M idterm Exam

30 Oct ob er (one we ek fro m today)

and a writing implement
You get the full 80 minutes
[ssays (2 o u t of 3) an d id ent ificatio ns (6 out of 8)
Terms for id en tification s: fro m 2 October th ro ugh 25 Octobe r

Key Th em es t o Review I

Sources: how do we kn ow w hat we kn ow ? How much ca n we trust th e

evid ence we have?

[ irbe sure you can explain th e fundamental disagreement btwn

:

Wi sema n and Cornell.]

Key Themes to Review II and Ill

d1v1s1ons w ithi n Roman society

pat & pleb - how does thi s ch ange over t ime? How successful
were plebei an efforts to im prove t heir position ?
sen ate / equ estian class/ assidui ... .
Servi an reforms
Roman vs Latin

th e nature of & motivation fo r Roman expansion

patt ern of behavio r
W he re can we look for clues abou t why Rom e goes t o war?
Other things we've talked about at some length

The Twelve Tables

Aristocratic Virtues

-.-:'~ 11111111111111
The Bacchic Scandal of
186 BCE

Bacchus= Dionysus

Key Theme : Sources

Caravaggio's Bacchus
Primary source : a document or object created during the time period
under study

Secondary sourc · a later document that analyzes and interprets primary

sources
Roman statue of Dionysus

From the villa of the Emperor Hadrian

Italic/ Roman god of wine= Liber

Etruscan god associated with Dionysus =

Fufluns
What does co ntemporary re ligion look like?

chu rch/ temple / synagogue/ mosque

congregation (members / initiates)
sacred books
wors hip se rvic es
holidays
officials who interact with worshippers & deliver serm on
Cult: th e sum total of rituals and festival s
performed in honor of a particular god

Juno(?)
 Mystery Cults: Isis, Cybe le (Magna Mater), and Mithra s

Not pictured: Demeter

I I

'

I I C. l' .. l - ... P..di<foi Cl.wJJ.i Qwnu md me

~••TUJ/rw Imm Romt: ~ ,-a-.nan C:.L Coum:,~
Carttnunc: ~Ii;:.~ P.u:cc..
Livy's account of the Bacchic Scandal

160 years after the fact

Very d ra m atic
structural similarities to Roman & Greek comedies

Accurate identification of historical personages

Seve ral ,i nt erna I co ntrad ictions

Some points of agreement with, and some contradictions with, the

Senatus Consultum de Bacchana libus (Senatorial Decree on
Bacchic rites }
The so-cal led
Sen at us
ConsulturTI on
Bacchic rites

Discovered in
southern lta ly

Now in Vienna
" Let no n e of them be minded to ma intai n a place of Bacchic worship .

Should t h ere be some wh o say t hey must needs maint ai n a p lace of Bacchic
w o rsh ip, th ey m ust come t o t he urban praeto r at Ro me, and our se nate, wh en it
has he ard w hat t hey have t o say, shall make a decision on these matters, provi ded
th at at least 100 se nators be present when the matter is deliberated."
'*l et no m an , w hether Roma n citi zen o r of t he Latin nam e or o ne
of th e allies, be min ded t o attend a m eeting of t he Ba ccha nt wo men
w ithout approaching t he urban praet or and obtaining his authoriz-
ati on w it h th e approval of th e senate, provided that not fewer than
100 se n ators be present when the matter is deliberated."
QUESTION S FO R DISCUSSIO N

If w e onl y had Livy, what would we think happened ?

If w e o nly h ad th e SC, w hat would w e think happened ?

A re th ose sce na r ios th e same? If not, how can we reconcile our two
so u rces?

What w ere the Romans co ncerned about?

Painting of Dionysus from house in Rom e

2 nd century CE