Sextus Pompey, son of Pompey the Great, was historically criticized by the Romans for his piracy, when he was referred to by anything at all (Growing, 2002). A pirate is defined as a brutal person who performs acts of seaborne raiding and violent theft undertaken outside of the sanction of war or law, and with notable frequency. Brutality, raiding, and prowess upon the sea, Sextus seemingly had all the makings of a pirate that meets the eye. Yet was he truly a pirate, or simply a victim of propaganda? Much of the piracy rhetoric surrounding Sextus originated during the time of his opposition against the Triumvirate and barricading of Sicily around 40 BC, referred to as such from the mouth of Octavian himself, then later by historians of the Roman era (De Sousa, 1999). Yet the actual …show more content…
The fact his father had been renowned for his campaign against his piracy would only serve to further disgrace Sextus in the eyes of the Romans. Not only was he a pirate, the “common foe of all the world” as proclaimed by Cicero, but he had betrayed his father (Lange, 2014). Octavian’s propaganda against Sextus was immensely effective, proven by how far spread the idea of his piracy persists throughout historical texts. This tactic of delegitimizing an enemy was often used in Roman history. It was common practice for the leaders of Rome to declare hostilities, or enemies of the state, against those they intended to start civil war with (Cornwell, 2014). Octavian never directly declared hostility against his opponents, but he would always find other ways to justify his campaigns against them. For Sextus, Octavian used accusations of piracy. Civil war at the time was frowned upon in Rome, but Octavian could wage battle against Sextus under the guise of a war on piracy. The use of piracy in this manner is not unique to Sextus’
Odysseus’s revenge towards the suitors, whose only crime was the crime of theft, was unnecessarily cruel, after all, a hero must be able to forgive. It has been twenty years since anyone on Ithaka have seen, or even heard news about Odysseus. Therfore, it would have been perfectly pliable to pronounce him dead. “ He has been gone for twenty years.” The people of Ithaka were all under the impression that Odysseus, has in fact, passed a...
The Honorable Odysseus & nbsp; When Odysseus returned home to his wife and son, he took a very brutal approach to rid his home of the suitors who had invaded his household. This revenge was also taken out upon the servants and maids who had been unfaithful to Penelope and had slept with the suitors. Some may say this punishment was too harsh, and made Odysseus less than an honorable man. However, Odysseus’s actions Indeed those who occupied the lord’s manor during his absence did so with no honor. But one may argue that Ody Penelope. This seems unjustifiable, and very inhumane. Odysseus was so overcome with his hate that he lost control, perhaps it was his years of denying the power of the gods that led him to brutality. Odysseus’s actions are indeed aggressive and morality at this point in his life seems to have faded. All these things considered, the validity of Odysseus’s actions remain fair. Because of his denial of the power of the gods, Poseidon forced Odysse And when Odysseus returned finally to his home only to hear of suitors and harlots about his home, he had to take revenge on them for his pain. This pain was brought about through lies and betrayal. His long journey led him through many tribulations, all of which had a direct effect on his mind. Odysseus’s defense system had to be at it’s highest at all times. For example; were in sight of it’s shores. Because of this betrayal Odysseus’s trust in his brothers was lost. His hope dwindled as his journey continued, and ate away at his consciousness. Odysseus was a man of honor, a man who had fought in a war and won. For such During this time period men were brought up on the teachings of battle. As they grew they were taught how to handle arms and were expected to hone these skills. Killing a man to took to arms picking up shields and weapons. All of these men were familiar with the ways of the time and the ways of battle. Odysseus should not be condemned for his actions. There are many justifiable reasons for the method in which he punished those who were disloyal and uncivil by the author of Poseidon.
This shows that Odysseus’ self-serving nature extends beyond material greed into the equally sinful realm of pride. In a classic display of hubris, Odysseus taunts the Cyclopes fulfilling the sole purpose of stroking Odysseus’s ego. At first it appears that our hero is lacking foresight, but Odysseus tells Polyphemus his name in hopes that tales of his cunning will spread throughout Greece: a very selfish goal, directly resulting in the endangerment of the lives of both him and his men throughout the remainder of their travels.
