Who do you think was a more important leader, Caesar or Augustus?

Personally, I beleive that Augustus was a much better leader, politician and emperor in general, compared to Caesar. Caesar killed many people, who hurt many innocent women and children, and even though he was loved by many of the poorer people in Rome, he made many enemies. He defied the republic, and declared a civil war, knowing that he was hurting many of his own people, that believed in him and trusted him to make the right decisions. Augustus, however, made many reforms, and like he said himself, Rome was all clay and bricks, until he made it the city of marble. Augustus started importing grains and many other products from Africa and other nations, therefore increasing trade and building a better economical situation for Rome. He created a great protection for the Roman empire, with an army of over 150,00 highly skilled soldiers, all of whom were Roman citizens. Augustus also constructed many marble palaces, fountains and public buildings. He made conquests in modern-day Hungary and Romania, stretching the borders of the Roman Empire. Finally, Augustus made numerous reforms to the law and tax systems, fighting against unfair, greedy tax collectors, as well as corruption. However, most importantly, after Augustus' rule, Rome entered a glorious period in it's history, called the Pax Romana. During this time, arts and science flourished, and Rome was not involved in many wars. Economy was stable, and people lived in peace.
In conclusion, even though Julius Caesar fought for the rights of many underpriviliged citizens, and attempted to expand the Roman Empire, Augustus still had a much more positive impact on Rome's people, as well the city of Rome itself. During his rule, there was much less crime, and he was a lot less blood-thirsty in comparison to his great uncle, Caesar.

Julius Caesar- A Reformer or a Dictator?

I believe that despite all the great things he has done for the Roman empire, Julius Caesar was a dictator, and did seek glory for himself. For example, it is a historical fact that Caesar made some reforms to the Senate, in order to have more of his supporters in it. That way, he believed he could gurantee to stay in power, and not get overthrown by the Senate. Also, if he treated all of the defeated enemies with care, he wouldn't have conquered so much of Gaul and Britain. In order to establish new colonies and create new allies, you have to fight, and that is exactly what Caesar did. When Ceaser proclaimed the dictator of Rome for his whole lifetime, he obviously contradicted some of the basic rules of a republic. In the Roman republic, a dictator was only in charge during a time of big crisis or emergency, which led many to believe that Caesar was against Rome's original form of government.
Caesar also showed his greed for power when the Senate decided that Pompey should be the one ruling over Rome. Ceaser decided not to give up his army, and not to stop ruling, even after he has been warned. He crossed the Rubicon river, and marched into Rome with 5,000 soldiers. He knew that by doing this he would start a civil war, and yet, he still didn't care about all the innocent people that could get killed, and all the homes and farms that could be ruined, leaving many people jobless again. He wanted his power, and was going to do anything to regain it.

How did the geography and climate of Italy influence the development of Ancient Rome?

Geography affected Rome greatly. Firstly, Rome was located close to the Tiber River, which enabled the people who lived in Rome to trade with other nations, by crossing the Mediterranean Sea. However, Rome was far enough from the sea to be able to avoid navy attacks from other empires, as well as attacks by pirates.
The Tiber River not only represented the route to the sea for the Romans, but it also supplied them with fresh water, and food. Rome was located at a place where the Tiber River could be easily crossed, so many traders stopped at Rome to either rest or trade their goods. Rome was built on seven hills, and those hills provided even more protections against foreign invaders.
The geography of Italy itself helped unite its people. The mountains, Appanines, which run along Italy (from north to south) were not as steep and difficult to cross as Greek mountains, so people had no need to live in small, isolated villages. The mountains also had many flat plains which were ideal for growing crops. The farmland was very good in Italy, and that enabled more people to settle there. Another mountain range, the Alps, which run along the north border of Italy, protected the empire from European invaders. The Alps are very steep and very high.

