Exercise 1

Every Roman emperor commissioned portraits of himself.  These portraits took a variety of forms, including full-length sculptures, busts, and profiles cast on gold and silver coins.  These images suggest a great deal about the values and concerns of their subjects' reigns. For example, consider the Augustus of Prima Porta: how is the emperor Augustus (r. 27 BC-14 AD) portrayed? What imperial values does he wish to convey through this image, and what political concerns does it imply? Now compare this portrait to those of the following emperors (note the years of their reigns): Caligula (r. 37 AD-41), Vespasian (69-79), Caracalla (211-17), Diocletian (284-305), and Constantine the Great (307-37).  How do these emperors wish to be regarded by their subjects? What attitudes and imperial values do they want to convey? Given what you have learned of Roman history, what events were unfolding in the empire that might explain, at least in part, why these emperors chose to have themselves represented as they were?

Exercise 2

Like the Greeks, the Romans were great builders of cities.  As the Romans expanded their civilization throughout the Mediterranean world, they developed old cities and founded new ones.  One of the most important cities in the Empire was Ostia, the port of Rome located at the mouth of the Tiber river.  Take a look at a general Plan of Ostia, and then at a more detailed plan of Ostia's town center.  Next examine a plan of Pompeii, one of the central-Italian cities destroyed by the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD  Finally, visit a sight devoted to Roman Corinth.  When the page opens, click on the "City Plan" link and then study the layout of the Greek town after the Romans redeveloped it.  What do each of these cities have in common? What do these maps suggest about the priorities of Roman city planning? How did the Romans envision urban life in their empire?