introduction to humanities 27

This should be addressed to Justin Harris

This week we are studying the Romans and their way of life. The Romans are one of my favorite groups of people to study during the history of time. A lot of their cultures still exist and show up in our modern society to this day. The Romans were a progressive minded group of thinkers and a lot of their ways of doing things were very innovative. So, let’s look at a few ways we still see the Roman influence in today’s world. The first influence we see is in the architecture aspect of the Romans. The Romans used several different materials to build with, but one of the biggest they used to be mortars or giant blocks; that was placed together with a binder (Matthews, Noble, & Platt, 2014). Still to this day we use bricks and blocks to build our houses and buildings. One of the biggest architecture innovations the Romans had was the arch (Matthews, Noble, & Platt, 2014). This has transformed the way ceilings, roofs and doorways have been built ever since. It is safe to say that the Romans played a big role in the advancement of architecture in the world. The Romans had many ways of showing off their skills with construction or decoration (Short,2016). The second Roman influence we look at in modern day is going to be sculpting. A form of art that the Romans did to show off the leaders of their empires back in the day and to tell stories and show off their great history. Modern day heroes and well-known leaders are placed into the landmarks of time by placing a statue as a monument in their honor. This has been a tradition we have kept up from the Romans. It is easy to say that the Romans played a big part is making the world a more cultured place.

2. This should be addressed to Claudia Wats

In the old adage, “all roads lead to Rome”, much like, “all things Roman”, the legacy of classical Rome had a strong influence in our Western culture through architecture, art, religion, language, philosophy, law, and government (Matthews, Noble, & Platt, 2014). The Romans defeat of Italy, the Western Mediterranean region, and the Hellenistic East, was a slow and steady setback. After redeveloping a vast empire, they also built a workable and stable democratic, republican constitution that eventually collapsed under war. However, through it all, years after Rome’s demise, and as a nation, Rome had left behind a legacy that lives on in our modern society today.

The Romans architecture ability can be seen in classical Rome by their many types of materials used in the private and public buildings (Matthews et al., 2014). The early republic built with sun-dried bricks and used terracotta, a form of clay-base that is glazed or unglazed by fire. Today, we use this earthenware substance for pottery or something similar (Baral, Susanth, & William, 2015). Along with terracotta, the Romans are the great inventors of our use of bricks and mortar as well. Their skills in architect developed the idea on how to use the arch, the vault, and the dome, to create their huge picturesque buildings. With their widespread use of concrete, their inventions can be seen in many of our modern day banks, churches, and government buildings (Western architecture, 2018). Through the visual arts, the architecture and sculptures were dominant, but the need for the arts were more of a practical need. The Romans erected buildings and statues to serve the states, religion, or society, however, they did recognize that it did not just have to be practical without beauty and elegance.

The Greeks gave us the words politic and political, but most of the vocabulary involving government or politics are derived from the Romans (Matthews et al., 2014). They gave us words such as senate, caucus, committee, and quorum. In fact, they are the developers of our Roman numerals. It was the ingenious minds of the Romans to incorporate the Latin language that formed the basis for our western language, which is English (The Influence of The Roman Empire, n.d.). Many educators today still use Latin as a foundation for learning the English language, which, incidentally, is also used by physicians when writing prescriptions as a form of communication between doctor and pharmacists.

Another contribution from the legacy of classical Rome is also seen in law’s and government. Classical Rome adopted the idea that somehow there is a law woven into the fabric of the universe that is independent of any rules proposed by human agents (Matthews et al., 2014). This natural law is a make up of civil laws in our criminal justice systems today. Throughout the span of the Roman republic, the assemblies passed many laws which became a part of Rome’s tradition. Romans had indictments and jury trials, with many countries, including the United States modeling their form of government, which requires that all laws go through two legislative bodies (The Influence of The Roman Empire, n.d.).

Many aspects of our everyday life can be traced back to Roman culture. When we look to the many Roman influences in our society today, one cannot help but reflect and believe that there is truth in the saying, “all roads lead to Rome”.