Plutarch

Read Plutarch’s lives of Theseus, Romulus, and the comparison between Theseus and Romulus. You can find the reading here

Study Questions:

Theseus

1. Describe the lineage and birth of Theseus.
2. How did Aethra know who her son was?
3. What happened on Theseus’s way to Athens? Why were these events important? 
4. When Theseus arrived in Athens, all was not well. Tell about the unrest and the reasons for it. 
5. Describe the conflict with Minos. what did the gods require in order to end the war? 
6. There are many conflicting stories about what what happened when Theseus went to the Minotar. What common thread runs among all of them? How are they different? Choose two to summarize and tell why you chose those two.
7. What happened to Aegus and how does this event show the Greek love of tragedy?
8. Describe how Theseus founded Athens. 
9. There are also many stories surrounding Theseus and Antiope. Summarize two of these stories that you find to be most important. 
10. What is the relationship between Helen and Theseus? 
11. Theseus involved himself in many disagreements and conflicts over his lifetime. Choose two to discuss in class giving details of how the conflict began and how it was resolved. 
12. How did Theseus die? 

Romulus

1. What is the most common story of the birth of the founders of Rome? Who are the characters involved? What were the circumstances of their birth? What was their relationship to one another like?
2. Why did Romulus and Remus become famous among their peers?
3. How did Romulus and Remus come to leave Alba to build their own city?
4. What argument arose between Romulus and Remus? How was this argument resolved? Ultimately, how did the fight between the brothers end?
5. Romulus set up a system of three classes of citizens. What were these three classes of citizens, and what was the purpose of each?
6. How did Romulus trick the Sabines to bring their women to Romulus’s city?
7. How did Romulus deal with the Sabines to enlarge his city?
8. How did Tarpeius treat Tarpeia (his daughter?) when she betrayed the city of Rome?
9. How did the Romans and the Sabines finally come to live at peace with one another? How did the fighting end?
10. When the Sabines and the Romans began to live together, they combined many of their customs. Describe some of these customs that they began to share. 
11. Why did the people of Rome begin to turn against Romulus?
12. Name some of the theories as to how Romulus disappeared.
13. How old was Romulus when he began his reign?