Western Civilization 201

A letter to my future self, Since the beginning of the year 2020, a lot has happened in the world. Not only have we started a new decade, but we've also been accompanied by a few traumas. Especially the pandemic. No one saw it coming, therefore no one was really prepared. It is like we are all living in a dystopia. It is like we are in a teen novel, just waiting for the next dreaded event to occur. Throughout these past few months, there has been a lot of ups and downs. Both physically and emotionally. Not just for me, but for everyone. We are all on edge at the moment. It's been boring staying in the same old house for a few months. I've only been out of my house a few times because my family is scared of catching the coronavirus, especially my grandmother. I have kept myself entertained with FaceTime calls, Netflix parties, and indulging in my interests and hobbies. I miss my friends and their company. I hope my summer vacation and plans aren't ruined because of the...

May 28th, 2020 Slideshow Notes Octavian, Julius Caesar's grandnephew, takes over at the young age of 18 He creates the Second Triumvirate with: Mark Antony - a general Lepidus - a politician Octavian forces Lepidus to retire Octavian and Mark Antony become enemies Mark Antony makes an alliance with Cleopatra Octavian defeats the alliance at the Battle of Actium Octavian is given the title of "Augustus" and "imperator" "Augustus" - "Exalted one" "imperator" - supreme military commander The Roman republic has now become an empire Octavian ruled as emperor from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D. (40 years) He began the Pax Romana , an era of peace and prosperity which lasted from 27 B.C. to 180 A.D. (207 years) He died of natural causes An age of emperors emerged after Octavian's death Tiberius 14 A.D. to 37 A.D. good general; not so good emperor after his son's death, he left Rome, leaving his prefects in char...

May 26th, 2020 Test and Slideshow Notes I will be taking my test on Tuesday, June 2nd from 8:55am to 9:45am.  poet Juvenal "Rome anxiously hopes for two things: bread (free grain from the state) and circuses (entertainment) Julius Caesar 100 - 44 B.C. successful general; conquered much of Gaul made commoners happy formed the First Triumvirate with Pompey (a general who conquered Syria and Palestine) and Crassus (the richest man in Rome)  served as consul appoints himself as governer of Gaul becomes enemies with Pompey in 44 B.C. is named dictator gave citizenship to those in provinces created jobs for the poor as well as increasing pay for soldiers the senators stabbed Caesar 23 times because they were scared of his rise in power this ended the Roman republic 

May 20, 2020 Essay Question For my Rome essay, I chose to write about the topic of the fall of the Roman Republic and its contributing factors. 

May 18th, 2020 Terms Civil War - the conflict between groups within the same country Julius Caesar - a well-known military leader that was a genius at military strategy Triumvirate - a group of three rulers Augustus - "exalted one" Pax Romana - "Roman peace" Textbook Notes As the empire grew, a large gap was created between the commoners and the wealthy.  Rome's rich landowners had estates filled with thousands of slaves captured from various wars. By 100 B.C. slaves were 1/3 of Rome's population. Small farmers sold their land to large estates and became a part of the urban poor. The urban poor made up 1/4 of the population of Rome.  Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus two brothers who tried to help the poor in Rome. they were tribunes  tried to limit the size of estates to give land to the poor made enemies with multiple senators Tiberius died in 133 B.C. Gaius died in 121c B.C. In 60 B.C. Julius Caesar joins forces with Crassu...

May 14th, 2020 Rome Slideshow The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought from 264 B.C. to 146 B.C. between the cities of Rome and Carthage. The wars were started because both sides wanted control. Rome had an army of 5000 armed men with horses, swords, shields, daggers, and armor. The First Punic War was fought on the island of Sicily in which Rome won. The Second Punic War was fought in and around Rome. Carthage's attack was launched by general Hannibal who ambushed Rome from the North after crossing Iberia and the Alps. After fifteen years, Hannibal never accomplished taking over Rome. The Third Punic War was fought when Rome wanted to destroy Carthage for good. The city of Carthage was burned for seventeen days until everything inside of its walls was burned to nothing. After the war, the remaining 50,000 citizens of Carthage were sold as slaves. 

