 In Texas it's illegal to put graffiti on someone else's cow.  Car airbags kill 1 person for every 22 lives that they save.  Every day, the average person swallows about a quart of mucous.  Americans collectively eat one hundred pounds of chocolate every second.

 Romans borrowed cultural elements from Greek and Hellenistic cultures  Mixing of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman culture is known as Greco-Roman culture or classical civilization › Has a major impact on Western Civilization

 Many Romans imitated Greek writers but the greatest Roman writers used Latin to create their own literature  Poet Virgil spent ten years writing the Aeneid, epic of legendary Aeneas › Tried to show Rome’s past was as heroic as Greece- linked to Homer  Romans also borrowed a lot of their philosophy from Greeks

 Romans learned the art of sculpture from Greeks  Roman created realistic portraits while Greeks were known for beauty and idealization  Romans were skilled in creating mosaics or pictures where small pieces of stone, tile, or glass were set together

 Wealthy Romans had large murals called frescoes painted on their walls › Best remaining frescoes are found in Roman town of Pompeii › Pompeii was a city that was buried by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 killing close to 2,000 people › Ash left from eruption helped preserve many buildings and works of art

 Latin was the language of Rome › Latin continued in the Western World long after the fall of Rome and was the official language of Roman Catholic Church into the 20 th century  Latin was adopted and developed in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Romanian – called Romance languages › More than half the words in English have a basis in Latin

Latin ___________________ | _________________ | | || | Portuguese Spanish French Italian Romanian

 French speaking countries :  Europe : France, Monaco, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Belgium  Africa : Seychelles, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Comoros, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, Togo, Benin, Burundi, Chad, Guinea, Rwanda, Mali, Senegal, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Madagascar, DRC  Americas : Haiti, Canada  Spanish speaking countries :  Europe : Spain  Americas : Central America (all), Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, United States  Portuguese speaking countries :  Europe : Portugal  Africa : Angola, Guinea-Bissou, Mozambique  Americas : Brazil, Uruguay  Italian speaking countries:  Europe : Italy, Switzerland  Africa : Libya  Americas : Argentina  Romanian speaking countries:  Europe: Romania, Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine

Latin prefixBasic meaning co- together de- away, off; generally indicates reversal or removal in English dis- not, not any inter- between, among non- not post- after pre- before re- again; back, backward sub- under trans- across, beyond, through

 Large palaces, temples and stadiums represented Rome's power and dignity  The Romans were able to develop the dome and the arch to create these grand structures like the Colosseum › The most famous domed structure is the Pantheon, a temple to honor Roman gods

The Pantheon

 Developed the forum which was the center for roman social and political life  Contained the market place, business center, civic center and government buildings › Many public buildings in U.S. include Roman features such as the U.S. capitol and numerous state capitols

 Engineers built aqueducts or bridge like stone structures that carried water from the hills into Roman cities  Different sizes of the Roman arch were placed one on top of the other in rows of arcades  Water would flow, thanks to the pull of gravity › Some aqueducts are still used today!

 The Romans put an emphasis on public health  Almost every city had public baths where people would gather to wash themselves and exchange news and gossip  Developed sewage systems to carry waste away from city centers and homes  The Romans also created new medical schools

 Romans left scientific research up to the Greeks who were citizens of the empire  Astronomer-mathematician, Ptolemy proposed his theory that the Earth was the center of the universe- Geocentric Theory › Theory accepted for over 1500 years in the Western World

 The greatest legacy of Rome was its commitment to the rules of law and justice which influences many legal systems around the world › Laws fostered unity and stability › Laws should be fair and apply equally to all people, rich and poor

 Twelve Tables of Roman Law include “innocent until proven guilty” among others › Guilt had to be established using clear evidence  Judges could interpret the laws using fair judgments › Penalties were varied according to social class