In the field of education, the Romans also acted as successors to the Hellenes. In Rome, back in the Republican period, three levels of education developed: a primary school for children 7–12 years old, a grammar school for boys 12–16 years old, and a rhetoric school for young people 16–20 years old, which corresponded to higher education. In primary school they taught reading, writing and arithmetic. At the grammar school they studied Roman literature, the Latin language, as separate subjects they taught the Greek classics and ancient greek language. At the rhetoric school they studied eloquence, philosophy, history, and law. The schools were private and tuition was paid. Emperors provided financial support to rhetoric schools. In addition, during the period of the empire they continued to operate Alexandria Museyon, Athens Academy and Lyceum.

Roman science is usually assessed as decadent. This is only partly true. Rome became the birthplace of a new science - jurisprudence, which continued to improve during the imperial period. Gnaeus Flavius ​​is called the father of jurisprudence. He came from a freedman's family. In 304 BC, as scribe to the college of pontiffs, he published the pontifical scrolls and fastas, making them the subject of free discussion and interpretation. Later, Gnaeus Flavius ​​was elected tribune, praetor, and ended his career as a senator. In 509 BC, he introduced a new calendar from the establishment of the republic. In the 2nd century BC, the first treatises on law appeared, for example, “De iure civile” by Cato the Younger and Junius Brutus. In the 1st century AD, legal schools arose - Sabinian and Proculian, named after the most prominent jurists of that time - Sabinus and Proculus. In the 2nd–3rd centuries, classical Roman law was formed, in which Paul, Papinian, Gaius, Ulpian, and Modestine were recognized as the highest authorities. They are credited with developing private and public law, basic legal categories and concepts. In the 4th century, the writings of these jurists were endowed with normative force, like laws. In 426, a law on citation was passed, according to which references to specified authorities became the norm.

Political theory was developed. Here, the most significant are the works of Cicero and Polybius on the republic as a mixed form of government, which simultaneously had a division of powers.
In the natural sciences there is a significant degree of borrowing of Hellenic knowledge. Celsus summarized the achievements of Greek medicine. Galen continued the practice of anatomical dissections. The founder of Roman science proper is often called Varro, who compiled an encyclopedia of sciences; in addition to his extensive knowledge of natural science, he demonstrated a deep understanding of Roman religious and everyday traditions, Roman ancient monuments, Roman theater, the Latin language, etc. Pliny the Elder, the author of Natural History, was a universal encyclopedist. Virgil, who enjoyed the fame of the first poet of Ancient Rome, revealed extraordinary agronomic knowledge in his work “Georgics”. Theoretical and practical treatises were created on architecture (Vitruvius), on aqueducts (Frontinus), on botany (Dioscordius), geographical works were created (Pomponius Mela, Claudius Ptolemy), road maps, for example, “Peitinger Tables”; the geometer Pappus continued to improve the calculations of areas and volumes; mathematician Diophantus used letters, not digital values when solving equations, anticipating the appearance of algebra; the astronomer Sosigenes made calendar calculations, laying the foundations for the Julian calendar reform; The alchemist Zosima discovered the properties of sulfur, mercury, and acids. At the same time, we can note the retreat of Roman science during the empire into the realm of esotericism: astronomy turned into astrology, medicine into magic, mathematics and geometry into the mysticism of numbers and figures, chemical knowledge became alchemy, that is, a special symbolic chemistry.

In the humanities, the Romans also drew on Greek ideas. Scipio Aemilianus, the first Roman philosopher, spoke and wrote in Greek and adhered to the teachings of the Greek Stoics. Lucretius, the author of the philosophical poem “On the Nature of Things,” developed the doctrine of Epicurus; he rejected the idea of ​​God, put forward a theory of progress, introduced a three-part periodization of human development - stone, copper and iron age. Cicero's role in the development of Latin philosophical terminology is significant. The founder of Roman Stoicism was Seneca, the educator of the future emperor Nero, who is called the “uncle of Christianity”; he developed the doctrine of the inner dignity of man, which could make the slave superior to the free; taught about reward after death. Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor, was also a Stoic; he preached the renunciation of everything external, submission to fate.
During the period of the Principate, the Gnostic doctrine arose, the founder of which is considered to be Philo of Alexandria; he distinguished between the elect, who possessed spiritual knowledge (gnosis), and the mob, alien to spirituality. At the same time, Christian theology arose, sharply criticizing pagan science for false knowledge. One of the first theologians, Tertullian, proclaimed the principle of the superiority of faith over knowledge: “I believe because it is absurd” (credo quia absurdum est). During the Dominant period, Neoplatonism developed, the most prominent representative of which was Plotinus - the latest achievement of speculative knowledge of Roman and generally ancient culture.

