literary minds of the ancient Roman culture. Edith Hamilton is attempting to show us a side of Rome that was previously unseen. She uses these stories to try and explain what the ideas, attitudes and beliefs are that make up the “Roman Way.”
Sulla’s earlier career had not been that of an orthodox Optimate. Though he belonged to an old patrician family, it had long slid into obscurity and poverty. Plutarch suggests that a legacy from his step-mother and another from a mistress helped him, somewhat late, to a public career (Plutarch, p. 327). Plutarch was a Greek historian who wrote more than a century after Sulla’s death. Some of his pieces are polemical, that is, his writings possibly arise from scurrilous tracts, written by political adversaries of his subjects. As Marius’ quaestor, he had captured Jugurtha and won the loyalty of his fellow soldiers, sparking a later brutal animosity between the pair. This talent for winning the loyalty of soldiers never deserted Sulla, and that fact would have terrible consequences for Rome (Williams, p.139).
Marcel Le Glay, Jean-Louis Voisin, Yann Le Bohec. A History of Rome. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
... Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997. Hopkins, Keith. A. A. Death and Renewal: Sociological Studies in Roman History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983 Johnston, Harold Whetstone. The Private Life of the Romans.
The Blood of Olympus Book Review: Imagine being in a race against time to save the world. Imagine feeling all alone like no one's there for you and you’re feeling rejected by everyone. This is how Nico felt in the book, “The Blood of Olympus” by Rick Riordan, where the crew of the Argo II need to get to Athens Greece and stop the giants from raising the patron goddess Gaea or else the whole world will be destroyed. Nico, Reyna, and Hedge have to get the 40 foot tall Athenea Perosis statue back to Camp Half Blood to heal the bond between the Roman and Greek demigods before they have an all out war against each other.
The ambition possessed by each character, leads Caesar, Brutus, and Cassius to power. It will be the same ambition, that quest for power, that makes each one susceptible to their own weakness. For Caesar, it will be his ego and inability to heed warnings, Brutus his love of Rome, and Cassius his dedication to power. These qualities prove that although intentions may be noble, ambition can make a person ruthless and blind them to their original goals. Ambition kills those who lose sight of their conscience and although it may prove beneficial in many instances, in this case, it leads the characters to lose all that they
...e murder because of his jealousy of Caesar's elevated power and mounting dominance over everyone, even his friends. Though they were close friends, their motives and descriptive character traits display a distinct contrast between them.