大学英语文化与影视课程之古罗马文化分析解析

1、Roman Culture,2.1 Romans and Greeks The burning of Corinth in 146 B.C. marked Roman conquest of Greece, which then was reduced to a province of the Roman Empire. Latin was the language of the western half of the Roman Empire, Greek that of the eastern half. Things shared by the Romans and the Greeks

2、 Both peoples had traditions rooted in the idea of the citizen-assembly, hostile to monarchy and to servility(奴颜媚骨). Question: What kind of ideal did both peoples pursue in their political life?,Their religions were alike enough for most of their deities to be readily identified. 雅努斯 Janus 门神，具有前后两个

3、面孔或四方四个面孔，象征开始。 朱庇特 Jupiter 神王。相对应于希腊神话的宙斯Zeus. 朱诺 Juno 神后，相对应于希腊神话的赫拉Hera. 墨邱利 Mercury 神的使者，相对应于希腊神话的赫耳墨斯Hermes. 维纳斯 Venus 美神、爱神，相对应于希腊神话的阿佛洛狄德Aphrodite。 玛尔斯 Mars 战神，相对应于希腊神话的阿瑞斯Ares。但形象较阿瑞斯正面许多。 萨敦 Saturn 朱庇特的父亲，相对应于希腊神话的科罗努斯Kronus。 玛亚 Maia 墨邱利的母亲，花神。,狄安娜 Diana 月亮女神，相对应于希腊神话的阿尔忒弥斯Artemis。 阿波罗 Apol

4、lo 太阳神，希腊和罗马名字相同。 米诺娃 Minerva 智慧女神，相对应于希腊神话的雅典娜Athena。 赛尔斯 Ceres 谷物和丰收女神，相对应于希腊神话的狄蜜特Demeter。 伏尔肯 Vulcan 火神，维纳斯的丈夫，相对应于希腊神话的赫斐斯托斯Hephaestus。 尼普敦 Neptune 海王神，相对应于希腊神话的波赛东Posidon，朱庇特的弟弟。 普鲁托 Pluto 冥神，相对应于希腊神话的哈底斯Hades，朱庇特的弟弟。 丘比特 Cupid 小爱神，维纳斯的儿子，相对应于希腊神话的爱罗斯Eros。 欧若拉 Aurora 黎明女神，相对应于希腊神话的厄俄斯Eos。,Thei

5、r language worked in similar ways, and were ultimately related, both being members of the Indo-European language family which stretches from Bangladesh to Iceland. Differences There was one big difference. The Romans built up a vast empire while the Greeks didnt except for the brief moment of Alexan

6、ders conquest, which soon disintegrated. The Romans were confident in their own organizational power, their military and administrative capabilities, shown by the uniformity with which they put their system smoothly and quickly into effect, wherever in the world the went.,The Romans knew that the Gr

7、eeks enjoyed an artistic and intellectual inheritance much older and immeasurably richer than their own. They respected this inheritance and assimilated it for the artistic enrichment of their own culture. Question: The Roman writer Horace said, “Captive Greece took her rude conqueror captive.”(被征服的

8、希腊征服了它野蛮的征服者)What does it mean?,2.2 Roman History The year 27 B.C. divided the history of Rome into two periods: before then Rome had been a republic; in that year, Octavius took supreme power as emperor with the title of Augustus. Two centuries later, the Roman Empire reached its greatest extreme,

9、encircling the Mediterranean, reaching Scotland in the north and spreading into America and Mesopotamia in the east. The emperors relied on a strong armythe famous Roman legions(军团)and an efficient bureaucracy to exert their rule, which was facilitated by a well-developed system of roads. Thus the R

10、omans enjoyed a long period of peace lasting 200 years, a remarkable phenomenon in history known as the Pax Romana(罗马治下的和平).,Questions What does Pax Romana mean? Pax Romana罗马治下的和平成为字典 的一个短语，指一个强权通过它的开明政治和法律 给整个世界带来了和平昌盛。被征服的民族可能会 心怀不满，但是只要愿意接受罗马的统治，生活也 是很安定的。 公元前的几个世纪，亚平宁半岛上的一个小部 族，罗马，逐步地、稳定地、不可阻挡地扩