Ennius (2nd century BC) is considered the founder of Roman historical science. Roman historiography reached its peak during the imperial period. The most brilliant historian was Titus Livius, who wrote “The History of Rome from the Founding of the City.” Of the representatives of the Greek intelligentsia who wrote in Latin, the most famous were Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who wrote the book “Roman Archeology” and argued about the kinship of the Romans and Greeks, and Plutarch, the author of the famous “Comparative Lives”. The pinnacle of Roman historical thought was Tacitus's History and Annals; he had a sharply negative attitude towards the empire and emperors, and was extremely sensitive to the degradation of Roman civil society.

Scientists of Ancient Rome Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (approximately 87 - 165 AD) - mathematician, astronomer, geographer. Among the sciences in which Claudius Ptolemy showed particular interest in his biography are astronomy, physics (in particular, optics), and geography. His main astronomical work is “The Great Construction” (or Almagest). In it, the scientist described a geocentric model of the world. Also for my short biography Ptolemy created a catalog of the starry sky from 48 constellations that he could observe in Alexandria.

Other works of Ptolemy, “Guide to Geography” (8 books), were also very famous (from 1475 to 1600, 42 editions of this work were published). It provides a complete, well-systematized summary of the geographical knowledge of the ancients.

He gave coordinates of 8000 points (in latitude - from Scandinavia to the headwaters of the Nile, and in longitude - from Atlantic Ocean to Indochina), based, however, almost exclusively on information about the routes of merchants and travelers, and not on astronomical definitions. The treatise is accompanied by one general and 26 special maps of the earth's surface.

Astronomical observations dated back in ancient times to the reign of kings. In this regard, Ptolemy compiled the Chronological Canon of the Kings, which is an important source for chronology. The five-volume treatise on optics he wrote was considered completely lost. But in 1801, an almost complete Latin translation was found, made from Arabic. Of greatest interest in it are the theory of mirrors developed by Ptolemy, tables of angles of refraction when a light ray passes from air to water and glass, as well as the theory and table of astronomical refraction

Marin of Tire - Ancient Greek geographer, cartographer and mathematician, considered the founder of mathematical cartography Marin was born in the second half of the 1st century. n. e. in the city of Tire, which at that time belonged to the Roman province of Syria. The works of Marin of Tyre have not survived to this day; they are known from the references of Ptolemy in his work Geography

According to Ptolemy, Marinus of Tire revised the approach to drawing up nautical charts. His main merit is that he was the first to introduce the concept of latitude and longitude for each point on the map. He used the longitude of the mythical Isles of the Blessed as his prime meridian; latitude of the island. Rhodes served as zero latitude, or equator. Ptolemy mentioned several works of Marinus of Tire dating back to 114 AD. e. In these works Marinus estimated the length of the equator at 180,000 stadia. If we accept that Marinus operated on Greek stages, then the length of the equator will be 33,300 km, which is approximately 17% less than the present size.

For the first time for the Roman Empire, an image of China appears on Marinus maps. Marinus of Tire is considered the founder of the equidistant projection still used in maps. Some of Marin’s ideas are given by Ptolemy. Among them is the assumption that the surrounding ocean is divided by three continents: Europe, Asia, etc. Africa. Marin believed that people inhabit the Earth at latitudes between the island of Thule in the north (associated with the Shetland Islands), and the Tropic of South, respectively, in the south; in longitude - from the Isles of the Blessed to China. Marin of Tire first introduced the term Antarctica as the region opposite the Arctic.

On the one hand, Roman science can be understood as all the science that developed during the Roman Empire over a vast territory that included Greece, Egypt, and Pergamon. Having captured Greece and borrowed from it achievements in the field of philosophy and art, the Romans passed over the enormous achievements of Greek science. Over the five centuries of their existence, they have not made a single significant discovery in the field of natural sciences. Rome gave the world great poets, lawyers, moralists and historians, but not a single thinker in the field of natural sciences. However, ignoring theoretical science, they made a number of discoveries in applied disciplines - construction, medicine, agriculture and military affairs.

