Human Geography Blog 8-29-17

-Rome power spread to the Jews in 63 BC -Rome took control of the Jews in AD 6 -Jesus was born in 6-4 BC in Bethlehem -At 30 he began his public ministry -Jesus had 12 Apostles -his message appealed to the poor -Jewish officials charged Jesus w/ blasphemy -Pilate accused him w/ defying the the authority of Rome -sentenced him to be crucified -rose again in 3 days and ascended into Heaven -Christos mean "savior" or "messiah" -Christianity spread slowly but steady throughout Rome -Paul played a big role in Christianity's development -Paul had a vision of Jesus Christ on his way to Damascus in Syria -Pax Romana allowed Christianity to spread -Paul wrote letters to other believers -In AD 66 a band of Jews rebelled against Rome -Romans stormed Jerusalem and destroyed their temples -western portion of the wall remains and is today a shrine -Jews made another attempt to break free but half a million were killed -most were driven out in exile called ...

Today in Honor's Western Civilization we took an Ancient Rome test. In my luck the test was open blog, our very first one all year long. I thought the test was pretty easy considering the test was open note there were a couple that I was confused on but they were mainly because i was absent for one class when we went over Julius Caesar's reign. However, I think I still did pretty well on it. I did well on the other questions about the Punic Wars and the government of Rome. I still found it interesting taking the test and seeing how similar America's government is to that of Ancient Rome's. After we were done taking the test the bell rang and ended class.

Tiberus: -ruled from AD 14 to AD 37 -an excellent general but reluctant emperor -after the death of his son, he exiled himself from Rome and left his prefects in charge -he died at 77 Caligula (pervert) -ruled from AD 37 to AD 41 (4 years) -won a power struggle after Tiberus' death -known for his cruelty, extravagance, and perversity- an insane tyrant -assassinated by a group of praetorian guards, Senators, and the imperial court, trying to re-establish the Republic -but it didn't work Claudias -ruled from AD 41 to AD 54 -suffered from many infirmities: a limp, stammering, shaking, slobbering -took over because he was the last adult male in the family -ruled well- built roads etc... and started the conquest of Britain -died by poisoning- wife's plan to allow Nero to rise in power Nero -ruled from 54 to 68 -emphasized the arts -huge fire in 64 -he wanted to rebuild Rome to be majestic -he hugely overspent and even raided the temples for money histor...

I was not in class due to a lax game

Today in Honor's Western Civilization we continued on the Ancient Rome power point. Today we took notes on the twelve table and the bill of rights in America. Twelve Tables -publically displayed gave rights to Plebians, not just aristocrats -only protected free born male citizens We can see that the twelve tables are very similar to the bill of rights that was created when America was seeking independence from England. They were laws that could not be violated even by the government. One of the laws on the bill of rights that I found interesting was that quartering was not allowed. It's interesting because you never real hear anyone anymore complain that military is settling in their house and eating their food and stealing their horses. I also found the second ammendment interesting because I'm curious about what exactly they perceived arms to be back then. Were arms AR-15s or were they muskets. I'm also curios whether or not the ammendment will be changed. After ...

Today in Honors Western Civ we continued with the Rome ppt. Here are the notes that I took: -originally the US modeled their new government on the model used by the ancient romans -both have three branches consisting of executive, legislative, and judicial SPQR executive -two consuls -one year terms -each has veto power -controls the military -could appoint a dictator in a crisis for a six month term 'Merica -president -four year terms -can veto proposed laws -commander-in-Chief of the military SPQR legislative -Senate-300 people- aristocrats-members for life -Assemblies with 193 members 'Merica -Senate-100 senators w/ six year terms -House of Representatives-435 members -two year terms SPQR Judicial -chosen by the Centuriate Assembly -one year terms 'Merica -supreme court -nine members -lifetime terms -appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate

Today in class we took notes off of the power point. Here are the notes that I took: -Rule of kings is replaced by two consuls  -consuls are elected officials  -term of office: one year -always aristocrats (patricians)  -patricians their decent from famous ancestor, or pater -duties: dealing justice, making law, commanding the army -one consul could veto the other  -fifth century BCE- patrician dominance of the government was challenged by the plebs -plebs were 98% of the population -plebs had to serve in the army, but could not hold office -plebs were threatened with debt slavery -plebs had no legal rights -plebs were victims of discriminatory decisions in judicial traits -Rome had no actual laws just unwritten customs -patricians could interpret these to their own advantage -plebs refused to serve on the military until... -laws were written -these laws were posted in public -tribunes were elected -SPQR- Senatus Populusque Roma...

