Discussion

1. Egypt and Mesopotamia both developed along major river systems, yet a comparable civilization did not apparently develop early Native Americans along the Mississippi River Valley. Why do you think this did not occur? What necessary factors for the rise of civilization were missing? Or was it simply a matter of accident?

2. Emperor Augustus tried to solve social and moral problems by instituting his own reforms. Consider how he handled the problem of the homeless - how did his solution differ from modern attempts to resolve this problem? Are there any similarities? What about his concern about the love of luxury and the modern paradigm of consumerism and materialism? What similarities do you see between then and now? What differences?