Western Civilizations
Western Civilization I For this assignment, use your main text, Coffin, Judith G. [et. al.], Western Civilizations, Third Brief Edition, Volume I. New York : W. W. Norton, 2012. [ISBN: 9780393934885] to answer the following questions. Make sure and discuss all of the questions with your group. 1. Before reading the caption, look at the following images listed below (get out a blank piece of paper to cover up the description). Describe what you see. What do you think is the meaning of the image? Then read the caption, how close were your observations to the text? Do you agree with the text? Why and why not? Provide some context from the readings. p. 102 p. 109 p. 120 p.139 p. 186 (two images) p. 217 2. From p. 136-137, what is a mystery cult? What do they have to do with Christianity? 3. From pp. 122-123, Two Views of Augustus’ Rule, combine the two accounts to come up with your own account of Augustus’ life. 4. From p. 140-141, The Development of an Imperial Policy Towards Christians, can you figure out what it is that the Christians are doing wrong? How can one be pardoned? Should the Romans use anonymous informants to hunt down these deviants? http://0393119807(dot)reader(dot)chegg(dot)com/reader/book.php?id=ca23a696ad22efe32a05669690970f65&back_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww(dot)chegg(dot)com%2F
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Western Civilizations
Q1: The various images have different meanings. On page 102 is the image of a seated naked man who appears to be agonizing over something; the statue appears weird. This duplicate Roman statue is based upon an original statue that was sculpted in Pergamon roughly the year 220 B.C.E. The description states that the sculptor wished to display skill in portraying a subject that was unusual (Cole et al. 102). I agree with the text that the sculptor tried to portray an unusual subject given that the statue is that of a totally nude man. On page 109 is the image of a man and a woman embracing one another as they lie down. As per my observation, this image represents the intimate relationship of the couple. The description in the caption is close to my observation. The text states that the image illustrates a dead couple as they lie together nude, and it stresses the closeness of their conjugal bond (Cole et al. 109). I agree with the text considering their embrace.
The image on page 120 is that of a man who appears to be a ruler considering his posture and the garment he is wearing. The caption is similar to my observation. The man, Augustus, was Caesar’s adopted heir, and was worshipped as a god in provinces across Rome (Cole et al. 120). The image of page 139 shows 5 people eating together as though they are in a celebration. The text/caption is in line with my observation and I agree with it; it depicts Christians as they celebrate a feast. On page 186, the image on the right shows a ruler seated on the throne surrounded by his aides, and several women shown on the image on the left give him presents. The text in the caption is in line with my observations; it is emperor Otto the Great (Cole et al. 186). On page 217, there is an image that appears to emphasize the unique garment worn by the 4 men in the image. My observations were close to the text; the apparel, including the hats won by the Old Testament Jews was distinctive (Cole et al. 217).
Q2: Mystery cults are the ancient religions that revolved around stories of sacrifice, death, a...