Blog Three - Days 6-8

The last few days have been, of course, busy- but amazing, as always. We've been wrapping up our "Caesars" section of the course, in some ways, and beginning to move into the "Saints." Mostly though, the past few days have really been hammering in the point of Augustus as a very effective and progressive leader. Part of his appeal is certainly due to his repairs of Rome and effective propaganda- sometimes though, I wonder if Augustus was so celebrated because he was so much better compared to some of the other rulers Rome has had to put up with! With examples like Nero around or Caligula, no wonder Augustus looked so good. 

But, that's besides the point. On our sixth day here, we went to the National Roman Museum at Palazzo Massimo, which was absolutely gorgeous. I loved many of the sculptures there- it's fascinating to me, to see how some of the styles evolve and change with time as the ages progress. Some more romanticized and "perfect" images, while others remain more realistic. The detail of robes and facial features of several of the sculptures were also wonderful to me. Below I've included a picture of one of my favorite pieces, reaching to pluck Apollo and Artemis' arrows from her back- the agony of her posture seemed almost resigned, to me? Which made it all the more powerful, in my opinion. As though she realized how pointless it would be to fight against the gods, or perhaps realizing that her fate was earned, thanks to her own hubris. 

I also fully admit I'm a sucker for a mummy, so seeing one in the museum was a definite plus for me. My only disappointment was the lack of Egyptian books to read aloud from too- someday. Someday, I'll find a mummy and a book- and THEN I'll get a nice Rick O'Connell to look forward to. *cough* BUT that's off subject, so anyway. We also visited the Mausoleum of Augustus that day, which was very stunning in person. It's amazing to consider how much Augustus was able to accomplish with his long reign, so many beautiful pieces to admire that he was responsible for creating. 

Our seventh day here was one I was admittedly a little wary about- the Palatine Hill and Palatine Museum, the Arch of Titus, and the Colosseum. All in the afternoon. I already get super sweaty and gross by the end of each day, but those sites? In the afternoon with very little shade? Just the thought of it makes me want to wrinkle my nose. We got extremely lucky though, the weather decided to be kind and lend a little rain to smooth the way. Lucky us! Maybe not when trying to get to the museum's bathroom, as everyone congregated there to escape the rain, but otherwise it was extremely pleasant. I love the gardens of the Hill especially, along with the views that can be seem of the rest of the city. Absolutely gorgeous and entirely striking to look at.

The Colosseum is another matter entirely for me, I could spend an entire day just there, to be honest. The Colosseum has been of interest to me since I was little, loving the idea of it and utterly enchanted as all little kids can be- the whole "bloodbath" thing was kind of lost on me, at the time. I blame watching Xena and Hercules. Knowing and understanding the history as I do now, I can't say I'm any less enchanted by the Colosseum, but at least now I understand how much blood has been spilt as well. Amazing, how much death has occurred there and yet you couldn't tell just looking at it. Someday it's a wish of mine to be able to explore underneath the Colosseum- maybe when I'm rich, some glorious day faaar in the future. In the meantime, I guess I'll have to satisfy my curiosity by stealing my dad's copy of Assassin's Creed and hop around there digitally. At least it's something! 

Day eight was more forums, specifically the Forum of Augustus, the Forum of Vespasian, and the Forum of Nerva. Of these, the Forum of Augustus was certainly the most impressive in terms of size and being best preserved, but the others provided an interesting context to just how much Rome was changing structurally. The Forum of Nerva in particular was extremely oddly shaped and the layout seemed strange while trying to shove yet another forum where there seemed to be space. I did appreciate the Forum of Nerva for being dedicated so much to Minerva, as she and Diana are my favorite gods by a longshot.