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The woman in ancient Rome did not have a direct political role, but often from behind the curtain, her influence was overwhelming, whether it was family or public life. The significant involvement of Roman women in politics was eased by the crisis following the civil wars that led to a disintegration of the family and the moral principles hard-pressed by the new rules, exiles, and property confiscations as follow-ups of the triumvirate. All of these gathered, lead to an uncertainty of life, extremely favourable to the feminine "independence" of patricians. Political marriages are increasing, as well as divorces, love affairs, and youth immorality, which led to the emergence of a panoply of energetic, selfish and domineering female figures on the political scene of Rome. These women did not hesitate to defend their husbands or their partisans, but neither to act politically against them, reaching to betrayal and murder. From the female mythology gallery of Ancient Rome, we have very selected with difficulty several notable personalities for the historical, political and literary imaginary. The gallery of these characters and personalities is opened by Emperor Livia, the wife of Augustus, continued by the beautiful daughter of Augustus, Iulia Maior, who became the wife of Tiberius and the grandmother of Caligula, respectively Nero's great-grandmother. These two women open the list of women with a strong will, involved in brutality and wars between generals and politicians, eager to influence the leadership of a world. Fulvia is another strong name in the gallery of famous women of the ancient Republican Rome, equally impetuous, violent and arrogant in character, but protected by Caesar's disposition, incapable of resisting the persistent prayers of a woman, she dismantles the myth of the housewife matron. Often, a feminine destiny and personality are one of the most memorable and positive ones to leave as a legacy a dictator’s personality who is in direct contradiction with the positive, innocent and dignified character of the mother (Agrippina Maior and Cornelia Africana). The immorality of these women lies in particular in social structures and politics. They are female grey eminence, authors of intrigues and capable of murder, they represent avant la lettre power-struggling fighters and masters of a male-dominated world through their political ambition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sibyls and the art of prophecies have played an essential role in history, proving the inclination of the human spirit towards mysticism and the belief of all societies that at the base of any symbolic story is a real event. In the book of Enoch, which describes the making of the world according to the Jewish tradition, often cited by the authors of the New Testament and even by Jesus Christ, it speaks of angels who loved women and married them, making them known the derisory mysteries they knew, the small mysteries of the universe that led to evil. Sibyls belong to the category of women who gave birth to mythological characters of humans with human appearance, but with an appearance obtained through imagination and not through the physical eye. They are humanoid creatures with two wings or four wings and two heads, with legs and horns on the head, with horse legs in the back and human ones in front, bulls with human head, dog with jackal head, dog with four heads or dog with tail fish, monsters of all kinds that populate the mythological imaginary of mankind, as intermediate phases to a perfect human race. The ancients had a vision of history written in the stars and recovered by them by magic signs, and the modern world continues this way of relating itself to the universe, but with technological methods and a scientific imaginary based on the latest explorations in physics and technology. Along time, cultures and societies have referred differently to these symbols of occult history, sacred symbols, granting them superior recognition (e.g. the Senate, Alexander Macedon, Heraclitus, etc.) or disregarding them, as old, deceitful and caring of harmful stories. From the pre-Christian society to the society dominated by Christianity, which was also the most aggressive one with these feminine practices, considered as witchcraft and punished with death, and to this day, in the neo-liberal society, the status of special women, prophetesses and intellectuals, visionaries, remains as controversial as ever. Transhumanism, as a social movement, seeks an increase of the human being in all its attributes, reminding us of the experience of the "Observers" of Enoch. Women are the ones who support society and life, with much courage and constantly, as it happens in literature, taken from real-life events. Sibyls, masters of time and sacred prophecies, continue their journey in the modern, post-Christian society, and reach the most appreciated social position of all times, that of women socially equal with men, appreciated and recognised in the post-religious world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the potential basis for the determination of a barometer to size democracy, a new instrument designed to measure the differences in the quality of democracies established for the East and North European Union countries. This new research instrument is based on a comprehensive concept of democracy, which includes three principles: freedom, equality and control, which are assured by nine functions: individual freedoms, the rule of law, public sphere, competition, mutual constraints, governmental capability, transparency, participation and representation. The Construction of the Barometer applies the Principal Component Analysis technique (PCA) to describe and compare the democratic level of the mentioned European Union countries over the period 1996-2016. We considered the PCA research methodology because it has proven robustness in data processing and dimensionality reduction, taking into account variables that can explain variation, as well as differences between countries, over time. In order to identify the vulnerable dimensions of the quality of democracy, we considered a relevant set of data, namely the economic variables: gross domestic product, globalization and inflation, asocial variable such is human development and political variables specific to the political institutions, namely the Electoral System, Presidential System, Structure of Parliament, Voter turnout, Representation