Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Civilization

2007-03-20T01:05:54Z

Hobbes:

People with common language, customs, government, and economy, earliest in Mesopotamia 3000 BC.

A civilisation needs a form of government (a set of laws), a written language, so they can record their history and accomplishments so they don’t have to repeat the same mistakes or invent the same thing over, a form of education, skilled workers, an agricultural surplus to feed the skilled workers, law enforcement, economy, and a currency or trading system.

Ronald Wilson Reagan

2007-03-20T01:02:11Z

Hobbes: /* Miscellaneous Facts */

[[Image:Gorbachev reagan bush.gif|right|250px|thumb]]
'''Ronald Wilson Reagan '''(February 6, 1911- June 5, 2004) was the fortieth [[President of the United States of America]] from 1981 to 1989, following [[Democrat]] [[Jimmy Carter]] and preceding [[Republican]] [[George H. W. Bush]]. Considered by many to be one of the greatest American Presidents, Ronald Reagan is credited with leading America peacefully through the Cold War, lowering taxes (despite supporting tax increases in the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Highway Revenue Act), promoting a free economy, and staunchly opposing [[socialism]] and [[communism]]. He was known affectionately to Americans as "The Gipper", harking back to a film where he was cast as All-American George Gip.)[http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_bartlett/bartlett200310290853.asp]

In one of his most famous challenges to Soviet communism in Europe, Reagan gave a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin in which he said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." Reagan's economic policies became known as "Reaganomics" based the idea tax cuts will spur savings and investment. Reagan was strongly opposed to the concept of big government, advocating a reduction in the size and budget of the federal government. During his terms in office, he faced a divided government split between Republican and Democratic control for six of his eight years as President. Even then, when the Democrats gained control of the House and Senate, he was known for forging alliances with the Democratic Speaker, [[Tip O'Neill]], among others, to effectively pass legislation.

==Early Life==
Reagan was born and raised in Illinois and attended Eureka College, where he quickly developed a reputation as a "jack of all trades", excelling in the areas of athletics and theater. In his first year at Eureka, the president of the college tried to cut back the faculty. He graduated Eureka with a degree in economics. Reagan immediately helped organize a student strike. He became a radio sports announcer after graduation, and then a famous actor, leading the Screen Actors Guild. Ironically, Reagan was thus the only president to ever lead a [[labor union]], traditionally considered bastions of liberalism. (It should be noted that Reagan considered himself a liberal, and was a registered Democrat well into the 1950's. Reagan enlisted in the military during World War II, but his eyesight was not good enough for combat duty. He used his acting skills to make military training films and promote the sale of "War Bonds. <ref>http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/05/reagan.obit/index.html</ref>. Peggy Noonan, wrote: ''Even in his zeal to purge the communist influence from Hollywood, he fought those who engaged in witch hunts and defended those who had been falsely accused of involvement.'' Reagan met his second wife, actress Nancy Davis, when she ended up on the "Black List" and came to him for help. [http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DavidLimbaugh/2001/11/17/noonan_when_character_was_king]

==Governor of California==
In 1966, he was elected the 33rd Governor of California. In 1970, he was re-elected. But in 1974, he chose not to seek a third term. Achievements during his terms included:

*Fighting the People's Park protests, and restoring order to California's chaotic University campuses.

*Led a massive revision of California's massive public assistance programs, actually increasing benefits to the needy.

*Working well with the Democrats to forge consensus on a variety of issues.

*Opposing the Dos Rios Dam

==Presidency==
In 1968, Reagan ran for president in the Republican primaries. However, [[Richard Nixon]] easily beat him. In 1976, he briefly challenged Gerald Ford for the Republican nomination, before withdrawing his name from consideration. Reagan knew if he continued, he would take the nomination away from Ford, and forever be branded as a Party spoiler. This he did not want, so he signaled his wish to be removed from consideration, and gave a very effective speech at the convention in support of Ford. Then, in 1980, he beat [[George H. W. Bush]] in the Republican primaries, and went on to oppose [[Jimmy Carter]] (incumbent) in the general election with G.H.W. Bush as his running mate. A poor economy and the incumbents failing to deal with several international crisis's aided Reagan. As he put it, "I'm told I can't use the word depression. Well, I'll tell you the definition. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job; depression is when you lose your job. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his." In the general election, he received 50.75% of the popular vote and 90.9% of the electoral.

Once in office, Reagan showed he was playing hardball. When the [[Federal Air Traffic Controllers]] struck illegally, Reagan gave them 48 hours before he fired all who hadn't gone back to work (11,359).

