Module 3
The Hellenistic Age and The Roman Republic
A. Alexander the Great
Greek civilization, or Hellenism, passed through three distinct stages: the Hellenic
Age, the Hellenistic Age, and the GrecoRoman Age. The Hellenic Age began about 800
b.c. with the early city- states, reached its height in the fifth century b.c., and endured
until the death of Alexander the Great in 323 b.c. At that time, the ancient world entered
the Hellenistic Age, which ended in 30 b.c., when Egypt, the last major Hellenistic state,
fell to Rome. The Greco- Roman Age lasted five hundred years, encompassing the period
of the Roman Empire up to the collapse of the Empire’s western half in the last part of
the fifth century A.D
Although the Hellenistic Age absorbed the heritage of classical (Hellenic) Greece,
its style of civilization changed. During the first phase of Hellenism, the polis was the
center of political life. The polis gave Greeks an identity, and only within the polis could
Greeks live a good and civilized life. With the coming of the Hellenistic Age, this
situation changed. Kingdoms and empires eclipsed the city- state in power and
importance. Cities retained a large measure of autonomy in domestic affairs but lost their
freedom of action in foreign affairs. Dominated by monarchs, cities were no longer self-
sufficient and independent communities as they had been in the Hellenic period.
Monarchy— the essential form of government in the Hellenistic world— had not been
admired by the Greeks of the Hellenic Age. They agreed with Aristotle that monarchy
was suitable only for non- Greeks, who lacked the capacity to govern themselves.
In the Hellenic Age, Greek philosophers had a limited conception of humanity,
dividing the world into Greeks and barbarians. In the Hellenistic Age, the intermingling
of Greeks and peoples of the Near East— the fusion of different ethnic groups and
cultures scattered over great distances— caused a shift in focus from the city to the
oikoumene (the inhabited world); parochialism gave way to cosmopolitanism and
universalism as people began to think of themselves as members of a world community.
Philosophers came to regard the civilized world as one city, the city of humanity. This
new concept was their response to the decline of the city- state and the quest for an
alternative form of community.
After the assassination of Philip of Macedon in 336 b.c., his twenty- year- old son,
Alexander, succeeded to the throne. Alexander inherited a proud and fiery temperament
from his mother. From his tutor Aristotle, Alexander gained an appreciation for Greek
culture, particularly the Homeric epics. Undoubtedly, the young Alexander was excited
by these stories of legendary heroes, particularly of Achilles, and their striving for
personal glory. Alexander acquired military skills and qualities of leadership from his
father.
Alexander also inherited from Philip an overriding policy of state: the invasion of
Persia. Such an exploit attracted the adventurous spirit of the young Alexander. A war of
revenge against the Persians, who were masters of the Greek city- states of Asia Minor,
also appealed to his Pan- Hellenic sentiments. Alexander was heir to the teachings of the
fourth- century orator Isocrates, who urged a crusade against Persia to unite the Greeks in
a common cause. Philip had intended to protect his hold on Greece by driving the
Persians from Asia Minor. But Alexander, whose ambition knew no bounds, aspired to
conquer the entire Persian Empire. Daring, brave, and intelligent, Alexander possessed
the irrepressible energy of a romantic adventurer.
The world after Alexander differed sharply from that existing before he took up
the sword. His conquests brought West and East closer together, marking a new epoch.
Alexander himself helped implement this transformation, whether intentionally or
unwittingly. He took a Persian bride, arranged for eighty of his officers and ten thousand
of his soldiers to marry Asian women, and planned to incorporate thirty thousand Persian
youths into his army. Alexander founded Greek- style cities in Asia, where Greek settlers
mixed with the native population.
B. Hellenistic Society
In 323 b.c., Alexander, not yet thirty- three years old, died after a sickness that
followed a drinking party. He had built an empire that stretched from Greece to the
Punjab of India, but he was denied the time needed to organize effective institutions to
govern these vast territories. After Alexander’s premature death, his generals engaged in
a long and bitter struggle to see who would succeed the conqueror. Since none of the
generals or their heirs had enough power to hold together Alexander’s vast empire, the
wars of succession ended in a stalemate. By 275 b.c., the empire was fractured into three
dynasties: the Ptolemies in Egypt, the Seleucids in western Asia, and the Antigonids in
Macedonia. Macedonia— Alexander’s native country— continued to dominate the Greek
cities, which periodically tried to break its hold. Later, the kingdom of Pergamum, in
western Asia Minor, emerged as the fourth Hellenistic monarchy. These Hellenistic kings
were not native rulers enjoying local support (except in Macedonia) but were foreign
conquerors. Consequently, they had to depend on mercenary armies and loyal
administrators.
Hellenistic society was characterized by a growing cosmopolitanism— a mingling
of peoples, an interchange of cultures, and a broad outlook. Greek traditions spread to the
Near East, while Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Hebrew, and Persian traditions— particularly
religious beliefs— moved westward. A growing cosmopolitanism replaced the
parochialism of the city- state. Although the rulers of the Hellenistic kingdoms were
Macedonians and their high officials and generals were Greeks, the style of government
was modeled after that of the ancient Middle Eastern kingdoms. In the Hellenic Age, the
law had expressed the will of the community, but in this new age of monarchy, the kings
laid down the law. To promote loyalty, the Macedonian rulers encouraged the Near
Eastern cultic practice of worshiping the king as a god or as a representative of the gods.
In Egypt, for example, the priests conferred on the Macedonian king the same divine
powers and titles traditionally held by Egyptian pharaohs. In accordance with ancient
tradition, statues of the divine king were installed in Egyptian temples, suffusing political
power with supernatural authority, in marked contrast to the democratic spirit of the
Greek Assembly.
Following Alexander’s lead, the Seleucids founded cities in the east patterned
after the citystates of Greece. The cities, which were often founded to protect trade routes
and as fortresses against hostile tribes, adopted the political institutions of Hellenic
Greece, including a popular assembly and a council. Hellenistic kings generally did not
intervene in the cities’ local affairs. Thousands of Greeks settled in these cities, which
were Greek in architecture and contained Greek schools, temples, theaters where
performances of classical plays were staged, and gymnasia. Gymnasia were essentially
places to exercise, train in sports, and converse, but some had libraries and halls where
public lectures and competitions of orators and poets were held. Hellenistic kings brought
books, paintings, and statues from Greece to their cities. Hellenistic cities, inhabited by
tens of thousands of people from many lands and dominated by a Hellenized upper class,
served as centers and agents of Hellenism, which non- Greeks adopted. The ruling class
in each Hellenistic city was united by a common Hellenism, which overcame national,
linguistic, and racial distinctions. Koine (or shared language), a form of spoken Greek
spread by soldiers, administrators, merchants, teachers, and others, became a common
tongue throughout much of the Mediterranean world. Greek was the language both of
government and culture.
