Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
As a word of explanation for all of this tediously gathered (but still highly interesting) information here on this beautifully produced site, it must be understood that high schools across the country some how decided that Julius Caesar was the play to do in tenth grade. That is all the explanation I can manage to scrape up for you. Personally, I can picture all of the teachers getting together in some flickering fluorescent room with dismal cider block walls (basically any school building) and debating on what play (or other frightening classic piece) to give us. It is just the sort of underhanded thing that teachers would do, to gather and plot our collective learning. Those sneaky teachers.
But one way or another they did decide and now I am reading said play (which is really not that bad. As the classics go, it is extremely not boring. Shakespeare was a bit of a brilliant writer as you may have heard. And consequently, I am really enjoying the class.)
Rome
Rome in the days of Julius Caesar progressed from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire and came into a new chapter of development.
From its humble beginnings as a farming village to its grand denouement as a ruling empire, Rome was a dominant force in Western history.
Roman civilization is often grouped into 'classical antiquity' with ancient Greece, a civilization that inspired much of the culture of Ancient Rome. Ancient Rome contributed greatly to the development of law, war, art, literature, architecture, technology and language in the Western world, and its history continues to have a major influence on the world today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome
http://travelblog.viator.com/ancient-rome-a-beginners-guide/
Map of Rome
I found an excellent little video type thing that I couldn't persuade to come and play on my page, so here is the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Roman_Empire_map.gif
and enjoy. It shows from the beginning of the Roman Republic to the end of the Roman Empire and has the time period there on the screen. Very informative but it didn't want to play for me so you get to go and see it for yourself!
