Church and state in rome essays

Church and state in rome essays As most of the civilizations studied so far in Western Civilization the Romans were a religious people. From the rise of the Roman Empire to the fall of its institutions, there was always a backdrop of religious involvement in the affairs of the state and people. Polytheism seems to reign throughout the majority of the Empire. Although the book states very little about the religious affairs of the people, one can conclude that this society was totally influenced by their beliefs that the gods had a hand in all the affairs of the State and of the people. When looking at how long the Roman Empire lasted one has to ask how. How did the Romans rise to become such a great empire? How did the Empire last? Was it luck? Was it that the whole region of the Mediterranean was weak and susceptible to being overtaken? The answer to these questions after studying the religion of the Roman Empire is most definitely not. The Romans believed that the Gods were with them. How could they loose a battle or not gain the upper hand on in a land dispute with the power of the gods fueling the winds for them. Having the blessing of the gods did not come easy though. The Romans went through a great deal of trouble to please the many gods and goddesses they worshipped. Pontiffs were set to insure that the rituals of the state set forth to please the gods were performed correctly. Most interesting is the office of the augurs. These people seemingly had the most authority and power in the affairs of the Empire. Not one affair or decision of the state could be made with out first consulting the augurs. It can be assumed that if no decisions of the state was made without first consulting the augurs. It can be assumed that the officers in the field of the battle carried with them an entourage of augurs. (Can you imagine a general going to the tent of a bunch of psychics to get his battle plan approved.)? By doing this t...

Plant Bugs, Family Miridae

Plant Bugs, Family Miridae As their name suggests, most plant bugs feed on plants. Spend a few minutes examining any plant in your garden, and theres a good chance youll find a plant bug on it. The family Miridae is the largest family in the entire order Hemiptera. Description In a group as large as the family Miridae, there is a lot of variation. Plant bugs range in size from a tiny 1.5 mm to a respectable 15 mm long, for example. Most measure within the 4-10 mm range. They vary quite a bit in color, too, with some sporting dull camouflage and others wearing bright aposematic shades. Still, as members of the same family, plant bugs share some common morphological traits: four-segmented antennae, four-segmented labium, three-segmented tarsi (in most species), and a lack of ocelli. The wings are a key defining characteristic of the Miridae. Not all plant bugs have fully formed wings as adults, but those that do have two pairs of wings that lie flat across the back and overlap at rest. Plant bugs have a wedge-shaped section (called the cuneus) at the end of the thick, leathery part of the forewings. Classification Kingdom – AnimaliaPhylum – ArthropodaClass – InsectaOrder –HemipteraFamily - Miridae Diet The majority of plant bugs feed on plants. Some  species specialize on eating a particular kind of plant, while others feed generally on a variety of host plants. Plant bugs tend to prefer eating the nitrogen-rich parts of the host plant – the seeds, pollen, buds, or emerging new leaves – rather than the vascular tissue. Some plant bugs prey on other plant-eating insects, and a few are scavengers. Predaceous plant bugs may specialize on a certain insect (a particular scale insect, for example). Life Cycle Like all true bugs, plant bugs undergo simple metamorphosis with just three life stages: egg, nymph, and adult. Mirid eggs are often white or cream-colored, and generally long and thin in shape. In most species, the female plant bug inserts the egg into the stem or leaf of the host plant (usually singly but sometimes in small clusters). The plant bug nymph looks similar to the adult, although it lacks functional wings and reproductive structures. Special Adaptations and Defenses Some plant bugs exhibit myrmecomorphy, a resemblance to ants that may help them avoid predation. In these groups, the Mirid has a notably rounded head, well distinguished from the narrow pronotum, and the forewings are constricted at the base to mimic an ants narrow waist. Range and Distribution The family Miridae already numbers well over 10,000 species worldwide, but thousands more may still be undescribed or undiscovered. Nearly 2,000 known species inhabit North America alone. Sources: Borror and DeLongs Introduction to the Study of Insects,  7th edition, by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. Johnson.Encyclopedia of Entomology,  2nd edition, edited by John L. Capinera.Biology of the Plant Bugs (Hemiptera: Miridae):  Pests, Predators, Opportunists, by Alfred G. Wheeler and Sir Richard E. Southwood.Family Miridae, Plant Bugs, Bugguide.net, accessed December 2, 2013.