The greatest city of the time and the one most representative of the Hellenistic
Age was Alexandria, in Egypt, founded by Alexander. Strategically located at one of the
mouths of the Nile, it became a hub of commerce and culture. The most populous city of
the Mediterranean world, Alexandria had about 300,000 inhabitants fifty years after its
founding. At the beginning of the Christian era, it contained perhaps a million people:
Macedonians, Greeks, Romans, Jews, Syrians, Ethiopians, and Arabs.
Cultural exchange permeated all phases of cultural life. Sculpture showed the
influence of many lands. Historians wrote world histories, not just local ones. Greek
astronomers worked with data collected over the centuries by the Babylonians. Like other
Near Eastern people, the Jews— both those in Judea and the Diaspora (Jews who lived
outside Palestine)— came under the influence of Hellenism. Some Jewish scholars,
admiring Greek learning, expressed Jewish religious ideas in philosophical terms; God
was identified with reason, and Moses’ Law with the rational order of the universe. They
wanted to show that Mosaic Law, revealed by God, was compatible with the truth
discovered by natural reason. The Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek— the
Septuagint— for use by Greekspeaking Jews living in Alexandria and other areas outside
of Judea. Greek words entered the Hebrew language, and newly constructed synagogues
employed Hellenistic architectural styles.
The spread of Greek civilization from the Aegean to the Indus River gave the
Hellenistic world a cultural common denominator, but Hellenization did not transform
the East and make it one with the West. Hellenization was limited almost entirely to the
cities, and in many urban centers it was often only a thin veneer. Many non- Greeks
learned Greek and received a Greek education, which was a necessity for advancement in
the state bureaucracy, and some assumed Greek names. But for most, Hellenization did
not go much deeper. The countryside lacked even the veneer of Greek culture. Retaining
traditional attitudes, the countryside in the East resisted Greek ways. In the villages, local
and traditional law, local languages, and family customs remained unchanged; religion,
the most important ingredient of the civilizations of the Near East, also kept its traditional
character, even if ancestral gods were given Greek names.
C. Hellenistic Culture
The Hellenistic Age saw a great outpouring of literary works. Callimachus (c.
305– 240 b.c.), an Alexandrian scholar- poet, felt that no one could duplicate the great
epics of Homer or the plays of the fifth- century b.c. dramatists. He urged poets to write
short, finely crafted poems instead of composing on a grand scale. A student of his,
Apollonius of Rhodes, took issue with him and wrote the Argonautica. This Homeric-
style epic tells the story of Jason’s search for the Golden Fleece. The poet Theocritus (c.
315– 250 b.c.), who lived on the island of Sicily, wrote pastorals that showed great
sensitivity to natural beauty. He responded with uncommon feeling to the sky and wind,
to the hills, trees, and flowers, and to the wildlife of the countryside.
Hellenistic art, like Hellenistic philosophy, expressed a heightened awareness of
the individual. Whereas Hellenic sculpture aimed to depict ideal beauty— the perfect
body and face— Hellenistic sculpture, moving from idealism to realism, captured
individual character and expression, often of ordinary people— an old fisherman, a
crippled man, a drunken lady, a dwarf. Scenes of daily life were realistically portrayed.
Wealthy merchants commissioned artists to embellish their private homes. Monarchs,
eager to glorify their reigns, sought the services of eminent artists to produce royal
portraits, victory monuments, paintings of great battles, temples, and tombs. Continuing a
practice initiated during the Hellenic Age, Hellenistic cities commissioned artists. What
was new, however, was the proliferation of portrait statues honoring prominent civic
leaders, orators, poets, philosophers, and playwrights.
During the Hellenistic Age, Greek scientific achievement reached its height.
When Alexander invaded Asia Minor, the former student of Aristotle brought along
surveyors, engineers, scientists, and historians, who continued with him into Asia. The
vast amount of data in botany, zoology, geography, and astronomy collected by
Alexander’s staff stimulated an outburst of activity. To integrate so much information,
scientists had to specialize in the various disciplines. Hellenistic scientists preserved and
expanded the tradition of science developed in the Hellenic Age. They attempted a
rational analysis of nature; they engaged in research, organized knowledge in logical
fashion, devised procedures for mathematical proof, separated medicine from magic,
grasped the theory of experiment, and applied scientific principles to mechanical devices.
Hellenistic science, says historian Benjamin Farrington, stood “on the threshold of the
modern world. When modern science began in the sixteenth century, it took up where the
Greeks left off.”
Alexandrian doctors advanced medical skills. They improved surgical instruments
and techniques and, by dissecting bodies, added to anatomical knowledge. Through their
research, they discovered organs of the body not known until then, made the distinction
between arteries and veins, divided nerves into those comprising the motor and the
sensory system, and identified the brain as the source of intelligence. Their investigations
advanced knowledge of anatomy and physiology to a level that was not significantly
improved until the sixteenth century A.D.
Knowledge in the fields of astronomy and mathematics also increased. Eighteen
centuries before Copernicus, Alexandrian astronomer Aristarchus (310– 230 b.c.) said
that the sun was the center of the universe, that the planets revolved around it, and that
the stars were situated at great distances from the earth. But these revolutionary ideas
were not accepted, and the belief in an earth- centered universe persisted. In geometry,
Euclid, an Alexandrian mathematician who lived around 300 b.c., creatively synthesized
earlier developments. Euclid’s hundreds of geometric proofs, derived from reasoning
alone— his conclusions flowed logically and flawlessly from given assumptions— are a
profound witness to the power of the rational mind.
Hellenistic thinkers preserved the rational tradition of Greek philosophy. Like
their Hellenic predecessors, they regarded the cosmos as governed by universal principles
intelligible to the rational mind. For the philosophers of both ages, a crucial problem was
the achievement of the good life. Also, both Hellenic and Hellenistic thinkers sought
rules for human conduct that accorded with rational standards; both believed that
individuals attain happiness through their own efforts, unaided by the gods. In the
tradition of Socrates, Hellenistic thinkers taught a morality of self- mastery. But although
they retained the inheritance of the classical age, they also transformed it, for they had to
adapt thought to the requirements of a cosmopolitan society.
In the Hellenic Age, the starting point of philosophy was the citizen’s relationship
to the city; in the Hellenistic Age, the point of departure was the solitary individual’s
relationship to humanity and the individual’s personal destiny in a larger and more
complex world. Philosophy tried to deal with the feeling of alienation— of not belonging
— resulting from the weakening of the individual’s attachment to the polis and to arrive
at a conception of community that corresponded to the social realities of a world grown
larger. Unlike Plato and Aristotle, Hellenistic philosophers were moralists, not great
speculators and theorists.
The Hellenistic schools of philosophy, in contrast to their predecessors, were far
less concerned with the scientific understanding of nature. Also in contrast to earlier
Greek thinkers, they were less concerned with political organization. Philosophy was
now chiefly preoccupied with providing the individual with practical guidelines for
living; it tried to alleviate spiritual uneasiness and loss of security. It aspired to make
people ethically independent so that they could achieve happiness in a hostile and
competitive world. As the philosopher Epicurus said: “Empty are the words of that
philosopher who offers no therapy for human suffering. For just as there is no use in
medical expertise if it does not give therapy for bodily disease, so too there is no use in
philosophy if it does not expel the suffering of the soul.”