of Women in Parliament and the Rule of Law. Other relevant variables were considered Religion, Population and Stability of Democracy. Results reveal the potential of this new research tool to generate a relevant comparative analysis. Also, our results highlight the extent to which there are social factors, political, institutional factors, economic factors, or a mixture of factors that can explain the variation in the quality of democracy in European democratic countries. It is noted that old democracies, parliamentary, unicameral states, or having a proportional electoral system and in which the dominant religion is Protestantism, are associated with a higher level of the quality of democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aims to explain the relationship between governance and welfare, analysing 20 countries, some of the richest and most developed countries in Europe, and some developing countries. The period analysed is 2002-2016. While the World Database of Happiness is the source for welfare data, for governance we used the Worldwide Governance Indicators from the World Bank. The latter ones are widely used as some of the best comparable international governance indicators, having perception-based measures from the citizens, as well as from analysts in development agencies, from non-governmental organizations or providers of commercial information. The analysis shows that government ratings changed over time in the European countries. The most relevant changes indicate a decline in corruption control, followed by a slight increase of corruption, and even a decrease in governance efficiency. The results also prove a direct relationship between the average of governance and happiness measures, as better governance is associated with greater welfare. It seems that citizens are happier in well-governed states and, at least to some extent, there is a positive effect that good governance has on happiness. In addition, a higher level of political stability, regulatory quality, and rule of law, along with the absence of violence, can significantly increase happiness in the region. Welfare also tends to increase if the citizens actively involve in the government selection and use their freedom of expression to support better governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyse the ways in which a marriage can be concluded in the case of rich and noble families, as well as in the case of the poor ones. Marriage habits are different, depending on the social and economic status, and most of these traditions prevail nowadays also. The institution of marriage will lead to a transformation of the sentimental imaginary, starting from the Middle Ages' fin amor, played by the troubadours, to the pragmatic, interested relationship, focused on procreation and the transfer of possession. At the mental level, we are observing the magic of the inside reflexion, inwardly, towards that inner feeling analysed by both literary and artistic specialists. The social status of the family cannot be provided by an individual. Affiliation to a family ensures social inclusion and human survival. The role of the family in society is a sum of the roles of each member, the man may have the archetypes of prince or warrior, artist or humanist, merchant or clergyman, scholar or adventurer; the woman, first of all mother or daughter, widow, virgin or prostitute, nun or witch; the child seen as a follower of the family's reputation, entrepreneur and supporter of the mother. The feminine condition in the family is a tragic one, as the woman gets to accept the premature disappearance of her beloved children, removed from inheritance in noble families through crime or natural causes. Examples of historical realities and artistic works will support the above statements and lead to conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is intended to be an analysis of the female ideal during the Renaissance period, respectively during the 14th-17th centuries, both in the realities of the times and in the art. The Italian Renaissance was inspired by Greek-Roman mythology, i.e. Olympus was fascinated by the goddess of beauty, Venus, as well as the ideal of the Middle Ages represented by Virgin Mary and Eve. Although the Church blames the feminine beauty as a source of sin, the prosperous Renaissance society divinises the beauty of the divine creation and believes that the beauty of the woman corresponds to that soul. During this time the criteria of feminine beauty are defined and set true canons and measurements to be respected to become the ideal woman. It is also during these times that the first women's clothing treaties, with the differences of the social classes, and the cosmetic procedures treaties were written. Many women from different social classes have become models for the great Renaissance genius artists, such as Michelangelo, da Vinci, Titian, Rafael, and Botticelli. The models of perfection and elegance of Renaissance Florentine noble feminine women remain Beatrice d'Este and Isabella d'Este, in contradiction with the controversial Lucrezia Borgia. In the works of the geniuses of Florence appears the model of the real woman with voluptuous forms, the fertile woman, and the eloquent example being Madonna of Rafael. The beauty made from the inside is at the antipode, with freedom and detachment from the viewer and the world of senses, Mona Lisa, which explores uninterrupted inner wealth. With the feminine ideal imposed by the Renaissance, a different kind of love was created than the one based on physical and sensory beauty, the spiritual and mystical dimension of romantic love was discovered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selecting materials for teaching Business English is a crucial act, but the aim of this paper is not that of discussing whether we should use authentic or "doctored" texts. It presents several ideas, which have emerged, from personal experience and from the literature on the subject. The findings are suggestions and comments, rather than solutions. The article is intended to provide information regarding the steps of this so called "trip" of any Business English teacher, to the final destination of providing appropriate materials for students who study different fields of business. According to the field of business they study, it is in their interest for the Business English teacher to develop their linguistic and communicational skills and competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]