The only scientist - encyclopedist of Ancient Rome can be considered Tita Lucretia Cara, who created the poem “On the Nature of Things.” However, this scientist only outlined the concept of the Greek atomist Epicurus, practically without any additions or comments on his part. When describing the principles of Epicurean atomism, he devoted especially much space to analyzing the principles of atomic motion. Just like his teacher, he identified three types of movement:

• uniform,
• rectilinear under gravity
• spontaneous internal, causing deviation from a straight line.

Lucretius, like Epicurus, emphasized that each atom consists of several smallest indivisible parts, and the sizes of the atoms themselves are limited. Hence the conclusion is drawn that atoms cannot be infinitely varied in their shapes. Indivisible parts cannot exist outside the atom. Speaking in terms modern physics, the “smallest parts” of Epicurus and Lucretius are elementary particles.

Achievements of the Romans in agricultural fields are impressive. In ancient Rome, agriculture was a highly respected occupation, and noble citizens themselves delved into the affairs of their latifundia. Two theoretical works in the field of agriculture can be distinguished:

• treatise of Cato the Elder,
• a thorough encyclopedia of Columella agriculture.

In his book, written in the form of instructions to his son, Cato describes the methods of sowing, processing, harvesting and marketing the main crops, managing estates, giving economic calculations of the efficiency of workers on plantations of various crops.

Columella gives advice on the most rational arrangement of the estate, on the agricultural technology of the vineyards, fruit trees, grain crops. Several books are devoted to animal husbandry, beekeeping, poultry farming and fisheries. The last book deals with the duties of an estate manager. The main idea of ​​the work- the decline of Italian agriculture is due to the ignorance of the people who manage the estates and work the land. Therefore, his treatise is something of a textbook for rural owners.

The largest representatives of natural science were the encyclopedist scientists Gaius Pliny Secundus the Elder, Marcus Terentius Varro and Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Ancient Roman philosophy developed mainly in the wake of Greek philosophy, with which it was largely connected. Stoicism is most widespread in philosophy. Roman science achieved remarkable success in medical field. Among the outstanding physicians of Ancient Rome are:

• Dioscorides - pharmacologist and one of the founders of botany,
• Soranus of Ephesus - obstetrician and pediatrician,
• Claudius Galen - a talented anatomist who discovered the functions of nerves and the brain.

Encyclopedic treatises written in the Roman era remained the most important source scientific knowledge during most of the Middle Ages.

At the turn of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the accumulation of natural science knowledge slowed down sharply. Religion sharply intensified, and philosophy itself began to take on an increasingly religious character. Why did this happen? Firstly, because at the turn of the era there was no personality close in scale to Plato and Aristotle. Therefore all scientific activity focused on interpreting the ideas of these two thinkers. In addition, some of Aristotle’s postulates were simply impossible to prove at that level of science. There were neither methods nor technical capabilities for this evidence. This situation led to the deification of nature. Plato and Aristotle themselves were no strangers to this. But Aristotle, believing the presence of a Creator to be obligatory, argued that subsequent changes in nature occur naturally. And their popularizers and epigones were forced to come to the conclusion that the Gods, and subsequently the one God, act from the very beginning and constantly. Disillusioned with the possibility of knowing nature, people began to look for explanations for everything that was happening in supernatural sources of knowledge - in mysticism and religion. The medieval era began.

Ancient Rome has a rich history and culture. There was a time when Ancient Rome was considered the most powerful empire among all other civilizations. At the peak of its power in the 1st and 2nd centuries. AD The Roman Empire occupied a vast territory of 6.5 million square kilometers. The population ranged from 50 to 90 million people. Among these people there were personalities who left a noticeable mark on history. These are emperors, tyrants, gladiators, and poets. Many of them are familiar to us from history books, films and works of art.

The most famous and famous people of ancient Rome

Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar is the most famous and famous Roman commander and statesman. He was a great military leader who won many wars, which allowed him to gain power and become the sole ruler of Rome.

During his reign, he managed to conquer Gaul, invade Britain and repel countless raids by Germanic tribes.

