Assignment for Wednesday, 01-28-15

Dear Roman Readers,

For Wednesday, January 28, please do the following:

(1) Read the initial page of our Quizzes module, which describes the policies and procedures for our online quizzes. Note any questions you want to ask next class.

(2) Download, print, and read the factsheet on Propertius, our next Roman author.

(3) Download, print, and read Propertius' poem about Tarpeia and the Tarpeian rock. You'll remember Tarpeia from our initial Livy readings. Propertius gives an erotic dimension to her character, and you should consider what, if anything, this dimension adds to her legend.

(4) Download, print, and read this second round of selections from Livy's History of Rome from its Foundation.

We'll read the following excerpts:

• The death of king Servius Tullius due to the treachery of his daughter, Tullia the Younger. (The woman Tullia is jealous of, Tanaquil, was the wife of the preceding king, Tarquinius Priscus.)
• The rise of Tullia's husband, Tarquinius Superbus, the last Roman king.
• The rape of Lucretia by Sextus Tarquinius, the son of Superbus.

As before, these stories should probably come with a trigger warning.

Class discussion will be led by our capable Peer Mentor, Sarah.

DC

Assignment for Monday, 01-26-15

Dear Roman Readers,

For Monday, January 26, please do the following:

(1) Get acquainted with the online interactive topography guide. Click every number on the map and read every narrative. Try to memorize the names of all seventeen features in preparation for our quizzes next week.

(2) Read, in the Blue Guide's Historical Sketch, the section entitled "Origins of the City" (pp. 9–10). Also have a look at the list of Rome's seven Kings in the Rulers of Ancient Rome section (p. 595). (Or look them up online if you don't yet have the Guide.)

(3) Download, print, and read the factsheet on Livy, our first Roman author.

(4) Download, print, and read these selections from Livy's History of Rome from its Foundation.

Some notes on Livy, beyond  the factsheet. We'll read the following excerpts:

• Livy's Preface, in which he lays out his task.
• The legend of Romulus and Remus. (We pick up after the arrival of the Trojan hero, Aeneas, in Italy, and the reign of his son, Ascanius. What's essential in the first paragraph of page 37 is the trouble between the brothers Numitor and Amulius.)
• The rape of the Sabine women.
• The treachery of the Vestal Virgin, Tarpeia, when the Sabine men retaliate.

Some of these stories are rather unpleasant, especially in their attitudes toward women, so they should probably come with a trigger warning.

Those of you new to Rome or historical writing or both, do not obsess over every detail. We're not using Livy for historical "truth" so much as a recorder of Roman memories and the ideologies behind those memories. The excerpts are brief, so you should have time to read them deeply. Note any questions along the way, and come prepared for discussion on Monday.

DC