PRIMARY SOURCE SET THE LEGACY OF GREECE AND ROME

Teaching with Primary Sources — MTSU

PRIMARY SOURCE SET

THE LEGACY OF GREECE AND ROME

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The arena, exterior, Nîmes, France [between c. 1890 and c.
1900].
The Greek and Roman civilizations had a
fundamental impact on world history and SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS
culture. Greco-Roman art, architecture,
literature, government bureaucracy, military You can find plenty of primary sources relating to
structure, educational system, engineering, ancient Greece and Rome on both the Prints and
imperialism, philosophy, and religion have Photographs Online Catalog and American Memory,
influenced the course of Western civilization especially 20th century photographs of Greek and
for over 2500 years. The United States was Roman buildings. (The Greeks are known for their
founded on the principles of democracy and columns; the Romans for their arches.) Have students
republican government that originated in look at these buildings and compare them to the
ancient Greece and Rome around the 5th architecture they see around them in Tennessee. What
century B.C. are the similarities and differences?

Whereas the Greeks invented the ideas of the A brief but entertaining overview of Roman accomplish-
polis (city-state) and democracy, the Romans ments, the YouTube clip from the movie, Monty
combined Greek, European, and Middle Python’s Life of Brian can help students answer the
Eastern elements into a highly organized and question, “What have the Romans ever done for us?”
efficient empire that was the melting pot of its Students can see examples of these accomplishments
day. The Romans, heavily influenced by the among the primary sources in this set, and can search in
Greeks, soon overtook the lands of Greece the library and on the Internet for more examples. Have
and then all the Greek areas in the Middle them reenact this comedic scene using primary source
East, achieving an empire whose only images and texts.
contemporary rival was China (Han dynasty).
Enduring architecture, Christianity, and the You may want to discuss with your students why all the
Latin language are all important legacies of the sources for ancient Greece and Rome are from the 18th-
ancient Romans. 21st centuries. Does this make them secondary sources
as well?
ADDITIONAL LINKS

 January 2010 newsletter (Theme: The An-
cient World)

 The Parthenon (Nashville)
 Ancient Mediterranean Collection from the

Brooks Museum (Memphis)
 “History Contained: Ancient Greek Bronze

and Ceramic Vessels” from the McClung Mu-
seum (Knoxville)
 Greek and Roman Art in the Ancient World
(95 thematic essays with artifacts) from the
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)

The arena, interior, Nîmes, France [between ca. The arena, interior, Nîmes, France [between ca.
1890 and ca. 1900] 1890 and ca. 1900]

Roman bridge over the Gard, constructed by Agrip- Pantheon - Rome [between c. 1910 and c. 1915]
pa, Nîmes, France [between ca. 1890 and ca. 1900]

The Baby’s Own Aesop: Being the Fables Condensed in
Rhyme, With Portable Murals Pictorially Pointed / By
Walter Crane [1887]

Open the Page turner version or download the PDF
version (24.61 MB).

Surface and substrata layers of Roman road Details from the Circensian games / G. Heck, dirt. ; Henry Win-
construction [1756] kles sculp. [1851]

Panoramic view of the Forum, Rome [c. 1909]

General view and Vesuvius, Pompeii, Italy [between c. Peristyle of the House of Vetti, Pompeii, Italy
1890 and c. 1900] [between c. 1890 and c. 1900]

Plans, sections, and elevations of classical Greek and Ro- Greek and Roman sculpture, including Phidias' statue of
man temples / G. Heck, dirt. ; Henry Winkles sculp. Pallas in the Parthenon, several of Venus, Diana the
[1851; download the TIFF for better clarity] Huntress, and others / G. Heck, dirt. ; Henry Winkles,
sculpt. [1851]

Egypt. Assuan and Phi-
lae. The Kiosk at Philae
[between 1950 and
1977]

Greece. Delphi, the thea-
tre, Temple of Apollo on
left [between 1950 and
1960]

Thomas Jefferson to John
Adams, July 5, 1814 [T.J.
talks about the merits of
Plato and education; 3rd
page detail shown; tran-
scription here]

Mrs. Emma Willard's chronographer of ancient history,
Troy, New York 1851 / lith. of Sarony 117 Fulton St. N.
York. [1851, c. 1852]
Please note: In order to view this timeline in the amount of
detail shown at right, you must download the TIFF file,
which is 214.6 MB (i.e., very large).

Main Reading Room. Portrait statues of
Homer and Plato along the balustrade. Li-
brary of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building,
Washington, D.C. [2007]

Perseus and Caput Medusæ / Sidy. Hall,
sculpt. [1825]

CITATIONS

Teachers: Providing these primary source replicas without source clues may enhance the inquiry experience for students. This list of citations is supplied for
reference purposes. We have followed the Chicago Manual of Style format, one of the formats recommended by the Library of Congress, for each entry
below, minus the access date. The access date for each of these entries is January 4, 2011.