In 1984, Reagan won 49 out of 50 states' electoral votes, and the largest public vote in almost 100 years, 58.77%. During his second term, he helped end the [[Cold War]], with the help of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], and [[Pope John Paul II]] by recognizing the weakness of the Soviet economy, and simply spending them out of existence.

==Presidential Legacy==

Reagan's 1983 Strategic Defense Initiative became popularly known as "Star Wars," the name given to it by critics because they thought it was pure fantasy like the popular George Lucas films. This plan was never actually fully instituted. Although billions of dollars have been spent on development, no space-based missile defense was tested successfully until 2006. While supporters of Reagan claim SDI gave the United States a large amount of leverage in its standoff with the [[Soviet Union]], many political scientists and historians note that Star Wars played a secondary role in the calculus of Soviet policy-making, where internal structural problems were paramount, but it should be noted that the threat the Soviet Union felt from the initiative was instrumental in making them step-up negoiations, according to many involved with diplomacy at the time. [[Henry Kissinger]] wrote: ''I know it's an axiomatic view of the Left around the world that missile defense is sinful, and that it's desirable to keep each nation as vulnerable as possible. But that's a debatable premise. The U.S. must defend itself against whoever has missiles that would threaten the United States. And you don't have to be able to name an enemy.'' [http://www.doublestandards.org/dreifus1.html]

Upon his death, Margaret Thatcher commented: ''As Prime Minister, I worked closely with Ronald Reagan for eight of the most important years of all our lives. We talked regularly both before and after his presidency. And I have had time and cause to reflect on what made him a great president. Ronald Reagan knew his own mind. He had firm principles - and, I believe, right ones. He expounded them clearly, he acted upon them decisively. When the world threw problems at the White House, he was not baffled, or disorientated, or overwhelmed. He knew almost instinctively what to do. When his aides were preparing option papers for his decision, they were able to cut out entire rafts of proposals that they knew 'the Old Man' would never wear. When his allies came under Soviet or domestic pressure, they could look confidently to Washington for firm leadership. And when his enemies tested American resolve, they soon discovered that his resolve was firm and unyielding. Yet his ideas, though clear, were never simplistic. He saw the many sides of truth. Yes, he warned that the Soviet Union had an insatiable drive for military power and territorial expansion; but he also sensed it was being eaten away by systemic failures impossible to reform. Yes, he did not shrink from denouncing Moscow's 'evil empire'. But he realised that a man of goodwill might nonetheless emerge from within its dark corridors. So the President resisted Soviet expansion and pressed down on Soviet weakness at every point until the day came when communism began to collapse beneath the combined weight of these pressures and its own failures. And when a man of goodwill did emerge from the ruins, President Reagan stepped forward to shake his hand and to offer sincere cooperation. Nothing was more typical of Ronald Reagan than that large-hearted magnanimity - and nothing was more American.'' [http://reagan2020.us/eulogies/thatcher.asp]

===Economy===

Fueled by an over spending Congress that steadfastly refused Reagan's budget proposals, the national debt increased 160% during his two terms in office. The economic growth that resulted from tax cuts made deficits as a percentage of GDP lower than what they had been in during the previous decade of stagflation.

===Other events===

In 1985, after Reagan won reelection to his second term, the focus turned from reviviing the domestic economy to several foreign policy matters which had been lingering throughout the decade. One such matter involved Iran, a long time ally of the Western Allies since 1941 that had experienced an Islamic Revolution in 1979 after President Carter announced [[Human Rights]] had superseded [[Containment]] as the primary focus of American foreign policy. Since 1980 Iran had been enmeshed in a brutal trench war with neighboring Iraq which was emerging as a potent military threat in the region to other allies. Members of the National Securirty Council staff, along with CIA Director [[William Casey]], persuaded Reagan much could be gained and several problems could be addressed simulataneousluy with an overture to Iran to restore relations.

The objective of the plan was fourfold (1) takes step to restore good relations with the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]] which was becoming increasingly hostile to the West; (2) takes measures to convince Iran that Isreal could become a friend and ally; (3) insurance against Iraq becoming too strong which could become a threat to [[Kuwait]] and [[Saudi Arabia]]; (4) provide funding for other operations to continue the policy of containment in the Western Hemisphere, most notably Nicaragua, and the threat the Soviet/Cuban/Nicaragua connection was creating in [[El Salvador]] and [[Honduras]].

