ebook - the ancient world (7 of 7).pdf - 1. Ancient music - Trigon

Chapter Seven - The Roman Emperors

The Appian Way To-Day

Named after the magistrate who began it, the censor Appius Claudius, it was the first and most important of the great Roman roads. It ran from Rome south-

east to Capua and Brindisi.

A. Rome Under The Caesars

Octavian was descended from a middle-class Italian family, and held the moderate views to be expected from such an origin. He did not altogether agree with

his uncle's drastic changes. It seemed wrong to him to have men from the provinces sitting in the Senate, and for officers of humble birth, and ex-slaves, to be

given important government posts, however clever they might be. He was a much more cautious man than Caesar, and preferred to pretend that he was being

allowed to hold several magistracies for a period of emergency, at the end of which the Roman Senate and People would be restored to their full authority.

Of course this never did happen. There was a Senate and there were consuls for centuries, but they were appointed by the emperors as a compliment and had no

real power. One emperor made his horse a consul! The real power always rested with the man whom the army hailed as "Imperator," a title they had long used

whenever their general won a great victory. Before long this power was so utterly and terribly beyond control and dispute, that what had recently been the

proudest aristocracy in the world cringed like slaves before the frown of the man whom chance had clothed in the royal purple. A curt note from the emperor

was enough to make a person even of high position kill himself promptly and without complaint, lest his family should suffer too. There was not much point in

keeping the soldiers waiting who brought the dreaded message.

But at first Augustus (as he was called after 27 B.C.) made a show of sharing the rule of Rome and the empire with the Senate. And he took care to keep the

rabble of Rome in a good temper, for, next to the army, the emperor's position depended on them. The Senate was allowed to govern the older and more settled

provinces, while Augustus took charge of those on the long frontier. By far the biggest problem that the emperors had to face was how to bring that frontier up

to mountains and rivers that could easily be defended. On the other side of that boundary were millions of tribesmen of many races, who grew more and more

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Chapter Seven - The Roman Emperors

restless. In the end their terrific pressure broke the barriers and they swept over the empire like a mighty reservoir that has burst the dams.

But during most of the reign of Augustus, which lasted till A.D. 14 (notice the change from B.C. to A.D.), there was peace and prosperity throughout the

empire, long overdue and sadly needed. The governors of the provinces were paid a salary, so that they should have no excuse for extortion. If they ruled well,

their term was extended for a number of years, or they were promoted to a better province.

The Circus Maximus

The three cones mark the turning point. The emperor's chair and a wing of the palace on the slope of the Palatine hill can be seen on the left.

After a careful survey, the taxation and expenses of each province were fixed. These arrangements were based on those of the kingdom of Egypt, which ended

with the death of Cleopatra, when it became a province under direct Roman rule. Augustus encouraged the worship of the old Roman deities, but the Greek

"mysteries" (p.167), and the Egyptian rites of Isis and Osiris, appealing to fanatical emotion, spread rapidly among the very mixed population of Rome.

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Chapter Seven - The Roman Emperors

A Chariot Race In The Circus Maximus

He also tried in vain to restore the simple habits and family life which Roman writers declared were the basis of Rome's! greatness. But every class eagerly

indulged in all the luxury and pleasure it could afford. The rabble drew its doles of corn again and was entertained by shows that grew more and more elaborate.

In the Great Racecourse, before crowds of 150,000, four chariots (Red, White, Blue and Green), each drawn by four horses, would race seven times round the

sixteen hundred yards track. If any of them hit the end of the low wall that ran down the centre, while taking the turn too sharply, that simply provided an extra

thrill for the spectators, especially for those who had "backed" the other teams.

On the other side of the Palatine Hill, the high-class residential district at this period, loomed the great oval mass of what we call the Colosseum. It will hold

about seventy thousand spectators, and the arena space is eighty-eight yards in length and fifty-two in breadth.

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Chapter Seven - The Roman Emperors

A "Hunting" - Gladiators versus a lion, a panther, and a bear.

This was where the gladiators fought, a favourite contest being between one in full armour with sword and shield, versus one with just a net and a trident. The

winner, when he had his opponent at his mercy, usually looked up to where the emperor and the Vestal Virgins sat. Hardly ever would he receive from them the

sign to spare his foe. High and low alike, the Romans had a very poor sense of sportsmanship. They took a horrible pleasure in pain, blood and death. The

struggles of gladiators with wild beasts, which were known as "Huntings," and the fights between beasts alone, were so popular, that the numbers of the wild

animals in the Mediterranean lands were greatly and permanently reduced, and some species were wiped out altogether. Governors in the provinces were

constantly being pestered to keep up the supply of beasts, especially panthers. Sometimes the arena was flooded, and slave crews took part in a sham sea-fight,

with quite genuine slaughter and drownings.

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Chapter Seven - The Roman Emperors

Swimming Pool In The Baths Of Caracalla

Another way of passing a day pleasantly, especially under the later emperors, was to visit one of the magnificent public baths. Here, free of charge, the

pampered Romans could enjoy a hot bath, "showers," a large swimming-pool and a hot-air room. After massage, or exercises in the gymnasium, they could

retire to the library or listen to a tenth-rate poet bawling his long and tedious works in the recitation-hall. Every popular place in Rome seems to have been

infested by reciters.

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ebook - the ancient world (7 of 7).pdf

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