Chariot racing
Chariot racing One of the largest forms of entertainment during the Roman period was chariot racing. This was held in the local circus. Races could either include four horse races, the Latin word 'quadrigae' or 2 horse chariots named 'bigae.' The 'Circus Maximus' situated in the beautiful surroundings Rome in Italy was also used for other forms of entertainment's other then chariot racing. These were for events such as ridden horse races, races by horseback riders who dismounted to continue and complete the race by foot, (like for people in the ponyclub nowadays, which is an organisation which includes different types of riding young people can do like mounted games, show jumping, dressage etc.) and also for athletic events like boxing, wrestling and running. (Which still exist today,) the Troy Game, (stunts performed on a horse by young boys,) gladiatorial combats, wild beast fights, (also performed in the ampi-theatres,) battles between to armies and many other kinds of shows. During the Roman period, men and women were to sit apart, but unlike these, men and women were permitted to sit together. There were 12 teams of horse in chariot racing, 4, 6, 8, or 12 at one time. Each had it's own colours. Red and white were regarded as the Royal colours, but late on green and blue were also added. After running 7 laps of the arena, the horse ran approximately three miles. The
Comparison Between the Film “Amadeus” and Mozart's Real Life.
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE FILM "AMADEUS" AND MOZART'S REAL LIFE The film Amadeus was a great success and was frequently awarded five stars by film critics, but how truthful was it compared with how Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart really lived? In truth the film isn't as accurate as it may seem. Most of the facts are true but the storyline is made to be much more interesting for the film. The problem with Amadeus is that it just isn't history. While Salieri and Mozart were rivals in some respects, Salieri did not pay Mozart for a requiem that he could pass off as his own. Someone else did that - although no one is completely certain who it was. Nor did Salieri have anything to do with Mozart's death, as it was the result of natural causes. What Was Missed Out In The Movie Before Mozart's death, Mozart was obsessed with the idea that rivals who had commissioned the Requiem were poisoning him. Mozart worried that he was being paid to write the Requiem for himself. Modern historians have discounted Mozart's fear of being poisoned and they say his suspicions were caused by depression and melancholy. The anonymous person who commissioned the Requiem Mass was definitely NOT Salieri, but was probably Count Walsegg. After Mozart's death Count Walsegg tried to convince people that the Requiem was his own work - no one believed his lies luckily. Mozart was constantly in financial
Account for the outbreak and failure of the 1848 revolutions in the Austrian Empire.
Account for the outbreak and failure of the 1848 revolutions in the Austrian Empire. Introduction Prince Metternich of Austria once stated, "When France catches cold, Europe sneezes." This is indeed a good description for the spread of the 1848 revolutions. When the French people have revolted in February 1848, the different ethnic groups in the Austrian Empire followed their example. Revolt first broke out in Hungary and then swiftly spread throughout the whole empire. But although these revolts seemed forceful at the beginning, none of them could succeed in the end. They came suddenly and went quickly. The following is an examination of both the reasons for the outbreak and the failure of the Austrian Revolution. Racial and ethnic problems The most important cause for the 1848 revolution in the Austrian Empire were the long=standing racial and ethnic problems within the empire. Since the sixteenth century, Austria and been a multi-ethnic groups either could seek protection under the Austrian Empire or be annexed the Muslim Turks. They, therefore, chose to join with Austria. As time went on , by the nineteenth century, Austria grew to consist of 11 and Slavs lived near Prague ; while the Magyars lived in Budapest. The Croatians and Serbs lived in Croatia' the Hungarians lived in Hungary; and the Poles. Ruthenians and Romanians lived in the east of the empire. Since there
The Age of Chivalry - Europe in the central middle ages - How successful were attempts to reform the Church in the period 1000-1250.