There were humanitarian aspects to the proposal as well; (1) the Iran-Iraq War had stalemated for nearly six years and Reagan was advised that he was in the unique position as President to help facilitate bringing a senseless war with much suffering to an end (2) the suffering of the people of the Central American Republics at the hands of Soviet inspired subversion which had finally in the decade of the 80s established a beachhead in North America; (3) Iran perhaps could be persuaded to use its good office to influence hostage takers in Lebanon who had held several Western prisoners, many of the Christian Missionaries, for several years.

===Cold War victory===
Reagan is credited for ending the Cold War in victory for the United States. Historian Tony Judt in ''Postwar'' credits Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, while the political scientist Jan Kubik presents a viewpoint that credits [[Pope John Paul II]][http://praguepost.com/articles/2007/02/28/letters-to-the-editor.php]. Other historians contend structural weaknesses within the Communist bloc meant Reagan's actions were inconsequential to the end of communism. This is the view adopted by Russians themselves, and many political historians, citing [''perestroika''] and [''glasnost''] as beginning an inevitable slow fading of central power, and a collapse by irreconcilable differences between the central Soviet [[Politburo]] and the constituent republics, especially the [[Ukraine]].<ref>David Remnick, "Lenin's Tomb</ref> In the end, the consensus seems to point to all of the above, that hastened the demise of the Soviet Union; Internal factors, religious pressure brought by the Pope, Gorbachev's "Perestrokia" and the united front of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, leading NATO and the West to imbed a missle defense system in Western Europe.

Political Commentator Cal Thomas wrote about it like this: ''He proved he was right about the big things. Faced with editorial denunciations at home and massive demonstrations in Europe against his plan to put missiles there to offset a Soviet threat, Reagan went ahead and did it anyway. The Soviets could not keep pace with the buildup or Reagan's proposed missile defense system (derided by critics as "Star Wars"). When those critics could not bring themselves to admit they were wrong, they unpersuasively claimed the Soviet Union fell under its own weight. More accurately, Reagan pushed it onto "the ash heap of history," with the able assistance of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. What Reagan did more than anything else - and it will be his lasting legacy - is replace despair with hope. Most people, even his detractors, felt a glow from being in his presence. He was the kindest, most gracious president I have met, and I have met them all since JFK. In his presence you felt he was interested in you and not himself. He was a good man.'' [http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CalThomas/2004/06/07/ronald_reagans_wonderful_life]

Brian Mulroney, the Canadian Prime Minister, said of Reagan: ''"Some in the West during the early 1980s believed communism and democracy were equally valid and viable. This was the school of "moral equivalence." In contrast Ronald Reagan saw Soviet communism as a menace to be confronted in the genuine belief that its squalid underpinning would fall swiftly to the gathering winds of freedom. Provided, as he said, that NATO and the industrialized democracies stood firm and united. They did. And we know now who was right."'' [http://reagan2020.us/eulogies/mulroney.asp]

==Miscellaneous Facts==

*The first, and so far only, divorced president.

*Reagan's 1994 announcement that he had Alzheimer's Disease brought large amounts of public attention to the disease.

*Reagan was a lifeguard for seven years growing up, and was said to have saved 77 people <ref>http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/reagan/stories/bio.part.one/index.html</ref>.

*The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is located in Simi Valley, California <ref>http://www.reaganfoundation.org/visitorguide/hours_directions.asp</ref>.

*Was the first American President to have ever led a Labor Union, the AFL-CIO allied Screen Actors Guild.

*Reagan was the first president to break the "[[Curse of Tippecanoe]]"

*At 69, Reagan was the oldest man elected to the presidency.

*Reagan loved jelly beans <ref>http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/pages/q&a/trivia.shtml</ref>. The blueberry flavour was made in his honor. [[Jelly Belly]] even created a [http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/pages/q&a/bean_art_gallery.shtml Ronald Reagan portrait out of jelly beans].

==References==
<references/>

==External Links==
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040614-646317,00.html Time Magazine Article on ''The All-American President'']
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/rr40.html White House Official Page]
*[http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/ Reagan's Presidential Library]
*[http://imdb.com/name/nm0001654/ Actor Bio At IMDB]
*[http://www.ronaldreaganmemorial.com/ Official Memorial]

[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]

The Renaissance

2007-03-20T01:01:42Z

Hobbes: /* '''Artists''' */

=='''The Renaissance'''==
----

The Renaissance holds it roots in the taking of the Byzantine capital of Constaninople by the Ottomans in the year 1453 B.C. After the fall of the western half of the split Roman Empire the Eastern half continued to flourish while Europe entered the Dark Ages where most of the learning from the Roman Empire was lost. However the knowledge continued to pass down in the East until the scholars' flight to Italy.

