Part III

Part III discusses the decline of Rome, following the course of decay during the third century AD and the glorious, but ultimately unsuccessful, attempt of Constantine to revive the grandeur of the Roman Empire in the fourth century AD.

Pre-Viewing Questions and Activities

• Hypothesize about the problems that could arise in managing such a large empire.

• Discuss the derivation of the word Pantheon (pan = all or across, theos = god, pantheon = temple of all Roman gods). Look for comparisons made between the architecture of the Pantheon in Rome, Italy, and the Pantheon in Athens, Greece.

While watching the film find the answers to the following questions

1. What purpose did the games involving man against beast (or other man) serve? Did they help to distract and channel the emotions of the frustrated Roman citizen, who had less and less to do with his government, as the Empire (and the authority of the emperor) grew?

2. Did Emperor Hadrian use his authority to make further territorial conquests?

3. Look for examples of Hadrian’s love of all things Greek.

4. What does the Pantheon represent? (a brilliant melding of … with, the classical column, elaborate interior, a perfect antithesis to the Greek temple)

5. Show the contrast between the exterior and the interior of the Pantheon. (plain, not to say ugly, on the outside, to be highly articulate and theatrical within)

6. Did art during the reigns of Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius, who followed Hadrian, continue in a Greek-inspired vein?

7. When did the classical realism and naturalism of the first two centuries of the Empire come to an abrupt halt?

8. Characterize Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius. What was his only positive contribution? (a memorial column, Column of Marcus Aurelius, AD 180-190, Rome, Italy)

9. What does a brief comparison of Aurelius’ column with that of Trajan demonstrate?

10. Who was the Empire ruled by after Commodus? The Empire had grown too unwieldy to be run in peace from Rome, hadn’t it?

11. How did the artistic style change as the chaotic conditions increased? (to grow more and more sketchy and confused, to omit unessential details)

12. What characterized Septimus Severus, the first of the soldier Emperors? (not to gain power through blood relationship or the express wish of one’s predecessor, to be catapulted into power by one’s army, to set a precedent) What did it result in? (19 changes of government in the next 72 years).

13. How did the tide of the Roman conquest turn during the third century?

14. Why did the soldier Emperors rarely accompany their armies? (for fear they would be ousted)

15. What happened to the historical narrative relief, so characteristic of Roman artistic achievement for 200 years? Why?

16. When was the historical narrative revived for the last time?

17. Who represented the only person with sufficient force of personality to pull the empire together for a final burst of glory?

18. Constantine moved the capital from Rome to Constantinople. Do you agree that he signed the death warrant for Rome as the hub of civilization?

19. What do the reliefs from former eras dramatically point up? (the clumsy abstract style which marked the end of Roman art) What did Constantine foresee? What did he purposely intend his memorial arch to be? (a perfect summary of the best of Roman art).

Post-Viewing Questions and Activities

• What practices and problems of Ancient Rome led to its fall? How are these revealed in the art of the time?

• How did the Greek Parthenon differ from the Roman Pantheon? How were they the same? What two architectural features, used in constructing the Pantheon, have become identified with Roman culture?

• In what way is the Arch of Constantine a “perfect summary of the best of Roman art”?

• Explain how Roman sculpture changed between the time of Rome’s greatest power and the time of its fall.

• What were some characteristics revealed in its art and architecture that made the Roman Empire strong? Weak?

Tasks to the Pictures

Look at Picture 1.

This ancient building was designed in Rome for gladiatorial games. It is named

1. Parthenon

2. Pantheon

3. Colosseum

4. Erechtheum