Section Five: Rome and the Roots of Western Civilization
I. The Legacy of Greco-Roman Civilization mixing of elements from Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman= Greco-Roman or Classical Civilization Greco-Roman culture highly influential in history and still today
A. Roman Fine Arts Roman art more practical than Greek used for public education Romans developed sculpture, bas-relief- images projected from a flat background, used to tell stories Also created mosaics- pictures made by setting small pieces of stone, glass or tile to a flat surface
Bas-Relief Sculpture Gates of Paradise
Mosaic
B. Learning and Literature Romans borrowed much philosophies from Greeks Stoicism encouraged virtue, duty, moderation and endurance Virgil- Roman poet, wrote most famous Latin work, Aeneid, modeled after Homer’s epics, praised Roman ability to govern Livy and Tacitus, historians whose work presented accurate and inaccurate accounts of Rome’s history
II. Roman Achievements presence of Rome still felt daily in languages/thought of today’s world A. Latin, Language of Rome Latin was the language of Rome and Roman Catholic Church well into 20th century Later helped to developed French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, English
B. Architecture, Engineering, and Technology arch, dome, concrete combined to build spectacular structures Arches supported bridges & aqueducts-v designed to bring water into cities Roman architecture influenced U.S. capitol and many state capitols army built roads out of stone, concrete and sand that connected all parts of the empire
Pantheon- with use of the Dome
Roman Aqueduct- with use of the arch
Roman Roads
C. Roman System of Law equal treatment under law considered innocent until proven guilty burden of proof rested w/ accuser rather than accused should be punished only for actions, not thoughts Any law that seemed unreasonable or unfair could vetoed
D. Rome’s Enduring Influence by preserving and adding to Greek civilization, Rome strengthened Western cultural tradition world would be a very different place had Rome never existed as mighty as Roman Empire was, it was not the only great civilization of its time- different but equally complex empires emerging in India and China
Chapter 5 & 6 Review Create a timeline of at least 6 events from Chapter 5 and 6 event from Chapter 6. Each event must have a 1-2 sentence description. For at least 5 of the events draw a picture to illustrate it.