CLAS132 Roman Civilization Final Exam Vocab

populares

politicians in the late Roman Republic who appealed to the masses and pushed for reforms benifiting common people

Maecenas

Close advisor to Augustus and major patron of poets like Vergil and Horace

Nero

Julio-claudian emperor know fro extravegance

Optimates

Conservative Roman political faction that supported senatorial power and the aristocracy

Vergil

Romal poet who wrote The Aenied

Great Fire of Rome

massive fire of 64 CE that destroyed much of the city during Neros reign

Proscriptions

list of enemies published by the state

Trojan War

Legendary Greek-Roman conflict

Domus Aurea

Neros lavish "Golden House" palace built after the great fire

First Triumvarite

Informal alliance of Caesar

Homer

Ancient Greek poet tradtionaly credited with composing the Illiad and Odyssey

Trimalchio

A wealthy

Second Triumvirate

Legal three man government of Octavian

Aeneas

Trojan hero of the Aeneid and legendary founder of Rome

Ides of March

March 15

Dido

queen of Carthage who falls in love with Aenead in the Aeneid

Triumph

a ceremonial victory procession awarded to successful Roman generals

Battle of Phillipi

42 BCE battle where Antony and Octavian defeated Caesar's assasins

Turnus

Leader of the Rutulians and Aeneas's main adversary in Italy in the Aeneid

Colosseum

Romes massive ampitheater used for gladiator fights and public spectacles

Battle of Actium

31 BCE naval battle where Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra

Lavinia

Daughter of Latinus; Aeneas's future wife and symbolic link between Trojans and Romans

Gladiators

trained fighters who performjed combat in Roman arenas for entertainment

Augustus

Romes first emperor; established the Principate and ushered the Pax Romana

Horace

Roman poet known for odes

Pompeii

Roman town buried and preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE

Prinicpate

the first phase of the Roman Empire in which emperors maintained the facade of republican rule

Roman Elegy

a poetic genre using couplets

Vesuvius

volcano near Naples whose eruption in 79 CE destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum

Princeps

"first citizen"; a modest sounding title used by Augustus to avoid appearing monarchial

Sulpicia

the only extant female poet from ancient Rome known for her love elegies

Necropolis

"city of the dead"; large burial grounds outside of Roman cities

Imperium

the legal authority to command armies

Ovid

Roman poet

Pliny the Elder

scholar and author of Natural History; died investigating the eruption of Vesuvius

Auctoritas

moral prestige and authority earned through reputation and service

Julian Laws

Augustus's social legislation promoting marriage

Pliny the Younger

Roman lawyer and author whose letters describe daily life and the eruption of Vesuvius

Marcus Agrippa

Augustus's top general

Pantheon

monumental Roman temple (rebuilt under Hadrian) famous for its massive concrete dome

Parthia

powerful eastern empire and major rival of Rome located in modern Iran

Ara Pacis

alter of Augustan Peace celebrating Augustus's achievements and the stability that he brought

Trajan

emperor known for military expansion

Apollodorus of Damascus

Architect of Trajan's forum

Germania

region inhabited by Germanic tribes north of the Roman frontier

Pax Romana

"roman peace"; the golden age of Rome due to it being a period of long stability and prosperity starting under Augustus

Trajan's Market

large complex of shops and offices forming part of Trajan's Forum

Livy (Titus Livius)

Historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome

Livia

wife of Augustus; influential political figure in the early empire

Trajan's Column

Monument decorating with a spiraling narritive of Trajan;s Dacian Wars

Julio-Claudian Dynasty

the first imerpial dynasty

Thermae

large Roman public bath complexes including pools

Tacitus

Roman senator and historian known for Annals and Histories; critical of imperial corruption

Praetorian Guard

elite soldiers who protected the emperor and influenced Roman politics

Strigil

a curved metal tool used to scrape dirt and oil from the skin in Roman bathing

Faces

bundle of rods with an axe symbolizing a Roman magistrate's authority and power