Octavian Augustus

Octavian Augustus was the son of a wealthy Roman banker. Julius Caesar was his great-uncle. Augustus was adopted by Julius Caesar and appointed his heir. Octavian Augustus began an active struggle against Mark Antony, who seized power in Rome after the death of Julius Caesar. They subsequently came to a mutual agreement and agreed to share power over the Roman Republic. They also found and punished Caesar's murderers. When Octavian learned about the love affair between Mark Antony and the queen of Egypt Cleopatra, he considered it a threat to Rome and turned away from Antony. After the death of Mark Antony, Octavian Augustus became the first emperor of Rome.

Rome significantly expanded its territories during the reign of Octavian Augustus. He conquered the Iberian Peninsula and extended the borders of the Roman Empire north to the Danube River. He also regularly restored dilapidated buildings and built roads to the far borders of the empire.

After Octavian's death, Augustus was highly revered in Rome due to his successful reign.

Nero

Nero became Emperor of Rome in 54 AD. at a fairly young age - he was only 17 years old. He turned out to be a very cruel and merciless ruler who killed his own mother.

At first, Nero was a fairly good-natured and reasonable ruler. He was actively involved in issues of trade and culture in the empire. But over time, his actions became more and more cruel and unpredictable.

According to rumors, it was he who started the fire in Rome, which destroyed most of the city. He blamed the arson on Christians, whom he persecuted throughout his reign. In 68, Nero realized that he had no support left in the Senate, and he committed suicide.

Remus and Romulus

Remus and Romulus were twins who, according to legend, founded the city of Rome. According to legend, they were abandoned by their parents in early age. They put them in a basket and sent it down the Tiber River. This basket was found by a she-wolf, who pulled it out of the river and took the twins to a shepherd, who took them in as foster care.

Time passed. The twins grew up and became men. They decided to build a city, but a dispute arose between them over the construction site. The dispute escalated into a fight, as a result of which Remus was killed by his brother Romulus. Romulus built the city and became the first king of Rome. He became a famous ruler and great commander.

Mark Brutus

Marcus Brutus was a Roman senator who is considered the organizer of the assassination of Julius Caesar in the fight for political power. March 15th, 44 BC Marcus Brutus and his associates attempted to assassinate Julius Caesar when he entered the Senate for a meeting. After this, power in Rome passed to the Senate, which appointed Brutus as governor of the eastern territories of the Roman Empire. He was subsequently defeated by Octavian Augustus and Mark Antony at the Battle of Philippi in 43, after which he committed suicide.

Adrian

Hadrian became Emperor of Rome in 117 AD. Adrian is especially famous for the fact that during his reign he was actively involved in construction. He completed the construction of the Roman Pantheon, built stone wall in Britain for protection from foreigners. Adrian also traveled a lot and visited every corner of the empire. He admired Ancient Greece and even wanted to make Athens cultural capital Roman Empire. He is rightfully considered one of the most peaceful rulers of Rome. Hadrian died in 138 AD.

Virgil

Virgil was the greatest poet of Rome. He was born in 70 BC. in northern Italy. My creative activity he began during his studies in Rome and Naples. His most famous work is considered to be the unfinished epic "The Aeneid". Taking Homer's "Odyssey" and "Iliad" as a basis, Virgil tells about the adventures of a Trojan hero named Aeneas, who traveled to the western lands and founded the city of Rome. In this epic poem, Virgil shows the greatness of Rome and his admiration for its rulers.

In his other poems, Virgil describes the life of Rome and its inhabitants. After his death, Virgil's fame spread throughout Rome. In Roman schools, students read his poems and studied his biography. Writers of the Middle Ages very often referred to Virgil in their works.

Guy Mari

Gaius Marius lived between 157 and 86. BC He was a famous military leader, statesman and was elected consul several times. Gaius Marius reorganized the Roman army and defeated many northern tribes. He is known for his love of recruiting poor people into the Roman army, promising to make them happy citizens proud of their country.

Cicero

Cicero (106-43 BC) was a great Roman philosopher, orator and writer. He was considered the most prominent translator from Greek language into Latin. He was expelled from Rome by the first triumvirate, but was later allowed to return. He had oppositional views on politics, which is why he was killed in 43 BC. To this day, students around the world study the works of Cicero in Latin.

Constantine the Great

Constantine the Great (275-337 AD) became the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. During his reign, Christians and other religious groups gained freedom from persecution. He rebuilt ancient greek city Byzantium, calling it Constantinople and the Christian center of Ancient Rome.