The founding of Rome

There are two legends that exist about the finding of Rome. The first one is a classical tale about two brothers Romolus and Remus. According to the story, they were left on the banks of the Tiber River, and were found by a wolf. They were raised by a shepherd. Together, they made a decision to build a great city, around the 700s B.C.E. However, they got into many arguments. One day, Remus started mocking a wall/fortress that his brother was building. Romolus got extremely angry, and killed his brother. He, then, later found the great city of Rome. The other tale was written as an epic poem by one of Rome's great poets, called Virgil. According to Virgil, Aenaes, a great Trojan hero, came to Italy (the mouth of the Tiber River), when Troy got captured by Greece. Then, he married a Latin princess, and united the two kingdoms. However, the truth is that historians are not really sure about how Rome was found. The most accpeted theory is that the Latins lived together on the hills of Italy around 1000 B.C.E.They farmed the land, and built small huts. Around the 800 B.C.E. the small Latin communities started joining together for protection, building the foundations of Rome. The Etruscars (people who came from Etruria, in the north of Italy) took control of Rome in 650 B.C.E. They got very rich by mining and trading, as they were excellent metal-workers. They developed and influenced Rome greatly. They built the first wooden and brick houses in Rome, and built the first streets and temples.

     
The two pictures show the epic poet, Virgil, as well as the two brothers Romolus and Remus who supposedly got raised by a wolf and shepherd.

Does Alexander the Great deserve his title?

I do believe that Alexander the Great deserves his title, because he managed to do things that no one else in that time period did. He conquered many city-states, and gave them the opportunity to grow and develop by giving them money to keep the Greek culture alive, by building temples, etc. Alexander made many great accomplishments after his father, Philip, got killed. He managed to conquer Tyre, which is one of the last Persian bases. He conquered parts of Egypt, and in Egypt he found a great city, Alexandria. Alexander the Great's empire stretched all the way to India!
However, beside conquering many city-states, Alexander also deserved his title because, in my opinion, he was a very strong person. When his father got killed, Alexander took over the empire fairly quickly, even though he was very young, only about 22 years old. It also must have taken a lot of courage to leave his hometown of Pella (the capital of Macedonia) at a young age, and go off with an army of 35,000 soldiers to conquer new lands, and never come back.
Alexander also shows his strength when he died with his army. In summer of 326 B.C.E., Alexander and his army reached the Hyphasis River in India, and led his military through the desert. The conditions in the desert were horrible, and Alexander fell ill. He died in Babylon.
Alexander the Great was a very strong leader, who was determined to spread the Greek culture around the world, and establish new colonies, as well as achieve new conquests. Like it was said in the textbook, "Alexander the Great was a brilliant general. By outwitting enemies, he defeated armies much larger then his own." (page 376).

A Day In A Life Of A Metic In Athens

I woke with the sun rays beaming from the open door of our small mud brick home. I stand from the uncomfortable straw bed, and go to join my wife, and our two daughters for breakfast. As all of us glance at our neighbors' house, we see their two slaves washing a tunic with hot water. We sigh as we watch the poor woman scrubbing the tunic with her injured, red hands, her dirty black hair hovering in the wind. Of course we feel sorrow for her, but we would give anything to have someone helping us in the house. Of course, the house is not our family's. As foreigners, we cannot own any property in Athens, so we are staying at one of the wealthy land owner's houses. Every month I go to his lavishly decorated home at the bottom of the Acropolis, to pay him with olive oil and grapes, for letting us stay at his house for a while. He ought to kick us out soon though, as he keeps complaining that what we are giving him is not enough. 

For breakfast, we eat a grape each, and drink some water. It is all we can afford right now, as the business is not going as well as we expected. Once we finish eating, everybody goes to their daily chores. My wife immediately starts weaving, hoping that we will be able to sell some of her colorful designs at the agora. My younger daughter takes her clay and starts trying to be helpful, by making a strange, curved pot. All of us laugh, as she is only six, and is not very skilled yet. However, my older daughter is great at making jewelry out of rocks, plants and many other things she finds around Athens. Today I am going to the agora to sell her necklaces, and we are all hoping that it goes well. I take all the trading items, and silently step out of the house into the fresh morning. People are hurrying around everywhere, mothers waving to their sons who are running to school. Men are headed to the agora, some to trade, some to chat, and some to exercise. No one notices me, a poor, scruffy merchant, with his hands full of merchandise. 

