AGU RESEARCH

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In the world we live in,
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  • Faculty of Letters
  • Who is history for?
  • Professor Hiroshi Sakamoto
  • Faculty of Letters
  • Who is history for?
  • Professor Hiroshi Sakamoto

Why do you need to study history?

I teach classes on ancient Western history, that is, the history of the societies that produced the Greek and Latin classics that can be said to be the undercurrent of Western civilization.

 

Many of you may have wondered, while studying history in junior high or high school, "Why do we need to study history?"

 

There is a saying that "wise men learn from history." Those who do not correctly understand the facts of the past tend to be blind to current events. For example, to understand why Jews and Muslims are in such fierce conflict over Palestine today, it is necessary to correctly understand the history of Israel since ancient times, which has been the background to this.

 

It is also important to be able to point out to those who distort history based on their own subjective interpretation and claim that "this is how it was in the past, so this is how it will be from now on, and this is how we must do things," that the basis for their argument is incorrect in light of objective facts.

 

On top of that, I believe that the most important meaning of studying history is to understand that "history is multifaceted and multifaceted." I want students to be aware that there are "alternative perspectives" rather than simply accepting the history they have learned.

 

So, in this column, I would like to consider the many facets of history using the well-known example of Cleopatra.

The figure of Cleopatra and the "Battle of Actium"

What kind of image do you have of Cleopatra?

 

As you know, Cleopatra was the last queen of ancient Egypt. She is known as a "seductive villain" who seduced two Roman heroes, Caesar and Antony, with her beauty, and tried to conquer Rome, and as a "tragic heroine" who ended up killing herself by letting a poisonous snake bite her.

 

When talking about Cleopatra's character, one event that cannot be overlooked is the Battle of Actium. World history textbooks describe it as "the naval battle in 31 BC in which Octavian defeated the combined forces of Antony and Cleopatra, seizing hegemony over the Roman world."

 

In the ancient Roman poet Virgil's epic poem "The Aeneid," the Battle of Actium is described as "the victory of the Italian gods over the strange Eastern gods." The foreign queen who led these "strange Eastern gods" was Cleopatra.

 

Also, the contemporary poet Horace contains the following description of Cleopatra in his Songs:

 

"But the woman, wishing for a noble death, showed no effeminate fear of the sword.... She looked bravely and calmly at the ruined palace, and now, as she contemplated death and became furious, she bravely took up the fearsome serpent, intending to absorb the black poison into her body." (From "Utasyo," translated by Noboru Fujii (Gendai Shichosha))

 

It was these descriptions by Virgil and Horace that later influenced Shakespeare's plays and films, and became the prototype of the image of Cleopatra that people know to this day.

 

In contrast, Tacitus' Annals, written about 100 years after the Battle of Actium, paint a completely different picture. Tacitus, who is said to be the "greatest historian of ancient Rome," is known for his accurate and fair descriptions, which were surprising for his time. He writes very succinctly about the Battle of Actium, "Augustus ultimately emerged victorious in the factional struggles and monopolized power. His relatives and loyal subordinates then sat at the center of power. This is the essence of imperial government." In other words, the Battle of Actium was just one of the "civil wars caused by factional struggles" that were repeated frequently within Rome. There is no mention of Cleopatra.

 

Why have such different "histories" been written? To explain the mystery, let's explain the background of the Battle of Actium.

History is written by the winners

After the "hero" Caesar was assassinated, Octavian was adopted by his will and took the name Caesar, becoming the ruler of the western part of the empire, while Antony, Caesar's close aide, became the ruler of the east.

 

Antony married Octavian's sister Octavia for political reasons, but eventually strengthened his alliance with Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt. After his victory over Armenia, Antony proclaimed that he would give Cleopatra Cyprus, Cyrene, Syria, and other territories. He even donated Roman provinces to the queen of Egypt. He even officially divorced Octavia. Octavian was furious at the insult to his sister, and the conflict between the two heroes became decisive.

