Transcript Ancient Roman Suicide - m

Ancient Roman Suicide
Emma
Period 4
Quote From Macbeth
• “Why should I play the Roman fool, and
die on mine own sword? Whiles I see lives
the gashes do better upon them.”
– Macbeth
Suicide
If a roman soldier, mostly a roman leader,
lost in battle he might commit suicide to
avoid enslavement or capture
More Suicide
• If a Roman
person’s honor
was endangered or
gone, he would
commit suicide
• It was the idea that
a life without honor
was worse than
death
SUICIDEEEE
• Mostly only
leaders
committed
suicide for
political reasonsnot because of
emotional issues
or anything.
It’s Still About Suicide
So Much Suicide.
• In ancient Rome, you were a strong man if
you committed suicide for your honor.
• A weak, dishonorable man faced a
disgraceful loss in battle
• He was looked at as less than a man
My Interpretation
• I think the fact that Macbeth said a roman
was a fool to fall on his sword showed how
far he fell from grace. So now he would
rather live a traitor and a killer without any
honor at all. This was a big deal in those
times, and the allusion exaggerated how
messed up Macbeth became.
SOURCES
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_suicide
• http://injacobsmemory.org/history-of-suicide.html
• http://sean-ashby.blogspot.com/2011/10/news-flashmulti-tasking-is-bogus.html
• http://vitaecurriculum.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/achilds-compendium-of-illustrated-dido-suicides/
• http://www.ancientl.com/roman/famous-suicidesancient-world/
• http://www.caissoas.com/CAIS/History/ashkanian/battle_of_carrhae.ht
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