As I get closer to the agora, many more people start entering the huge open space. I quickly grab my usual place before any other trader does, and display all of the goods that I have brought. Then, the usual routine starts. I start shouting at the people who pass by "Necklaces! Jewelry! Very cheap!". Some people stop and look at them, others just hurry by quickly, without even noticing me. The first person to buy a necklace is a small, old man, probably buying gifts for his daughter. He picks out a necklace made out of pink thread, and bright orange rocks. In return, I ask for a pint of olive oil, and a few grapes, so that I could pay the land owner once I head back home. The day starts getting extremely hot and unbearable, and the customers stop coming as men go into to the gymnasium for the afternoon. So I decide to end the day, and go see a play in the theatre. Metics are not always allowed to attend plays, but today I am hopeful that I will be let in. 

I take a seat at the very far back, where you can see the whole performance well. It turns out that today a tragedy is being played. Actors take the center stage, and with their depressed, sad-looking masks start saying the lines of their dialogue. After some time, the play finally ends, and the actors bow down, with everyone cheering. I leave the theatre, and head straight home, knowing that I am already quite late. When I get home, I see that my wife has already prepared dinner, a few loaves of bread with olive oil. My daughters devour the loaves ravenously, and my wife and I start talking about how much we miss Thebes, and the life we used to have there. We were citizens, and had many rights. But, now we are in Athens, and we need to focus on getting as wealthy as we possibly can before we go back home. 

After we are finished I say good night to my family, and go to sleep, knowing that tomorrow will be another day of hard work.

"The Spartan Way" article summary

Sparta was a great and powerful city-state in Ancient Greece. It was the society of soldiers. The qualities that were widely respected in Sparta were strength, misleading the enemy by telling lies, and feearlessness concerning battle and death. Spartans brutally trained their men, so that they could become a most-feared army in Ancient Greece.
The biggest rival of Sparta was the city-state of Athens. Athens was the home to many artists and thinkers, but also the birthplace of democracy. Sparta was run by an oligarchy of a few powerful and very wealthy families. Spartans, however, left very few writings, and very few artifacts behind, so most of what we know about Sparta today has come from enemies and visitors.
In Spartan society, only 10 percent of men had full citizenship. Citizenship was gained at the age of thrity.  Their only job was to be soldiers in the army. They weren't allowed to persue other jobs and occupations. Spartan soldiers ate their meals in an army mess hall, away from their families, where the food was deliberately bad-tasting.
Sparta had very harsh laws. For example, all newborn babies were inspected by the government, and if they looked unhealthy, they were left on a mountain to die. Also, boys left their homes at the age of seven, when they started training with other children their age. The conditions for them were very difficult. They were beaten, but were expected not to show any suffering or pain. They were provided with very limited amount of food. Girls were also had very difficult training, becuase it was believed that fit women are more likely to give birth to healthy offspring.
Women in Sparta had much more freedom then other women in Greece. They could be owners of land, run businesses, etc.
Beside the women and male citizens of Sparta, there were two other types of people, and those were the perioeci and the helots. The perioeci were the people who lived in towns around Sparta, and provided food for the Spartans. They had no rights whatsoever, but could grow rich as traders or craftsmen. The helots were slaves, and they were owned by Sparta. Their job was to work at the farms of Sparta, and they were treated very cruelly.
After the Peloponnesian War in 404 B.C.E., Sparta beat Athens, and became the most powerful city-state. But, in 371 B.C.E. the city-state of Thebes beat the Spartan army, and Sparta collapsed.

Price, Sean. The Ancient World. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. The Spartan Way