MJDA -- Blogmeister

Las Líneas de Nazca

Las Líneas de Nazca están en Perú. Son muy grandes. Están en el desierto. Las Líneas de Nazca son de muchas formas. Son de los animales. También son de formas geométricas. Tú vuelas en un avión ver las Líneas de Nazca. Son muy misteriosas. Son muy viejas. Tienen más de dos mil años de edad.

(Es mi figura favorita.)

This is my Germans vs. Romans essay. In this essay, we compare the life of the Germans to the life of the Romans.

A standardized Roman army marching down a dirt road, while unseen in the woods a German army launches out at the disciplined soldiers screaming and slashing their axes. Taken by surprise the Roman army is defeated. This was a classic attack by the Germans on a Roman legion. The Germans are a tribal society living in rural areas, while the Romans lived mostly in cities. There are several big areas were Romans and Germans are completely different. Those areas are: how they lived, their government, and their army.
Germans lived in rural areas rather than in cities like the Romans. They made their living off of farming and raising livestock. The German’s houses were extremely different than the Roman’s. The Romans lived in large houses, with running water and slaves to keep them clean if they were rich, and if they were poor, they lived in small apartments in a building sometimes six stories high, with no running water and sometimes no bathroom. The Germans lived in long thatch-roof huts with an open space around them. The hut was divided into two sections. The family lived in one end, and the other end was split into animal stalls. The Romans were disgusted about how the Germans lived with their animals. They believed that staying clean and organized was the right way to live.
There are many major differences in the government and laws of the Germans and Romans. The Romans believed that the laws came from the emperor, and what the emperor said, (if there he had enough support) was done. For example, the huge palace Emperor Nero built for himself, went completely against the people's wishes, but it was done. The Germans believed that law came from the people. In the Roman empire, what the emperor said was almost always dome. German law would not change if the people didn't approve. Instead of writing down the laws like the romans did on the twelve tablets, Germans memorized them and and passed them down by word of mouth. The Germans had two main ways that they decided if someone was innocent of guilty. One way was to declare innocence under oath and then be backed up by an oath-helper or someone who swore that the accused was telling the truth. If the accused could not find an oath-helper, their innocence was determined through ordeal or a severe trial. During an ordeal, the accused persons had to walk bare-foot over hot coals. The innocent's burns were supposed to heal within tree days. There was also ordeal by water where the accused's hands and feet were tied together and they were thrown in a river. The innocent would supposedly sink while the guilty would float.
All German men were warriors. They spent most of their time fighting, hunting, or making weapons. When a boy became a man he was given a shield and a spear at a special ceremony. If he were to lose his spear and shield he would lose his honor. When Germans were in a battle, they would sneak up on their enemies and take them by surprise screaming and yelling to scare them, while Romans would meet the enemy head on. A successful raid would provide the Germans with enslaved people, cattle, and other treasures. Romans never turned their backs on a battle and the German way of fighting was more of a hit and run. When the German territories and the Roman territory were side by side, The Germans would take advantage of the weakening Romans and attack Roman soldiers. During that time, no road was safe for travel and trade, which weakened the Romans even more.
Germans and Romans were different civilizations with completely different cultures that were almost opposites in some ways. Romans were urbanized and relied on others to bring wealth to their empire, while the Germans lived in rural areas and supplied their own resources. For a while the Germans and Romans lived side by side, so cultures mixed a little bit, and the Germans became more civilized and adapted some Roman culture. For example, Christianity. Though there was some mixing of culture, there was not a lot. Eventually the German territory would start to expand onto the land that once was the Roman empire.

In social studies we have studied Rome. We learned about everyday life and the life of a Roman gladiator and have created a journal of a Roman gladiator. This is and excerpt from The Lost Journal of Domitius.

Today is my first gladiatorial game. I will be fighting a secutor. I hope all of my training has paid off, and I will live to fight again. Despite my hatred of the Romans, I am almost excited to fight. If I win I will be treated more like a citizen and less like a slave, but my lanista will still have power over what I do. He is calling me now.

It would be hard to imagine what Domitius is going through right before his first gladiatorial game. He could be killed in the next few hours, or he could win and be treated with a little bit more respect. A lot had happened to Domitius since the battle where he was captured. A secutor is another type of gladiator. The are heavily armored and were often matched with retiarius for interest (a heavy weight, slow gladiator against the vulnerable, yet nimble retiarius).

~~~~~

I lost. The only reason I am here to write this journal entry is because it was a close fight, but let me tell the story from the beginning. First, I was led into the Colosseum. It's magnificent at first, but when you take a closer look it is rigged for the destruction of those who set foot in the arena. Soon, what seemed like the whole city of Rome was seated in the rows and rows of seats. I was sent out into the arena for a practice fight with wooden swords. Based on the fight the crowd would place their bid on who was going to win. After the gambling, I was fitted with a real sword, and listened to war trumpets and flutes play music to entertain the audience as we were being equipped. Finally the fight began. I didn’t realize how loud the crowd is. My lanista screamed threats and advice from the stands, and all the men and women were cheering for their favorite gladiator. The fight started right away. The secutor ran at me his sword pointed at my bare legs. I counter attacked by swinging my rete and snaring is left leg in the mesh. I tried to attack with my trident but he was too quick and flung his sword around and blocked my blow. This was definitely a seasoned gladiator.the rest was kind of a slow motion blur. Next thing I knew, I was in the sand, my life was in the hands of the emperor. I got lucky, he spared me and I was sent back to training to practice for my next gladiatorial game.

Domitius had probably never seen a building as great as the Colosseum. The Colosseum was an oval shaped building, built where emperor Nero had his lake in his giant palace complex. There were awnings that stretched over the stands to provide shade for the spectators. In the middle of the ellipse was a giant arena that was filled with sand to soak up the blood of the combatants. The arena could also be flooded for mock sea battles. Under the arena was where most of the action happened. There were 32 cages where animals and gladiators could be lifted into the arena. The men lifting the animals could stay at a safe distance thanks to many platforms and pulleys. All of the trap doors could be closed off to flood the arena. Seats were sorted by status in the Colosseum. Rich men and senators sat in the front, rich women in the back. The seats were also separated by profession and marital status (there were separate seats for bachelors and soldiers).

For my Prezi pesentation I studied the Peloponnesian War.My group devided the work, and I was responsible for finding the effects of the war. To find the information for our presentation I went on EBSCO. On EBSCO I typed in effects of the Peloponnesian War, and many articles popped up that really6 helped me.