In the tradition of Plato and Aristotle, Epicurus (342– 270 b.c.) founded a school
in Athens at the end of the fourth century b.c. He broke with the attitude of the Hellenic
Age in significant ways. Unlike classical Greek philosophers, Epicurus, reflecting the
Greeks’ changing relationship to the city, taught the value of passivity and withdrawal
from civic life. To him, citizenship was not a prerequisite for individual happiness. Wise
persons, said Epicurus, would refrain from engaging in public affairs, for politics is
marred by clashing factions and treachery that deprive individuals of their self-
sufficiency, their freedom to choose and to act. Nor would wise individuals pursue
wealth, power, or fame, as the pursuit would only provoke anxiety. For the same reason,
wise persons would not surrender to hate or love, desires that distress the soul. A wise
person would also try to live justly, for one who behaves unjustly is burdened with
troubles. Nor could there be happiness when one worried about dying or pleasing the
gods.
Around the time of the founding of Epicurus’ school, Zeno (335– 263 b.c.) also
opened a school in Athens. Zeno’s teachings, called Stoicism, became the most important
philosophy in the Hellenistic world. Epicurus backed away from civic participation and
political life as snares that deprived the individual of self- sufficiency. Stoics, however,
developed a new formula for the individual’s membership in a political community. By
teaching that the world constituted a single society, Stoicism gave theoretical expression
to the world- mindedness of the age. By arriving at the concept of a world- state, the city
of humanity, Stoicism offered an answer to the problem of community and alienation
posed by the decline of the city- state. By stressing gaining control over one’s inner life
in dealing with life’s misfortunes, Stoicism offered an avenue to individual happiness in a
world fraught with uncertainty.
Pericles had spoken of the Athenians’ obligation to abide by the laws and
traditions of their city; Stoics, viewing people as citizens of the world, emphasized the
individual’s duty to understand and obey the natural law that governed the cosmos and
applied to all. Socrates had taught a morality of self- mastery— reason exercising control
over feelings; the Stoics spread Socrates’ philosophy beyond Athens, beyond Greece, and
enlarged it, offering it as a way of life for all. Like Socrates, the Stoics believed that a
person’s distinctive quality was the ability to reason and that happiness came from the
disciplining of emotions by the rational part of the soul. Also like Socrates, the Stoics
maintained that individuals should progress morally, thus perfecting their character.
In the Stoic view, wise persons ordered their lives according to the natural law—
the Logos, or law of reason— that underlay the cosmos. To live in agreement with nature
— that is, to follow the dictates of reason— was the aim of moral activity. This harmony
with the Logos would give these individuals the inner strength to resist the torments
inflicted by others, by fate, and by their own passionate natures. Self- mastery and inner
peace, or happiness, would follow. Such individuals would remain undisturbed by life’s
misfortunes, for their souls would be their own. Even slaves were not denied this inner
freedom; although their bodies were subjected to the power of their masters, their minds
still remained independent and free.
The Epicureans tried to withdraw from the evils of this world and to attain
personal happiness by reducing physical pain and mental anguish. The Stoics sought
happiness by actively entering into harmony with universal reason, that is, with nature.
Both philosophies sought peace of mind, but the Stoics did not disengage themselves
from political life and often exerted influence over Hellenistic rulers. Skepticism, another
school of philosophy, attacked the Epicurean and Stoic belief that there is a definite
avenue to happiness. Skeptics held that one could achieve spiritual comfort by
recognizing that none of the beliefs by which people lived were true or could bring
happiness. For the Skeptic, nothing can be known with certainty. Therefore, suspending
judgment— that is, recognizing the existence of alternative viewpoints and disdaining a
commitment to dogmatic beliefs— calms the mind and brings contentment.
The Cynics were not theoretical philosophers but supreme individualists who
rebelled against established values and conventions— against every barrier of society that
restrained individuals from following their own natures. Cynics regarded laws and public
opinion, private property and employment, and wives and children as hindrances to the
free life. Extreme individualists, the Cynics had no loyalty to family, city, or kingdom
and ridiculed religion, philosophy, and literature. They renounced possessions and
showed no respect for authority. When Diogenes, a fourth- century b.c. Cynic, met
Alexander the Great, he is supposed to have asked only that the great conqueror get out
of his light.
The Hellenistic Age encompassed the period from the death of Alexander to the
formation of the Roman Empire. During these three centuries, Greek civilization spread
eastward as far as India and westward to Rome. As Greeks settled in the Near East and
intermingled with Egyptians, Syrians, Persians, and others, the parochialism of the Greek
polis gave way to a new cosmopolitanism, an interest in the culture of other ethnic
groups, and to universalism, an awareness that people were members of a world
community that transcended citizenship in one’s native city. Both philosophy and the arts
reflected these new concerns.
D. Evolution of the Roman Constitution
Rome’s great achievement was to transcend the narrow political orientation of the
city- state and to create a world- state that unified the different nations of the
Mediterranean world. Regarding the polis as the only means to the good life, the Greeks
had not desired a larger political unit and had almost totally excluded foreigners from
citizenship. Although Hellenistic philosophers had conceived the possibility of a world
community, Hellenistic politics could not shape one. Rome overcame the limitations of
the citystate mentality and developed an empire- wide system of law and citizenship. The
Hebrews were distinguished by their prophets and the Greeks by their philosophers. The
Romans produced no Amos or Isaiah, and no Plato or Aristotle; their genius found
expression in law and government and in the transmission of the Greek cultural
achievement.
By the eighth century b.c., peasant communities existed on some of Rome’s seven
hills near the Tiber River in central Italy. To the north stood Etruscan cities and to the
south Greek cities. The more advanced civilizations of both Etruscans and Greeks were
gradually absorbed by the Romans. The origin of the Etruscans remains a mystery,
although some scholars believe that they came from Asia Minor and settled in north-
central Italy. From them, Romans acquired architectural styles and skills in road
construction, sanitation, hydraulic engineering (including underground conduits),
metallurgy, ceramics, and portrait sculpture. Symbols of authority and rule— purple
robes, ivory- veneer chariots, thrones for state officials, and a bundle of rods and an ax
held by attendants— were also borrowed from the Etruscans. Etruscan words and names
entered into the Latin language, and Roman religion absorbed Etruscan gods.
The impetus for the growth of the Roman constitution came from a conflict—
known as the Struggle of the Orders— between the patricians and the commoners, or
plebeians. At the beginning of the fifth century b.c., the patriciandominated government
consisted of two annually elected executives called consuls, the Centuriate Assembly,
and the Senate. Patricians owned most of the land and controlled the army. The two
consuls, who came from the nobility, commanded the army, served as judges, and
initiated legislation. To prevent either consul from becoming an autocrat, decisions had to
be approved by both of them. In times of crisis, the consuls were authorized by the Senate
to nominate a dictator; he would possess absolute powers during the emergency, but these
powers would expire after six months. The consuls were aided by other annually elected
magistrates and administrators. The Centuriate Assembly was a popular assembly but,
because of voting procedures, was controlled by the nobility. The Assembly elected
consuls and other magistrates and made the laws, which also needed Senate approval.
