Each Question Must Be Answered Completely Separately. Each Answer Must Be 250 words in length, which is equal to about 1 page of double-spaced writing in Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman 12 point font in a Word document. Week 1 Question:  "There is this exceptionally beneficial and fruitful advantage to be derived from the study of the past, that you see, set in the clear light of historical truth, examples of every possible type. From these you may select for yourself and your country what to imitate, and also what, as being mischievous in its inception and disastrous in its issues, you are to avoid." (Livy, History of Rome, preface) What lesson did Livy expect the readers of his day to learn from the stories of the Sabine Women and Lucretia?  What virtues (or vices) did other women in Livy exhibit that made them exemplary heroines (or villains) for the Romans? Please answer all these inter-related questions. Week 2 Question: The Romans fought many wars in their bid to conquer the entire Italian peninsula. Perhaps the most important was the Tarentine or Pyrrhic War fought with Pyrrhus, King of Epirus. What was the political and military impact of the war on Rome’s position in Italy and the western Mediterranean. Why was the Pyrrhic War a turning point in Roman history? Week 3 Question: For this week's discussion, read the article by Andreola Rossi, "Parallel Lives: Hannibal and Scipio in Livy s Third Decade." Rossi notes that "Livy's parallel lives of Scipio and Hannibal simultaneously reflect issues critical to the political discourse of the late Republic and set up an exemplary antithesis between the tales of Rome's past virtus and her present decline." What does Rossi mean by this statement and how does she construct her argument? Week 4 Question: Why, according to the article by Sarolta Takacs, ("Politics and Religion in the Bacchanalian Affair of 186 B.C.E,") did the Roman Senate feel the need to suppress and ultimately control the cult of Bacchus in Rome? Are there later parallels to the Roman treatment of the Christians? Are there contemporary parallels? Please answer all these inter-related questions. Week 5 Question: Scholars assert that the Gracchi played a pivotal at Rome because they exposed the weakness of the Roman constitution. Does this challenge what you know about the Roman constitution from Polybius? What weaknesses did the Gracchi reveal and how did they choose to use the common people to exploit those weaknesses? To answer these questions you will need to read Polybius' analysis of the Roman constitution and Barry Strauss' article, "Populares and populists." Please answer all these inter-related questions. Week 6 Question: Rome saw many slave revolts, but none that so thoroughly threatened the state and captured the imaginations of later generation as the revolt led by Spartacus the gladiator. We will examine the reason for its continuing fascination even in modern America. Read Margaret Malamud, "Cold War Romans" and discuss the contemporary context of the filming of the story. What was the immediate source of the story? How did the film adapt its source? Why did this "sword and sandal" film become a landmark in American film history? Week 7 Question: In discussing Caesar's description of Pompey's camp after the Battle of Pharsalus, Andreola Rossi notes that "Caesar builds a network of correspondences with other events, thereby broadening and universalizing the significance of the narrated episode. It is through this device that he weaves efficaciously into his narrative an important ideological and political subtext that informs the narrative of BC [Bellum Civile/Civil War]." What does Rossi mean and what is Caesar up to?  Please answer both questions. Week 8 Question: Why did Thomas Jefferson  select classical models for his public architecture? Make particular reference to his use of the Maison Carrée as the model for the Virginia State Capitol and the Pantheon as the model for the Library of the University of Virginia. What symbolic value did Jefferson hope to achieve? Please answer both questions.