The Renaissance was a cultural “rebirth” that began in [[Florence, Italy]], but spread to all of Europe from about 1300 to 1600 (1700 in Northern Europe).

During this time period, Europeans experienced a renewed interest in classical Greek and Roman civilization, and subsequently, in learning science, mathematics, literature, the arts and philosophy. The term “[[Renaissance man]]” has come to mean a man (never a woman) who is remarkably well-rounded and learned in every subject, as this is what was expected of men during the Renaissance of the Nobility. Women during the Renaissance were celebrated for their beauty, but were not expected to be educated.

*[http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Renaissance_Terms Renaissance Terms (1300s - 1600s)]

==='''The Italian Renaissance'''===
----

[[Image: duomoflorence.jpg|thumb|left|320px|[[The Duomo]] of the [[The Duomo|Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral]] in [[Florence]]]]

The Northern city-states of [[Italy]] were a perfect location for the Renaissance to occur, as [[Italian culture]] was built off of classical Greek and Roman civilization. They had become important and wealthy locations selling and trading during the [[Crusades]], and [[Muslim]] and [[Byzantine]] learning had been brought to Italy also during the Crusades. Florence in particular was home to wealthy families willing to finance artists, mainly the prominent [[Medici]] family. Lastly, the fierce competition that existed between the different city-states brought out the best in people and created an environment in which initiative and creativity flourished.

This quote by [[Leon Battista Alberti]], "men can do all things if they will" sums up the spirit of the Renaissance well. Three philosophies emerged during the Renaissance: individualism, humanism and secularism. All three contained similarities and overlapped with one another to form the main philosophy, humanism.

==='''Artists'''===
----
The most lasting legacy of the Renaissance was probably the outstanding artwork it produced. Especially in Florence and [[Rome]], master artists emerged who produced astonishing works of art in sculpture, painting and architecture. The competitive spirit of the Italian city-states as well as the enormous wealth of families willing to patronize created a perfect environment for the flourishing of art.

[[Image: michelangelopieta.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Michelangelo's ''The Pietà'']]

One of the first artists to incorporate new ideas into his artwork was [[Giotto di Bondone]] (1267-1337) who brought unprecedented elements of realism in his paintings. [[Giotto]], a typical Renaissance jack-of-all-trades, also designed the innovative campanile (bell tower) for the [[The Duomo|Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral]]or simply "[[The Duomo]]" in Florence. Flemish artists introduced oil paints, and the technique of perspective was introduced by artists like [[Tommaso Masaccio]] and [[Brunelleschi]]. Brunelleschi also designed the duomo (dome) for the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral, a breakthrough in [[engineering]] and [[architecture]] that showed Brunelleschi’s deep understanding of mathematics.

[[Donatello]] (1386-1466) was an influential painter and sculpture of the early Renaissance from Florence. He sculpted a bronze “[[Donatello's David|David]],” the first free-standing nude statue since the days of the Greeks and Romans, and another famous statue of [[Donatello's St. George|St.George]]. [[Tiziano Vicelli|Titian]] (Tiziano Vicelli) (1477-1576) was a painter with an unprecedented use of colour and loose brushwork, evident in his stunning masterpiece [[The Assumption of the Virgin]]. [[Raphael]] (1482-1520) also mastered the use of color and painted beautiful frescoes in churches and for private patrons, the most famous of which may be [[The School of Athens]], an interesting painting depicting [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]] surrounded by their pupils. He inspired the two greatest artists of the Renaissance: [[Michelangelo]] and [[Leonardo da Vinci|Leonardo Da Vinci]].

[[Michelangelo]] (1475) is best known for his statue of [[Michelangelo's David|David]] and for painting the ceiling of the [[Sistine Chapel]], an astounding [[fresco]] including over 300 Biblical figures, that took over 4 years to complete. He also sculpted amazing renditions of [[Moses]] and “[[Michelangelo'sPieta|the Pietà]],” a poignant sculpture of Jesus in Mary’s arms after the [[Jesus' Crucifixion|crucifixion]]. Following Brunelleschi’s model Duomo in Florence, Michelangelo designed the dome for [[St. Peter’s Basilica]] in Rome. Although some say his earlier works (like David) reveal a humanistic outlook, later works (like the Pietà) reveal his deep and devout Christianity.

