"Bare Necessities"

Let's start with the bare facts. In order to have complete appreciation for a Civilization, especially one such as Ancient Rome, it is imperative to have a knowledge of all the aspects of that civilization. For example, the art of Rome can oftentimes be of a questionable nature. But, it is important to have a full exposure (no pun intended) of the various styles and forms of expression.

In 1998, President Bateman prohibited the display of Rodin's The Kiss in which Rodin represents the story of the lustful Francesca and Paolo. This story which is found in Dante's The Inferno is a prominent story that explains the “rules” of love and courtship for the Romans. The controversy enveloping the statue was that of nudity and portraying and sending sexual messages.

Because of this, one of the main reasons that The Kiss was banned, was for the benefit of children who may have entered into the exhibit with their families. Although this presented a good case, there were a few options that could have been taken to still allow the statue to be shown. There could have most definitely been warnings prior for families entering into the exhibit stating that some depictions could leave things up to the imagination and were therefore unsuitable for children. This would have left it up to the parents to decide whether or not to expose their children to nude artwork. It's not like people didn't know what they were getting into; Roman art is well known for nudity.

The Kiss should have been displayed, if for no other reason, in order to depict the master skill of Rodin and what he made with his hands, which was the theme of the exhibit anyways. By exposing people to all forms of art, one is able to learn and understand culture and explain customs and beliefs that different society contains. You can not ever please everyone and sometimes when the educational aspect is threatened, the verdict, even if it seems offensive, ought to be in favor with the opposed

*disclaimer: This was extremely difficult, because I agreed with President Bateman's argument in the first place. * 

5 Social-Problems of U.S.

1. censorship

2. welfare

3. media (value demoralization)

4. same-sex marriage

5. health-care reform

“I Heard it Through the Grapevine”

Can you believe what Dido did with Aeneas? Holy smokes, I thought she was supposed to be some independent woman that said no to every guy that came her way…

Rumors…. Well, I’m pretty sure that everyone has heard one form or another of gossip in their time. In fact, I’m pretty sure that we hear rumors almost every single day. Whether it be the latest news in celebrities, or the backgrounds of politicians; it could even be a comment on someone’s choice of outfit for the day.  Needless to say, our culture almost thrives on rumors. It’s how we ‘learn’ of things even if they are completely false.

I guess way back in the day rumors were pretty common too because Virgil gives an intriguing description of “Rumour” in his work The Aeneid . This description takes up 25 lines and is so condensed with description that it really caught my eye. First and foremost, “Rumour” is personified, but that’s not why it is interesting. “Rumour” is a woman.  At first this made me a think, “well that’s a little harsh” but in all actuality, women are experts at feeding gossip and soaking it in as well.  Just to clarify, I’m not saying all women enjoy this, but truth is, when was the last time you heard a guy say, “Dude, did you hear about…” unless it has to do with sports that’s factual information? Even then, that could be considered a very benign form of gossip. But more commonly, when girls catch up somewhere in the conversation gossip occurs, even if it is harmless gossip. And that’s the thing, gossip and rumors can be “fact and fiction mixed in equal parts” (The Aeneid, book 1, ln 191-192).

Another thing that stood out was that apparently Virgil understood and perhaps even ran into rumors that were malignant. He describes “Rumour” being a “foul goddess” and being “quick of foot and swift on the wing, a huge and horrible monster”, someone who delights in fuel anger and “thrives on movement and gathers strength as she goes”. (The Aeneid; lns. 176-177, 182-3, 196) I think it’s really amazing how Virgil was able to create an image of rumors in a way that is perfectly correct. Rumors that we know now-a-days can be interspersed with truth and can cause fear and never rests. Virgil paints the image as “Rumour….never lowers her eyelids in sweet sleep…..causes fear in great cities, holding fast to her lies and distortions as often as she tells the truth” (The Aeneid; lns. 187, 189-190).

I believe that rumors are as old as there have been humans on Earth and it truly will never “lower her eyelids” (ln. 187) but I also believe that we can prevent it from overcoming our lives and we can all be a little better in watching what we say and also what we believe. Virgil wasn’t too far off base giving “Rumour” her own section, because it really is a big part of life and could be argued and dissected much more than this post gives it justice.  So, the next time someone asks you if you’ve heard about such and such thing, I hope you remember good ol’ Virgil was warning you about that very thing that seems to never end. 

"Would ya look at that?"

The good ol' Romans and U.S. have some striking parallels in many different ways. Here are a few that I have discovered. 


