Early Roman Civilization, 753-509BCAnswer the following questions: What do you know about the Roman Empire? Why was the Roman Empire so powerful? Study the pronunciation of the following words: Actium ['æktiəm] – Актиум (город в Др. Греции, при котором произошла знаменитая морская битва) Aequi ['ekwi] – Экви (одно из племен, завоеванных римлянами) Etruscans [i'trʌskənz] - этруски (представители одного из племен, населявших древнюю Этрурию, современная Тоскана) Volski ['vɒlski] – Вольски (одно из племен, завоеванных римлянами) Give Russian equivalents to the following words and expressions: superiority [sju:ˏpiəri'ɔriti], n establish [ist'æbli∫], v illuminate [i'lju:mineit],v gladiatorial contest [glædiα'to:riαl 'kontest] highest military and civil authority [ɔ:'θɔriti] thanks to to consolidate power [kən'sɔliˏdeit] Study the following words and expressions: failure ['feiljə], n – неудача, провал. grandeur [grǽndjə], n – великолепие opulence ['opjuləns], n – изобилие defeat [di'fi:t], v– наносить поражение expel [iks'pel], v – изгонять, высылать. opt for [ɒpt], v – выбирать кого-либо. refer to [ri'fɜ:], v– ссылаться на… succumb [sə'kаm], v – уступать. trait [treit], n – отличительная черта. trite [trait], adj – банальный. viability [vaiə'biliti], n– жизнеспособность.
executive office [ig'zekjutiv] – исполнительный комитет. loose organisation [lu:s,ɔ:gənai'zei∫ən]– свободная организация. tenacious soldier [ti'nei∫əs 'səuldʒə] – несгибаемый, крепкий солдат ultimate power ['ʌltimit]– – максимальная власть.
Read the text below using a dictionary if necessary:
Roman History can be divided into three convenient periods or episodes. The years 753-509 B.C. concern the years of Rome’s origins. By 509 B.C., Rome had established itself by pushing the Etruscans out of northern Italy. The era of the Roman Republic falls between 509 B.C. and the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C. Rome under the Republic consolidated its power both at home and abroad, especially during the Punic and Macedonian Wars. The Republic is also the period when Rome developed its distinctive forms of law and government. Finally, the period from 31 B.C. to A.D 476 consitutes the era of the Roman Empire. It is this period that most people think of when they are reminded of the grandeur that was Rome. Thanks to the greatest of all the Roman emperors, Augustus Caesar, Rome was able to capture and control all of modern day France, Spain, Greece, Asia Minor, Palestine, North Africa and Great Britain. By about 750 B.C. the Greeks had established about fifty city-states on the southern peninsula of Italy. To the north lived the tribes of the Etruscans. It is not known how the Etruscans came to occupy the northern territory of Italy. They are not of Indo-European origin and they most likely came from the Near East if not the Orient. Their cities, twelve in number, were autonomous like the city-states of Sumer and Archaic Greece and were combined in a loose organization which historians have referred to as the Etruscan Confederacy. Material objects found from archeological digs of Etruscan city-states illuminate the luxury and opulence of the Etruscan aristocracy. As a people, the Etruscans played hard and worked hard. They were not a contemplative sort but were always busy. They were practical and realistic, habits of mind which we will see became specifically Roman traits as well. Trite, as it may sound, we could argue that whereas the Greeks were thinkers, the Romans were doers. The Romans adopted many Etruscan customs over the years. They used the Etruscan alphabet, which the Etruscans had borrowed from the Greeks. The Romans even adopted the Etruscan toga. The vault and the arch were Etruscan in origin as were gladiatorial contests. Etruscan power and influence over the city of Rome was indeed strong and thanks to their trading interests, the city began to grow. By the mid-6lh century, temples and public buildings could be found throughout the city. The Capitoline Hill became the religious center of the city and the Forum, formerly a cemetery, became a public meeting place, thus serving a similar role as the agora had at Athens. It is unclear how and why the Romans ended the era of Etruscan superiority but somehow Rome managed to free itself from the kings to the north and establish their own unique culture. What is noticeable is the manner in which the Romans overcame the Etruscans. Rather than simply conquer these people, the Romans assimilated them into the Roman world. I mention this because idea of "assimilation" will become a key to both Roman success and failure. The Greeks had the habit of conquering territories and then importing their culture, a process which, during the age of Alexander and after, we can identify as Hellenization. The Romans conquered territories as well but they were much more willing to bring the conquered peoples into the Roman world as partners. I suppose we could say they Romanized these people by giving them an "offer they couldn't refuse." Early Roman history - a history that dates from 509 B.C., when the Etruscan kings succumbed to Rome - is an uneven mixture of fact and myth. According to Roman legend, the Romans expelled the Etruscan king Tarquin the Proud from Rome around 509 B.C. and founded the Roman Republic. In the following years, tbe Romans fought numerous wars with their neighbors on the Italian peninsula. They became tenacious soldiers, Stoic soldiers, a Roman trait. War also rneant diplomacy and the Romans quickly showed their excellence in that art. They knew the viability of alliances and provided leadership for their allies, something the Greeks could never quite do for themselves. With the Etruscan monarchy at an end, the dignity of the Senate and the Curiate Assembly (both created during the Etruscan Confederacy) was restored. However, there was no executive office. Among the most powerful families it was decided that extraordinary powers be given to two men, who would eventually be called consuls. The reason the Romans opted for two executives was an obvious attempt to prevent tyranny. Both consuls possessed the highest military and civil authority in the state. They could only serve for one year at a time.Only much later was it agreed that there be at least a ten year interval between terms so as to prevent unbridled ambition. Rome’s founding also coincided with war. One of the earliest wars was with two tribes, the Aequiand the Volsci. From this war arose the Roman legend of Cincinnatus. When the Aequi launched an invasion, the Romans called on Cincinnatus to become dictator, that is, he was given ultimate powers for specified period of time. The Roman officials found Cincinnatus working his farm. He listened to the appeal of the officials, dropped his plow,and accepted the office offered to him. As legend has it. fifteen days later, and after he had defeated the Aequi, Cincinnatus returned to his farm, picked up his plow, and continued to plow his fields. This was the ideal Roman citizen - a man of simplicity who places his duty to Rome before personal interest or wealth. Ex. 1 Answer the following questions: 1. What periods is Roman history divided into? 2. What Etruscan symbols were adopted by Roman culture? 3. What were the main places in the Roman city? 4. How did the process of assimilation look like in Roman and Greek worlds? 5. How was history presented in Roman society? 6. What was the main difference between Roman and Greek war policy? 7. How did the Romans try to present tyrany? 8. What was the legend of Cincinnatus about? Ex. 2. Match the words with their definitions:
Ex.3 Complete the table with the appropriate forms of the words give n:
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