Cleopatra

Cleopatra (69-30 BC) was the queen of Egypt during the period of Roman rule. She took great care of her appearance and always looked great. At the same time, she proved herself to be a ruthless ruler. She ascended to the Egyptian throne at the age of 18. She became best known for her connections with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.

Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate was the Roman prefect of Judea, a Roman province. He became famous as a judge during the trial of Jesus Christ. He sentenced Jesus Christ to death for treason because... Jesus proclaimed himself king of the Jews. The rulers of Judah considered him dangerous person for the Roman Empire.

However, according to the Bible, Pontius Pilate claimed that he did not want Christ to be crucified.

We looked at only some of the most famous people of that time. There were other, less well-known figures. Together they created the history of Ancient Rome.

source

luchshii-blog.ru

10. The contribution of the ancient Romans to science

Roman science did not reach the scale of Greek science, because it was dependent on the specific needs of the growing Roman Empire. Mathematics, geography, natural science and other sciences among the Romans were of a narrowly applied nature. A noticeable mark in science was left by the works of Menelaus of Alexandria on spherical geometry and trigonometry, Ptolemy’s geocentric model of the world, works on optics, astronomy (a catalog of more than 1,600 stars was compiled), and experiments on animals in physiology were carried out. The doctor Galen came close to discovering the importance of nerves for motor reflexes and blood circulation. Developed construction equipment, which made it possible to create the Flavian Colosseum, a one and a half kilometer bridge across the Danube under Trajan, etc. Mechanics were improved, lifting mechanisms were used. According to Seneca, “despicable slaves” invented something new every time: pipes through which steam flowed to heat rooms, special polishing of marble, mirror tiles to reflect the sun's rays. The art of mosaic spread: even in houses on the Rhine, glass was inserted into the windows. Both Menelaus and Ptolemy were Greek scientists working in Rome.

Astrology, which was studied by major astronomers, was very popular. Basically, Roman scholars comprehended and commented on the Greeks. " A special place Philosophy and jurisprudence occupied the culture of the ancient Romans. Ancient Roman philosophy eclectically combined the principles of various teachings of Greek thinkers, especially the Hellenistic era. Philosophers adopted their scientific apparatus, terminology, and most important directions. The ideas of moral improvement of man and the mystical moods characteristic of the time acquired important significance for Roman philosophy. Among philosophical directions Stoicism and Epicureanism became most widespread in republican and later in imperial Rome.

The golden age of Roman science was characterized not so much by the increase in knowledge as by encyclopedism, the desire to master and systematically present the already accumulated achievements. Natural science theories Greeks in an eclectic, as if averaged form were accepted as once and for all given, without discussion. Along with this, a keen interest in scientific, rational knowledge of nature remained, and a whole galaxy of outstanding creative minds and wonderful scientists appeared. Pliny the Elder, based on two thousand works of Greek and Roman authors, compiled an encyclopedic “Natural History”, which included all areas of the then science - from the structure of the cosmos to fauna to flora, from descriptions of countries and peoples to mineralogy.

The most important cultural innovations of Roman antiquity are associated with the development of politics and law. Ancient Rome is the birthplace of jurisprudence.

If in the small Greek city-states with their diverse and often changing forms of government, many issues could be resolved on the basis of the direct will of the ruling elite or a general meeting of citizens, then the management of the huge Roman dermis of state bodies, a clearly organized administrative structure, legal laws regulating civil relations, legal proceedings, etc. First legal document- Law of 12 books regulating criminal, financial, trade relations. The constant expansion of territory leads to the emergence of other documents - private law for the Latins and public law regulating the relations between the Latins and the conquered peoples living in the provinces.

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Science of Ancient Rome Scientists of Ancient Rome Claudius

Scientists of Ancient Rome Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (approximately 87 - 165 AD) - mathematician, astronomer, geographer. Among the sciences in which Claudius Ptolemy showed particular interest in his biography are astronomy, physics (in particular, optics), and geography. His main astronomical work is “The Great Construction” (or Almagest). In it, the scientist described a geocentric model of the world. Also, during his short biography, Ptolemy created a catalog of the starry sky from 48 constellations that he could observe in Alexandria.

Other works of Ptolemy were also very famous - “Guide to Geography” (8 books) (from 1475 to 1600, 42 editions of this work were published). It provides a complete, well-systematized summary of the geographical knowledge of the ancients.

