My Perspective on the Story of Before the Renaissance

What I Liked

The idea I mainly liked about was the Greek idea of enkuklios paideia, which is "education in a circle."  Described in one of our class modules, "In ancient Greece, education was viewed as circular and continuous. This is true for many other cultures around the world, too."(Considering the Humanities: What is it?: 0.7) When the first time I encountered this in the reading, I immediately recognized something very similar to this Greek idea. 

The symbol of Ouroboros
 "The Tail Devourer"

It's often interesting to me that some of the Greek ideas are involved with cycles, especially their belief in a symbol of snake consuming its tail called Ouroboros, often referred as "tail devourer," the eternal cycle of life, death, and then rebirth. Here is how it was described, "The ouroboros has several meanings interwoven into it. Foremost is the symbolism of the serpent biting, devouring, or eating its own tail. This symbolizes the cyclic Nature of the Universe: creation out of destruction, Life out of Death. The ouroboros eats its own tail to sustain its life, in an eternal cycle of renewal."(Ouroboros - a Thorough Explanation. Token Rock) I wonder if there are some relations between these two ideas, since these two ideas were both heavily respected by the Greeks.

What I Learned

Something important that I have learned in this module was the structrual knowledge from both Roman and Greeks. I understand now that these elements came in very important for the Roman and Greeks, especially for their beautified engineering skills.

The Paethenon, Athens, Greece. © Corbis

As I have learned in the module, the Greeks valued the structure of columns in their engineering, as well as we can see today in the United States, a learner of the Greek civilization, have also built their capitol structures with columns as well. I also learned that the Greek beauty is called aesthetics. Mentioned in module one, "In the Greek language the word for beauty is aesthetics. Greek aesthetic achievement can be found in the columns they produced to hold up their buildings. Simple posts became complex columns of great beauty. When you think about the ancient Greeks, remember their columns."(Before the Renaissance, Part I: 1.6)

Arch of Constantine I
by Mark Cartwright (CC BY-NC- SA)

St. Peter’s Dome, designed by Michaelangelo.

Also I have learned that the Roman claimed the architectural engineering knowledge of called the arch from the Etruscans, and they adapted this knowledge, came up with the dome as well, which even today, we are still inspired these magnificent designs.

What I Already Knew

Julius Caesar, marble sculpture by Andrea di Pietro di Marco Ferrucci. 

What I already knew about is the transition of Roman Republic becoming the Roman Empire, it involved heavily with the fate of Ptolemaic Egypt and one important figure in the history of Rome, Gaius Julius Caesar. Here is how he was described, "Caesar changed the course of the history of the Greco-Roman world decisively and irreversibly. The Greco-Roman society has been extinct for so long that most of the names of its great men mean little to the average, educated modern person. But Caesar’s name, like Alexander’s, is still on people’s lips throughout the Christian and Islamic worlds. Even people who know nothing of Caesar as a historic personality are familiar with his family name as a title signifying a ruler who is in some sense uniquely supreme or paramount—the meaning of Kaiser in German, tsar in the Slavonic languages, and qayṣar in the languages of the Islamic world."(Julius Caesar, Britannica) I learned this from the end of Egyptian lore, and I have heavily encountered the trasition period of Rome and rise of Caeser again based on a game called Assassin's Creed: Origins, a well-known game produced by the company Ubisoft, a game reflecting on the fate of Egypt and the power struggle in Rome. I also knew about Caeser's personal history from his famous creed, "Veni, vidi, vici" also known as, "I came, I saw, I conquered."

The Roman Evolution - From Republic to Empire - Full Documentary - How Julius Caesar Rised to Power

Works Cited

“Ouroboros - a Thorough Explanation.” Token Rock, www.tokenrock.com/explain-ouroboros-70.html. 

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Parthenon | History & Facts.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 1 Nov. 2018, www.britannica.com/topic/Parthenon.

Cartwright, Mark. “Triumphal Arch.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 31 Dec. 2012, www.ancient.eu/Triumphal_Arch/.

“Rome, the City of Domes.” Walks inside Rome, 9 July 2019, www.walksinsiderome.com/blog/about-rome/rome-the-city-of-domes/.

Arnold Joseph Toynbee. “Julius Caesar | Biography, Conquests, & Facts.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 13 Feb. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Julius-Caesar-Roman-ruler.

Wikipedia Contributors. “Assassin’s Creed Origins.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Feb. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassin%27s_Creed_Origins.

Maximus, Rex. “The Roman Evolution - from Republic to Empire - Full Documentary - How Julius Caesar Rised to Power.” YouTube, 11 Oct. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=C06Ih8swtwk.