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) embodied the “Renaissance man.” He was an architect, anatomist, sculptor, scientist, mathematician, musician, and painter. He created masterpieces such as the [[Mona Lisa]] and [[The Last Supper]]. He kept notebooks full of drawings such as [[Vitruvian Man]], and his observations from dissecting human corpses. It is said that Leonardo could draw with one hand while at the same time painting with the other, and he wrote backwards in his notebooks, so they would have to be held up to a mirror to be read. He was way ahead of his time and created conceptual designs for many devices such as a flying machine and an armored tank. He was the first to come up with the ideas of the [[calculator]] and the use of solar power for energy.

[[Image: monalisa.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Leonardo Da Vinci's ''[[The Mona Lisa|Mona Lisa]]'']]

==='''Authors'''===
----
Many authors produced influential literary works during the Renaissance. [[Dante]] was the writer whose works some historians date as marking the beginning of the Renaissance, and he is called the father of the Renaissance. He was an Italian writer who wrote in the [[vernacular]], or common language, so his works gained popularity among ordinary people as well as scholars. His most famous work is [[The Divine Comedy]], which describes in vivid detail the author’s journey through hell (''Inferno''), purgatory (''Purgatorio'') and heaven (''Paradiso''). Although called a “comedy”, the book is anything but funny. This is because Dante was using the classical meaning of “comedy”, in which a story is not necessarily humorous, but ends happily and according to the divine will of God. In The Divine Comedy, Dante blends [[Greek philosophy]] with Christian theology, in the tradition of [[Thomas Aquinas]]. Dante’s guide through Hell is Virgil, and the greatest sinners present in Hell are [[Judas Iscariot]] (Jesus’ betrayer) and [[Brutus]] (Caesar’s betrayer).

Along with Dante, [[Francesco Petrarch]] (1304-1374) is considered a father of the Renaissance. He wrote beautiful poetry in Italian, but his books were written in Latin. His works and their focus on the classical philosophers inspired the humanism of the Renaissance.

[[Niccolo Machiavelli]] (1469-1527) wrote ''[[The Prince]]'', in which he explored the means by which a monarch can gain, retain, and increase his power. A prince must recognize the needs of the people, Machiavelli declared, and although his consensus was that it is better to be feared than loved, he

[[Image: michelangelodavid.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Michelangelo's [[Michelangelo's David|David]] ''...Men can do all things if they will.'']]

additionally stated that it is ideal to be both feared and loved. Machiavelli served under [[Lorenzo Medidi]] of Florence, but was exiled. It was during his exile that he wrote ''The Prince''. Today the word “[[Machiavellian]]” has come to mean any unreasonable philosophy by which “the end justifies the means.”

==='''Philosophy'''===
----

The primary philosophy of the Renaissance was [[humanism]], which favored the capacity of man to reason and think for himself. This had two effects: on one hand, creativity and independent thinking were encouraged and learning greatly increased. Emphasis moved away from the sole focus on religious, spiritual things that was characteristic of the Middle Ages, to a focus on more tangible, earthly things. The study of nature and science was given its proper place. Art and literature became more realistic.

Colosseum

2007-03-20T01:00:29Z

Hobbes:

The '''Colosseum''', known in Antiquity as the '''Flavian Amphitheatre''' is an amphitheatre in the centre of [[Rome]] that is capable of seating 50,000 people.

Maya

2007-03-20T00:58:22Z

Hobbes:

The '''Maya''' (MAH-yuh or MEYE-uh) civilization existed in Southern Mexico and northern Central America between from A.D. 300 to 900. Its population totaled 5-16 million people.

The Maya have been called the "Greeks of the New World" by many historians. The Maya had some knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, ritual ball games for entertainment, and the use of their complex written language. Unlike Europeans at the time, the Maya had developed the concept of zero.

The Maya used a yearly solar calendar that was fairly precise, using 18 months and 20 days per month, with five additional unlucky days at the end, which totals to 365 days. The Maya did not take into account the additional 1/4 day, which we take into account through leap year, because it was not important for them. They additionally had a 260 day ritual calendar which worked in conjuction with the 365 day calendar to create a 52-year cycle. They also used a Long Count calendar which counts the number of days since the creation of the world on August 13, 3113 BC. This calendar returns to zero in 2012, which has caused an Apocalypse scare. However, this stems from a misunderstanding of the calendar, because the calendar is generally abbreviated to 5 places, when in reality there are over 40, so the calendar will continue after this date. The Maya also built stepped temple-pyramids, which had small temples on top.

