Lucas – Roman Revolutions

Rome in Rick Riordan’s “Heroes of Olympus” series

By Lucas | May 12, 2022 | Comments 0 Comment

Build Your Own Acta:

Find a piece of media/pop culture that references or is inspired by Rome
Write A 300-500 word reflection/summary on it and how well it represents Rome

After completing my first two Acta I was at a loss for what to do next and I was looking around my room I realized I had just the thing. The first thing people tend to notice when they walk into my room is my absolutely ridiculous collection of Percy Jackson books. With the TV starting production and being a self-proclaimed expert myself, I decided to create my own Acta.

So unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 20 or so years, you’re likely familiar with the premise of the series but basically, they are about greek and roman demigod children set in the modern-day who save the world from various power-hungry gods/titans. (Fun fact that really has nothing to do with Rome but I wanted to include: these books started as a way for Rick to make his children feel better about having learning disabilities and it created a whole generation of mythology obsessed, reading loving, burnt-out gifted children)

Now that you’re caught up, the second series Rick writes adds in Roman gods and practices. It’s clear that these books were made for children and focus more on Roman mythology rather than Roman history. This being said, one of the things I enjoy most about these books is how they set up just how different Rome and Greece were. While the greeks were not as care-free pure summer camp as camp-half blood was, they still made sure to emphasize Roman values in their comparison. The Roman camp, Camp Jupiter, was very strict. Everyone had to be very loyal and dutiful in comparison to the Greek camp. Additionally, I enjoyed the conversations about the differences in fighting styles. They made it clear that when it came to using swords Greeks sliced and Roman stabbed their opponets. Rick also educates the reader on common formations that were used in battle in Rome, which largely contributed to their success.

Ultimately the best things these books do is get kids interested in the classics. I took two Latin courses because of these books and I was by no means the only one. While I did not stick with Latin, I learned more in those classes about language and culture than i did in the five years I have taken French. These books are a wonderful way to get children into history as a whole. Once they read one of these books, the more outside knowledge they will want to acquire. I also know that I felt significantly more prepared in my Latin courses because of the things I learned from these books. Also I felt like what I learned in class only made me enjoy the books more. They may not be the most accurate, but I believe that they do what they are meant to do, and that is to expose kids to the classics in a fun way, and maybe even get children who are not into reading to enjoy it.

Gladiator

By Lucas | May 11, 2022 | Comments 0 Comment

Gladiator followed the strife between Maximus and Commodus. Commodus’s father was emperor but felt that his son was too immoral to be the next one so he tells his friend Maximus that he is next. Well, Commodus does not like this very much and kills his father and then kills Maximus’s entire family. After the death of his father, he meets with the Senate where it is made utterly clear that he only cares about power, not the people of Rome. While Commodus holds power he throws a series of special gladiatorial games to honor his father where Maximus comes disguised and does incredibly well. However, Commodus discovers who he actually is well, not pleased, but Maximus had already won the favor of the crowd so it’s not like Commodus could kill him, or at least not yet. It is here that Maximus declares that he intends to get revenge on Commodus. After this Commodus’s sister visits him bc she has suspicions about her brother but Maximus does trust her due to her relations with Commodus. However, it’s not long until they’re hooking up and plotting to overthrow Commodus along with some other accomplices. At that point though Commodus has made it very clear that he is in fact evil. After a lot of scheming on both sides Commodus and Maximus end up battling each other where Maximus technically wins but they both die, but it’s okay because the republic is saved which ultimately was the goal. This is the film where the famous “are you not entertained?” scene comes from but I’m going to be honest, I wasn’t very entertained. Parts were hard to follow for me and I found the romance plot cheesy and very American rather than Roman. But I guess that’s Hollywood for you. I wish it was either more Roman and accurate or leaned into the cheesy Hollywood more, I just didn’t feel like the two mixed well. I would rate it a 5/10, I know it’s controversial but I don’t get the hype. I much preferred Netflix’s “Roman Empire.”

Roman Empire on Netflix

By Lucas | March 21, 2022 | Comments 0 Comment

I watched episodes from the first season of “Roman Empire” on Netflix. The show is a historical docuseries that follows a different emperor’s story each season. This season is focused on Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus. I really enjoyed how the series used a combination of (actually really good) acting, like a historical-based TV show, and interviews with historians like a typical documentary. This helped it stay engaging as well as emphasize the fact that it is historically accurate and educational. While I did not watch other emperor’s seasons, I do think I will keep watching and I am especially excited to watch Caligula’s season since he was a very interesting person. I cannot speak to the accuracy of the costuming, but they were all gorgeously made and really added to the ambiance of the show and helped keep it more engaging.

The show does a really good job of comparing Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. It is clear that Commodus took advantage of life as the emperor’s son by indulging a lot and not focusing on political issues or training to become a future emperor. Marcus on the other hand was always prepared, concerned with war, and was a philosopher. Ultimately, Commodus is sent to be with Marcus for him to focus on training. However, during this time, Marcus fell ill and a false rumor that he died spread across the empire. Knowing her son could not be emperor just yet, his mother aligns herself with one of her husband’s trustees in order to secure his spot as emperor and save her family. When it is discovered that Marcus did not actually die, it nearly causes a civil war, and the trustee and Marcus’s wife are killed. It takes this for Commodus to realize it is time for him to grow up and train.

One thing that they briefly touched on was the role of women in power. In order for women to have power, their husbands must have it first. This means, that they must do whatever they can to promote their husband. In this case, Commodus’s mother needs power in order to keep her family safe during the turnover of emperors, a very dangerous time for the family of ex-emperors. This is why she marries her husband’s most trusted. This also meant that many of the women whose husbands were in power were very clever and a little manipulative and had some power themselves because of the sway had and the work they put in.

word count: 418