The legacy of ancient Rome still has much influence in today’s modern world. Since its foundation to the assassination of Julius Caesar, Rome was a vast and strong empire that lasted for a long period. Due to its strength, it controlled the largest portion of Europe establishing a unique culture in the region. Even at the time of its fall, it was still a dangerous enemy to the neighboring empires. Rome’s conquest of the Mediterranean region reinforces the claim that its legacy is still embedded in today’s modern culture and lifestyle. Through its vast knowledge in innovation and inventions, the roman empire has positively impacted today’s lifestyle. To be convinced, a reader needs to know that our modern art, architecture, literature, law, language, and technology are anchored on the blueprints of the Roman culture.
The first thing readers need to know is that the ancient Roman culture had an immense influence on the current art and architecture. In support of this claim, is in not a secret that structures and forms witnessed in today’s world are mere adjustments of the past Roman constructions. For instance, today’s tiered seating and oval-shaped stadia are structured from the basic idea of Roman architecture (Mazower, 2013). However, it is worth noting that some of the architectural designs used by the Romans were borrowed from the Greeks after their conquest of the Mediterranean region (Mazower, 2013). Between 214 to 148BC, the Roman empire was involved in a series of wars with the Greece kingdom but its huge number of resources and military prowess made it easy to add Mediterranean region among its other conquests (Davis, 2013). It is through this control that the Roman art and architecture was further advanced to a new level witnessed in today’s structures. According to Davis (2013), Romans were accustomed to constructing their structures by creating curved roofs and large scale arches to support more weight above them. However, after embracing the Greek culture after Rome seized control of the Mediterranean region, they incorporated the use of post and beam construction in their structures (Davis, 2013). As much as the designs were used in ancient times, they are still evident in today’s aqueducts and massive bridges. Also, the ancient Roman bridges were build using strong volcanic ash and rocks which have been embraced in the modern world through the use of durable steel (Davis, 2013). With this knowledge, it is evident that the world we are living in today embraces numerous concepts of the Roman culture. Considering that the Roman empire was far stretched, it is important to acknowledge the cultural impact it had on its original conquests after its decline.
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The next concept that readers need to understand is that the Roman culture had a major influence in the foundation of today’s language and literature. During the Roman golden age of poetry, ancient poets like Ovid and Virgil inspired the next generation’s literature (Davis, 2013). For instance, Shakespeare who is considered an instrumental figure of poetry was inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Mazower, 2013). Based on this fact, how many modern poets have been inspired by Shakespeare’s work? Also, as the Roman empire stretched across the world, it did impact the language of their conquest. Originally, ancient Romans spoke Latin which became the foundation of other languages such as Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Portuguese, French, and Catalan that are common in today’s world (Mazower, 2013). Also, Mazower (2013), postulates that a variety of today’s English words were formed by embracing the Latin blueprints. With this knowledge, it is evident that the concepts witnessed in today’s world are majorly anchored on the Roman way of life.
Also, readers need to understand that the ancient Roman law has greatly influenced today's justice system. Despite the harshness of the Roman judicial system, the court proceeding used in the ancient times have been embraced in today’s society. For instance, the modern preliminary hearings in court were copied from the Roman judicial system (Mazower, 2013). In the ancient Roman empire, a suspect could only be tried after the court analyzes the truth in the presented evidence (Davis, 2013). This is an example of how the Roman law has served as a foundation for the justice system of countries such as United States. With this knowledge, it is prudent to claim that the Roman way of life provided the groundwork for numerous concepts witnessed in today’s world.
Lastly, readers need to know that it is through the ancient Roman inventions that today's technological advancements were pioneered. During the era of Julius Caesar, Romans were renowned for their adept engineering prowess. For instance, their vast knowledge in the laws of physics helped them to construct better aqueducts (Davis, 2013). Also, their ability to invent oxen-drawn and the wheel plows shaped the technology of their next generation. For example, the modern agricultural technologies of crop rotation, grafting, pruning, and manuring are adjustments of the Roman inventions (Davis, 2013). It is through these concepts that it can be ascertained that modern lifestyles are founded on the ancient Roman culture.
In a counterargument, the Roman empire is not the only ancient civilization to introduce a unique justice system. Empires such as Solon and Hammurabi in Mesopotamia had a unique justice system which has been embraced in today’s world. Even though these systems did not provide a subtle distinction between laws and rules, much of their concepts have been adopted in the current judicial system. For instance, the specific penalties witnessed in today’s judicial system harbors many similarities to the Tort laws used in Solon (Davis, 2013). Also, considering that there are only a few concepts embraced from the Roman way of life, it would not be prudent to claim that we are living in a Roman world. Concepts such as nuclear technologies are new concepts that were not used in the Roman culture.
In conclusion, the Roman legacy is still evident in today’s lives. Modern concepts such as architecture, technology, language, and law were primarily influenced by Roman culture. For instance, today’s stadia are a resemblance of Roman architecture. Considering that most modern concepts are mere adjustments of ancient concepts, it is worth claiming that we are still living in a Roman world. Also, keeping in mind that Rome was a powerful and large empire, it is hard denying its impact on the conquests.
References
Davis, R. H. C. (2013). A history of medieval Europe: from Constantine to Saint Louis . Routledge.
Mazower, M. (2013). Governing the world: The history of an idea, 1815 to the present . Penguin Group USA.