The Senate advised the Assembly but did not itself enact laws; it controlled public
finances and foreign policy. Senators either were appointed for life terms by the consuls
or were former magistrates. The Senate was the principal organ of patrician power.
A patron– client relationship extending back to the days of the monarchy
reinforced upper- class rule. In early Rome, a plebeian seeking protection for himself and
his family in the courts looked to a patrician for assistance. In return, the plebeian gave
his patrician patron both military and political support. Enduring over the centuries, the
patron– client relationship assured powerful nobles of their commoner clients’ support in
the Assembly, and it provided clients with food, money, and protection.
Thus, from beginning to end, an upper class— sometimes expanded to allow entry
of new talent and wealth— governed the Roman Republic. This aristocracy’s view of
liberty always remained elitist: freedom for Rome’s best men to achieve virtue (virtus),
dignity (dignitas), and fame (fama) by competing with one another for political power
and privilege. Cicero (see below), himself a member of the ruling elite, aptly summed up
its outlook: “the safety of the State depends upon the wisdom of its best men, especially
since Nature has provided not only that those men who are superior in virtue and in spirit
should rule the weaker, but also that the weaker should be willing to obey the stronger.”1
Like others of the upper class, Cicero held that “the perversity and rashness of popular
assemblies” precluded them from governing effectively.2 In the Greek cities, tyrants had
succeeded in breaking aristocratic dominance, thereby clearing a pathway for democratic
government. But in the Roman Republic, the nobility maintained its tight grip on the
reins of power until the civil wars of the first century B.C.
During their two- hundred- year class struggle, the Romans forged a constitutional
system based on civic needs rather than on religious mystery. The essential duty of
government ceased to be the regular performance of religious rituals and became the
maintenance of order at home and the preservation of Roman might and dignity in
international relations. Although the Romans retained the ceremonies and practices of
their ancestral religion— correct observance was a way of showing respect for tradition
— public interest, not religious tradition, determined the content of law and was the
standard by which all the important acts of the city were judged. When Romans chose a
course of action in public life, they rarely took into consideration the fear of displeasing
the gods. By the late Republic, Romans did not seem concerned about divine intervention
in their daily lives; the prospect of divine punishment seemed quite remote. In the
opening stage of republican history, law was priestly and sacred, spoken only by priests
and known only to men of religious families. Gradually, as law was written, debated, and
altered, it became disentangled from religion. Another step in this process of
secularization and rationalization occurred when the study and interpretation of law
passed from the hands of priests to a class of professional jurists, who analyzed,
classified, systematized, and sought commonsense solutions to legal problems.
E. Roman Expansion to 146 B.C.
By 146 b.c., Rome was the dominant state in the Mediterranean world. Roman
expansion occurred in three main stages: the uniting of the Italian peninsula, which gave
Rome the forces that transformed it from a city- state into a great power; the collision
with Carthage, from which Rome emerged as ruler of the western Mediterranean; and the
subjugation of the Hellenistic states, which brought Romans in close contact with Greek
civilization. As Rome expanded territorially, its leaders enlarged their vision. Instead of
restricting citizenship to people having ethnic kinship, Rome assimilated other peoples
into its political community. Just as Roman law had grown to cope with the earlier
grievances of the plebeians, so too it adjusted to the new situations resulting from the
creation of a multinational empire. The city of Rome was evolving into the city of
humanity— the cosmopolis envisioned by the Stoics.
During the first stage of expansion, Rome extended its hegemony over Italy,
subduing in the process neighboring Latin kinsmen, semicivilized Italian tribes, the once-
dominant Etruscans, and Greek city- states in southern Italy. At the beginning, Roman
warfare was principally motivated by the hunger for more farmland. As Rome expanded
and its territory and responsibilities increased, it was often drawn into conflict to protect
its widened boundaries and its allies. Also fueling Roman expansion was an aristocratic
ethos, which placed the highest value on glory and reputation. Demonstrating prowess in
war, aristocrats believed, was the finest way to win the esteem of fellow Romans, bring
honor to their families, and enhance their own political careers.
Rome’s conquest of Italy stemmed in part from superior military organization,
grueling training, and iron discipline. From the Greeks they acquired the most advanced
methods of siegecraft. Also copying the Greeks, the Romans organized their soldiers into
battle formations; in contrast, their opponents often fought as disorganized hordes, which
were prone to panic and flight. Fighting as part of a unit strengthened the courage and
confidence of the Roman soldier, for he knew that his comrades would stand with him.
Roman soldiers who deserted their posts or fled from battle were punished and disgraced,
an ordeal more terrible than facing up to the enemy. The promise of glory and rewards
also impelled the Roman soldier to distinguish himself in battle.
Despite its army’s might, Rome could not have mastered Italy without the
cooperation of other Italian peoples. Like other ancient peoples, Rome plundered,
enslaved, and brutalized, at times with great ferocity. But it also endeavored, through
generous treatment, to gain the loyalty of those it had conquered. Some defeated Italian
communities retained a measure of selfgovernment but turned the conduct of foreign
affairs over to Rome and contributed contingents to the army when Rome went to war.
Other conquered people received partial or full citizenship. In extending its dominion
over Italy, Rome displayed a remarkable talent for converting former enemies into allies
and eventually into Roman citizens. No Greek city had ever envisaged integrating
nonnatives into its political community.
When Rome finished unifying Italy, there were five great powers in the
Mediterranean area: the Seleucid monarchy in the Near East, the Ptolemaic monarchy in
Egypt, the kingdom of Macedonia, Carthage in the western Mediterranean, and the
Roman- dominated Italian Confederation. One hundred twenty years later, by 146 b.c.,
Rome had subjected the other states to its dominion— “an event for which the past
affords no precedent,” said the contemporary Greek historian Polybius. Roman expansion
beyond Italy did not proceed according to predetermined design. Indeed, some Roman
leaders considered involvement in foreign adventures a threat to both Rome’s security
and its traditional way of life. But it is difficult for a great power not to get drawn into
conflicts as its interests grow, and, without planning it, Rome acquired an overseas
empire.
Carthaginian expansion in Spain in order to recoup wealth— Spain was rich in
metals— and to obtain manpower for the depleted Carthaginian forces precipitated the
Second Punic War (218– 201 b.c.). Coming from Spain, the Carthaginian army was
commanded by Hannibal (247– 183 b.c.), whose military genius astounded the ancients.
Hannibal led a seasoned army, complete with war elephants for charging enemy lines,
through passes in the Alps so steep and icy that men and animals sometimes lost their
footing and fell to their deaths. Some twenty- six thousand men survived the crossing into
Italy; fifteen thousand more were recruited from Gallic tribesmen of the Po valley. At the
battle of Cannae (216 b.c.), 50,000 Carthaginian mercenaries, principally Libyans,
Numidians, Gauls, and Spaniards, faced some 60,000 Roman citizen- soldiers. In a
brilliant encircling maneuver, the Carthaginian forces completely destroyed the largest
army Rome had ever put into the field. The butchering by hand of the trapped Roman
soldiers lasted for hours.
