07a: Introduction

In this lecture, we do our best to get into the heads of the ancient Romans and move to the Roman way of making war. The similarities between Roman and American civilization are interesting - for example, both are characterized by theoretical equality but practical rule by elderly, wealthy males. But then so are the differences: for example, the absence of any real spiritual content in the Roman state religion.

Segment 07b: Mos Maiorum - Way of Our Elders examines the two underlying principles of Roman society. First is the patria potestas (power of the father), which replicated itself in Roman politics, economic life, and even religion. Second is the fixation upon the mos maiorum (way of our elders), which the Romans held up as the measure of all proper conduct. The Romans took these two principles very seriously, but the foundation of the Roman Republic contradicted them both. The break from monarchy was itself a drastic a deviation from the mos maiorum - to that point, Rome had never had elective government. Moreover, the election of completely new magistrates every year made two men, called consuls, into the "fathers" of the Roman state every year. Fortunately for them, the Romans more often than not recognized when a change from the mos maiorum was necessary.

Segment 07c: The Roman State Religion cuts to the heart of what the ancient Romans did (and did not) believe. They started out worshiping formless spirits called numina. But through Etruscan and Greek influence, the Romans came to visualize their gods and goddesses in human form- for example, their supreme god Juppiter. The Roman deities did not care about the Romans' moral conduct and did not see any need to interfere in human lives unless they were persuaded or bribed to do so. To the Romans, prayer was a social contract. Yhe deity was rewarded if and only if he or she did as the mortal asked. Otherwise, the deal was off. Also, Roman religious rituals were complicated to the point of being ridiculous. Even so, the Roman state's well being depended on the exact performance of these rituals, so they would be performed over and over again until they were done correctly.

In segment 07d: Wars and Peaces, we examine some of the major reasons for the Romans' millitary success. First, every Roman citizen was automatically a soldier, which was a great source of pride. The Romans also had the concept of the ius fetialis, or the just war, which specified that Rome could only fight defensive battles; her gods and goddesses would not support aggressive territory grabbing. Even though the Romans did not win each and every battle in the first two centuries of the Republican era, they always wound up on top at the end. Rome's armies proved so successful overall, in fact, that they defeated more enemies and conquered more territory - the so called ager publicus, or "public land" - than the Romans knew what to do with. The unorganized arrangements Rome made after her victories would rise up to haunt Rome in the end.