In today's Honor's Western Civilization class we reviewed the test that we just took. I happened to get a 96 on the test and felt really good about myself. I only got three questions out of fifty wrong on the entire test. After reviewing the test Mr. Schick decided to give the test a four point curve since one of the questions was marked wrong and two others were worded oddly. So that is what brought my grade up to a 96. So, I believe I started the quarter off on a good note with getting one hundreds on the blogs and a ninety six on this test. Today was a shortened class of only thirty-five minutes so that was all that we got done. The bell then rang and ended class for the day. After class I went to Italian Sensation where I enjoyed a pizza and fries with some friends.

Today in Honor's Western Civilization we started the new unit of the course which happened to be Ancient Rome. I happened to take very good notes but leave them at school however I remember  most of them so here they are: -Rome was founded in 753 BC by Romolus and Remus -The two were twins whose father was the Roman god Mars and their mother was a princess -they were abandoned on the Tiber River where they built the city of Rome -Ancient Rome is considered to have had one of the best governments of all time -they had pieces of aristocracy, oligarchy, monarchy, and democracy -they called it a republic -citizens voted for representatives to vote on things on their behalf -they had two officials called consuls -each consul could only serve for one year and could not be re-elected for another ten years -each consul also had equal power over the other -plebians and patriarchs had a power struggle through Ancient Rome

Today in Honor's Western Civilization we took a test. We were warmly welcomed back to the school with a 50 multiple choice question test that was worth 100 points. I think I did well on it. I found most of the questions to be simple. I think that I may have even gotten a one hundred percent worthy of a two bell ring. After the test we took notes on the next part of the class which I believe is Ancient Rome. -Rome began as a republic, a government in which elected officials represent the people -eventually absolute rulers called emperors seized power and expanded the empire -At its height the Roman Empire touched three continents (Europe, Africa, Asia) -For several centuries Rome brought peace and prosperity to its empire before its eventual collapse -Out of Judea rose monotheistic religion known as Christianity -Based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, it soon spread throughout Rome and beyond

Today in Honor's Western Civilization we continued reviewing for the test that we will be taking when we come back from break. We talked about Alexander's  museum and how much of an impact he was on the culture and science of Alexandria. After reviewing we watched a movie scene of Alexander's battle at Guagamelala. Alexander used amazing military tactics to defeat Persia's King Darius. I learned that none of Alexander's generals supported his tactics because they all believed that even with all of the luck and gods in their favor they still would not be able to win the battle since they were outnumbered 250,000 to 40,000. However, Alexander trusted his gut and continued his battle strategy. His strategy proved to be successful and allowed Alexander to win the battle. After the video the bell rang and dismissed class. I brought the textbook home as well to study over break and get a 100% on the upcoming test.

Today in Honor's Western Civilization we took a vote on when we want to take the second Ancient Greek test. The options were either to take the test tomorrow and be done with it to enjoy our Spring Break, however, if we fail it could be catastrophic to the enjoyment of our Spring Break. The other option was to take the test the first day when we come back from break. We all voted to take the test on the day we come back from breaks in order to have more time to study. After the vote we reviewed Alexander's museum and the art and culture of Alexandria. Alexander had a small observatory in his museum where astronomers studied the stars and planets. Eratosthenes was an astronomer who determined that the Earth was round and what the actual size was. Many great astronomers studied here and made ground-breaking discoveries to boost science. After this the bell rang and ended class.

Today in Honor's Western Civilization we discussed, as a class, how much Alexander the Great was an influence towards the Macedonian Empire and the entire south Europe and southwest Asia. Alexander the Great was made king just when he was a shocking 20 years old. His father was the previous leader of Macedonia and was about to conquer Persia when he was killed. To honor his father's dreams Alexander decided to conquer Persia. This is when Alexander first came into contact with King Darius II. Alexander defeated Darius causing him to flee the country. Every time Alexander's troops came into contact with Darius' troops it was a slaughter. Darius' military tactics were nowhere near as powerful as Alexander's. Alexander eventually completely conquered the Persian Empire. Alexander carried on to conquer parts of India and southwest Asia. His reign lived on until he and his troops returned home after 11 years of over 11,000 miles of walking. Once he returned he died.