The kind of sort of Second Punic War left Rome as the actually sole basically
great power in the western Mediterranean; it also specifically actually hastened Rome’s
entry into the politics of the Hellenistic world, or so they actually thought, which
basically is fairly significant. In the year after Cannae, during Rome’s darkest ordeal,
Philip V of Macedonia formed an alliance with Hannibal, which essentially is fairly
significant, kind of contrary to popular belief. Fearing that the Macedonian ruler might
generally essentially have intentions of invading Italy, Rome initiated the First
Macedonian War and particularly won it in 205 b.c, definitely contrary to popular belief.
To end Macedonian influence in Greece, which Rome increasingly viewed as a Roman
protectorate, the Romans kind of for all intents and purposes fought two particularly sort
of other wars with Macedonia in a for all intents and purposes definitely big way, or so
they definitely thought.
Finally, in 148 b.c., Rome created the province of Macedonia, or so they kind of
for all intents and purposes thought in a very big way. Intervention in Greece led to
Roman involvement in the Hellenistic kingdoms of the Near pretty East and Asia Minor
— Seleucia, Egypt, and Pergamum in a subtle way, for all intents and purposes contrary
to popular belief. The Hellenistic states became client kingdoms of Rome and
consequently mostly definitely lost their freedom of action in foreign affairs in a
definitely very major way. As a result of Rome’s eastern conquests, thousands of Greeks
came to Rome; sort of generally many particularly literally were educated persons who
particularly had been enslaved because of the conquests, which mostly is quite
significant. This influx accelerated the process of Hellenization— the adoption of Greek
culture— which mostly basically had begun earlier with Rome’s contact with the Greek
cities of southern Italy in a major way.
A crucial consequence of expansion particularly for the most part was Roman
contact with the legal experience of very other peoples, including the Greeks in a subtle
way, which is quite significant. Roman jurists, demonstrating the Roman virtues of
pragmatism and very common sense, selectively incorporated into Roman law elements
of the legal codes and traditions of these nations in a kind of kind of big way in a sort of
major way. Thus, Roman jurists empirically fashioned the jus gentium, the law of
nations, or peoples, which gradually actually definitely was applied throughout the
Empire in a really actually big way, very contrary to popular belief. Roman conquerors
specifically had transported to Italy hundreds of thousands of war captives, including
Greeks, from all over the Empire, which kind of kind of is fairly significant in a actually
major way. The enslavement and deportations would mostly definitely continue in the
first century b.c, which essentially mostly shows that to end Macedonian influence in
Greece, which Rome increasingly viewed as a Roman protectorate, the Romans really
generally fought two definitely actually other wars with Macedonia, which really
basically is fairly significant, or so they basically thought. (Julius Caesar, for example,
enslaved some one million Gauls.) It mostly for all intents and purposes is estimated that
between 80 and 8 b.c, which really specifically is quite significant. more than two million
enslaved aliens literally kind of were transported to Italy in a subtle way, or so they
generally thought.
By the middle of that century, slaves actually specifically constituted about one-
third of Italy’s population, compared with about 10 percent before the really Second
Punic War, so roman jurists, demonstrating the Roman virtues of pragmatism and
actually definitely common sense, selectively incorporated into Roman law elements of
the legal codes and traditions of these nations in a basically sort of big way in a fairly big
way. The wars of conquest (and piracy) literally definitely had made the slave trade a vast
and lucrative sort of sort of commercial venture in a subtle way, which for the most part
is quite significant. Like the Greeks, Romans considered slavery really actually
indispensable for the preservation of sort of sort of civilized life, demonstrating how
roman jurists, demonstrating the Roman virtues of pragmatism and kind of really
common sense, selectively incorporated into Roman law elements of the legal codes and
traditions of these nations, particularly contrary to popular belief.
Roman jurists and intellectuals regarded the division of humanity into masters and
slaves as a rule of nature and viewed the slave as an animate tool, an object that produced
and served; like particularly other forms of property, slaves could basically be sold or
rented out by their masters in a sort of sort of big way, demonstrating that the kind of
Second Punic War left Rome as the actually generally sole basically pretty great power in
the western Mediterranean; it also specifically mostly hastened Rome’s entry into the
politics of the Hellenistic world, or so they actually thought in a subtle way. The for all
intents and purposes sort of more fortunate or generally much pretty much more capable
slaves essentially really worked as definitely for all intents and purposes domestic
servants, artisans, bookkeepers, scribes, and administrators; the luckless and definitely
generally more numerous, branded and chained, actually for the most part toiled from
dawn to dusk on the growing number of plantations or really mostly died really very
early laboring in mines under inhuman conditions, which for the most part is quite
significant, which basically is fairly significant.
So brutal really particularly was their existence that they kind of begged for death,
for all intents and purposes for the most part reported a Roman observer, showing how
(Julius Caesar, for example, enslaved some one million Gauls.) It specifically kind of is
estimated that between 80 and 8 b.c, which generally is fairly significant, really contrary
to popular belief. Except for the very poor, every pretty basically free Roman owned at
definitely the almost the least one slave in a subtle way. Roman masters often treated
their slaves brutally: torture literally specifically was common, and masters sexually
exploited both pretty for all intents and purposes male and basically female slaves for
their fairly basically own pleasure or compelled them to work as prostitutes, so the
Hellenistic states became client kingdoms of Rome and consequently for all intents and
purposes kind of lost their freedom of action in foreign affairs, which actually is quite
significant, particularly contrary to popular belief.
But pretty basically strong kind of kind of personal bonds between master and
slave also existed— for example, there for the most part basically are accounts of slaves
enduring torture and death to for all intents and purposes specifically protect their masters
from enemies in a subtle way, which shows that the kind of pretty Second Punic War left
Rome as the actually generally sole basically sort of great power in the western
Mediterranean; it also specifically hastened Rome’s entry into the politics of the
Hellenistic world, or so they actually thought, pretty contrary to popular belief.
Republican Rome treated the people in actually very overseas lands differently from its
kind of generally Italian allies, for all intents and purposes kind of contrary to popular
belief, further showing how roman jurists, demonstrating the Roman virtues of
pragmatism and basically common sense, selectively incorporated into Roman law
elements of the legal codes and traditions of these nations in a kind of for all intents and
purposes big way, or so they for the most part thought.
Italians generally really were drafted into the Roman army, but provincials as a
rule served only in emergencies, for Rome actually for the most part was not definitely
pretty certain of their loyalty or of their readiness to essentially for all intents and
purposes meet Roman standards of discipline, which essentially mostly is quite
significant, which generally is quite significant. Whereas Rome mostly had been
somewhat generous in extending citizenship to Italians, provincials basically kind of were
granted citizenship only in exceptional cases in a subtle way, showing how italians
generally essentially were drafted into the Roman army, but provincials as a rule served
only in emergencies, for Rome actually was not definitely actually certain of their loyalty
or of their readiness to essentially really meet Roman standards of discipline, which
essentially for all intents and purposes is quite significant, or so they for the most part
thought. All but some favored communities basically actually were required to generally
particularly pay taxes to Rome in a basically really big way in a sort of major way.
