Week 14 – The monks
A bit shorter than usual today. What kinds of contributions did the monks make to European society? There were many important contributions from the monks made, especially in education. They…
Week 13 – Christian life from 112 to 305 AD
What was Christian life like between the famous letter of Pliny until the reign of Constantine? Roughly in the 112 AD, Pliny, a provencial governor in the Roman empire, wrote…
Week 12 – Christianity compared to Greek mythology
Week 12 -How would you compare the teachings of Christianity, as described in the New Testament passages we read for this week, to the values cherished by earlier civilizations we…
Week 10 – Julius Caesar & Augustus
Week 10 -Julius CaesarIn 60 BC, during the First triumvirate, Caesar was a consul. He received a command to go with a part of the Roman army to Gaul. He…
Week 9 – Struggle of the Orders
What specific changes occurred in Roman society as a result of the Struggle of the Orders?This event lasted from 494 BC to 287 BC and is sometimes referred to as…
Week 8 – Ancient liberty & Plutarch’s “great man”
1. What is the difference between the liberty of the ancients and the liberty of the moderns? What would moderns find lacking in ancient liberty? Modern liberty is based on…
Week 7 – Greek art and religion
How does ancient Greek religion resemble or differ from the religion of the Hebrews? Greeks have more gods (like Zeus, Hestia, Aphrodite) and each of them specializes on one particular…
Week 6 – Athens, the Persian wars and the Peloponnesian war
1. Describe the circumstances leading to the Persian Wars. Why were they significant events in Western history? The Persians wanted to control Ionians, but there were some Ionian Greeks within…
Week 5 – Aristotle & Spartan society
1. Why was Aristotle a significant figure? He is passionate about the world, studies imperfect and changing things, not only the perfect ones and he is considered to be the…
Week 4 – Sophists & Socrates
*This essay is shorter than usual since I haven't got that much to say in here. 1. What was the disagreement Socrates had with the Sophists? The sophists say that…