The Maya were politically formed similarly to the Greek city-states. Each city was politically independent and ruled by a king who had multiple wives. Each king had a ceremonial centre containing temple pramids, ball courts and stelae, which are tall stone statues containing a portrait on one side and glyphs on the other. Some cities politically controlled other sites, as Copan controlled Quirigua until a revolt in which the people of Quirigua beheaded the ruler of Copan, Wxaklahun Ub'a K'awiil, or 18 Rabbit. The four major sites are Palenque, [[Tikal]], Calakmul and Copan. Later, Chichen Itza was built, but this site was built after the collapse of many others. For food, the Maya grew maize (corn), squash and beans. Like American Indians the Maya had no coins or paper money, but sometimes traded in cacao (chocolate) beans, shells or other goods. The Maya like the Aztecs and the Olmec had a system of writing based on the use of hieroglyphs.

The Maya religion was polytheistic and the Maya "appeased the gods" by engaging in human sacrifice and autosacrifice. Autosacrifice and the use of hallucinogenic drugs were important to the Maya religion because they allowed the use of visions, which the Maya used to speak to their ancestors. The Maya believed in creation as explained in their religious text named the "Popol Vuh." Wealthy women enjoyed some rights in the society, and in some cases were Queen when there was no male heir. The Maya wrote accordion-fold, bark paper books called codices. There are only 4 known in existence today, which are in museums in Europe, because the Spanish held massive book-burnings upon arriving on the continent because they believed the books to be anti-Christian.

The reason for the decline of the Mayan civilization is not completely understood, but seems to be related to the destruction of the natural environment. The Maya needed trees to make stucco to cover their pyramids, which lead to erosion, which led to insufficient crops, which led the Maya to build more temples, which continued the cycle. Mayan cities were abruptly abandoned in the 800s. After this point, the Maya civilization became small villages, and today 4 million people still speak the Mayan language.

[[Category:Mexican History]]

Augustus Caesar

2007-03-20T00:56:53Z

Hobbes: /* The Augustan Image Program */

== Octavian as a Child ==
The man who would later become Augustus was born as Octavian of the [[Julii]], an extremely ancient Roman family of [[patrician]]s. The Julii were, despite their nobility, fairly unknown before [[Julius Caesar]] revived the fame of the clan, and were also fairly poor, despite their claim to direct descent from the goddess [[Venus]]. During his childhood Octavian was educated in Greek [[philosophy]] in [[Athens]]. His mother was [[Atia]], and he had a sister, [[Octavia]].

In Greece, and in Rome, Octavian gained two friends who would remain with him for his professional life: [[Myceneas]], and Marcus Vipsanius [[Agrippa]]. The three were fast friends, especially in adolescence.

Octavian’s fortunes changed when, upon the death of his uncle Julius Caesar, Caesar’s will was read, naming Octavian as his son-by-posthumous-adoption, not an uncommon practice in ancient [[Rome]]. Caesar had also left Octavian the duty of disbursing nearly all of the money he had accumulated to every [[plebian]] citizen in Rome.

==Following Caesar’s Death==
Upon his adoption, Octavian adopted his full name, Caius Iulius Caesar Octavianus, taking his adoptive father’s name and using his own as an adjectival ending, in the Roman tradition. The new “Caesar,” as he quickly came to call himself, immediately pushed for Caesar’s will to be enforced, and his money to be distributed to the citizens. He also called for his “father,” Julius Caesar, to be deified by the Senate. As Caesar had become posthumously more popular with the plebian class after learning that they were the beneficiaries of Caesar’s will, the citizens of Rome clamored until the Senate acceded to the demands, deifying Julius Caesar, and building his Temple on the burnt remains of the [[Senate House]]. Octavian also succeeded in having Caesar’s assassins, ([[Brutus]] and [[Cassius]]), declared enemies of the state, and also forced the Senate into condemning Caesar’s assassination officially. Brutus and Cassius immediately fled the city.

All was not well, though – [[Mark Antony]] was also attempting to portray himself as the rightful heir of Caesar’s legacy, against Octavian’s own claims. A sticking point was the enforcement of Caesar’s will: Antony felt the money was his by right, but Octavian sought to disburse it to the citizens, as Caesar had requested. The two immediately fled the city, raised armies, and fought a small battle, which Octavian’s forces quickly won, led to victory by [[Agrippa]].