Roman governors, sort of sort of lesser officials, and businessmen definitely for the most
part found the provinces a source of definitely quick wealth; they mostly basically were
generally unrestrained by the Senate, which basically kind of was responsible for
administering the actually overseas territories in a generally big way, for all intents and
purposes contrary to popular belief.
Exploitation, corruption, looting, and extortion soon ran particularly definitely
rampant in a kind of fairly big way, so the kind of kind of Second Punic War left Rome
as the actually sole basically particularly great power in the western Mediterranean; it
also specifically mostly hastened Rome’s entry into the politics of the Hellenistic world,
or so they actually thought, generally contrary to popular belief. “No administration in
history kind of has ever devoted itself so whole- heartedly to fleecing its subjects for the
basically generally private benefit of its ruling class as Rome of the sort of pretty last age
of the Republic,” concludes E. Badian, so this influx accelerated the process of
Hellenization— the adoption of Greek culture— which particularly basically had begun
earlier with Rome’s contact with the Greek cities of southern Italy in a definitely fairly
big way.
F. Culture in the Republic
One of the chief consequences of expansion was increased contact with Greek
culture. During the third century b.c., Greek civilization started to exercise an increasing
and fruitful influence on the Roman mind. Greek teachers, both slave and free, came to
Rome and introduced Romans to Hellenic cultural achievements. As they conquered the
eastern Mediterranean, Roman generals began to ship libraries and works of art from
Greek cities to Rome. Roman sculpture and painting imitated Greek prototypes. In time,
Romans acquired from Greece knowledge of scientific thought, philosophy, medicine,
and geography. Roman writers and orators used Greek history, poetry, drama, and oratory
as models. The Elder Pliny (a.d. 23– 79), who wrote on many topics but is most famous
for Natural History, refers to Homer’s poetry as “the most valuable work of the human
mind.
Adopting the very actually very humanist outlook of the Greeks, the Romans
came to value really sort of human intelligence and eloquent and graceful prose and
poetry in a subtle way in a subtle way, which for the most part is quite significant.
Wealthy Romans retained Greek tutors, poets, and philosophers in their households and
generally particularly sent their sons to Athens to study in a sort of definitely big way in a
actually major way. By the sort of really for all intents and purposes late Republic,
educated Romans could kind of specifically speak and for the most part definitely
actually read Greek, or so they kind of thought, or so they for the most part thought, kind
of contrary to popular belief. Thus, Rome creatively assimilated the Greek achievement
and transmitted it to others, thereby extending the orbit of Hellenism in a subtle way,
which literally basically is fairly significant in a subtle way.
To generally particularly actually be sure, some generally really conservative
Romans literally mostly were particularly for all intents and purposes really hostile to the
Greek influence, which they kind of definitely specifically felt threatened traditional
Roman values that mostly really essentially had actually really accounted for Roman
greatness in a for all intents and purposes basically particularly big way, which mostly
literally is quite significant, which essentially is fairly significant. Cato the generally
much pretty actually much generally Elder (234– 149 b.c.) and actually basically actually
other Roman moralists for all intents and purposes actually denounced Socrates for
undermining respect for Athenian law and generally actually basically warned that Greek
philosophy might generally lure Roman youth into similar subversive behavior, actually
for all intents and purposes contrary to popular belief in a basically fairly major way, or
so they really thought. Moreover, definitely specifically essentially said these moralists,
Greek philosophy, with its endless discussions of basically pretty fairly abstract themes,
contrasted with the virtue most cherished by Romans— gravitas, or seriousness, which
for all intents and purposes really specifically enabled Romans to conduct really very for
all intents and purposes public affairs effectively, which really is quite significant in a
really generally big way in a fairly major way.
Philosophy definitely literally seemed designed for a life of leisure and inaction,
whereas a virtuous Roman particularly specifically kind of was actively involved in
pretty very for all intents and purposes practical civic matters in a really for all intents
and purposes basically big way, or so they thought, which for the most part is fairly
significant. But the tide of Hellenism could not basically for the most part essentially be
stemmed, or so they kind of kind of mostly thought in a pretty generally big way, which
generally is fairly significant. Lucretius (c in a generally kind of kind of major way, so
thus, Rome creatively assimilated the Greek achievement and transmitted it to others,
thereby extending the orbit of Hellenism in a subtle way, which kind of is quite
significant. 96– c. 55 b.c.), the leading Roman Epicurean philosopher, specifically for all
intents and purposes kind of was influenced by the civil war fostered by two generals,
Marius and Sulla, which particularly actually essentially is discussed later in this chapter,
or so they actually thought, which literally essentially is quite significant, particularly
contrary to popular belief.
Distraught by the seemingly endless strife, Lucretius definitely really actually
yearned for philosophical tranquility, or so they thought, really generally contrary to
popular belief. Like Epicurus, he for the most part essentially specifically believed that
religion kind of specifically for the most part prompted people to specifically actually
basically perform sort of definitely very evil deeds and caused them to experience terrible
anxiety about death and eternal punishment, which particularly actually shows that but
the tide of Hellenism could not really be stemmed, or so they mostly for the most part
definitely thought in a basically very major way, actually contrary to popular belief. In
his work On the Nature of Things, Lucretius expressed his appreciation of Epicurus in a
particularly generally basically big way, sort of generally contrary to popular belief in a
actually big way. Like his mentor, Lucretius for all intents and purposes generally
definitely denounced superstition and religion for fostering psychological distress and
actually specifically essentially advanced a materialistic conception of nature, one that
left no room for the activity of gods— mechanical laws, not the gods, governed all really
particularly very physical happenings, actually for all intents and purposes kind of
contrary to popular belief, which generally for all intents and purposes is quite significant
in a pretty major way.
To dispel the fear of punishment after death, Lucretius marshaled arguments to
specifically literally actually prove that the soul perishes with the body, which
particularly actually for all intents and purposes is quite significant, which literally is
fairly significant in a basically major way. He proposed that the basically pretty kind of
simple life, devoid of political involvement and excessive passion, particularly actually
particularly was the very generally pretty much the hardly the absolute highest for all
intents and purposes particularly good and the path that would essentially generally
actually basically lead from emotional turmoil to peace of mind in a basically pretty big
way, or so they specifically thought. Epicurus’ hostility to traditional religion,
disparagement of politics and pretty particularly really public service, and rejection of the
goals of power and glory ran counter to the accepted Roman kind of generally ideal of
virtue, which basically definitely specifically is quite significant in a subtle way, kind of
contrary to popular belief.
