The Twelve Tables

Please read through this translation of the the Twelve Tables, Rome's first written laws (also available in an abridged version here). How impressed are you with this law code? Cite an example of what you consider to be a particularly good law or a particularly bad law from this code. Explain how the law you cite would have tended to either strengthen or weaken the Roman Republic.

Livy--Stories from Early Rome

Please read the Preface and Book I of Livy's History of Rome (also available here). Read the preface carefully. Skim through Book I, concentrating on stories you find particularly interesting.

Choose one (1) character from one of the Livy stories that you think particularly interesting. What parts of the story do you think really happened, and what parts do you disbelieve? Why? How is the story of this character important for understanding Roman history/subsequent history?

Welcome!

Brek-ek-ek-ek-coax-coax... and welcome to Roman Keyline Blog! You have just crossed the river Styx and are ready to join Aeschylus and Euripides in a great line contest. Fortunately for you, you don't have to invent your own lines. Most of the time, I'll just ask you to pick out a great line from whatever Roman writer we happen to be studying in History 422 and explain why this line is key to understanding the whole work or particularly worth remembering and applying to real life.

For this first post, you don't need to have done any of the readings.  Just introduce yourself and explain why are taking this course.