The Age of Chivalry: Europe in the central middle ages Peter Lawn How successful were attempts to reform the Church in the period 1000-1250 The underlying aim of Church reform in the period 1000-1250 at least in terms of its rhetoric was to return the Catholic Church to the princilpes and practices of early Christianity. In practice this meant incresing the level of religious discipline and elimanating the abuses that existed in the Church itself. The reform of the Church in this period has two distinct phases. First of these was what have been called the "Gregorian reforms"1 of the eleventh century. They were centred principly on the papacy and the higher ecalons of the Church. The main aim of these reforms was to free the Church from lay control and put an end to the practice of Simony and Nichantilism. These aims were linked together in a number of ways. Simony was the practice of gainining ecclesiastical office in return for payment or service. This was seen as being the inevitably result of lay control of the church, specifically lay investiture. Removing lay contol of the Church was also important in making other reforms possible. Only a strong and independent Papacy would be capable of imposing changes across the Church in the middle ages. Without it reforms such as the eradication of Nichantilism by enforcing celibacy amoung the clergy would have been
Plato’S Life- If Thales Was the First of All the Great Greek Philosophers, Plato Must Remain the Best Known of All the Greeks.
Plato's Life- If Thales was the first of all the great Greek philosophers, Plato must remain the best known of all the Greeks. The original name of this Athenian aristocrat was Aristocles, but in his school days he received the nickname Platon (meaning "broad" ) because of his broad shoulders. (He is not the only great man to be known universally by a nickname. The Roman orator Cicero is another. ) Plato was born in Athens, about 427 B.C., and died there about 347 B.C. In early life Plato saw war service and had political ambitions. However, he was never really sympathetic to the Athenian democracy and he could not join wholeheartedly in its government. He was a devoted follower of Socrates, whose disciple he became in 409 B.C., and the execution of that philosopher by the democrats in 399 B.C. was a crushing blow. He left Athens, believing that until "kings were philosophers or philosophers were kin gs" things would never go well with the world. (He traced his descent from the early kings of Athens and perhaps he had himself in mind.) For several years he visited the Greek cities of Africa and Italy, absorbing Pythagorean notions, and then in 387 B.C. he returned to Athens. (En route, he is supposed to have been captured by pirates and held for ransom.) There, the second half of his long life, he devoted himself to philosophy. In the western suburbs he founded a school
Roman Sports
Roman Sports I chose Roman sport because there are many Roman sports all of which are very interesting. For example chariot racing a violent but exciting sport. From the name you would imagine a horse and chariot going round and round a course but it was more than that : they rammed each other hoping to smash the other racer's chariot. In each lap you never knew what might happen. I also chose roman sport because I think gladiatorial fights would have been amazing to see and I know quite a lot of information on them. Due to my interests in the fights I have watched many documentaries and read many books on them. The sports I will write about are gladiatorial fights and chariot racing. In both I will be discussing the rewards, the dangers, which people were involved, the many different participants, the equipment involved and the popularity of each. I will also compare them to modern sports. Chariot racing Stadium Chariot races were held in places called circuses which they were called because of their oval shape. The Circus Maximus was one of the biggest. The building was by the time of Emperor Augustus 620 metres long and 140 to 150 metres at its widest point. The fact that it was built in a valley stretching between two hills gives you an idea of its size. At first there were no buildings, just a rough sandy track with provisional markers. The viewers of the races had
Canning and the Eastern Question
Canning and the Eastern Question In 1822 Castlereagh committed suicide and George Canning was appointed as the new British Foreign Secretary, a position he kept until his death in 1827. Castlereagh as Foreign Secretary had played a leading role in the defeat of Napoleon and was very keen to use the Congress System to restore peace in Europe; Canning however was more hostile to the Congress System as he believed British interests lay outside Europe and he had no good relationship with the other European statesmen. By his death in 1827 he had played a major role in the death of the Congress System but had also managed to successfully maintain British interests. At this time the Ottoman Empire was very large containing South Eastern Europe and parts of Asia and North Africa. However as it was such a huge ramshackle of different nationalities and religions in order for it to be governed effectively it needed a strong leadership from Constantinople, which the Turkish Sultan of this time couldn't offer, since 1815 the Ottoman Empire had been in decline. (The Ottoman Empire) After France's defeat previously Russia was now considered the biggest threat to the balance of power in Europe. It had great military power due to the seemingly unlimited supply of peasant conscripts to its armed services. The weak Ottoman Empire was always being watched by Russia who was continuously
