Study Guide for Zoch: Latin Influence on English Language and Roman Mythology - Prof. John, Study notes of World History

Download Study Guide for Zoch: Latin Influence on English Language and Roman Mythology - Prof. John and more Study notes World History in PDF only on Docsity! Damien Russell Study Guide for Zoch, Chapters 1–3 Items and questions on this guide are likely to appear on your next quiz, during which you may use the notes you have taken on the following. The use of another student’s notes will be treated as academic dishonesty. Ch. 1. A Linguistic Introduction 1. To what language family does Latin belong? What modern languages are direct descendants of Latin? In what five major time periods did English gain its largely Latinate vocabulary? Latin stems from Italic which stems from Proto-Indo-European. Several languages stem from Latin, Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, Provencal, French, Italian, and Rumanian. 1) In 110 B.C. Romans fought wars with the Germanic tribes and established colonies in Germany; they left a Latin influence on the Germanic languages. 2) 55 B.C. the Romans invaded England under Julius Caesar and by 43 A.D., a century later, under Emperor Claudius, England became a Roman province. The language of the Roman government in England was Latin and it influenced the Celtic languages there. 3) 597 A.D. missionaries began to travel to England to convert natives to Christianity. The language of the Catholic Church was Latin so Latin became as much of a part of people’s lives as their worship. Ch. 2. Rome’s Origins according to the Ancients 2. Who was Aeneas and what did ancient writers, both Greek and Roman, find in this figure? They found a noble ancestry for the Latin people and for Rome’s power in the figure of Aeneas, a Trojan prince. 3. When was Troy sacked by the Greeks? How did Aeneas flee the burning Troy? 1200 B.C. Aenas fled with his son Ascanius, his father Anchises, and friends to found a new troy. 4. Though Aeneas was not one of the outstanding heroes in Homer’s Iliad, what values does he show that recommend him as an ancestor to the poets writing about Rome’s past? The few references to him attest to his pietas (Latin for “fulfillment of the obligations placed upon a person by family, community, and gods”) and to his valor in war both of which are very important to the Romans. 5. When was the Aeneid written and by whom? What does its story concern? The Aeneid was written by a Latin poet named Vergil in 26 to 19 B.C. The Aeneid tells of Aeneas’ wanderings after he fled troy. Vergil believes that Aeneas left Troy knowing that it was his destiny to found a city from which a great empire would eventually arise. Aeneas did not know where to found this great city, so he traveled through the Mediterranean region in search of his destiny and Vergil tells of his travels. 6. What happened, according to Virgil, during Aeneas’ stop at Carthage in North Africa? What later historical events are connected to this? Thanks to Aeneas’ mother Venus the queen of Carthage, Dido, falls in love with Aeneas and he with her. When he is reminded by Mercury of his destiny he leaves Africa breaking Dido’s heart. She commits suicide cursing all of his descendents with her death saying, “I beg our shores to be against theirs, our seas against theirs, swords against swords.” Dido’s curse is proposed to explain the Punic Wars, in the third and second centuries B.C. Damien Russell 7. What town does Aeneas found after warring with the Italian natives? What is this town named for? What town does Ascanius found? Aeneas founded the town Lavinium, named after his newest wife Lavinia. His son Ascanius founded the town Alba Longa. Ch. 3. Romulus and Remus Found Rome 8. Who was Numitor (when and where did he live)? What happened to his reign? What happened to the children of Numitor? Who were the parents of the twins, Romulus and Remus? What sort of divine parentage do the Romans claim through these events, and why (do you think)? Numitor was king of the city of Alba Longa and son of Aeneas in the 8th century B.C. Numitor was deposed by his brother, Amulius, and driven into exile. Amulius murdered Numitor’s sons and made his only daughter, Rhea Silvia, a vestal virgin. Despite being a vestal virgin Rhea became pregnant by Mars and gave birth to Romulus and Remus. Because of this the Romans see themselves as decedents of Mars, god of war. 9. What did Amulius do when he learned of the twins’ existence? How and by whom (or what) were they rescued? Amulius ordered that the twins be placed in a basket and thrown into the Tiber River. The Tiber happened to be unusually high so the basket was left in a shallow pool near the shore. The water magically receded and left the twins safe on the shore. They were then discovered by a wolf which took care of them until royal shepherd found them under a fig tree and brought them home. 10. What folk hero do Romulus and Remus emulate with their young exploits, robbing from thieves and distributing the loot among their poor fellow shepherds? How did the thieves take this; what did they do in retaliation? They seem like young Robin Hoods. Out of revenge the robbers ambushed the twins at a festival. Romulus escaped but Remus was captured by the robbers and taken to Amulius. 11. How does Remus get away from the king? Do you think there is any foreshadowing in the fact that Romulus seems to be the stronger of the two? What happens to Numitor? Romulus and his fellow shepherds attacked and killed Amulius, rescuing Remus and restoring Numitor to his throne. I believe this is foreshadowing to Romulus later dominance over Remus. 12. What method did Romulus and Remus use to decide who should rule the city they found on the banks of the Tiber? What hills do Romulus and Remus stand on for the augury? How many birds do they each see? What is the result of the quarrel that follows? What is the other version of the story? They agreed to augury, the practice of looking for signs of approval or disapproval from the gods, usually by birds. Remus stood on Aventine hill and Romulus on Palatine. Remus saw 6 birds and Romulus saw 12 the followers of each saluted their leader as king. Romulus then kills Remus after their quarrel. Another version is that Remus jumps over the walls of Romulus city to demonstrate their flaw of being half-built. Romulus kills Remus and says the same goes for anyone else who jumps over my walls. 13. How were historical happenings dated by the Romans? On what date was Rome founded? Where does the name Rome come from? Rome is traditionally believed to be founded on April 21, 753 B.C. Rome was named after Romulus.