He gave coordinates of 8000 points (in latitude - from Scandinavia to the headwaters of the Nile, and in longitude - from the Atlantic Ocean to Indochina), based, however, almost exclusively on information about the routes of merchants and travelers, and not on astronomical definitions. The treatise is accompanied by one general and 26 special maps of the earth's surface.

Astronomical observations dated back in ancient times to the reign of kings. In this regard, Ptolemy compiled the Chronological Canon of the Kings, which is an important source for chronology. The five-volume treatise on optics he wrote was considered completely lost. But in 1801, an almost complete Latin translation was found, made from Arabic. Of greatest interest in it are the theory of mirrors developed by Ptolemy, tables of angles of refraction when a light ray passes from air to water and glass, as well as the theory and table of astronomical refraction

Marin of Tire - Ancient Greek geographer, cartographer and mathematician, considered the founder of mathematical cartography Marin was born in the second half of the 1st century. n. e. in the city of Tire, which at that time belonged to the Roman province of Syria. The works of Marin of Tyre have not survived to this day; they are known from the references of Ptolemy in his work Geography

According to Ptolemy, Marinus of Tire revised the approach to drawing up nautical charts. His main merit is that he was the first to introduce the concept of latitude and longitude for each point on the map. He used the longitude of the mythical Isles of the Blessed as his prime meridian; latitude of the island. Rhodes served as zero latitude, or equator. Ptolemy mentioned several works of Marinus of Tire dating back to 114 AD. e. In these works Marinus estimated the length of the equator at 180,000 stadia. If we accept that Marinus operated on Greek stages, then the length of the equator will be 33,300 km, which is approximately 17% less than the present size.

For the first time for the Roman Empire, an image of China appears on Marinus maps. Marinus of Tire is considered the founder of the equidistant projection still used in maps. Some of Marin’s ideas are given by Ptolemy. Among them is the assumption that the surrounding ocean is divided by three continents: Europe, Asia, etc. Africa. Marin believed that people inhabit the Earth at latitudes between the island of Thule in the north (associated with the Shetland Islands), and the Tropic of South, respectively, in the south; in longitude - from the Isles of the Blessed to China. Marin of Tire first introduced the term Antarctica as the region opposite the Arctic.

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Dysenteric amoeba, helminths and other lovely creatures lived in abundance in Ancient Rome, or rather, in the ancient Romans, found researcher Piers Mitchell, a teacher of biological anthropology at the University of Cambridge in the UK.

Despite the fact that modern people admire ancient Roman plumbing, baths and toilets, none of which seem to have improved the sanitation of the Eternal City, but may have allowed the ancient Romans to smell good, the scientist noted.

About 2000 years ago, public baths and toilets, sewage systems, and clean drinking water began to be supplied to the city via aqueducts. The authorities passed laws according to which human waste was transported outside the city.

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Abstract Outstanding scientists of Ancient Rome

Outstanding scientists of Ancient Rome

Education and science received great development in the 1st - 2nd centuries AD. In Rome and many provincial centers, training was organized for children. Thus, private teachers either at home or in public places, or they simply gathered groups of children in gardens and taught them to read, write and count for a fee. It happened like this: the teacher pronounced letters and words, and the students repeated them out loud, then he wrote letters and words on waxed boards, and the students copied them. In similar primary schools Children studied from 7 to 12 years old. The next level of education was “grammar,” where the course lasted four years. The premises of such schools were decorated with busts of writers and philosophers. Here, students read and commented on passages from the works of poets and writers, and did written exercises. Greek and Latin literature were studied as separate subjects. Having reached the age of 36, the students moved to the school of “rhetoric”, which can be compared with the modern high school. Such schools were very popular, because, despite the strengthening of imperial power, the art of eloquence continued to be valued in the country. The emperors themselves provided funds for the maintenance of schools of Latin and Greek rhetoric. "Rhetors" - teachers of eloquence were frequent guests on the estates of the aristocracy. They taught their listeners the art of constructing phrases, the sophistication of language, organized competitions for listeners, and the winners, as a rule, were given a book.

In the Roman Empire, historical centers of scientific thought continued to develop - Rome itself, Alexandria, Pergamon, Rhodes, Athens, Carthage, Massilia. In Alexandria there was a Museum and a library, in Athens there were famous philosophical schools, founded by Plato (Academy) and Aristotle (Lyceion). Pergamon and Rhodes remained major cultural centers, where the children of the Roman nobility came to complete their education. And near the city of Pergamon, a large scientific and medical center arose - Asklepion.

