Review Sheet for Exam III
The exam will take place in the regular classroom and will begin
promptly at the start of class. You will have the full class period to
complete the exam, but probably will not need it. N.B. Points will be
deducted from your test if you fail to write in complete sentences.
You Are Responsible for the Following Readings:
These Were the Romans pp.
Part I: Short Answer Questions (40%)
Here are 15 topics you have learned about in your reading of These Were The Romans. You will be
given 9 of the following 15 questions and asked to write 2-3 sentences
in answer to 8 of them. More credit will be given to answers that
contain specific details than vague generalizations.
1. Mars, once god of the fields, eventually became god of
war. Why? (See also Ch 1 and p. 18)
2. Why was it important for every detail of a sacrifice to
3. What influence did Greeks have on the religious beliefs
of the Romans?
4. P. Claudius Pulcher and Cicero, (p. 166) had major
reservations about traditional belief in augury and omens, but they
would still attend sacrifices. Why?
5. Explain the main differences between the philosophy of
the Epicureans and that of the Stoics.
6. Rome was very open-minded about new cults. Why
were early Christians often hated and persecuted?
7. What were the benefits and disadvantages of life
in Rome's provinces during the 2nd century AD?
8. What do you think Pliny was like, judging from the
series of letters quoted on p. 174 ? 'a fussy old man, unable to make
up his own mind', or ' a sensible administrator, properly seeking
guidance from the central administration'?
9. Do you think the Romans were right to encourage the
building of towns in new provinces?
10. Why do you think the Senate never organized the
soldiers' pay and conditions of service?
11. How did Augustus encourage the esprit de corps of his
12. “If a man were called to fix the period in the history
of the world, during which the condition of the human race was most
happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which
elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus.”
Discuss this quotation from Edward Gibbon, producing evidence
form your reading to support or deny it.
13. Assess the importance of the Praetorian Guard in the
history of the Empire.
14. Compare the different steps taken by Julia Mamaea and
Diocletian to restore order to the Empire.
15. Diocletian's harsh measures worked: what
disadvantages must have followed from them?
Part II: Essay Question (60%)
You will see two of the following four questions on the exam. You will
be asked to choose one of
the two questions and you will be expected to write a coherent
essay that uses evidence from the class lectures and texts we have
read. Expect to use 3-4 pages to answer the question. More credit will
be given to answers that contain specific details than vague
1) Using evidence from Tacitus and Petronius answer
the following question: Give three examples of decline or degeneracy
and explain how the two authors differ in their treatment of these
2) Using evidence from Tacitus, explain the ways in
which both Claudius and Nero can be described as either passive
participants in their own history or lacking their own voice.
3) Explain two ways in which Petronius' “Dinner of
Trimalchio” might criticize the Emperoro Nero or the state of affairs
in first century Rome.
4) Consider the treatment of violence in Tacitus’s
Annales. Is violent behavior (including violent forms of
entertainment, suicide, executions, etc.) a “necessary evil” that helps
to maintain the stability of the empire? Or is the empire
displaying violent behaviors as a sign of instability and moral