 

Octavianus proclaimed that "Antonius is a traitor to his country. He has degraded himself to a mercenary captain serving a foreign woman!" and gained the loyalty of all of Italy. He then declared war not on Antony, but on Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt. His message was, "This is not a power struggle (civil war) with Antony. It is a 'holy war' to protect Italy from the 'Eastern Allied Forces' centered on Egypt." Thus began the famous Battle of Actium.

 

However, shortly after the start of the battle, Cleopatra's ship left the battlefield, and Antony followed, resulting in a crushing victory for Octavian. Antony and Cleopatra fled to Alexandria to try to make a comeback, but their wish was not granted and they are said to have committed suicide.

 

When we think of the Battle of Actium, we imagine a clash between a large fleet of 500 ships from the East and 600 ships from the West, but in reality, it was merely a battle in which part of Antony and Cleopatra's fleet broke through the center of the siege and escaped to Egypt. Why did it turn into the "great naval battle" depicted in the Aeneid and Canticles? The background to this lies in the intentions of Octavian, who was the victor.

 

For Octavian, who won the civil war and earned the title of "Augustus" (the Majestic), the next challenge was to legitimize his position and establish an unshakable government. To do so, he needed a beautiful and epic story of Italy's victory over the East and world peace achieved by Augustus.

 

To that end, Maecenas, who was Emperor Augustus' cultural advisor, generously patronized the new generation of poets and artists. Thus, Virgil and Horace, supported by Maecenas, loudly sang the founding myth, and the historian Livy wrote the history of Rome since its founding as a patriotic and educational national history. Incidentally, the French word "mécénat," which means "support of arts and culture," comes from the name Maecenas.

There is a saying that "history is written by the victors," and it is no exaggeration to say that the image of Cleopatra that we know well was created by Octavian, who wanted to make his rule unshakable. The image of a "strong, beautiful, foreign woman" was a convenient image for an enemy. Looking at it this way, it seems that the society we live in today may also be engraved in history according to a scenario created by someone.

Cultivating "my own view of history" through studying history

Learning history is not simply about remembering past events. By observing the activities of people who lived in that era, I think it is material for thinking about "why is the world like this now?" and "what is the person living in the present?". It is also a task of rereading past events with subjective thoughts such as "how do I want to live in the present?" and "what kind of shape do I want the society I live in to be?" and reconstructing "my own view of history."

 

I hope that by studying history, you too will develop the ability to question history.

 

(Published in 2015)

Related articles

  • "Introduction to the Roman Empire for Beginners" by Hiroshi Sakamoto (Gentosha: 2009)
  • "Understanding the Roman Empire in 3 Days (Intellectual Basic Series)" (Diamond Inc.: 2001)
  • "1500 Years of the Roman Empire (Visual Selection)" (Shinjinbutsu Oraisha: 2011)

Study this topic at Aoyama Gakuin University

Faculty of Letters

  • Faculty of Letters
  • Professor Hiroshi Sakamoto
  • Affiliation: Department of History College of Literature, Aoyama Gakuin University
    Subjects: Lectures for Freshmen, Ancient History of Europe (Seminar)  A & B (Graduate School), Seminar in Western History (5), Thesis for B. A. Degree, Dissertation Seminar, Ancient History of Europe (1), (2), (3) A & B (Graduate School), Master's Program Research Guidance II (Graduate School)
    Specialization and related fields: Ancient Roman History
Link to researcher information
  • Faculty of Letters
  • Professor Hiroshi Sakamoto
  • Affiliation: Department of History College of Literature, Aoyama Gakuin University
    Subjects: Lectures for Freshmen, Ancient History of Europe (Seminar)  A & B (Graduate School), Seminar in Western History (5), Thesis for B. A. Degree, Dissertation Seminar, Ancient History of Europe (1), (2), (3) A & B (Graduate School), Master's Program Research Guidance II (Graduate School)
    Specialization and related fields: Ancient Roman History
  • Link to researcher information

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