Quizzes for Week 8

Dear Roman Readers,

The quizzes for Week 8, due Wednesday evening (March 11), at 11:59 p.m., are now up and running.

Please take the following three quizzes:

• Quiz 15: Ancient Rome Review (46 pts., 7 min.)
• Quiz 16: Martyrs & Relics (15 pts., 3 min.)
• Quiz 17: Christians in a Pagan World (15 pts., untimed)

Quiz 15 compiles the biggest, boldest questions from the Unit 1 multiple choice quizzes. This is a maintenance quiz, designed to stimulate your recall of essential facts. You have seen all of these questions before.

Quiz 16, multiple choice, recaps our discussions of sanctified economies from last Monday and Wednesday.

Quiz 17, short answers, focuses on the intersection of Roman and Christian values as exemplified by apostolic and saintly lives.

https://www.skidmore.edu/~dcurley/rome/login-only/quizzes/

Good luck!

DC

Some Announcements

Dear Readers of Rome,

Please read the following post carefully, since it offers some policies and suggestions for the immediate future. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact either me or Dr. Spinner.

(1) SATURDAY EVENING DEADLINES for both writing assignments and the site reports will now be moved to Sundays at noon. This includes the upcoming writing assignment (#2).

(2) WEDNESDAY QUIZ DEADLINES will be extended to 11:59 p.m.

(3) TIME ON QUIZZES (except on those repeated over the course of the term) will be extended slightly to allow more time for completion.

Items 1–3 are in response to suggestions and comments from you, the students. We hope the new policies will prove helpful.

(4) PLEASE STAY PUT DURING CLASS, unless you are suddenly and seriously ill. There's been a rash of folks getting up and leaving in the middle of things lately, and it's distracting for everyone else.

(5) SITE REPORTS: Now that you've all been oriented by our peer mentor, let me suggest that you begin researching your sites before break. Put in a little time this week, maybe as much as 2–3 hours, going through the books we've set aside and taking your first round of notes. Otherwise, when we come back from break, you'll have less than a week to get started.

DC

Assignment for Friday 03-06-2015

Dear Readers of Rome,

On Friday, we transition into imperial forms of Christianity, focusing on the emperor Constantine and his mother, Helena.

(1) In lieu of a factsheet, read the section on "Constantine and the New World Order," in the Blue Guide, p. 16.

(2) Download, print and read the excerpts from Robert M. Grant's Augustus to Constantine.

(3) Download, print and read Jonathan Bardill's examination of the different accounts of how Constantine came to adopt his battle standard, which some read as the emperor's conversion experience.

(4) Download, print and read the Nicene Creed.

(5) Download, print and read the excerpts from Jan Drijvers' Helena Augusta.

Constantine's promotion of Christianity is a watershed moment in Western history. From this point on, Christians cease being depicted as outliers and as antagonists to things Roman, as Rome itself starts to be reconfigured as Christian. 


gs

Assignment for Wednesday, 03-04-2015

Dear Readers of Rome

Our topic for Wednesday is the Holy Dead. We will talk about how Christianity rethinks the relation between the living and the dead, particularly the sainted dead, and how this effects their place(s) in the City.

Please do the following:

(1) Download, print and read excerpts from Peter Brown's The Cult of the Saints.

(2) Download, print and read the fact sheet about Relics in Rome.

(3) Download, print and read the very brief outline of Mysteries and the worship of Mithras, as we will be visiting a Mithraeum in Rome.

Peter Brown says that the Christian cult of the saints broke down, and occasionally inverted, the barriers of the ancient world - - barriers that were both spatial and social. Our task for Wednesday is to analyze how such Christian practices fit into prior patterns of civic life and patronage, even as they profoundly reshape those Roman patterns, and by so doing redraw the urban map. Expect me to question you about specifics from Brown's argument, so be sure to read him closely.

gs

Quizzes for Week 7 -- Part B

Dear Roman Readers,

As promised, the third quiz for this week, due Wednesday evening (March 4), at 11:00 p.m., is now up and running

For the sake of having everything in one place, here are all the quizzes to take this week:

• Quiz 1: Basic Roman topography (17 pts., timer now at 2 min.)
• Quiz 13: Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity (20 pts., 3 min.)
• !!new!! Quiz 14: Peter, Paul & Mary (10 pts., 2 min.)