Now, actually, about scientific achievements. In the second half of the 1st century. Pliny Secundus wrote the great Natural History, which was the first encyclopedia on physical geography, botany, zoology and mineralogy. At the end of the 1st - beginning of the 2nd century. the famous Roman historian Tacitus in his two works “The Acts of Publius Valerius Agricola” and “Germany” described the life and social order tribes of Central Europe continued to maintain their independence from the Roman Empire.

In the II century. high level Medical science has developed. Even during the reign of Emperor Augustus, a school for training doctors was created in Rome. Such schools also existed in Asia Minor. At the end of the 2nd century. The doctor Galen became famous; he conducted experiments on studying breathing, the activity of the spinal cord and brain.

Along with the natural sciences, astronomy and astrology became more widespread, but here the successes were not as great as in other areas of knowledge. Thus, Claudius Ptolemy abandoned the heliocentric theory of Aristarchus of Samos. Instead, he proposed a theory according to which the center solar system there was the Earth, and the Sun and other celestial bodies revolved around it. Later, this theory was borrowed by Christian theologians and became the basis of the medieval understanding of the structure of the Universe. Astrology was brought to Rome from Mesopotamia and was popular in the 2nd and especially 3rd centuries.

Athens remained the main philosophical center in the 1st - 2nd centuries. In the early stages, Stoicism and Epicureanism were very popular. Among the plebs, wandering philosophers - Cynics, who often sharply criticized representatives of the aristocracy, were popular. The most famous Stoic philosopher in the 2nd century. was the emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121 - 180). The years of his reign are significant in that at present the crisis within the empire was becoming more and more intense, the upper social classes refused to change anything in order to preserve the existing social system. In Stoic ethics they saw certain means of the moral revival of society. In his reflections “To himself,” the emperor proclaimed: “The only thing that is in the power of a person is his thoughts... Look into your insides. There, inside, there is a source of goodness that is able to beat without drying up if you turn to it.” keep digging."

The natural, distinctly materialistic philosophy of antiquity in Rome for its time was Epicureanism, which spread significantly in the last years of the Roman Republic and at the beginning of the imperial reign. The founders of this philosophical movement, such as Titus Lucretius Carus (95 - 55 BC), supported the conviction of the early representatives of atomistic teaching and defended the basic principles of atomism. They talked about the non-creation of matter as such. With the indestructibility and non-creation of matter, that is, with its infinity in time, they connected the infinity of matter in space. Atoms, according to Lucretius, are characterized by movement. Lucretius tried to justify deviations from the rectilinear motion of atoms. Together with the size and shape of atoms, movement, according to the philosopher, is the reason for the diversity and variety of things in the world. Lucretius considers the soul material - a special combination of air and heat. It flows through the entire body and is formed by the finest and smallest atoms.

Lucretia, TIT Lucretius Carus (c. 99 - c. 55 BC), Roman poet, author of the didactic epic On Nature (De rerum natura). Lucretius is a Roman citizen, perhaps of noble birth, judging by the expressions in which he devotes his work to prominent statesman Gaius Memmius (praetor in 58 BC). Everything we know about the life of Lucretius comes down to the message of St. Jerome, in all likelihood quoting Svithonius, says: “Filled with a love potion, Lucretius lost his mind, in the bright intervals he wrote several books, later published by Cicero, and took his own life.” The story of the madness and suicide of Lucretius (inspired by Tennyson's poem Lucretius) and the role of Cicero in his literary destiny have become the subject of heated debate. In a letter to his brother Quintus, written in February 54 BC, that is, shortly after the poet’s death, Cicero mentions his poem, but only to recognize in it “many glimpses of genius, but also great art.”

The Poem On Nature is the largest exposition of philosophy that has come down to us by Epicurus (c. 340-270 BC). It consists of six books. The first three establish fundamental principles (“Nothing comes from nothing,” “Nothing ever perishes”). Next, Lucretius systematically expounds the doctrine of a universe consisting of an infinite number of tiny indivisible particles (atoms) and an infinite empty space through which these particles are forever falling. Lucretius also claims that atoms do not have any qualities other than a certain size and shape, and all other properties of objects that we perceive (color, smell, heat, etc.) arise as a result of the influence of various combinations of atoms on the human senses. Anything made from atoms, including

The history of the Roman Empire has many secrets. Having expanded to unprecedented proportions, it created ordinary subjects of the Caesars, who in fact were its holding solution.

