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Famous People

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on May 3, 2009 at 10:36:52 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

  

Saint Helena also known as Helena Augusta or Helena of Constantinople was the consort of Emperor Contstantuis, and the mother of Emperor Constantine I (number seven on our list. She is said to have found the relics of the True Cross. She was born in the Roman province, Moesia, a land on the western shore of the Black Sea. According to St. Ambrose, Helena was an inn-keeper when Constantius lifted her from her lowly position and made her his consort. Legend says that she is the daughter of a British king. When Emperor Constantius died at York the new Emperor Constantine I had his mother live at Byzantium, the capital of the Eastern Empire. Constantine I, who liked his mother very much, honored her by giving her the name Augustus, and had coins made with her face on them.When Constantine I had a dream of a flaming cross in the sky, and beneath it were the words, in Greek, "In this sign conquer" he decided to embrace the Christian religion taking it as a sign. He had his children and his mother Saint Helena become Christian too. Saint Helena, honored with the position, fell in love with the religion and used her influence and wealth to extend Christianity. She built many churches and restored shrines. She is particularly famous for the churches at Rome and at Trier, in Gaul. But she is most famous for the Holy Land itself; there she constructed the great basilicas at Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Saint Helena’s aim was to clear the Holy Places of all the accumulated debris and rubbish that had piled up in the past three centuries. Saint Helena, according to some of the chroniclers, with the help of St. Judas Cyriacus, cleared the mound that covered the Holy Sepulchre, and when she did she found the True Cross, on which Jesus was crucified, which they moved to Byzantium.Saint Helena is very important to the Roman people, and especially the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches for being their Saint. She has many “feast days” in several different churches, which prove how important and appreciated she is. Her feast day as a saint of the Orthodox Christian Church is celebrated with her son on May 21, also called the "Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine and Helen, Equal to the Apostles." Her feast day in the Roman Catholic Church is on August 18. Her feast day in the Coptic Orthodox Church is on9 Pashons (according the Coptic calendar of the Coptic Orthodox Church). Saint Helena made many great discoveries and helped Constantine be the great Emperor that he was although she didn’t rule Rome herself, she still have a great influence on Rome and it’s religion, which is why she ranks number 10 on our list.

 

9 Justinian 

 

8 Nero 

 

7 Constantine 

 

6 Mark Antony 

 

5 Cicero 

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He was born in January 3, 106 BC in Arpinum, Italy, meaning he was not “Roman” in a traditional sense.  He was an extremely talented student, whose learning attracted attention from all over Rome. His childhood dream was “always to be best and far to excel the others”, a line from Iliad by Homer. Cicero was the son of a knight and mother who managed the household. He group learning both Greek and Latin and used his knowledge of Greek to translate theoretical concepts of Greek philosophy into Latin. This helped translate the work for more people. Romans chose personal names, which were usually down-to-earth, in ancient times. Cicero chose the name chickpea, which was originally given to on of his ancestors who had a cleft in the tip of his nose resembling a chickpea. He was urged to change his “belittling” name when he got into politics, but he refused. He studied Roman law under Quintus Mucius Scaevola. Cicero's students of law were Gaius Marius Minor, Titus Pomponiu, and Servius Sulpicius Rufus. He was asked to prosecute Gaius Verres, a governor of Sicily who plundered Sicily. It was a success for Cicero, and at the end of the case, he was considered to be the greatest orator in Rome. Oratory was considered a great art in ancient Rome. In the late 90's and early 80's BC Cicero fell in love with philosophy. He introduced philosophy to the Romans and created a philosophical vocabulary in Latin. He married around 79 BC to Terentia and had two children with her, Marcus and Tullia (who he was very close with). He divorced Terentia, and married a younger wife and divorced again very shortly. Cicero was elected Consul in 63 BC, where he diminished a conspiracy to overthrow the Roman Republic. For this, he earned the honorific Pater Patriae. While suppressing the conspiracy, he put Roman citizens to death without trial. Because of this, he was forced to go into exile in 58 BC and became depressed. He came back from exile in August 5, 57 BC to a cheering crowd. Cicero and Antony then became the two leading men in Rome following Caesar’s death. The two men did not like each other, and Cicero spoke speeches against Antony, trying to make him enemy of state and drive him out. The effort failed, and Cicero became a target of assassins. On December 7, 43 BC he was found, and his last words are said to have been “There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier, but do try to kill me properly”. He was decapitated, and his hands were cut off and nailed and displayed. Cicero is believed to be one of the most versatile minds of ancient Rome. He is also believed to be on of the greatest orators. His philosophies and speeches are valuable up to this date.

 

4 Augustus 

Gaius Octavius Thurinus was born on July 23rd, 63 BC. Octavius was born into a simple family that lived in a small Italian village outside of Rome. Despite being related to Juilius Caesar, his family were plebians and lived very simply. When Octavius was four-years-old his father died and was left to live with his mother. His mother eventually remarried a man named Lucius Philippus who was the former governor of Syria. However, his mother nor step-father took great interest in him. He was raised mostly by his aunt and grandmother. When Octavius' grandmother died, his mother and step-father took a much more active role in his life and paid more attention to him. When Octavius got older he joined the military. When he was in training he recieved the news that his great uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated. When he got to Rome he found out that Julius left him two-thirds of his estate and the throne. When Octavius took the throne he changed his name to Gaius Julius Caesar to hide his modest origins. He lead Rome with Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus in an authoritarian regime known as the Second Triumvirate. During this time he ruled Rome and many other provinces as a ruler. However, all three men became too ambitious and the Second Tiumvirate failed. Mark Antony committed suicide after losing the battle of Actium and Lepidus was exiled. Octavius was left as the lone ruler of Rome and attempted to make Rome a more Democratic society. However, he still ruled as a dictatorby using the military to alter the Senate's decisions if he did not like the outcome. During the time he ruled he added most of modern-day Europe to his empire and expanded his African provinces. He changed his name once again to Impearator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus, which showed his increase in power and influence. During the time Octavius ruled there was long period of peace  

 

3 Cleopatra 

 

2 Romulus and Remus 

 

1 Jupiter 


 

 

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