During the Second Punic War, the Carthaginian general Hannibal: brought his entire army, including elephants, over the Alps. Why did the Romans regard Carthage as a threat? The Carthaginian empire in Sicily and Spain was encroaching on Rome.

Once the Romans had effectively gained control of Italy (265 B.C.E.), they: started a series of wars for control of the western Mediterranean. The greatest honor a Roman could hope to achieve was to: sacrifice himself, his family, and his friends for the state. Traditional Roman religion included ancestor worship and: oligarchs who played dual roles as priests and politicians.

One important difference between Roman religion and Greek religion was the Roman view of: the gods as family gods of Rome. According to the patria potestas provision of the Twelve Tables, a Roman father: had absolute power over his family, up to and including the power of life and death. In the early Roman Republic, Rome was technically a democracy, but: the Roman constitution essentially ensured oligarchic rule. The equestrian order (Roman knights) was established by: businessmen whose wealth made it possible for them to own and equip warhorses. To limit the influence of wealth in Roman politics, new laws were passed: preventing senators from engaging in commerce. The Twelve Tables of Law, approved in 450 B.C.E., represent: the codification of existing laws for all to see and obey. After a plebeian rebellion in the early fifth century B.C.E.: the patricians accepted the elected tribunes and written laws. The division between Roman patricians and plebeians was: between the wealthiest (2 percent) and the rest (98 percent) of the people. During the early Roman Republic, Rome: expanded slowly and extended the Latin Right to many of the cities it conquered.

Haven Creek by Rochelle Alers