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Famous People

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on May 2, 2009 at 11:22:12 pm
 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is a list of Famous Romans in order of importance, according to Matt Lipson, Amanda Lipson, and Kristin Harris. Included with each Roman will be a short biography and why they ranked what they did.

 

10

Saint Helena

 

9

Justinian

 

8

Nero

 

7

Constantine

 

6

Marc Antony

 

5

Cicero

 

4

Augustus 

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Augustus Caesar(Octavius) was the great-nephew of Julius Caesar and was the first emperor of Rome from 27 BC to 14 AD. Augustus was born in Rome on September 23rd, 63 BC. His name given at birth was Gaius Octavius. Even though his family was related to Julius Caesar, they were plebeians and lived very simply. Augustus was not lifted out of this status until he was adopted by Julius Caesar. When Augustus was only four-years-old his father died and his mother married a wealthy man who was the former governor of Syria. However, Augustus was raised mostly by his grandmother and his aunt(Julius Caesar's sister)because his step-father had no interest in him. After his grandmother died, his parents became much more interested in him and became much more active parents. When Julius Caesar was assassinated Augustus was undergoing military training and returned to Rome to see if Julius left him anything. In Julius Caesar's will, he became the heir to two-thirds of his estate and his political heir because Caesar had no sons of his own. To hide his modest origins, he changed his name to Gaius Julius Caesar. As ruler he joined Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus and and lead a military dictatorship known as the Second Triumvirate. Augustus ruled as an autocrat and ruled Rome and many other provinces as a dictatorship. The three rulers began to fight each other because they all became too ambitious. Lepidus was forced into exile and Mark Antony commited suicide after his troops were defeated at the battle of Actium. After the Second Second Triumvirate failed, Augustus began to bring back some of the Democratic ideas of the Roman Republic, but still ruled like a dictator by using the Roman Legions to alter the Senates decisions by threatening them with the legions. Even though Augustus ruled with an iron fist, there was a long period of peace known as the Pax Romana. As ruler, he also massively expanded the Roman Empire by gaining Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Bavaria, Austria, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Hungary, and caused the borders of the African province to stretch East and South. He eventually changed his name to Imperator Caesar Divi Filus Augustus. He chose Imperator to be his first name because it meant "victorious commander". Besides expanding Rome, Augustus also helped fix the infrastructure of Rome. He reformed the tax system, constructed a network of roads, formed a standing Army and Navy, and established the police and firefighters of Rome. Rome was also beautifully rebuilt during his reign. Augustus passed away in AD 14 and was declared a god by the Roman Senate. Every Roman emperor after Augustus used both Augustus and Caesar as their names. The month Sextilis was named in honor of Augustus. Augustus is an important Roman for many reasons. He is one of Rome's most successful rulers because he started the Pax Romana and caused Rome to rise to power by gaining so much territory. His way of running Rome remained the framework of the government for hundreds of years until the Roman Empire failed. He was Rome's strongest leader and caused Rome to be the most powerful empire in the world for hundreds of years after his death. He left a legacy like no other ruler because he never really died. His influences lasted for so long and he was admired and regarded as one of Rome's best rulers. 

3

Cleopatra

 

2

Romulus and Remus 

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Romulus and Remus are known as the legendary founders of Rome. The story of Romulus and Remus goes way back to the time before they were born. Romulus and Remus' grandfather, Numitor and their uncle, Amulius, became the rulers of Alba Longa, an ancient Italian city. Amulius recieved the royal treasury which held a ton of gold, while Numitor gained the sovereign powers. Since Amulius had all of the royal riches, he had more power than his brother. Amulius dethroned Numitor as the king and made himself the king. Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia, was forced to become a preistess so she could not have children. Amulius wanted Rhea Silvia to become a priestess because he did not want her to have children that would force him away from the throne. However, Rhea had children with the god of war, Mars, after disobeying Amulius. When Amulius noticed that Rhea was pregnant, he imprisoned her until she gave birth. Rhea gave birth to two twin boys, Romulus and Remus. Amulius was furious that Rhea disobeyed him and ordered that Rhea and the newborn twins were to be killed. There are many different accounts about the way Rhea was killed and the way the twins lived. One legend said that Rhea was buried alive and that the twins were ordered to exposure. Another legend said that both Rhea and the twins were ordered to be thrown in to the Tiber River. It is most commonly said the twins lived because the servant ordered to kill them did not have the heart to kill the babies, so she put them in a basket and let them float down the Tiber River. The twins were eventually found by Tibernius, the river deity. Tibernius brought the twins to Lupa, a wolf who raised the twins under a Fig tree and fed by a woodpecker. Both the tree and the woodpecker were sacred to Mars, their father. Eventually, Romulus and Remus were discovered by a shepherd who raised the boys. Eventually, Romulus became the king of the land that is now Rome. Romulus and Remus had a fight over who should rule the new city they founded. Romulus killed Remus in the conflict and named the city Rome, after himself. According to legend, Romulus and Remus stood on separate hills and a flock of birds flew over Romulus, which signified he should be king.  As ruler, Romulus invented the Roman Legions(the army) and the Roman Senate. He added massive amounts of territory to Rome and added citizens by kidnapping women of the Sabine tribe, which resulted in the mixture of Romans and Sabines. Romulus and Remus are important because they are the legendary founders of the Roman Empire, which was the world's largest empire for so many years. Their story has never died and whether it is fact or fiction, they will always be regarded as the founders of Rome. These men will always be looked at as some of the most important Romans due to their important legendary status that still lives on today.

 

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                                                      Jupiter 

 Jupiter is the most famous Roman due to his position as the king of Gods. He holds the same position as the Greek god Zeus. In addition to being king of all the Gods, he is also the god of the sky and wind. He was also called Diespiter Optimus Maximus, which means "Father God the Best and Greatest." In Rome he ruled over all Roman laws and social order. In Latin mythology Jupiter is the father of Mars which would make him the grandfather of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. He is the son of Saturn. He was greatly admired in Roman religion and is still admired today in Religio Romana Neopaganism, which is a modern-day Roman revivialist movement. Jupiter was worshipped at the largest temple in Rome along with two other Roman gods, Juno and Minerva. He was also worshipped outside the temple in the form of a stone sculpture. The stone was made an oath stone. Besides this huge Roman temple, there were many other temples around the Roman Empire dedicated to Jupiter. It was believed that Jupiter was the overseer of Cosmic Justice and all Romans swore to Jupiter in their courts. Jupiter is the most important Roman because he was known and worshipped by such a huge amount of people. Everyone respected Jupiter and many aspects of Roman society were based on Jupiter's legend and legacy. He was the only being considered to be higher than the rulers of Rome and he was deeply respected by all the rulers. Jupiter has left such a huge legacy that modern Roman religious revival movements still worship Jupiter as the king of all Gods and the ruler of everyone on Earth. Jupiter will always have a huge legacy and he will always remain a very important figure in Roman culture.

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