1. "Cities, they argued, as well as all other things, take their rise from the lowliest beginnings" (an excerpt from T.Livius) Rome much like the U.S. didn't start out being a super power. As Livy wrote about the founding of Rome, it came from multiple little steps and multiple generations in order for it to become the Rome we think about today. The U.S. in a very similar way has grown to become how it is today. It started out small and then after multiple generations and little steps we generated our freedom.


2. Going along with the founding, the Romans celebrated their founding day, April 21, yearly calling it Lupercalia (Roman Art slide*). We just celebrated the 4th of July! For the United States this is "Independence Day" and the day we say we founded our own nation apart from other influences. The Romans apparently deemed their founding as important as we do ours!




 3. S.P.Q.R* vs. J.E.L.
Well the Romans established a Republic and had a system of ruling where the people had a say in decisions and whatnot. Even though there was usually a head-honcho, for example Caesar Augustus, they did not call themselves kings. This reminds me a lot of our 3 branches of government today. The Judicial, Executive, and Legislative branches creates our type of republic were we have a say in matters too, and although J.E.L isn't found on many things literally, most things in our life have been influenced by those three branches. 

U.S. Road 

Roman Road

4. Well if you refer to the picture above, you can see that the Romans believed in safety as they obviously had sidewalks too! Well, that may or may not be true but the Romans did have quite the road system. Many of their ancient roads were the basis of many roads now in that area*.  They were designed much like ours for the purpose of getting from one place to the next the most conveniently. 


5. One thing I am grateful for is our sewage and plumbing systems in the U.S. Although it sounds like a strange thing to be grateful for, I have been to places where it was next to non-existent and well it made the living conditions not as comfortable. I feel as if the Romans also appreciated their sewage systems, because they put in a lot of effort in building aqueducts to provide running water in order to fulfill that purpose along with many others.*


*Source: Sister Insalaco's Roman Art slideshow

Separate but Equal...

No, this blog post has nothing to do with the segregation laws and the Civil Rights movement, although, that is a fascinating time period. The phrase though, separate but equal, can be used to explain the role of women in Early Greek History. With the tales of the heroes and the glory of war, oftentimes we forget to look at what role the women had. Therefore, they are usually left in the background, yet they are mentioned often enough that they must have had some role in society.  

I mean, let’s take a look at Penelope, Odysseus wife. She must have been something special and important to Odysseus if he spent ten years trying to get back to her. When he finally returns to Ithaca, poor Penelope fearing a trick asks Odysseus a question which would prove his true identity. She states to the servant, “move the sturdy bedstead out of our bridal chamber –/that room the master built with own hands.” (the Odyssey, book 23, lns 198-99) She says this knowing that the true Odysseus would know that there was no way you could move the bed he built. She shows her wit is comparable to Odysseus’ who is known as being extremely clever (i.e, my name is Nothing).

Not only do we see that Greek women were comparable in smarts, we also read of their beauty. I mean, seriously, the Gods oftentimes “fell” for mortal women that were beautiful, Zeus, God of Gods, probably the most. In times of war, once one side conquered they would plunder and divide gifts of which women would be considered a prize with the most beautiful usually going to the Commander. They were considered great “gifts” as we learn when Achilles’ honor is wounded when he has to give up his girl (Iliad)

Then of course we learn that even though they were fairly equal they still carried a very domestic role. The princess of Phaeacia, Nausicaa, was at the river doing laundry. (Odyssey)  I mean, you have someone that is royalty that is cleaning clothes. Also, in the Underworld all the women introduced themselves as “I am…mother of….”  The role of child-bearing and nurturing was also an apparent important role to the Greeks when it came to women.  There were obvious distinguishing duties of men and women.

I think these roles of Greek women are still very relevant in society today. Women can be comparable to men intelligence-wise. There are many women that are equal in the work force and oftentimes even excel. But, even in the home, many people I know that are dating and then eventually married usually are with a partner that they are compatible with. Most times you can just look at them or listen to them and think, “Oh, that’s why you two are together. You just fit.” Then beauty is still an important cultural item. There is such a push and expectation for women to be beautiful. Thank goodness we are all beautiful in different ways and to different people. Then most important, mothers are still an essential role in today’s society. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. (The Family: Proclamation to the World) Basically I think the Greeks weren’t too far off from what we think and see women as today. We can be considered separate because we have different roles but they are still equal in importance to men.  Besides, we hold our own pretty well I’d say. :)