In the meantime, Brutus and Cassius, who had fled to the East to raise an army, were returning to Rome to crush Octavian, who had now become the popular favorite to be Caesar’s heir. As a result of the threat posed by Brutus and Cassius to both Antony and Octavian’s designs, the two set aside their differences, and formed a secret alliance to defeat Brutus and Cassius. They sought the financial backing of [[Marcus Lepidus]], and formed the [[Second Triumvirate]] to the ends of crushing Brutus and Cassius, and restoring order to Rome. To prevent their secret alliance from becoming public knowledge, and to raise funds, the three triumvirs ordered many prominent citizens killed, and their property confiscated. Marcus Tullius [[Cicero]] was one such target. The Triumvirate also disbursed Caesar’s will to the plebians, as Caesar had requested, creating instant popular favor towards Octavian and Antony.

The forces of the Second Triumvirate easily defeated Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of [[Phillipi]] in Greece. Octavian is said to have not participated greatly in the battle, Antony and Agrippa doing his fighting for him instead. This fostered a rumor at Rome that Caesar’s heir was no such thing, but instead a weak and effeminate philosopher.

== After Philippi ==
After the reason for their alliance disappeared, Lepidus, Antony, and Octavian realized that conflict was inevitable. To postpone it for some time, the three partitioned the Roman Empire into three parts – Rome and the West went to Octavian, the wealthy East to Antony, and Africa to Lepidus. The three immediately began to consolidate their power bases for a conflict that they all knew would come.

During this time, Octavian used his station in Rome to boost his public image. He portrayed himself elaborately as the “son of a God,” that is, the son of the Deified Caesar. He commissioned elaborate gold statues and coins, carrying the blazon ‘’Oct. Caes. Div. Fili’’, or “Octavian Caesar, Son of the God.” The provisions of Caesar’s will, and his association with the popular dead ruler, made Octavian an instant favorite with the people of Rome. Thus he quickly consolidated his power.

In the run-up to the actual conflict, Octavian continued to outmaneuver his other triumvirs. He threatened Lepidus into giving up command of Africa, and retiring to serve as [[pontifex maximus]], a politically non-threatening religious post. He portrayed Antony as “captured” by the decadent East, enslaved by love to [[Cleopatra]], and no longer even Roman due to his great love for Egypt. He secured Antony’s secret will, which had recently been changed to request his burial in Egypt, as opposed to Rome, in the graves of his family. The Roman people were shocked to find what they saw as one of their own turning his back on Rome herself. Octavian played off of these feelings by accentuating his own “Roman-ness” by restoring old Roman traditions, such as the opening of the doors of the Temple of [[Janus]] in times of conflict, and the ceremonial casting of a spear into enemy territory by the ‘’fetiales’’, an order of Roman priests. In a re-hash of this ritual, Octavian himself acted as a ‘’fetial’’ priest, casting a spear into a plot symbolizing [[Egypt]] and [[Antony]] to inaugurate the final conflict between Octavian and Antony.

Whatever doubts about Octavian’s martial prowess may have existed, they were immediately wiped away by his shocking victory over Antony at the Battle of [[Actium]]. Historians dispute whether the conflict was as large as alleged by Octavian – it most certainly was not – but Octavian’s successful portrayal of the battle as an earth-shattering event lent him credibility.

==The Great Shift & the Constitutional Settlement==
After the battle of Actium, Octavian stayed out of Rome for several years, securing the allegiance of the provinces, before returning to Rome in Triple [[Triumph]] over the Enemies of Rome. He never mentioned his battle against Antony as a battle against a Roman: he phrased it as a defeat of Egypt, seen clearly in coins minted during this time carrying the inscription ‘’aegypta capta’’, or “Egypt Held Captive.”

Upon return to Rome, Octavian met with the Senate, and “negotiated” a “Constitutional Settlement” in 27 B.C. At this “Settlement,” the Senate voted Octavian the new title “Augustus,” or, “the August One,” a phrase whose meaning is oft-debated, but has never been conclusively settled. At the Settlement, “Augustus” nominally surrendered his official powers, and returned control of Rome to the Senate. By this action, he claims he “restored the Republic” – ‘’res publica restituta’’ – and the Senate agreed. However, they and the people together “begged” Augustus to retain some official power, which Augustus finally relented to, assuming the rank of ‘’princeps’’, or “first citizen,” and accepting the title of [[Consul]] for the year. For “restoring the Republic,” the Senate also they voted Augustus the honor of the ‘’corona civica’’, or the “Civic Crown,” an honor given to soldiers who saved the lives of a fellow citizen in battle. It was argued that by restoring the Republic, Augustus had saved the freedom – and therefore the lives – of all its citizens.