In contrast to the publicity spin of today’s tabloids, ‘losers attract notoriety,’ (Fear, 2008, p, 6) Roman society was no different with one’s reputation of paramount importance and continually defended. Antony and Cleopatra’s union was ammunition for Octavian and propaganda used against the couple in their pursuing battle of Actium. (Fear, 2008, p.7.)
In book IX of Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus ventures into the isle of the Kyklopes. Here he encounters a loutish and cannibalistic Kyklops named Polyphemos. The events that occur as a result of this encounter reveal much about Odysseus's heroic characteristics. Odysseus possesses composure in the face of danger, prowess in devising clever plans of action, and the ability to lead others in the execution of his well-conceived plans of action; all of which appear in direct opposition to Polyphemos's simplistic and brutish nature. In these events, Odysseus is not only contrasted with Polyphemos but also with his crew. Odysseus's desire for glory separates him from his crew whose chief desire is a safe return home. In the end, his prideful quest for grandeur dulls the greatness of his deeds and causes the downfall of him and his crew.
During the time of Aristotle, revenge was seen as something of honor. It was considered noble to try to restore your honor after someone intentionally caused you shame or harm. You were looked at as a coward if you did not try to sneak and plot your revenge. Revenge can either be sought after for ones own internal satisfaction, but in this book, it is usually required because of what others might think as far as ones reputation is concerned. During Aristotle’s time, if you were seeking revenge one had strict guidelines to follow to ensure that the one seeking revenge was doing it out of honor and integrity. In this paper, we will view if the character Odysseus followed these guidelines on two occasions when he was seeking revenge. The two main events of revenge in the book were against the Cyclops and the suitors that were courting his wife.
Glory is a reward often granted to those who go bravely into the face of adversity. To be glorified is not something that should be vilified; however, the active pursuit of it is difficult to define as anything other than selfish and egotistical. When fleeing the cave of Polyphemus, Odysseus felt it necessary to taunt the monster whom he had so narrowly escaped: “Cyclops, if anyone, any mortal man, asks how you got your eye put out, tell him that Odysseus the marauder did it, son of Laertes, whose home is on Ithaca” (437). All that this earned Odysseus was a curse backed by the wrath of Poseidon and a boulder hurled his way. In this instance, Odysseus’ words could only serve himself. The only glory Odysseus could have attained was a figment of his own imagination. By praising himself, by wagging his self-proclaimed might in the face of his adversary, he had accomplished nothing other than endangering his crew and delaying their return to
Lucian makes this distinction clear by choosing to tell the familiar myth from the point of view of the Cyclops rather than Odysseus. Readers of Lucian’s work would be well acquainted with the suitors fate in the Odyssey and know that Odysseus is the hero in Homer’s version of the myth. Approaching the dialogue with this view in mind, the reader would be faced with the task of determining the line between justification and needless violence and the line between heroic and monstrous. Although Polyphemus becomes more understandable and even pitiable at times in his dialogue with Poseidon, Lucian’s work does not go so far as to claim that the cyclops are the protagonist of the story. Firstly, Lucian does little to civilize Polyphemus.
Ramesses II, also known as “Ramesses the Great” was the third pharaoh of the 19th dynasty in Egypt. He came to power following the death of his father, Seti I who was pharaoh of Egypt. Ramesses II had a lengthy reign of 66 years from 1279 BC to 1213 BC, and during those years, he was regarded as one of the most powerful pharaoh’s of Egypt. Ramesses II can attribute the attainment of his power due to his use of propaganda, as evidenced by his often ostentatious displays and exaggerations of his achievements, along with the widespread locations of his propaganda and his use of propaganda in monumental buildings.
