Augustus, The Roman Emperor

Life of Augustus

“May I be privileged to build firm and lasting foundations for the Government of Rome. May I also achieve the reward to which I aspire: that of being known as the author of the best possible Constitution, and of carrying with me, when I die, the hope that these foundations will abide secure.”

RES GESTAR

“In my nineteenth year, on my own initiative and at my own expense, I raised an army with which I set free the state, which was oppressed by the domination of a faction.”

I chose these two quotes to characterize Augustus. Both of these quotes show Augustus desire and believes. In order to mollify Rome’s Senate and ruling classes, he passed laws harkening back to the traditions of the Roman Republic. And in order to win the interests of the people, he worked to improve and strive for peace in the city of Rome. Both of these two quotes characterized Augustus was a powerful, great and successful ruler. The reign of Augustus began an era of relative peace known as The Roman Peace. The Roman world was largely free from large-scale conflict for more than two centuries.

This is a picture of me holding a planner on the month of August. The name of the month was changed to August in honor of Augustus Caesar in 8 BCE. That means Augustus was an important person in Rome. Augustus was the most accounts, greatest emperor of Rome. The era of Augustus’ reign was a golden age in every respect. The peace which Augustus restored and kept caused the economy, the arts and agriculture to flourish.

-ShuLinTan, Team Venus

I want to suck your blood!!

I want to suck your blood!! That’s right I’m a vampire. No, I’m the one and only Druuuuuulaaaaa. That’s a dramatic entrance right? Well imagine that same statement said over and over and over again since the REAL Dracula existed?

The story of Dracula originates from a Romanian King, Vlad. The name literally means “Son of the Devil” which was no laughing matter. In order to defeat the Ottomans and scare them off, Vlad’s war tactic was to kill his own people by way of impairment. Innocent citizens were oiled and impaled alive so that their screams of pain and agony would scare about the larger army of the Ottoman’s. The story of Dracula is so gory the only way to understand it was by making Dracula a monster later called a vampire- demon who sucks blood to survive. What is true is that Romania exists from the bloodshed of their own citizens.

We see examples of Dracula in movie series like Twilight, The Count Dracula in Sesame street or my favorite Count Chocula.

Dracula, like Medea are vengeful and scary characters. Both make hasty decisions for the list of their family and and up killing their own blood. Medea enters the play having killed her father while Dracula, taken as a child for a rival army, kills his brother. Similarly, the United States is at war with itself struggling to determine which part of history to acknowledge. Recently there was the murder of a college student in Charlottesville who was at a protest to the removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee. Today, without second thought we harm and even kill our fellow human beings (citizens of the USA or not) because we have different scales in which we determine what is right or wrong. Medea thought killing her child was good to save them from humiliation in being abandoned. Dracula sought vengeance in killing his family for not protecting his parents and protesters are killed because of hasty and emotional decisions.