Activity

Agrippina the Younger's city

Characters:

Agrippina (the Younger)

Theme: Architecture: public works

Competencies

Competence in Linguistic Communication

Personal, social and learning to learn competence

Competence in cultural awareness and expressions

Subjects and year by Educational System

Spain > Classical culture > 4th ESO > Continuity of cultural heritage. Literature, art and science

Enunciation

<img title="Women's Legacy logo" src="//inclusion.womenslegacyproject.eu/images/LogoWL.svg" /><hr />Agrippina the Younger was the daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, sister of emperor Caligula, and mother of Nero. She was born in the year 15 in Oppidum Ubiorum. In the year 48 AC, she married her uncle, emperor Claudius, and got him to give her birthplace the status of a city, becoming the administrative capital of Germania Inferior, and being called Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, in her honour. &nbsp;
1. - Answer the questions about the city and its benefactor.
a.- Which city is it currently and which country is it in?
b.- It was a city that had a northern border with the Roman Empire, which important river was it situated by?
c.- Look up the definition of colonia to find out the advantages that its new status implied.
d.- In view of this fact and the phrase attributed to her: "let him kill me so long as I rule", related to her efforts to make her son Nero emperor, what traits would you highlight about this empress? Bear in mind that her achievements were made in a context in which public and political activity was forbidden to women.
2.- Read the following text and answer questions about urban planning.
The layout of a Roman city was articulated along two main axes: the cardo maximus, the road that ran through the city from north to south, and the decumanus maximus, the road that crossed it from east to west; the forum was located at the intersection.&nbsp;The rest of the streets were aligned parallel to the cardo and decumanus and followed a geometrical organisation that divided the space into squares, called insulae (blocks), where private and public buildings were constructed. The city was surrounded by a wall with four gates at the ends of the two main roads.
a.- Mark in the map of Colonia Agripinensis the urban elements that appear in the text.
 <img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="//inclusion.womenslegacyproject.eu/uploads/resume/attachment/418/Enunciado_1.png" alt="" width="637" height="354" />
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Roman_Cologne%2C_reconstruction.JPG/1920px-Roman_Cologne%2C_reconstruction.JPG">https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Roman_Cologne%2C_reconstruction.JPG/1920px-Roman_Cologne%2C_reconstruction.JPG&nbsp;</a>
b.- What name is given to the urban planning model which divides the space into squares? Who invented it? In which neighbourhood in Athens was this model applied?
c.- Which two buildings dedicated to political activity did the forum house and what use did they have?
3.- The Eifel aqueduct supplied water to the city from the west side and was one of the longest aqueducts in the Roman Empire. &nbsp;Constructed in the year 80 AC., it transported water along 95 km, from the hilly Eifel region. It was expressly designed to minimise its surface layout, which is why little remains are left.&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Acueducto Eifel" src="//inclusion.womenslegacyproject.eu/uploads/resume/attachment/416/Enunciado_2.jpg" alt="" width="189" height="184" />
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Eifelwasserleitung05.jpg/220px-Eifelwasserleitung05.jpg">https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Eifelwasserleitung05.jpg/220px-Eifelwasserleitung05.jpg</a>
a.- Why do you think they built it underground?
b.- Which two architectural elements were essential in the construction of aqueducts and from whom were they copied?
c.- Which hygiene and leisure buildings were supplied with water from the aqueducts?
d.- Add each term to its definition: arcuationes, caput aquae, castellum aquae, piscinae limariae, specus.
<ul>
<li>The head of an aqueduct, where the water is collected and then passed in a controlled manner to the pipeline.</li>
<li>Channel through which water flows, mostly covered.</li>
<li>Arch systems that support the canal and keep it at the right level.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Chambers in charge of water purification by means of the decantation system.</li>
<li>Urban reservoir at the arrival of an aqueduct, where the water is also decanted for the last time.</li>
</ul>
f.- Which Roman aqueduct flowed into a fountain that was the predecessor of the Trevi Fountain?
4.- In Spain, in addition to the aforementioned aqueduct, there are remains of many others. Look at these five, which show their arcades; identify them on the Internet, and indicate below the image: their name, the province where they are located, the place where the water came from, the place of destination (for one of them this is not known for sure) and the kilometres of the journey.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="//inclusion.womenslegacyproject.eu/uploads/resume/attachment/424/Enunciado_3.png" alt="" width="625" height="265" /> <a href="http://baulitoadelrte.blogspot.com/2017/05/los-acueductos-romanos.html">http://baulitoadelrte.blogspot.com/2017/05/los-acueductos-romanos.html</a>
&nbsp;

Observations and context

The women of the Julio-Claudian dynasty never acted together to obtain greater female prominence in the public and political spheres, but rather, moved by personal interests, they concentrated on placing their descendants in the first line of succession. In a first phase, Octavia, Livia and Julia the Elder stand out, and later, Agrippina the Elder, Julia the Younger and Agrippina the Younger do.
Although harshly criticized, the Julio-Claudians undoubtedly started a new period in the history of Rome, a task that would later be continued by the great Antonine and Severan empresses.

Description

The main elements of a Roman city’s layout will be studied, specifically current Cologne (Agrippina’s birthplace); data on the aqueduct that supplied it with water will be studied, too, as well as information on other aqueducts, mainly in Spain.

Agrippina the Younger's city

Enunciation

Observations and context

Description

Answer

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