May 12th, 2020 Rome Slideshow After the rule of Tarquin, Rome decided to abolish the rule of kings as a whole. All of Rome had a traumatizing experience during his time and eventually ostracized him and his entire family out of Rome. Within the royal family, many were assainated so certain individuals could remain in power. Servius Tullias was named the new king of Rome after the fifth king's death. Servius Tullias' two daughters married two brothers, one of which was Tarquin. Tullia, one of Servius' daughters, killed her husband and her sister in order to marry Tarquin. Soon enough, Tarquin declares himself king as he sits on the throne. When Servius denies this, he is thrown into the streets and assainated. Tarquin sends his wife home for safety and as she is traveling home, she runs over her father's corpse with the chariot. Servius Tullias' body was never buried by demand of Tarquin. Any senator who objected to this was assainated. Tarquin's son, Sextus...

May 8th, 2020 Rome Slideshow Notes The Etruscans, the Greeks, and the Latins all settled in Rome. The Etruscans They came from the north-central part of Rome. They had specialized workers in the metal, art, and architecture departments. They created the myths of Virgil's Aeneid and the story of Remus and Romulus. The Greeks As learned about in the previous chapter, the Greeks had many cities throughout the Mediterranean Sea. The Romans stole many ideas from the Greeks including: religious belifs alphabet many of their art forms military techniques and art forms The Latins They were descendants of Indo-Europeans. They settled into the banks of the Tiber. They were located in a place where their trading ships could reach Rome, but no further. They were a commerical port that was not susceptible to attacks They were built on seven hills Many streams were flowing into the Tiber during this time The Forum was a marshy area between Palatine and Capit...

May 7th, 2020 Chi Cago's Rome Rap My first main reaction was that I was shocked. Then I started to giggle, which later turned into loud and obnoxious laughing. I'd like to thank Mr. Schick for giving me some joy during quaratine.

May 4th, 2020 The Twelve Tables The Twelve Tables were twelve tablets hung in the forum that contained the basic laws of Rome. They were written by ten officials in 451 B.C. The laws were made in favor of the plebians because the patricians were overpowering them with their high positions. Before the creation of the Twelve Tables, there was a conflict called the conflict of the orders. The plebians decided to put pressure on the patricians by doing a huge public protest where they left the city of Rome and refused to bear arms during the war. By doing this, the tribune of the plebians was formed. The tribune of the plebs was a government position only accessible by plebians. They were able to propose legislation, intervene legally, and veto magistrates. The next action of the tribune of plebs was to make sure the laws were written down. Roman laws contained three things: the preamble, the main text, and the sanctio. 

May 1st, 2020 Ancient Rome Architectural Landmark The Roman Forum The ancient ruins of the Roman Forum look run-down. Many of the walls and pillars have fallen and collapsed. On the bottom left of this picture, you can see pieces of the broken pillars. On the right side, it looks as if there is a crumbled wall.

April 30th, 2020 Patricians and Plebians           The patricians and the plebians were far from similar. The patricians were a rich and powerful group of people in the ancient Roman times. The opposites were the plebians. They were made up of the lower class citizens of Rome and were the majority of the population. The wealthy patricians were born into power and wealth. To add, they also had the ability to hold government positions, unlike the plebians. It was against the law for any plebians to run in office, therefore, they made tribunes. These tribunes were representatives for the plebians and would protect plebian rights.            The Greek aristocrats were similar to the Roman patricians. In the same way, the plebians were the same as the middle and lower class peoples of Greece. 

