If you were to look up in history the Roman emperors, you would realize that the first emperor, Augustus, was a bit of a dick. This would be true not only for the Romans, but for all the world at large.
If you were to look up historical documents, you would realize that the first emperor, Augustus, was a bit of a dick. This would be true not only for the Romans, but for all the world at large.
Augustus was the founder of the first college in the history of the world, so his name is a bit of a punchline. But like most of the history we read in school, Augustus was a bit of a dick. From the accounts of his time, we know that he was a very strong leader, he ordered a lot of construction projects in his name, and he was the first emperor to give his own name to the institution of higher education.
Like all the other accounts of his time, we also know that he was a very good leader and to be clear, he didn’t order the construction of the Colosseum. The Colosseum was built in Rome at the same time as the Forum, the Roman Capitol, the Amphitheater, and the Pantheon. It was the most important building in the Roman world, and the emperor had an enormous influence on who was in charge of what buildings.
In fact, the term “higher education” seems to have come from the word “hieron” which means “heaven.” So the term “higher” seems to have a double meaning. And while we can’t know for sure why the emperor would call his institution a “higher education” (perhaps he just thought an “higher” was somehow better?), the Colosseum is one example of the larger phenomenon of the emperor “changing” the “higher” education.
I would think the Roman empire would have needed a lot more than one emperor though to hold onto its power and prestige. The Colosseum is only one example of a much grander institution that was created by the emperor in the 1st century A.D.