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. 107-215
Tacitus, Annales
Petronius, Satyricon

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 be correct?

 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 legions?

 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 generalizations.

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 issues.   
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 decline?