The Merchants Tale, Lines 497 - 537
The Merchants Tale, Lines 497 - 537 In lines 497 - 537 we see many references to the bible and Greek mythology. This part of the story is the wedding party 'And at the feeste sitteth he and she' and with them sit other 'worthy folk' on the raised platform; deys. Towards the beginning of the poem we realise that the 'blisse is the paleys' and everyone seems happy, although, not much is said about May, and from what we know she would not be as happy marrying January. Until lines 502, we get the impression that the palace is full of joy, the food is plentiful and that the marriage will go ahead perfectly. Even as we read the first few lines we realise it has rhyming couplets which adds to the effect of the poem and seems suited with what the narrator is saying. As it would be a poem read aloud it would be easier to remember and understand the poem because it is in rhyming couplets. The mood of the wedding carries on in lines 503, not only are the people happy and the food plentiful, but also music was played which was so great that not even 'Orpheus, ne of Thebes Amphioun' had made such a melody. Here we see the references to Greek Mythology and Religion. In line 507 we even see the mention of 'Joab' the nephew of David, who seems content in the wedding ceremony. Up to lines 517 we see mention of various Greek Mythological characters who seemed amazed and happy with the
How fully was Britain Romanised?
How fully was Britain Romanised? To some extent, it could be said that Britain was Romanised, in that Roman ways of life became ingrained into British society. Britain could be said to have become more civilised - the political structure changed, roads were introduced, taxes funded local administration, and life adapted to include Roman amenities, such as villas. However, Britain had to be kept under strict control in order to maintain Roman dominance, and the Boudiccan revolt shows that not everyone was accepting of the new society. Britain could be said to have become Romanised in that the political structure changed from a tribal dynastic monarchy, with primitive customs, to an imperial province. Therefore, Britain was governed according to the principles and policies that affected the whole Roman Empire, although, it was still governed as a single entity. Rome extended its grasp over Britain through the governors; they ran and lived in provinces, and were carefully selected for the role, usually being required to have extensive experience. They must have once been a consul or a praetor, and were chosen carefully for the skills they could transfer to the governed area. Not only was their role military, but they were also responsible for maintaining good relations with local client kings, to help the process of Romanisation become more acceptable. After the Roman
What were the different historical explanations of the Disaster of 1898 offered by the following groups in Spain: the 'Generation of 1898', the workers' movements, the army, and the Restoration politicians?
What were the different historical explanations of the Disaster of 1898 offered by the following groups in Spain: the 'Generation of 1898', the workers' movements, the army, and the Restoration politicians? In 1898, Spain lost the last few relics of its once great and immense colonial empire. Following the humiliating military defeat at the hands of the United States, Cuba gained its independence (albeit in the economic and political shadow of the military victors), whereas Puerto Rico and the Philippines were subjected to outright American rule. Some lesser Pacific island clusters were sold to Germany at the ensuing Treaty of Paris. Thus with the nineteenth century drawing to a close, Spain was a nation reeling from the final loss of its precious colonial empire. The sense of national shame was greatly enhanced by the fact that the loss of the colonies had been principally due to the military defeat at the hands of a rival imperialist power and could not be cushioned by the myth of a family quarrel with fellow Hispanics, as the colonial losses at the beginning of the century had been.1 Therefore there was acute concern in Spain amongst the politicians, the military and the intelligentsia. A common sentiment was evoked that there was something wrong with Spain and that 'regeneration' was needed. This essay aims to examine to what the various leading groups in Spain attributed