“..without being given a hearing, Turnus was condemned to a novel kind of execution: he was plunged into the source of the Ferentine water and drowned beneath a wicker crate heaped with stones.” (Livy, Book 1 section 3) The thoughts and desires of the Roman people had become almost non-existent. He became so obsessed with benefiting himself that it hurt and sacrificed the well being of the Roman people. He declared unjust wars to satisfy his power hungry personality, “He was the first to make war on the Volsci, a struggle that would last for 200 years after his time.”
The Golden Age of Piracy began around 1650, and ended around 1730. Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea, but can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the criminal. The term has been used throughout history to refer to raids across land borders by non-state agents. A pirate is one who commits robberies at sea, usually without being allotted to do so by any particular nation. The usual crime for piracy can include being hung, or publically executed. Some of the most famous pirates who were killed either because of piracy, or because of natural causes, are Barbarossa, Stede Bonnet, Anne Bonney, Sir Francis Drake, Captain Greaves, William Kidd, Jean Laffite, Sir Henry Morgan, Mary Read, and Giovanni da Verrazano.
.... Octavius knows Mark Antony cannot be trusted. He let it be known that he doesn’t trust Mark Antony when he said “Let us do so, for we are at stake/and bayed about with many enemies; / and some that smile have in their hearts, I fear, / Millions of mischiefs” (IV.I.48-51). Antony turned Rome against the conspirators; he could potentially turn them against Octavius. Trust is the trait of a noble man.
As suggested in the introduction to Norton’s Antony and Cleopatra, the play “presupposes familiarity not only with events dramatized in that play [Julius Caesar] but also with earlier Roman conflicts” (Cohen 847) and, I would add, the reputation of various characters. Interestingly, there is no mention of Cleopatra in Julius Caesar even though she is the mother of Caesar’s son.[1] This relationship obviously infuriated the Roman leaders and as a consequence her role with Caesar is effectively diminished and her reputation is vilified. Cicero, the great Roman orator, described Cleopatra as “unacceptably regal and arrogant” (Higgs 229), while Octavian refers to her as “the wanton daughter of the Ptolomies” (Hamer 311). Northrop Frye contends that propaganda was necessary because “she was one person the Romans were really afraid of” (Frye 123). The propaganda, as Christopher Pelling alludes, was a result of “Octavian work[ing] seduously on Italian misogyny and xenophobia” (Pelling 294). Octavian’s promulgations evoked suspicion and hostility towards Cleopatra, and their main intent was to mitigate the idea that “Cleopatra [was becoming] a legend for Romans too” (Pelling 294). There is no way they would have described her as a woman who grieved the loss of Antony so passionately that “she beat her
Between the characters of Octavia and Cleopatra there exists a "moral contrast" (Bree 110) -a conflict of Roman ideals and Cleopatra's foreignness. Throughout the tradition of Cleopatra, authors, including Plutarch, Shakespeare, Dryden, and Fielding, as well as filmmakers such as Mankiewicz, have separated Cleopatra from Rome and Octavia because of her combination of political power and sexuality: "The notion of Cleopatra that we have inherited identifies her primarily as being the adversary, the Other. Her otherness is twofold. She is an Oriental, and she is a woman…" (Hughes-Hallett 4). If Cleopatra represents the 'Other', then Octavia exemplifies Rome itself. She embodies all of the characteristics of a proper Roman wife: beauty, grace, wisdom, and above all obedience to her husband. Octavia is Antony's celebrated wife throughout the literature although their relationship is dispassionate, while Cleopatra's "otherness" prevents her from attaining the respectable title of Antony's wife despite their love. Octavia acts as a character foil for Cleopatra, highlighting Cleopatra's foreign nature and her sexuality, which the Romans find unattractive and unacceptable in the character of a woman.
This essay will focus on common perceptions of gladiator games, and analyze graffiti and dipinti related to gladiators from Pompeii as well as other cities of the Roman Empire, grave epitaphs, skeletal remains, and the works of numerous scholars to shed light on whether being a