Today in Honor's Western Civilization the final group finished their presentation on Ancient Greek pottery and finished the class by taking notes out of our textbook. I found the pottery project very interesting. It was neat to see the way they made pottery by molding it and eventually putting it on the wheel like you see in the movies. They then painted it to make it look Greek and attached handles on it. I also found it interesting how creative the Greeks were and how competitive they were. Greek artists would literally paint on their pottery and say that they were better than another particular artist in Greek. After their presentation we took notes from the textbook. The notes from the textbook were basically about Alexandria and how beutiful it was. It was so beutiful that it attracted people from all around the world. The pages also talked about how philosophy made a personal change towards people's lives. After this the bell rang and ended class.

Today in Honor's Western Civilization we took notes on pages 142-145 in our comp books. During my reading I found many interesting facts about Alexander the Great. Alex became king of Macedonia when he was just 20 years old. After he conquered the Greek city-states he pursued on his father's attempt to invade Persia. He showed up to Macedonia with a 20,000 person army outnumbered by about 20,000 people under King Darius. Alexander used a 16 levels deep phalanx with a cavalry charge behind it. This caused Kind Darius to flee. Alexander ended up winning so many battles that Darius offered him a majority of Persia allowing Darius to have some of the land. However, Alexander did not accept it and eventually conquered all of Persia. Alexander had some more conquests but after traveling 11,000 miles in 11 years his troops were ready to go home. So, Alexander and his troops returned to their homes in anger. Alexander soon died from a fever after. After this the bell rang and ended cla...

Today in Honors Western Civilization we finished presenting our Ancient Greek projects. The group that presented today was the Olympics group. They made a video describing and acting out what would happen at the Ancient Greek's Olympic ceremonies. If the athletes were to win a competition they would win an olive branch. They would have the discus throw where they would throw frisbees that were way heavier than what they are today. The person that threw their disc the furthest won. They also had sprinting competitions where the fastest sprinter won. They also had wrestling matches. Finally, they had the chariot races where armored men would stand or sit in a light, wooden chariot pulled by horses. They would typically do seven laps around their track. The fastest racer would win. After the presentation we talked about Mr. Schick's awesome career in movies until the bell rang.

Today in Honor's Western Civilization we presented our projects that we have been working on. To start of the day the 1st group that presented was the group that made honey cake, bread, and oil (they also served sparkling cider in the place of wine). They then explained how honey and wine were staples in the Greek diet and consumes at almost every meal. After that group, the next group came up and presented their model of a trireme. I found the trireme very interesting because it was used as a battering ram to destroy other ships. It was also rowed by 170 to 180 men across 3 levels on the ship. The model was also pretty cool because Owen included broken ships that it destroyed. After that group it was our turn and we presented our trident and phalanx model. After our presentation the bell rang and ended class.

Today we continued working on our Ancient Greece project. I decided to team up with the one and only Dominic Comello. Instead of building a catapult we are going to build a model of the Anxient Greece phalanx. I find this much easier and much more relevant to Ancient Greece. We decided we will get a piece of cardboard and make it look like grass. We will then put LEGO characters on to act as soldiers and use some long wood sticks like chopsticks for spears. I think this project will turn out very well

Today in Honors Western Civilization we worked on our Ancient Greece project. I decided that I will build a catapult just like the Ancient Greeks used. So today I began researching Ancient Greek catapults and the physics of them. I found it very interesting that the original engineering of the catapult was forgotten during one of the many plagues. The engineering is actually quite simple. It is done all using tension and releasing it. I also found it interesting that the Greeks used several different types of catapults. After this the bell rang and ended class.

Today in Honor's Western Civilization we finally finished watching the Crash Course on philosophy. Here are some of the notes that I took over the course of the entire video: -Metaphysics- the branch of philosophy that studies the nature and scope of knowledge -Epistemology- The branch of philosophy that studies the nature and scope of knowledge -The Value Theory consists of two branches -Ethics- the branch of philosophy that studies the nature and scope of knowledge -Aesthetics- the branch of philosophy that studies the nature of beauty -fallacy- a failure in reasoning or flawed reasoning that leads to an invalid or unsound argument The steps to philosophy consist of- 1. Try to Understand 2. Critical Evaluation After taking these notes people in the class tried to explain how we never actually see color, however, I still do not understand it at all. After all the debating the bell rang and ended class.