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.
One of the first things I looked at when comparing these 3 cities was the weather, and Britain(considering the entire country) was immediately at a disadvantage as it was colder than the other cities and rained much more.(Source) The other cities were on the Mediterranean, busy harbor cities and had much better weather year round, and between the two, neither had much of an advantage in this comparison, but Britain was a bit below them. 
The next thing I compared was the food in each city, and since most food could be brought in and was from surrounding areas, I looked at the different foods in each area, Britain, Italy, and Egypt. I also noted the diversity of each population and the background of the people in the city. Being on the Mediterranean, the harbor cities of Pompeii and Alexandria also had a lot of access to different foods through trade,as compared to Britain, which was in a way isolated from the rest of the world, either having to sail around the strait of Gibraltar(connected the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean), or having to cross the land and then the English channel. Also many Roman foods such as figs and olives could not grow in Britain’s climate, and anything Pompeii and Alexandria couldn’t grow themselves, they could import. Though because of the diversity of everyone living in Alexandria, foods from different cultures could be prepared. So again, the two are very close but Britain falls behind both, only Alexandria pulling slightly ahead.
One of the last things I looked at was the culture in each city. Alexandria seemed to be in the lead with it’s mix up of Egyptians, Romans, and Jewish people, all with different backgrounds and cultures themselves. Also in Alexandria is the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Great library, which was one of the largest libraries in the ancient world. Bookshelves were said to cover entire walls, and books on almost every topic were in the library.(Source) The Great Harbour of Alexandria was a busy port which could hold a large number of ships as the came in and out of the city ports. On to Pompeii, the main features of which had to be the baths, which there were 3 of and they were very popular. The house of the faun was one of the most impressive houses in pompeii and contained many works of art, and Mt. Vesuvius loomed over the city, eventually burying it in ash. (Source) Lastly Britain, which at the time was controlled by Romans, had some old traditional British style, but a lot of culture was brought in by Romans and adopted by the british, so a lot of British culture at the time was similar to Roman culture. Though I do have to leave information to be found in my product, so I’ll end here and if any of this interested you than you can look through the links and or at my project. though my project is more interpretive and more information is found through the links.
Works Cited
This was a very interesting way to compare the three cities. As we read about the characters' stories, I never think of where they are and what it must of been like, but this was useful to give perspective. The only thing I would have liked expanded upon would be a daily routine in each city, talking about things like the forum and other hubs of life.
ReplyDeleteYou had a really good project. Your blog was really informational and the way you compared all three cities was really cool. I didn't know a lot about your topic before reading this, but now after it has provided me with a lot of information.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your idea of comparison of city. It made me realize how different yet how similar these three cities were. I also liked how you cited your work in your post.
ReplyDeleteI found it really cool how you were able to find the type of foods that these ancient cities ate and the culture about them. I also like how you did your project on the differences between the three cities.
ReplyDeleteI found it really cool how you were able to find the type of foods that these ancient cities ate and the culture about them. I also like how you did your project on the differences between the three cities.
ReplyDelete