Ancient Athens.

Must use Perspectives from the past Primary Sources in Western Civilizations textbook, By: James Brophy-Joshua cole-John Robertson-Thomas Max Safley-Carol Symes (Volume one) 7th edition

Your submitted Essay should address/answer, as completely as possible, the topic of your choice for those listed below. Your essay must be between 600-750 words in length and make use of at least one (1) cited reference from the appropriate section/chapter of the assigned Cole/Symes textbook and one (1) cited reference from an appropriate primary document reader, Perspectives from the Past, or another appropriate source. Any additional, outside resources should be limited to no more than two and must be of an appropriate scholarly nature. This is not required, but additional sources may serve to strengthen your argument, demonstrate your understanding of the topic/issue under analysis, and could serve to ‘boost’ the final evaluation of your essay. (100 points possible)

— The Struggle of the Orders in Rome refers to what and what were the social and political consequences of this ‘struggle.’ A complete answer will consider the significance of ‘Republican’ institutions like the Comitia Curiata and the position of the Tribune.

— The story of the founding of Rome that became popular in the late Republic is in many ways demonstrative of how Roman “historians” attempted to tie the history of Rome to that of Greece. Explain how this is the case and what it meant for the expanding Mediterranean World.

— From the ‘traditional’ beginning of the Roman Republic in 509, Romans took up a policy of preventive war to thwart perceived threats to the Republic starting with the Etruscans. Arguably this led even to war with the Carthaginian Empire, and, ironically the initial creation of what would come to be the Roman Empire. The simple question is why and how?

— In many ways, the political structure of the Greek polis was too rigid to withstand the rigors of war. Discuss the Hellenistic Age and how the spread of Greek culture was made possible by the militant cosmopolitanism of Alexander rather than the rigid structure of the insular Greek polis.

–Describe the political, social, and economic life of ancient Athens.

–The Hellenistic Age was a 300-year period during which ‘Greek culture’ became the elite culture of the Mediterranean and Near East world. What does this mean and what, arguably is ironic about the elite-status of Greek culture during the period?

–Rather than the restrictive and exclusive form of ‘citizenship’ that developed in Athens; the Romans developed a concept of citizenship that was both expansive and inclusive that helped them in building a secure and loyal Italian-wide Republic capable of resisting military threats. Even into the age of the Roman Empire, citizenship remained a ‘prize’ of great worth for those who were awarded the privileged status. A complete answer will consider the role of political ‘categories’ like ‘Civitas sine Suffragio’ in this process but the question is why and how was managed?

–Despite initially being a religion of the lower-classes, Christianity quickly became an important part of the Roman Empire and would become ‘vehicle’ that brought the Roman and Germanic elites together in creating the European ‘Western’ world. How?

–Why was the Council of Nicea so significant in the developmental history of Christianity?

–Theodoric, King of Italy, was reputed to have said that all Germans wanted to be Romans, only poor Romans would desire to be German. What did he mean by this and what did it suggest in the ‘marriage’ of the two peoples and cultures?