Working in your teams, have each person choose one of the following figures who
are important for understanding religion and philosophy in the Roman empire. Read
the canvas page for that person, and write a letter in that persona explaining a
difficult choice that you made and why you made it. You can choose or invent the
recipient of the letter. 400-500 words. Try to show off things you have learned about
the person’s personality from the text associated with them, and about the Roman
empire from the course materials in writing your letter. Post to the collaboration, and
submit here as a Canvas assignment.
Marcus Aurelius Emperor and Stoic This Roman emperor’s Greek writings about the
Stoic philosophy of enduring what cannot be changed have been inspirational to
many.
Thecla, bold convert to Christianity She carves out a new role for herself in the
aftermath of her conversion to Christianity.
Perpetua, bold convert to Christianity. Her high-stakes embrace of Christianity
seems unthinkable to her wealthy family.
Apuleius was the author of Metamorphoses, or The Golden Ass, a Latin novel about
a man who turns himself into an ass and is later rescued by the goddess Isis. Along
the way he hears the story of Cupid and Psyche, an ancestor of the Beauty and the
Beast story. Oh, and Apuleius in real life was accused of witchcraft and put on trial
for his life after he married his college roommate’s mother. You can write as
Apuleius or as his wife Pudentilla.
Augustine (354-430 CE). As part of recounting events in his life before he became
Christian, he writes in his autobiographical work Confessions about some trouble he
got into when his schooling was unexpectedly interrupted and he had to return home
to his parents.