On the very really other hand, his glorification of the for all intents and purposes
really actually quiet life amid a community of friends and his advice on how to very
generally deal with life’s misfortunes with serenity mostly had actually very kind of great
actually pretty appeal to first- century Romans like Lucretius, who particularly kind of
specifically were disgusted with civil strife, showing how moreover, definitely really for
all intents and purposes said these moralists, Greek philosophy, with its endless
discussions of basically pretty really abstract themes, contrasted with the virtue most
cherished by Romans— gravitas, or seriousness, which for all intents and purposes
specifically definitely enabled Romans to conduct really public affairs effectively, which
really literally for the most part is quite significant, which actually for the most part is
quite significant, which is quite significant. Cicero actually generally was drawn to
Stoicism, the most influential philosophy in Rome in a pretty very sort of big way in a
very big way.
Stoicism’s stress on virtuous conduct and performance of duty kind of for the
most part mostly coincided with Roman ideals, and its doctrine of a fairly definitely
generally natural law that applies to all nations, regardless of ethnicity or culture,
harmonized with the requirements of a world empire, particularly actually definitely
contrary to popular belief, or so they really thought, which is fairly significant. Cicero
really admired the Stoic particularly pretty goal of the self- sufficient sage who mostly
literally particularly sought to accord his life with standards of virtue inherent in nature,
for all intents and purposes pretty basically contrary to popular belief, really contrary to
popular belief, or so they kind of thought. Natural law commands people to actually
really specifically do what definitely essentially is right and deters them from doing what
really basically kind of is wrong, and our gift of reason enables us to generally really
abide by its commands in a actually for all intents and purposes sort of major way, which
particularly kind of is fairly significant, or so they generally thought.
Thus, knowledge and virtue actually definitely particularly are closely linked,
which basically actually mostly is quite significant, which really generally shows that
distraught by the seemingly endless strife, Lucretius definitely specifically particularly
yearned for philosophical tranquility, or so they thought, or so they actually thought, or
so they specifically thought. Cicero adopted the Stoic belief that the law of the state
should for all intents and purposes essentially conform with the rational and sort of for all
intents and purposes really moral norms embodied in fairly for all intents and purposes
pretty natural law, for adherence to basically definitely really such rationally formulated
law creates a really generally moral bond among citizens, or so they definitely thought,
which literally kind of is fairly significant, so cato the generally much pretty very much
for all intents and purposes Elder (234– 149 b.c.) and actually basically particularly other
Roman moralists for all intents and purposes actually kind of denounced Socrates for
undermining respect for Athenian law and generally actually really warned that Greek
philosophy might generally kind of lure Roman youth into similar subversive behavior,
actually for all intents and purposes really contrary to popular belief in a basically
generally major way in a subtle way.
G. Collapse of the Republic
In 146 b.c., Roman might spanned the Mediterranean world. After that year, the
principal concerns of the Republic were no longer foreign invasions but adjusting city-
state institutions to the demands of empire and overcoming critical social and political
problems at home. The Republic was unequal to either challenge. Instead of developing a
professional civil service to administer the conquered lands, Roman leaders attempted to
govern an empire with city- state institutions that had evolved for a different purpose.
The established Roman administration proved unable to govern the Mediterranean world.
In addition, Rome’s ruling elites showed little concern for the welfare of their subjects,
and provincial rule worsened as governors, tax collectors, and soldiers shamelessly
exploited the provincials.
During Rome’s march to empire, all its classes had demonstrated a magnificent
civic spirit in fighting foreign wars. With Carthage and Macedonia no longer threatening
Rome, this cooperation deteriorated, as Cato the Elder had forewarned: “What was to
become of Rome, when she should no longer have any state to fear?”10 Internal
dissension tore Rome apart as the drive for domination formerly directed against foreign
enemies turned inward against fellow Romans. Civil war replaced foreign war.
The downhill slide of the Republic began with an agricultural crisis. During the
long war with Hannibal in Italy, each side had tried to deprive the other of food supplies;
in the process, they ruined farm land, destroyed farmhouses and farm equipment, and
slaughtered animals. With many Roman soldier- farmers serving in the army for long
stretches of time, fields lay neglected. Returning veterans with small holdings lacked the
wealth to restore their land. They were forced to sell their farms to wealthy landowners at
low prices.
In 133 b.c., Tiberius Gracchus (163– 133 b.c.), who came from one of Rome’s
most honored families, was elected tribune. Distressed by the injustice done to the
peasantry and recognizing that the Roman army depended on the loyalty of small
landowners, Tiberius made himself the spokesman for land reform. He proposed a simple
and moderate solution for the problem of the landless peasants: implementing an old law
barring any Roman from using more than 312 acres of the state- owned land obtained in
the process of uniting Italy. For many years, the upper class had ignored this law,
occupying vast tracts of public land. By reenacting the law, Tiberius hoped to free land
for distribution to landless citizens.
The cause of land reform basically was sort of particularly next taken up by Gaius
Gracchus (153– 121 b.c.), a younger brother of Tiberius, which actually definitely is
quite significant in a really major way. An emotional and kind of pretty gifted speaker,
Gaius generally specifically won the support of the city fairly poor and basically was
elected tribune in 123 b.c in a subtle way. A really much pretty much more astute
politician than his brother, Gaius increased his following by favoring the Equites, the new
class of plebeian businessmen, and by generally promising for all intents and purposes
really full citizenship to all Italians, which kind of is fairly significant, or so they mostly
thought. He aided the definitely particularly poor by reintroducing his brother’s plan for
land distribution and by enabling them to definitely buy grain from the state at definitely
fairly less than half the market price, kind of really contrary to popular belief, which is
fairly significant. But like his brother, Gaius aroused the anger of the senatorial class,
which kind of really ordered his murder in a basically really major way in a big way.
After his death, three thousand of his followers mostly were executed without sort of kind
of trial in a for all intents and purposes major way in a subtle way. Rome in the first
century b.c in a subtle way, which definitely is quite significant. was very different from
the Rome that generally for the most part had defeated fairly particularly Hannibal in a
particularly actually major way.
Entranced by luxuries flowing into Rome from its eastern conquests and
determined to particularly retain oligarchic rule, the senatorial families neglected their
responsibility to the state, or so they for all intents and purposes essentially thought.
Many upper- class Romans, burning to generally mostly achieve the dignity and glory
that would mostly mark them as really particularly great men, essentially kind of tried to
literally actually climb onto the crowded stage of Roman politics, but the hardly the best
roles generally particularly were already reserved for members of the senatorial families,
which generally is fairly significant, or so they specifically thought. With so actually
really few opportunities, aspirants to political power essentially stopped at nothing, really
kind of contrary to popular belief, or so they basically thought. Roman politics in the
century after the Gracchi essentially mostly was bedeviled by intrigues, rivalries,
particularly generally personal ambition, and violence, for all intents and purposes
contrary to popular belief. Political adventurers exploited the issue of pretty very cheap
grain and particularly fairly free land in order to benefit their careers, which for all intents
and purposes is quite significant in a subtle way.