“[The arena, exterior, Nîmes, France].” Photomechanical print. Detroit: Detroit Publishing Co., between c. 1890 and c. 1900. From
Library of Congress, Photocrom Prints. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001698489/

“[The arena, interior, Nîmes, France].” Photomechanical print. Detroit: Detroit Publishing Co., between c. 1890 and c. 1900. From
Library of Congress, Photocrom Prints. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001698490/

“[The arena, interior, Nîmes, France].” Photomechanical print. Detroit: Detroit Publishing Co., between c. 1890 and c. 1900. From
Library of Congress, Photocrom Prints. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001698488/

“[Roman bridge over the Gard, constructed by Agrippa, Nîmes, France].” Photomechanical print. Detroit: Detroit Publishing Co., be-
tween c. 1890 and c. 1900. From Library of Congress, Photocrom Prints. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001698495/

“Pantheon - Rome.” Negative. New York: Bain News Service, between c. 1910 and c. 1915. From Library of Congress, George Grantham
Bain Collection. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ggb2004010183/

The baby’s own Aesop : being the fables condensed in rhyme, with portable morals pictorially pointed / by Walter Crane. Engraved and printed in colours
by Edmund Evans. Book. London; New York: George Routledge & Sons, 1887. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?
collId=rbc3&fileName=rbc0001_2003holmes17584page.db

Piranesi, Giovanni B., engraver. “[Surface and substrata layers of Roman road construction].” Print. Roma: Nella stamperia di A. Rotilj,
1756. From Library of Congress, Miscellaneous Items in High Demand. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2006680140/

Winkles, Henry, engraver. “[Details from the Circensian games] / G. Heck, dirt. ; Henry Winkles sculp.” Print. New York: Rudolph
Garrigue, 1851. From Library of Congress, Miscellaneous Items in High Demand. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/95522161/

“Panoramic view of the Forum, Rome.” Photograph. Boston: Notman Photo Co., 1909. From Library of Congress, Panoramic Photo-
graphs. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007663223/

“[General view and Vesuvius, Pompeii, Italy].” Photomechanical print. Detroit: Detroit Publishing Co., between c. 1890 and c. 1900.
From Library of Congress, Photocrom Prints. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001700924/

“[Peristyle of the House of Vetti, Pompeii, Italy].” Photomechanical print. Detroit: Detroit Publishing Co., between c. 1890 and c.
1900. From Library of Congress, Photocrom Prints. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001700925/

Winkles, Henry, engraver. “[Plans, sections, and elevations of classical Greek and Roman temples] / G. Heck, dirt. ; Henry Winkles
sculp.” Print. New York: Rudolph Garrigue, 1851. From Library of Congress, Miscellaneous Items in High Demand. http://www.loc.gov/
pictures/item/92514952/

Winkles, Henry, engraver. “[Greek and Roman sculpture, including Phidias' statue of Pallas in the Parthenon, several of Venus, Diana
the Huntress, and others] / G. Heck, dirt. ; Henry Winkles sculp.” Print. New York: Rudolph Garrigue, 1851. From Library of Con-
gress, Miscellaneous Items in High Demand. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/90707128/

Matson Photo Service, photographer. “Egypt. Assuan and Philae. The Kiosk at Philae.” Slide. Jerusalem: Matson Photo Service, between
1950 and 1977. From Library of Congress, Matson (G. Eric and Edith) Photograph Collection. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/
mpc2010000461/PP/

Visuri, Osmo, photographer. “Greece. Delphi, the theatre, Temple of Apollo on left.” Slide. Jerusalem: Matson Photo Service, between
1950 and 1960. From Library of Congress, Matson (G. Eric and Edith) Photograph Collection. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/
mpc2010000487/PP/

Jefferson, Thomas. “Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, July 5, 1814.” Letter. From Library of Congress, The Thomas Jefferson Papers, 1606
-1827. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mtj1&fileName=mtj1page047.db&recNum=553

Sarony, Napoleon, lithographer. “Mrs. Emma Willard's chronographer of ancient history, Troy, New York 1851 / lith. of Sarony 117
Fulton St. N. York.” Lithograph. New York: A.S. Barnes & Co., 1851, c. 1852. From Library of Congress, Popular Graphic Arts. http://
www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005694445/

Highsmith, Carol M., photographer. “[Main Reading Room. Portrait statues of Homer and Plato along the balustrade. Library of Con-
gress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.].” Photograph. 2007. From Library of Congress, Carol M. Highsmith Archive. http://
www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007684398/

Hall, Sidney, etcher. “Perseus and Caput Medusæ / Sidy. Hall, sculpt.” Print. London, 1825. From Library of Congress, Miscellaneous
Items in High Demand. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002695399/