Archive for 'Roman culture'
Roman mythology I Posted by leire on Apr 30, 2012
Roman mythology meets the beliefs, rituals and other practices pertaining to supernatural realm that ancient Roman people held or did since the ancient period until Christianity absorbed definitely the religions of the Roman Empire in the early Middle Ages. PRIESTS The Roman religion was very ritualistic and had many priests in charge of the rites…
Latin literature VIII: Novel Posted by leire on Mar 29, 2012
Novel The novel was a minor genre cultivated late. In Rome Petronius with his Satyricon (1st century AD.) and Apuleius with his Golden Ass (2nd century AD.) had a great influence on posterity. With Satyricon Petronius got a totally new and original work, which suited well to the tastes of the time and perfectly represented…
Latin literature VII: Oratory Posted by leire on Mar 28, 2012
The oratory was for the ancient the art of persuading people through speaking correctly. His teaching and techniques are called rhetoric. In Rome, following the models of classical Athens, oratory took on enormous importance. From the 2nd century BC. Rome hosted a large number of Greek rhetoricians, while some Romans traveled to Greece to learn…
Latin literature V: Historians Posted by leire on Mar 22, 2012
Historians: The first Latin historians we know began to write some History in the form of Annals in the last third of the 3rd century BC. In the 1st century B.C. in time of Sulla, the first great authors that changed the course of Latin historiography were born: Caesar and Sallust. With these two authors…
Latin literature IV: Lyric Posted by leire on Mar 20, 2012
Lyric This poetic genre includes diverse forms and themes. Most of the times the common subjects are about the private sphere of human beings, in contrast to the epic in which the subject is marked by a public or social man. Lyric was the poetry played on the lyre, hence its name, and it was…
Latin literature III: Epic Posted by leire on Mar 13, 2012
Epic The epic was born in Greece at a time that is lost in the mists of time. The world it evokes and recalls the Iliad and the Odyssey is the Mycenaean world, but the poems, as have reached us, were written many centuries later, about 8th century BC. They are the first literary works…
Latin literature II Posted by leire on Feb 29, 2012
Literary genres Classical literature was divided into various literary genres, which remain to these days. However, the scope of this concept has changed: in Greece and Rome genres had a clear formal distinction, no one could write a play with dactylic hexameter verses. The formal distinction between genders was sharp and did not affect only…