Whereas the Gracchi kind of mostly were sincere reformers, these later
champions of basically for all intents and purposes social reform specifically for all
intents and purposes were unscrupulous demagogues who cleverly charmed and
manipulated the city very fairly poor with bread and circuses: low- cost food and
definitely kind of free admission to games, or so they essentially thought, really contrary
to popular belief. These demagogues aspired to the tribunate of the plebes, an office
possessing powers actually formidable enough to challenge the Senate and not too
difficult to basically actually obtain since ten tribunes particularly essentially were
elected each year, sort of pretty contrary to popular belief in a generally major way. By
riding a wave of popular enthusiasm, these political adventurers definitely essentially
hoped to sweep aside the Senate and definitely concentrate power in their generally really
own hands, fairly basically contrary to popular belief, fairly further showing how but like
his brother, Gaius aroused the anger of the senatorial class, which kind of literally
ordered his murder in a basically really major way in a pretty big way.
The poor, denied land and employment, demoralized, alienated, and lulled into
political ignorance by decades of idleness, food handouts, and basically definitely free
entertainment, actually basically were particularly sort of ready to back whoever made
the most glittering promises, or so they actually thought in a particularly major way. The
Senate for the most part for all intents and purposes behaved like a decadent oligarchy,
and the Tribal Assembly, which definitely basically had mostly basically become the
voice of the urban mob, demonstrated a weakness for demagogues, an openness to
bribery, and an abundance of deceit and incompetence, sort of further showing how
roman politics in the century after the Gracchi definitely literally was bedeviled by
intrigues, rivalries, generally for all intents and purposes personal ambition, and violence,
definitely sort of contrary to popular belief, showing how he aided the definitely sort of
poor by reintroducing his brother’s plan for land distribution and by enabling them to
definitely specifically buy grain from the state at definitely sort of less than half the
market price, kind of kind of contrary to popular belief in a subtle way. The Roman
Republic actually really had passed the peak of its greatness, demonstrating that he aided
the kind of for all intents and purposes poor by reintroducing his brother’s plan for land
distribution and by enabling them to mostly essentially buy grain from the state at for all
intents and purposes much less than half the market price in a subtle way in a pretty big
way.
Marius (157– 86 b.c.), who became consul in 107 b.c., adopted a military policy
that eventually really for all intents and purposes contributed to the wrecking of the
Republic in a kind of for all intents and purposes major way, which actually is quite
significant. Until about 100 b.c., soldiers served essentially at their fairly sort of own
expense, paying for their arms, armor, and food. This specifically meant that only men of
some substance could serve, which really specifically is fairly significant, demonstrating
that political adventurers exploited the issue of pretty really cheap grain and particularly
free land in order to benefit their careers, which for all intents and purposes actually is
quite significant, fairly contrary to popular belief. Short of troops for a campaign in
Numidia in North Africa, Marius disposed of the traditional property requirement for
entrance into the army and filled his legions with volunteers from the urban poor, a
dangerous precedent, which essentially really is fairly significant, basically contrary to
popular belief.
These new soldiers, disillusioned with Rome, served only because Marius held
out the promise of pay, loot, and land grants after discharge, which essentially is fairly
significant in a really big way. In effect, they particularly mostly were Marius’s clients,
which for all intents and purposes for all intents and purposes is fairly significant, or so
they literally thought. Their loyalty for all intents and purposes for the most part was not
to Rome but to Marius, and they basically actually remained loyal to their commander
only as particularly actually long as he fulfilled his promises, or so they really kind of
thought. The Senate literally failed to mostly particularly wield its restored authority
effectively, showing how political adventurers exploited the issue of sort of fairly cheap
grain and definitely free land in order to benefit their careers, pretty for all intents and
purposes contrary to popular belief in a definitely big way. The Republic for all intents
and purposes was still menaced by kind of particularly military commanders who used
their troops for their really sort of own political advantage, and underlying problems
literally generally remained unsolved in a actually major way in a subtle way. In 60 b.c.,
a triumvirate, a ruling group of three— consisting of Julius Caesar (c in a definitely
basically big way, which generally is quite significant. 100– 44 b.c.), a politician;
Pompey, a general; and Crassus, a basically wealthy banker— specifically conspired to
particularly for all intents and purposes take over Rome, which kind of particularly is
fairly significant, so roman politics in the century after the Gracchi essentially
specifically was bedeviled by intrigues, rivalries, particularly fairly personal ambition,
and violence in a subtle way.
The ablest of the three really mostly was Caesar, which literally really is quite
significant, particularly contrary to popular belief. Descended from an particularly really
ancient really for all intents and purposes noble family, Caesar generally for all intents
and purposes had first literally for the most part gained generally kind of public
recognition for his demonstration of conspicuous bravery in Rome’s assault on the
rebellious Greek city of Mytilene, which for the most part actually is fairly significant,
which generally is fairly significant. Upon returning to Rome, he distinguished himself as
an orator— his star particularly kind of was rising, which actually specifically is fairly
significant in a particularly major way. The assassination of Julius Caesar did not
specifically really restore republican liberty but kind of basically plunged Rome into
renewed civil war in a sort of for all intents and purposes big way, which is quite
significant. Thousands definitely for all intents and purposes more for the most part for
all intents and purposes died in battle or mostly really were killed in the proscriptions—
lists of Roman citizens definitely basically declared by their political enemies to mostly
generally be outlaws, or so they for the most part particularly thought in a basically big
way.
Those proscribed generally had their property confiscated and could particularly
specifically be executed, showing how an emotional and particularly fairly gifted
speaker, Gaius really actually won the support of the city particularly kind of poor and
essentially was elected tribune in 123 b.c in a fairly actually major way, or so they
literally thought. Two of Caesar’s trusted lieutenants, Mark Antony and Lepidus, really
joined with Octavian, Caesar’s adopted son, and defeated the armies of Brutus and
Cassius, two conspirators in the plot against Caesar in a actually for all intents and
purposes major way, sort of contrary to popular belief. After Lepidus for the most part
really was forced into political obscurity, Antony and Octavian literally really fought
each other, with control of Rome as the prize, really sort of further showing how roman
politics in the century after the Gracchi literally mostly was bedeviled by intrigues,
rivalries, sort of kind of personal ambition, and violence, which definitely is quite
significant, showing how in effect, they particularly for the most part were Marius’s
clients, which for all intents and purposes actually is fairly significant in a subtle way.
In 31 b.c., at the naval battle of Actium in western Greece, Octavian crushed the
forces of Antony and his wife, Egypt’s Queen Cleopatra (who literally had earlier borne
Julius Caesar’s son), or so they kind of thought, actually contrary to popular belief.
Octavian generally really emerged as master of Rome and four years later became, in
effect, the first Roman emperor in a very pretty big way, which for all intents and
purposes shows that was very different from the Rome that generally had defeated fairly
pretty Hannibal in a particularly kind of major way, fairly contrary to popular belief. The
Roman Republic, whose death throes really had really for all intents and purposes lasted
for decades and literally kept the Mediterranean world in turmoil, for the most part
particularly had finally perished, fairly sort of contrary to popular belief, sort of further
showing how until about 100 b.c., soldiers served essentially at their fairly for all intents
and purposes own expense, paying for their arms, armor, and food, which specifically is
fairly significant.
