The film is set just after the expulsion of the Tarquins. The Etruscan leader Lars Porsenna has launched an effort to restore Tarquin the Proud to the throne. The "Mucius" you see at the beginning of the film earns the nick-name Scaevola (the left-handed) for reasons that will become apparent in the first 15 minutes of the film.
For extra credit, watch the first 15 minutes of the film--or the whole movie if you like. What do you see here that shows the importance of the stories of early Roman in turns of their influence on subsequent history?
The Roman Stories liked to exaggerate their stories. Making certain men look like superheroes of their day. These stories I'm sure helped in the moral of the men who heard them. The Roman stories throughout history will also make the Roman empire look amazing and also make other empires see that the Roman people were not people one should mess with at all. These exaggerated stories would then in fact change history because of this. Daring and sacrifices were made in Roman stories which were true in happening. Though Roman stories and films maybe exaggerated a little bit the main meaning is still their. Showing the history of Rome and how it affected history throughout the world.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I noticed from the get-go was the influence that the men in charge had on their people. The people themselves early on were exhausted and tired, almost signalling the end in my opinion of the Roman Empire itself. The leaders or head soldiers to me seemed like Gods; at least in the eyes of the people, almost showcasing that they are their masters and cannot do no wrong. It made me think that even though the people were tired and hungry, they trusted that their men would feed them and prove their own worth. Muches looked to be the main man in charge and tried to keep an equal sense among the people. I think it also showed me the trust that these people have in their leaders, trust to the point that if the leaders fail, the people will fail, and the empire will fall. When they were able to defend themselves from the rushers coming up on the Romans and their men, they were able to secure the food needed for the people. Muches and his men were able to feed their people (even though he signalled they were greedy for taking so much because they were hungry) but once again he seemed to bring the morale up and once again signal his worth. Muches also realized at the end that his empire was in jeopardy, and he needed to kill another leader to secure it. This could’ve happened multiple times throughout ancient Roman history as people such as Muches would do everything in their power to maintain control and power amongst not only their people, but their empire as well, showcasing their strength and fortitude. All these factors shaped the early stages of Ancient Rome and were the driving force for other empires to follow. It almost set a precedent for how an empire was made, and how the continued success of the empire was pursued to continue and hold firm control of their empire. - Nile Hesson
ReplyDeleteThe main thing that I got from this was that the Romans enjoyed embellishing and exaggerating the truth behind their stories. This embellishment and exaggeration probably started off small with only one or two things changed to make the story more entertaining, but then when retold again by someone else they changed one or two more things. After hearing the story three or four or even 20 people down the story could be completely different but those hearing the story for the first time are unaware of this leading to a magnitude of tales of embellished history, tales that were originally rooted in fact. But this did not bother the Romans that their history was being exaggerated, for if their enemies heard a story of a great battle where the Roman army wipes out forces three times their size they might feel intimidated and surrender without fighting solely based off of embellished stories of Roman grandeur.
ReplyDeleteWhat I got from the first 15 minutes of the movie is that the Romans were really good at exaggerating what happened in their stories. This was strictly done to keep the audience's attention and to keep them entertained. The method of storytelling really helped the Romans out in the long run because if a story was passed from person to person and eventually to another city that wanted to fight Rome, they would potentially be frightened by the story and withdraw their feelings of hatred toward Rome.
ReplyDelete