On January 10, 705 from the founding of Rome (49 BC), the soldiers of the 13th Legion, who for eight years followed the ruler of Gaul from one bloody campaign to another, found themselves at a river so unremarkable that even its location was forgotten, but which will become a symbol of determination and a dangerous step. Now educated people say “cross the Rubicon”, the Romans of that time used the Latin word discrimen, which meant not only “dividing line”, but was also used in the sense of a moment of painful tension when the whole life is at stake.

Having crossed the Rubicon River, Gaius Julius Caesar committed a terrible crime - it was tantamount to announcing civil war Rome. This event ultimately influenced the fate of not only the Eternal City, but the entire history of civilization.

No mortal was allowed to cross the pomerium - the ancient border of sacred Rome, which ran along the furrow drawn by Romulus's plow and preserved from the time of the kings - with arms in hand. Inside the pomerium, Jupiter ruled, the guardian and protector of the City. The first person to cross the line of Rome was Sulla, nicknamed “Felix”, which means Happy. He was the first to push the boundaries of the pomerium, something that no one had dared to do before him either. These were the first steps towards the destruction of the Roman Republic.

American historian William Broadhead, an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), recently proposed his hypothesis to explain this metamorphosis. How was it that Julius Caesar was able to force his legions to serve one man rather than the Senate of Rome or the Roman people? “He was dealing with an effective mercenary army, loyal to an individual commander, not a city-state,” William Brodhead expresses his point of view on the pages of MITNews. “How did this situation arise?”

Based on the processing of many of the most different sources, from ancient texts (associate professor studied Latin and Ancient Greek at Middlebury College in Vermont) to the latest archaeological discoveries, Brodhead put forward a new hypothesis about how Caesar - like Sulla several decades before him, and Augustus several years later - was able to lead his legions against Rome.

"My interpretation is based on demographic data," says Broadhead. "Ancient Italy was a country of high population mobility and, contrary to stereotypical beliefs, not a place inhabited by sedentary peasants."

Also, residents of numerous cities, whom the Roman Republic also traditionally recruited into its army, often left in search of a better life either to the recently conquered outskirts of the Roman world, or to other regions of Italy itself.

Recruitment into the Roman army during the Republic was carried out according to the strict principle of formula togatorum (literally “toga wearers” - an attribute of Roman citizens who wore this clothing only in times of peace), which clearly determined how many recruits a particular city could produce. Roman citizenship (civitas Romana) allowed, among other rights, to serve as legionnaires. Military personnel of the auxiliary auxiliary troops (from Latin word auxilia - “help”), which consisted of foreigners, received the rights of Roman citizenship after completing a full (30 years) term of service.

According to the ancient Greek historian Polybius, “the Romans annually recruit four legions, and a legion has about four thousand infantry and two hundred cavalry men. If there is a more important matter ahead, then each legion consists of five thousand infantry and three hundred cavalry men. As for the allies, then their infantry is equal in number to the Roman legions, while the cavalry is usually three times more numerous than the Roman.” The Roman historians Appian and Velleius Paterculus also mention similar contributions from Rome's allies.

This principle, which formed the basis of recruitment into the army, lasted for many years. However, over time, high population mobility led to the fact that conscription on a geographical basis lost its former significance. A new system for recruiting military personnel was born. The commander appealed to the people to join him in his service, enticing future Landsknechts with military trophies and other benefits. As a result, a “patronage-clientage” relationship arose between the commander and his soldiers, and as we remember, in Ancient Rome clients (citizens under the patronage of a noble person) were obliged to support their patron (patron) in everything. So they supported him in everything - even in his desire to cross the threshold.

So, according to the scientist, it was precisely the fact that soldiers recruited from migrants began to defend the interests of their patron, and not the state, that led to a change political system Rome. In his book Hegemony and Mobility in Roman Italy, Associate Professor Brodhead not only outlined his hypothesis in detail, but also pointed out that he was prompted to this conclusion not only by the works of Livy, Plutarch and Cicero, but also recent finds and research, which made it possible to correctly assess the size of ancient urban centers and their changes over time, as well as to trace the geography of the distribution of ceramic products with the marks of masters, which indicated their place of origin.