11、张着， 公元前两个世纪，罗马逐一击败它的对手，占据了 迦太基、马其顿、希腊、小亚细亚、埃及，凯撒征 服了不列颠。公元后的二个世纪，到所谓“五贤帝” 治下，差不多整个西方世界都包罗进了罗马的版 图。地中海世界第一次实现了真正的统一。,地中海是战乱不断的地方，直到今天仍然是各种文化冲突的大舞台，巴勒斯坦和以色列就在地中海边上。但在罗马帝国的统治下，整个地中海成为一个统一国家的内海，不再有敌国之间的征战，不再有海盗船出没。罗马帝国的强大、繁荣、和平，不但在古代的西方世界绝无仅有，就是今天回顾，仍让人叹为观止。且不说罗马的道路，罗马的公共体育场，单说用水一项。历史学家告诉我们，罗马城里的人均用水量比最

12、能浪费水资源的美国人还多。罗马的各个城市里，到处建有公共浴室，供市民享受，其规模之大，有的能同时容纳三千人。为了保证清洁的水质，很多城市的用水是通过水道从远处的山泉引入的，水道穿过山野，凿隧道，架桥梁，长达数十公里。其建筑十分精准坚固，两千年后的今天，仍有很多留存在那里。在罗马城以及其他很多城市，地下水道纵横交织。,(2) What proverbs can you think of in relation with the Roman Empire? All roads lead to Rome. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The empire b

13、egan to decline in the 3rd century, increasingly troubled by the inroads of northern tribes such as the Goths. In the 4th century the emperor Constantine moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium, renamed it Constantinople (君士坦丁堡 ,modern Istanbul). After 395, the empire was permanently divided into E

14、ast and West. In 476 the last emperor of the West was deposed by the Goths and this marked the end of the west Roman Empire. The East Roman Empire collapsed when Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453.,The great contribution by the Romans The great contribution by the Romans to European culture wa

15、s Roman law. In its earliest stage, only a number of patricians(贵族) knew the customary legal procedure. When the rules were put into writing in the middle of the third century B. C., it marked a victory of the plebeians(平民). There was further development of law under the emperors until it was codifi

16、ed(完整编撰), eventually to become the core of modern civil and commercial law in many western countries.,2.3 Latin Literature Prose Marcus Tullius Cicero(106-43 B.C),He played an important role in the Roman senate, was noted for his oratory and fine writing style. His legal and political speeches are m

17、odels of Latin diction. His eloquent, oratorical manner of writing, described as Ciceronian, has had an enormous influence on the development of European prose. Ciceros famous sayings The good of the people is the chief law. (宪法应该体现人民的利益) To whose profit? (代表谁的利益?),Julius Caesar (102/100?-44B.C.) He

18、 was another and more successful general who became dictator in Rome for a few years until he was assassinated. He recorded what he did and saw in the various military campaigns he took part in and these writings, collected in his Commentaries(恺撒战记), are models for succinct Latin. Like the great com

19、mander he was, he used language with economy and ferocity, so that words fell almost with the stroke of an iron chisel(凿子) on stone. Some of his saying are still remembered today. I came, I saw, I conquered. The die is cast. (孤注一掷) Men willingly believe what they wish.,Poetry Lucretius(about 93-50 B

20、.C.) 卢克莱修 He wrote the philosophical poem On the Nature of Things (物性论) to expound the ideas of Epicurus（伊壁鸠鲁 ） the Greek atomist. Some extracts follow: Such evil deeds could religion prompt. 这种邪恶的行为促使宗教的形成. Nothing could be created out of nothing. Matter is eternal. The universe is made up of atoms

21、 and the void. 宇宙是由原子和空隙组成的.,Virgil(70-19 B.C.) The greatest of Latin poets, he wrote the great epic, the Aeneid (伊尼德).It tells the story of Aeneas, one of the princes of Troy, who escaped from the burning city when it fell to the Greeks, to carry on the Trojan cause in a new place, Rome. He didnt g

22、o alone, but carrying his father on his shoulders and leading his little son by the hand, a family group of three generations moved together. Thus there was continuity from the past to the futureAeneas stood at the head of a race of people who were to found first the Roman republic and then the Roma

23、n Empire. Yet Aeneas was a truly tragic hero because to fulfill his historic mission he had to betray the great passion of his life. While he gained an empire, he lost something no empire could compensatehappiness in life.,2.4 Architecture, painting and Sculpture Architecture Pantheon(万神殿 ) It was t

24、he greatest and the best preserved Roman temple, which was built in 27 B.C. and reconstructed in the 2nd century A.D. It is in a round, domed form and has the worlds first vast interior space.,Pont du Gard(水道桥 ) It is an exceptionally well-preserved aqueduct(渡槽) that spans a wide valley in southern France.,The Golosseum(斗兽场) It is an enormous amphitheatre（圆形露天竞技场） built in the center of Rome in imperial times. A masterpiece of engineering, it held more