April 28th, 2020 Rome Terms Republic -  a form of government in which power rests with citizens who have the right to vote for their leaders Patrician - wealthy landowners who held most of the power Plebian - the common farmers, artisans, and merchants who made up most of the population Tribunes - representative that protected the rights of the plebians from unfair acts of patrician officials Consuls - two officials that commanded the army and directed government Senate - the aristocratic branch of Rome's government that had both legislative and administrative functions in the republic Dictator - a leader who had absolute power to make laws and command the army in times of crisis Legion - large military units Punic Wars - three long wars fought between Rome and Carthage Hannibal - a brilliant military strategist who wanted to avenge Carthage's earlier defeat

April 21st, 2020 Essay The essay question I chose is who was Alexander the Great and what did he accomplish? I would start my first paragraph giving a short definition of who Alexander was. My second paragraph would tell about his family and early life. The third paragraph would be about the way he ruled and his accomplishments. The next paragraph would give information about his horse. The final paragraph would be about his death and his overall impact on Greece.

April 20th, 2020 Objective Questions 1. What was the Noble Lie that Plato proposed? We were all born with gold, silver, brass, or iron in our souls which determined our roles in life. 2. What kind of dramas were performed in ancient Greece? Tradgedy and comedy. 3. When did the plague hit Athens?       a. During the Peloponnesian War      b. During the Trojan War      c. During the Wars of the Delian League 4. What were Pericles' three goals? Pericles' three goals for Athens were to strengthen Athenian democracy, to hold and strengthen the empire, and to glorify Athens. 5. What is a direct democracy? A form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives.

April 16th, 2020 Plato 1. Plato defined The Forms as the ideal versions of things and concepts we see around us. 2. The three groups in Plato's ideal society are producers, the military, and the rulers. 3. Plato was inconsistent with his thoughts of women; he believed women were equally able to rule in his model city, but at times he referred to them as being child-like.  4. The Noble Lie he proposed was that we were all born with gold, silver, brass, or iron in our souls which determined our roles in life.

April 15th, 2020 Poem Who is that beauty? You're bound to know a woman named Aphrodite the goddess of love Along beside her is the one who rules Mount Olympus from up above Zeus is his name he's big and strong  he helps the Greek gods get along Apollo is his son his talent is art and poetry but he specializes in songs

April 2nd, 2020 Classical Greece Architecture This is an ancient Greek building called the Parthenon. The building was made out of white marble, which has since been damaged due to environmental factors. It has pillars on all sides of the building which are used for support. In this picture, there are six statues standing as columns. All of the structure is made out of stone. The stone has unique designs on both the bottom and the top of the structure.

April 1st, 2020 The Legacy of Greek Theater 1. The Ancient Greeks had two kinds of dramas: tragedy and comedy. Tragedies usually consisted of common themes such as love, hate, or betrayal. Tragedies are the more serious type of drama and usually have a main character or hero who is gifted with special abilities. In the end, one of the hero's flaws usually causes his or her's downfall. The second type of drama is a comedy which includes scenes of jokes and crude humor.  2 (a). Most of the theater productions I have been in all have a main character that goes through a challenge and has a downfall because of one of their flaws. Many of these plays also portray themes of either love or betrayal.  3.  The Greeks used amphitheaters to amplify the actors' voices throughout the entire theatre. These types of theaters hade seats in a half-circle around the stage, which allowed the entire audience to see the stage.

March 31st, 2020 Personal Essay Since beginning online learning, many things have changed for both students and teachers. I agree with many of the points made on Mr. Schick's blog post. Online learning is a big challenge to the school community for both public and private schools. I find it hard to teach myself the materials I would learn from a teacher on a normal school day. Sometimes I have trouble understanding my teacher's instructions for work because they aren't detailed enough. I must email my teachers when I have questions about work, which is a problem because many of my teachers do not answer right away as I need. All of these things cause problems for my future tests and quizzes in my subjects. To add, my teachers give me more work than I usually get on a typical class day. My amount of work is more than I would get on a regular school day, including my homework.