Some cite this as the fall of the Roman Republic – when the Senate officially conferred ultimate power (although not in name) on the new Augustus. Reality is much more complicated. It cannot be doubted that Augustus moved the Republic towards a unitary power structure, but there is no proof that he did not intend to restore democracy eventually. He often remarked, “festina lente,” or, “make haste, slowly,” suggesting that a return to democracy would come, just not yet. He never held formal imperial power, towards that end, and continually rubber-stamped his actions with the seal of democracy. In sum, the formal tenets of Augustus’ rule show a challenging tightrope-walk between the need to hold authoritative power, to reconstruct his ravaged city, and his urge to both appear and be democratic. This tightrope walk officially only ended with the reign of [[Tiberius]], but not during the Augustan age.

==The Augustan Image Programme==
A denial of official power became a central theme of the new Augustan image programme. It is said that he was offered the position of [[Dictator]] several times during his life, which he earnestly declined, at one point falling to his knees, tearing his toga, and begging the citizens not to ask him, for he was too weak to hold such an esteemed and powerful office. He is said to have exclaimed, “while I have exceeded all in ‘’auctoritas’’ (informal power based on character), I have exceeded none in ‘’potestas’’ (formal power based on political office).”

He also resisted his own deification, which the Senate “pressed” on him during his life as well. He did not want to be seen as a new, self-obsessed tyrant, and towards that end, he even melted all gold statues of himself, re-dedicating the gold to the god Apollo, with whom Augustus nonetheless fostered a subconscious association in his subjects.

Augustus also argued that Rome must return to normalcy after 100 years of civil war. His friends Myceneas and Agrippa helped in this goal. Myceneas, through a “Poet’s Circle,” encouraged and funded panegyrical poetry praising Augustus for restoring Roman virtue and honor. [[Livy]] received on such grant to write the [[Aeneid]]. Simultaneously, Agrippa rebuilt much of Rome that had been burned or harmed in the civil wars, but rebuilt it in grander fashion. The [[Pantheon]] was one such project, which now bears the inscription ‘’M. Agrippa, Cos. Ter., L. F., Fecit’’, or “Marcus Agrippa, Consul for the Third Time, Son of Lucius, Built This.” Agrippa also rebuilt Rome’s sewer system (the [[Cloaca Maxima]]) to wide acclaim.

==Augustus’ Struggle for a Successor, and his Death==
Despite his many successes in life – immortalized in the ‘’Res Gestae Divi Augusti’’, written shortly after his death – Augustus struggled in vain to find a successor who would carry on the tightrope walk that he had managed during life.

Specifically, Augustus sought his friend Agrippa to follow him as ‘’princeps’’. The successorship plan is shown plainly on the friezes of the [[Ara Pacis Augustae]], a great temple built to the Augustan era of peace, on which Agrippa walks just behind Augustus, clearly noting his intentions. Choosing his friend Agrippa over a family member suggests that Augustus did not intend Rome to become an empire or a monarchy, but perhaps wanted Rome to remain in tenuous balance between empire and republic for a while longer, under the close watch of someone he implicitly trusted. The ultimate goal may have been a restoration of democracy, when the time was right, or a benign philosopher-kingship, as envisioned by [[Plato]], whom Augustus had studied. The true problem with this theory, though, is human mortality and fickle fate – without a just ruler, a philosopher-kingship becomes simple tyranny.

This danger was realized when Agrippa died under mysterious circumstances. After several other successors died, in the end, the son of his wife [[Livia]], [[Tiberius]], succeeded him. Tiberius proved ultimately unable or unwilling to maintain Roman pretenses of democracy.

On his deathbed, Augustus is said to have uttered a number of cryptic remarks. First, he is said to have uttered, “have I not played my part well? Then all clap as the actor leaves the stage,” perhaps suggesting that Augustus did indeed intend Rome to be a monarchy, with him as a democratic leader in name only. He is also said to have remarked, “behold, for I found Rome of clay, and I leave her to you of marble.”

== References ==
- Paul Zanker, “the Power of Images in the Age of Augustus.”

- Plutarch, “Parallel Lives”: “the Life of Antony,” and “the Life of Caesar.”

- Suetonius, trans. Robert Graves, “the Lives of the Twelve Caesars”: “the Life of the Deified Caesar,” and, “the Life of the Deified Augustus.”

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