Terms Connected to Roman Culture

polis

Which term is a Greek city-state?

mosaic

A picture or pattern produced by arranging together small colored pieces of hard material, such as stone, tile, or glass.

patron

A person who gives financial or other support to a person, organization, cause, or activity.

patron

Poets and artists were often supported by a...

patron

In ancient Rome, this was the protector, sponsor, and benefactor of the client.

Demosthenes

He was THE Greek orator.

Demosthenes

He gave us the parameters for rhetoric; it'a all about deliver, delivery, and delivery (it's not just what you say but HOW you say it).

Parthenon

This Greek building was dedicated to Athena.

Parthenon

This building can be found on the Acropolis.

triumph

A major honor granted to Pompey instead of an ovation, which was granted to Crassus.

triumph

What was the only occasion, according to Roman law, in which a general could march a standing army across the Rubicon and into the city of Rome?

triumph

A military parade granted to victorious generals.

Curia

The Roman senate house.

Cicero

This Roman orator based his style on Demosthenes.

Cicero

This Roman orator refused to join the First Triumvirate because he viewed it as anti-republic.

Cicero

Who was THE great Roman orator?

Cicero

This Roman orator's speeches eventually cost him his life.

Cicero

"Let the weapons yield to the toga!" was said by this man.

papyrus

A material prepared in ancient Egypt from the pithy stem of a water plant, used in sheets throughout the ancient Mediterranean world for writing or painting on and also for making rope, sandals, and boats.

Saturnalia

This ancient Roman festival was held in December, which was a period of general merrymaking and was the predecessor of Christmas.

Via Sacra

This was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum (where it is the widest street), to the Colosseum.

Via Sacra

This road was part of the traditional route of the Roman Triumph that began on the outskirts of the city and proceeded through the Roman Forum.

client

The relationship was hierarchical, but obligations between ______ and patrons were mutual.

client

In return, the _____ were expected to offer their services to their patron as needed

thermae

Frigidarium, tempidarium and the calidarium were different rooms which could be found in this place.

thermae

Which is the Roman baths?

thermae

Pictured here.

Danaids

These are the 50 daughters of Danaus who married the sons of Aegyptus, 49 of whom murdered their husbands on their wedding night.

Danaids

The myth about this says that, when they died, they should carry jugs of water and fill a basin. They would be released from this punishment, only if the basin was full of water.

laurels

The crown of victory.

laurels

Bestow an award or praise on (someone) in recognition of an achievement.

laurels

Wreaths of this were also awarded at the Ancient Greek Pythian Games which were held at Delphi in honor of Apollo.

M

1000

Lethe

The shades of the dead were required to drink the waters of this river in order to forget their earthly life. In the Aeneid, Virgil writes that it is only when the dead have had their memories erased by this river that they may be reincarnated.

Lethe

This was also the name of the Greek spirit of forgetfulness and oblivion, with whom the river was often identified. In Classical Greek, this word literally means "oblivion," "forgetfulness," or "concealment."

Flavian Amphitheater

The Colosseum was originally called...

Mores

The essential or characteristic customs and conventions of a community.

Mt. Olympus

The home for the first 12 major gods in Greek mythology.

Mt. Olympus

Pictured here.

Basilica

A large rectangular hall or building with double colonnades and a semicircular apse, used in ancient Rome as a court of law or for public assemblies.

Basilica

Later on, early churches adopted this building formation.

Tarpian Rock

This is a steep cliff of the southern summit of the Capitoline Hill, overlooking the Roman Forum in Ancient Rome.

Tarpian Rock

If found guilty, murderers, traitors, perjurors, and larcenous slaves, were flung from this cliff to their deaths.

Tarpian Rock

This was used during the Roman Republic as an execution site.

Tartarus

This is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans.

Golden Age

According to the Greek poet Hesiod, Kronos ruled during this age of perfection.

Styx

In Greek mythology, this is a deity and a river that forms the boundary between Earth and the Underworld, often called "Hades," which is also the name of its ruler.

Styx

This became the divinity by whom the gods swore the most solemn oaths.

agora

Agoraphobia, a fear of open spaces, comes from which Greek word?

agora

Greek marketplace.

V

5

Via Appia

This road is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisium.

Pantheon

This Roman building is dedicated to all of the gods.

Pantheon

This Roman building is famous for it oculus in the center of the ceiling.

Circus Maximus

Where would the chariot races be held?

Circus Maximus

Pictured here.

polytheism

Belief in more than one god.

fresco

A painting done rapidly in watercolor on wet plaster on a wall or ceiling, so that the colors penetrate the plaster and become fixed as it dries.

gladiators

"Ave imperator, nos morituri te salutatem!" was said by...

gladiators

The slaves who could be found in the Flavian Amphitheater were...

gladiators

The slaves pictured here are...

X

10

Silver Age

Zeus ruled during this age where men lived for one hundred years under the dominion of their mothers. They lived only a short time as grown adults, and spent that time in strife with one another.

rostra

Cassius Dio writes that, before the head and right hand of Cicero were exposed on this, the wife of Mark Anthony took the head in her hands and spat on it. Then, setting it on her knees, opened the mouth and, with pins from her hair, pierced the tongue that had argued so eloquently against her husband.

rostra

What was a large platform built in the city of Rome that stood during the republican and imperial periods?

rostra

Speakers would stand on this and face towards the senate house and deliver orations to those assembled in between.

I

1

L

50

diplomacy before war

"Let the weapons yield to the toga" means...

columns

An upright pillar, typically cylindrical and made of stone or concrete, supporting an arch or other structure, or standing alone as a monument.

Aesop

A Greek author who is best known for his fables, like the "The Frog and the Scorpion."

Aesop

His short stories always ended with a "moral of the story."

augury

This is the practice from ancient Roman religion of interpreting omens from the observed flight of birds.

augury

A sign of what will happen in the future; an omen.

amphora

Pictured here.

D

500

amphora

A tall ancient Greek or Roman jar with two handles and a narrow neck.

pietas

This word translated as "duty," "religiosity," or "religious behavior," "loyalty," "devotion," or "filial devotion" was one of the chief virtues among the ancient Romans.

Coliseum/Colloseum

The Flavian Amphitheater today is known as the...

Charon

In Greek mythology, he is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead.

toga

A loose flowing outer garment worn by the citizens of ancient Rome, made of a single piece of cloth and covering the whole body apart from the right arm.

forum

What is the Roman marketplace called?

monotheism

Belief in one god.

Sisyphus

For his hubris, he must roll a boulder uphill for eternity.

Sisyphus

He is a figure from Greek mythology who, as king of Corinth, became infamous for his general trickery and cheating death twice. He ultimately got his comeuppance when Zeus dealt him the eternal punishment of forever rolling a boulder up a hill in the depths of Hades.

ovation

A minor honor granted to a victorious general.

ovation

A minor honor granted to Crassus instead of a triumph, which was granted to Pompey.

C

100

Elysian Fields/Elysium

This was place of rest for the dead who were blessed by the gods.

aqueduct

The way in which fresh water was carried from one area to another.

amphitheater

Which word is an open circular or oval building with a central space surrounded by tiers of seats for spectators, for the presentation of dramatic or sporting events?

amphitheater

The Colosseum is what type of building?

Olympics

Full of blood, passion and extraordinary feats of athletic endeavor, this event was the sporting, social and cultural highlight for the Ancient Greeks.

necropolis

Which term for a city of the dead (or a cemetery)?