#askdelphi16

Comment:  I, like the Romans, enjoyed the myth of the discovery of Achilles among the daughters of Lycomedes.  Artistically, the mosaic is beautiful and ornate, but what I loved the most was Achilles trying to be all stealthy and clever and Odysseus shutting it down. 

Comment:

Susan Woodford is so harsh towards Roman artists in giving them basically no credit for their contributions and creativity and such, which frustrated me because their work really helps us understand the entirety of the Roman empire.

Question:

Question:

Why didn’t Woodford cover the era of Julius Caesar? Often times it’s the most studied or considered to be the most important time to study of ancient rome. Is this because of a lack of artistic expression or because the art of this time was focused on politics?

Comment: 

Why were the Imperial Baths at Trier never finished? I find it very strange that Woodford placed so much emphasis on its beautiful layout and cultural impact without giving an explanation for why it was uncompleted. 

Ok, in the myth of Achilles hiding amongst the daughters of Lycomedes, he does the WORST JOB at hiding himself, which is somewhat excused by the fact that it was his mother who hid him out of concern (not out of Achilles’ own concern for himself.) But not only did Achilles fall for Odysseus’ trap and reveal himself, it says that one of the daughters was not surprised by him being a male BECAUSE HE GOT HER PREGNANT. WHAT THE HECK IS THAT ABOUT. The biggest red flag that somebody is pulling a reverse Mulan in a group of women is literally one of them mysteriously getting pregnant.

Question: Why did they build such grand buildings in the areas the conquered? It seems that they would have wanted to make Rome even better than it was, so why would they devote resources, architects, and time to a conquered area?

Question: How could the Romans afford to build and maintain such extravagant bath houses? I understand that they would use spoils from war and slave labor, but would they charge entry fees to help keep revenue flowing? I can’t imagine something of this magnitude being purely charitable, so what would the person that sponsored a structure like this get out of it?

Q: Why weren’t ancient buildings preserved better?? What would have made people more conscious and aware of their importance and what could have been done to prevent their deterioration?

Q: The portraits of the mummified deceased were used as an example of the blending of cultural art between Rome and Egypt as a result of the expanse of the Roman Empire. At the end of the section, it was mentioned that these paintings showed the height of what Roman painting could be, but they said it was for a very un-Roman purpose. What was the purpose of these wooden panel paintings? Were they mortuary, or commemorative, etc.?