Ancient Rome & America: Exhibit in Philadelphia

[Ludovicus]

This is a temporary large exhibit at the National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia, February 19 - August 1, 2010. On the Center's website you'll find materials for educators as well as images of items from the displays.

 

 

Ancient Rome & America showcases the cultural, political, and social connections between the lost world of ancient Rome and modern America. The exhibition features more than 300 artifacts from Italy and the United States, bringing together a never-before-seen collection from Italy

[Ludovicus]

No such thing as Super Bowl 44.

 

It was, as the world knows, Super Bowl XLIV.

 

That buck in your pocket says Annuit coeptis ("He has approved our endeavors") and Novus ordo seclorum ("New order of the ages"). That buck and all your coins say E pluribus unum ("Out of many, one"). And at the base of that weird Masonic pyramid on the dollar? Not 1776. MDCCLXXVI.

 

How did all this Roman stuff get into American culture?

 

Rome's stamp on America

From our money to our pro sports you can see the influence, as an exhibit at the National Constitution Center makes clear.

See article on the exhibit in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

 

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/weekend/201...on_America.html

[caesar novus]

Sounds good and I wish I could visit (maybe thru cyber?). Although I don't understand the eagerness to draw parallels with the later empire phase (sounds like an equating of US to Nazi empire is also on the published agenda) or the surprise that was noted for parallels with the earlier Roman republican phase.

 

And why the spin on Roman symbol usage as sort of inflated egotism? The US knew itself to be a fragile country and one that Europe rationally expected to fail The US only survived Britain's invasion of 1812 by a miracle of a hurricane/tornado hitting the invaders and (accidentally post war) showing plausible deterrence by Jackson's victory with the quirky contribution of New Orleans pirate cannoners. Even afterward the US was likely to be reabsorbed by surrounding superpower Brit, Spanish, or French colonies, except for the fact that Napoleon needed money to fight Britain and was willing to sell land for the US to expand west to a defensible mass. Surely early US symbolism was simply appealing to the same high ideals just as the anti-king Romans did.

 

Here's another possible connection to early Rome... the US exemplified financial freedoms that were based on sort of a pagan Rome revivalism consciously introduced by renaissance Florence to ease Christian restrictions. I'm out of my depth, so can't explain this well, but apparently Florence appealed to rational Roman philosophy about greater good to overcome Christian teaching against paying interest, etc. They previously did weird workarounds like current Islamic banks to disguise interest (the current crisis in Dubai real estate is magnified by following scripture against intangible investments, so all rush into the tangible and install half the worlds construction cranes there). Consider how Alexander Hamilton reassured world lenders by making good on US debts even though nearly broke, and built unexpectedly strong financial foundations... and how Florence similarly became a financial/banking world power.

Edited March 10, 2010 by caesar novus