Quiz 14 is a multiple-choice roundup of both readings and class discussion on Peter, Paul, and Mary -- arguably the three most important Christian saints.

https://www.skidmore.edu/~dcurley/rome/login-only/quizzes/

Good luck!

DC

Quizzes for Week 7 -- Part A

Dear Roman Readers,

Two of the quizzes for this week, due Wednesday evening (March 4), at 11:00 p.m., are now up and running. I'll blog when the third quiz is ready (sometime tomorrow).

Please take the following quizzes:

• Quiz 1: Basic Roman topography (17 pts., timer now at 2 min.)
• Quiz 13: Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity (20 pts., 3 min.)

Quiz 13 is a multiple-choice roundup of factsheets on the history of Judaism, the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Apostles.

https://www.skidmore.edu/~dcurley/rome/login-only/quizzes/

Good luck!

DC

Assignment for Monday, 03-02-2015

Dear Readers of Rome

On Monday, we will discuss saintliness and martyrdom, which are very closely linked concepts in Christianity.

Please do the following:

(1) Download, print, and read the fact sheet about hagiography and The Golden Legend. I have also made a timeline laying out some major religious persecutions, which you can download here.

(2) Download, print, and read the essay by Carole Straw, "A Very Special Death,"which instructively sets Christian martyrdom into a Classical context.

(3) Download, print, and read the two versions of the martyrdom of R. Akiva; the notes should help you better understand these rabbinic stories.

(4) Download, print, and read the selections about Agnes, Clement, and Lawrence from The Golden Legend.

gs

Assignment for Friday, 02-27-2015

Dear Readers of Rome,

On Friday, we will learn about Jesus' mother, Mary, a truly important figure in Christian devotion.

Please do the following:

(1) Download, print, and read the fact sheet about Mary, Mother of God.

(2) Download, print, and read the Marian selections from the New Testament.

(3) Download, print, and read the selections from the Proto-Gospel of James.

(4) Download, print, and read the Marian hymns, introduced and translated by Vasiliki Limberis.

As you do these readings, consider how Mary might be compared and contrasted with women we read about in pagan sources, such as Tarpeia or Lucretia.

gs

Assignment for Wednesday, 02-25-2015

Dear Readers of Rome,

On Wednesday, we will have a student-led discussion centered on the figures of Peter and Paul. You should all come bright-eyed and eager to aid your classmates as they conduct a rousing review of this fascinating literature!

Please do the following:

(1) Download, print, and read the fact sheet about the Apostles, Peter and Paul.

(2) Download, print, and read the primary texts, both from the canonical Acts of the Apostles, as well as from the apocryphal Acts.

(3) Download, print, and read the background reading from Bart Ehrman, Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene: The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend.

gs

Quizzes for Week 6

Dear Roman Readers,

The last quizzes of Unit 1, due Wednesday evening (February 25), at 11:00 p.m., are now up and running.

Please take the following three quizzes:

• Quiz 10: Basic Roman Infrastructure (19 pts., 3 min.)
• Quiz 11: Fora, Roads, Gates, Water (31 pts., 4 min.)
• Quiz 12: Triumphant You (15 pts., untimed)

Quiz 10, a map quiz, asks you to locate key features of Roman infrastructure. Remember to use the best browser you can, and a large monitor.

Quiz 11, multiple choice, recaps our Blue Guide and Stambaugh readings and PowerPoint lectures on the physical aspects of Rome, from the grandiose to the humble.

Quiz 12 asks you to imagine yourself as a triumphant general parading through Rome, and what memories you will recall on the way. Read the instructions for this one carefully.

https://www.skidmore.edu/~dcurley/rome/login-only/quizzes/

Good luck!

DC