Roman Invasion of Britan

I found that the invasion of Britain by the Romans very interesting so I decided to do my common task on it. The Romans were a very proud and aggressive country. They always had to show that they were the best at everything that they did. One way they displayed their country's strength was by conquering other territories: it was like a game. They conquered Spain, Greece, parts of Asia Minor, and Africa. They could not however conquer Britain. The first roman general to have tried was Julius Caesar. He invaded in 55 BC and 54 BC. He had to leave in order to stop a rebellion. Under emperor Claudius was the roman empire finally able to conquer Britain in a series of attacks begging in 43 AD and ending in 75 AD. The people were oppressed by the roman empire and frequently tried to revolt against them. Most famous were Caratacus' revolt and Boudicca's revolt. Boudicca's was the leader of the Iceni after her husband was killed by the Romans. After the Romans stole their money attacked Boudicca and her two daughters sparking the revolt. She was the first woman to lead an army of her own, containing 70,000 men. They stormed the roman town, Camulodunum, stealing food, clothing, and jewelry. The Romans, who were living in the town, hid inside a huge temple. Boudicca and her army were able to break down the doors and slaughter all the men. women, and children. Afterwards, they set the town on fire before leaving. They invaded two more Roman towns, decimating the three largest towns in Roman Britain.  The last major battle was against Suetonius who was leading an army of 10,000 men. They clashed between St. Albans and Wroxeter. The Romans stopped their advance forced the rebels to retreat. They killed 80,000 men, women, and children for their 400 hundred men that they lost. Boudicca later committed suicide and the most serious threat to the Romans was over.

My journal shows the hardship that the British people went under roman control and them resenting everything about them. There have been situations like these in the future such as the American colonist being oppressed by England or the South American colonist being oppressed by Spain. Even situations today you have people being oppressed by their rulers and revolting such as the situations in Syria. One interesting thing that I found out about this topic is that it took many invasions by the Romans in order to conquer Britain. I always thought the Romans were so strong that they could invade a less powerful country, with tribes, easily.

https://docs.google.com/a/egsd.net/presentation/d/1fI6oq2YskR3nPjM4diaxpG2y37XL5l4fJlKaKtOzrs8/edit?usp=sharing

The Egyptian Religion

The Egyptian Religion was very popular in Ancient Greece. It was a polytheistic religion that contained varying beliefs and practices. Although the tales vary, the following is the most common story of creation.

Before the gods, there was only darkness and chaos. One day, a hill rose from the darkness with the first god Atum standing upon it. When the hill finally rose, Atum coughed up the second and third gods. The god of air and the goddess of moisture. They had two children, Geb the god of Earth and Nut the sky goddess. Shu (the goddess of moisture) lifted Nut over Geb to create the night sky.

Nut and Geb had four children. Orisis, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys. Orisis became the king of the Earth with Isis as the queen. Seth became so jealous of his brother that he killed him to become the king of the Earth. Orisis was sent to the Underworld where he soon became ruler. Meanwhile Orisis’s son, Horus, overthrew Set to become the king of the Earth.

For our project, we made a board game. This board game is similar to “Candy Land” with Egyptian gods and goddesses lining the side as well as their Roman equivalents. There is also a bit of information about each god under an image of them.

"Egyptian Mythology." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2014): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

"Gods and Goddesses." Gods and Goddesses. The British Museum, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

"114 Gods of Ancient Egypt, Ägyptische Götter." 114 Gods of Ancient Egypt, Ägyptische Götter. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.

"Egyptian Religion." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2013): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.

Comparing Britain, Pompeii, and Alexandria

I did my common task comparing Britain, Pompeii, and Alexandria. I wanted to do this to see how all the cities held up against one another as they all had some interesting features, and I wrote 3 diary entries considering where I would want to live and why.

Greek, Roman, and British Mythology

Greek, Roman, and British cultures were very much predominant in ancient Europe. The myths and tales of each of these countries are historically integrated in each other, in fact, it is difficult for historians to accurately pinpoint what Roman mythology was like before it was introduced to Greek mythology because of its immediate influence on the former. Most aspects of Roman mythology were not recorded, but instead kept in the memories of people who knew the stories well. This made it very easy for Roman mythology to change and distort as the Roman citizens heard of other myths. Because of this cultural integration, Greek and Roman myths became increasingly similar as the two cultures became more and more involved with each other.

Roman mythology often centered around the deification of significant Roman figures, such as emperors and heroes of war. The stories themselves often romanticize the history of Rome, and the beasts explained in such stories often appeared physically as hybrids of two or more animals. For example, the Roman harpy was a bird with the head and chest of a woman and was believed to control the winds. Ancient Greek literature also uses this animal hybridization to create creatures, but Greek monsters are built less around a story and more around an inexplicable phenomenon that needs explaining.

British mythology is more human-centric. Most of the monsters out of British mythology are humanoid in form or based off of man's best friend, the dog. Humanoid monsters, such as the green man, a man with foliage sprouting out of his face who is largely responsible for springtime, mermaids, people with fish tails that lure sailors to their doom, and selkies, seal people, seemed to have the same purpose as Greek and Roman monsters did- to explain the unexplainable or to add a sense of mystery and fear to a dangerous place. Dog-based monsters, such as Faerie dogs, which are banshee-like barking omens of death that live in the dark parts of the forest.

For my product, I will be creating a new mythological creature by taking reference and influence from these three cultures. I will begin with a phenomenon, like the Greeks, use the hybrid characteristic coined by the Romans, and the human base that the British were fond of.

I began with the question of deaths in the desert. Ancient peoples did not know much about dehydration, so I've created a beast that roams the desert in packs and picks off unprepared travelers. The species is a centaur with a tiger's body. Possible additions include tribal head tattoos, small wings behind ears, and pincer-like sharp teeth.


(Progress: I have tons of concept sketches but no working scanner at the moment, I will upload the final product and its progress as it will be done digitally! References used)


Works Cited
Hargraves, Richard, Elaine Kenzel, and Miami, FL. Dade County Public Schools. Greek And Roman Mythology: English, Mythology. n.p.: 1971. ERIC. Web. 6 Jan. 2015.
Hayman, Richard. "Ballad Of The Green Man." History Today 60.4 (2010): 37-44. Academic Search Elite. Print. 30 Dec, 2014
Morford, Mark P.O. "Classical Mythology, 8th Edition," 2007. Web. 30 Dec, 2014
"Roman Mythology." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2014): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Print. 29 Dec, 2014.