THE LEGACY OF ROME

-AND-

THE WESTERN CIVILIZATION

Victoria Larsh
Mr.Hotte
CHW3M
April 30, 2010

The legacy of Rome and the Western Civilization

The Western Civilization as we know it today would not exist if the

Romans had not been great innovators and developed their Legacy. Rome
created many great buildings and monuments of which modern civilization has
developed and improved on. Rome was based on a series of laws and
developed a government style, impacting the way the Western World would
be run. Roman technology has had a huge impact in the way that we build
our cities and the way that we run our everyday lives. With their revolution
of converting to Christianity, Rome changed the face and basis of religion for
the future generations. Without the survival of the Legacy of ancient Rome,
our western world would not be the way we know it today.
Many of our buildings and monuments today are built the way they are today because of
the Romans. Cement was invented by the Romans; they developed a recipe that was very flexible
(How Stuff Works) and allowed them to add various components to cater to their needs. With the
invention of cement, the modern world has lived off it for a long time. Our buildings today are
made of cement, masonry, and steel supports; the Romans provided our base for building these.
Ancient Roman architecture influenced many of the buildings we have created today; as an
example, the Supreme Court house in the U.S.A looks like the typical Roman temple (ARTH)
with white marbled columns and formal stairs at the entrance of the building. Napoleon also was
influenced by the Romans; once he was crowned emperor he commissioned the building of The
Arc de Triomphe as well as a free standing column, based off of the Column of Trajan, for the
Place Vendôme in Paris (ARTH). Napoleon also saw fit to build a temple of glory for his army,
which is now the Church of Madeleine. The Romans provided a significant influence on our
buildings and architecture, allowing us to continue to grow.
 Rome based itself on a series of laws and a unique government style to its age and time,
impacting the way the Western world would be run. The American government as we know it
today is based off of the Roman republic (Dowling, Mr. Dowling's Roman Government Page).
The American government is run a lot like the Roman’s Republic was; there are two senators per
state that are represented in the congress, much like the senate in the Roman republic, and these
people advise the president in many matters (Dowling, Mr. Dowling's Roman Government
Page). The Romans were among the first people to create laws that were recorded, the earliest
known set of laws were The Twelve Tables (Adams). Ten men were commissioned to write up a
code of law that would have both magistrates rule without prejudice; the first set of ten tablets
was not satisfying to both parties so two more tablets were commissioned (Adams). Slaves were
considered an important part of the Roman economy’s structure (roman-empire.net). The slaves
were used for mining, farming and providing resources and materials to support the Roman
Empire, the Western Civilization today considers slavery to be morally wrong (roman-
empire.net). By developing a republican government and recording some of the first laws,
Western Civilization has been positively impacted.
Our world today was greatly impacted by the technology developed by the Romans.
Roads were first created by the Romans, making transportation easier as well as collecting taxes
(Dowling, Roman Technology). Today we use roads all over the world for transportation of
various needs, there are roads almost everywhere. Aqueducts, designed by the Romans, provided
running water to Rome for drinking, bathing et cetera (Ancient Roman Aqueducts). Today we
still have running water, but our water is in pipes and it goes through a filtration system, roughly
like what the water went through on its way down the aqueduct. The Romans also created a
sewer system, using pipe lines, to get rid of the dirty water and waste from the city (Dowling,
Roman Technology). We still use sewer systems today as well as other innovations like septic
tanks. If the Romans had not used this technology, Western Civilization would not be the same;
we probably wouldn’t have pipes or running water or roads. Roman Technology has shaped how
we live today in the western world.
Romans once believed in many gods, god of wine, war and of fertility, much like the
Greeks. The Romans converted to Christianity in 312 AD when Emperor Constantine claimed
that he had a dream in which he saw the sign of Christ, Constantine had the symbol inscribed on
his helmet and the shields of his body guards (roman-empire.net) before the battle of Milvian
Bridge. Constantine had a strong victory and said that he owed the victory to the god of the
Christians. Just as Constantine gained full control over the Roman Empire and converted to
Christianity, the Christians were suffering from a heresy that was causing division in the house
of god, Constantine called in the Council of Nicaea (roman-empire.net). The Council decided
that the definition of the Christian’s Deity was to be The Holy Trinity, comprised of God the
Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Christianity today appears in many facets, Roman
Catholic, Catholic et cetera. Had the Romans not converted to Christianity, we would not have
the Pope in The Vatican nor have any one single maintaining religion.
Today’s world exists as it is because of The Legacy of Rome. Roman architecture has
provided the basis on which we build our dwellings and lives. Our basic laws and government
system are available today because of Ancient Rome. Roman technology has provided us the
basics of modern day technology. The face of Christianity and religion in general was changed
for us when the Romans chose to convert. Imagine, what our world would be like, if the Romans
had simply ceased to exist.
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