1 Contributions of Ancient Rome (6j) Conquests and trade spread Roman cultural and technological achievements throughout the Empire Rome’s cultural achievements influenced Western civilization The mixing of elements of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman culture produced a new culture, called Greco-Roman culture – Often called classical civilization

2 Art/Architecture – Pantheon: temple built in first century B.C. dedicated to the planetary gods. – Colosseum: Huge arena that opened in A.D. 80 and many bloody spectacles took place here. The Colosseum seated 45, ,000 people. Arches supported the huge stone and concrete structure – Forum: the center of Roman political and market life, the Forum was the town square, mall, and government center all in one. Rome’s written law code, the Twelve Tables, were publicly hung in the Forum Pantheon Colosseum Forum

3 Technology – Roads Built by the army to connect Rome to its empire. Durable roads were built from stone, concrete, and sand. Many Roman roads remain in use today. – Aqueducts Designed by Roman engineers to bring water into towns and cities. Aqueducts were mostly underground channels made of stone and clay, but also of wood, leather, lead, and bronze. Brought water to Rome from as far away as 57 miles. Some of these aqueducts are still in use. – Roman arches Roman engineers used arches to support heavy structures and weighs

Review 1.As Rome declined, what became the main unifying force in western Europe? 2. Name the following buildings: 3. What important Roman artifact was hung in the Forum?

Aqueducts Roman Roads Roman Arches

Science – Ptolemy: scientist, astronomer, and mathematician who further researched Aristotle’s geocentric (earth center) theory of the solar system. Medicine – Romans placed great emphasis on public health – Public baths: Romans enjoyed physical and social benefits at public baths – Public water systems: aqueducts brought water into the larger towns and cities while excess water from the aqueducts was used to flush out the sewers of the cities – Medical schools: trained doctors to keep soldiers battle ready. By 3 rd century, all doctors had to pass medical school Claudius Ptolemy was born about A.D. 85 in Egypt. He died about A.D. 185 in Alexandria, Egypt. Painting of a Roman doctor removing a dart from a soldier’s leg

Men and women met at the public bath to socialize and to exercise At one time, there were 900 public baths in ancient Rome able to hold between 300-1,500 people at a time Had hot and cold pools, towels, steam rooms, saunas, exercise rooms, and hair cutting salons. Some even had reading rooms and libraries.

8 Language – The languages of ancient Rome impact the Western world today – Latin Official language of Rome and Catholic Church into 20 th century Latin remained the language of learning long after Rome’s fall – Romance languages Other people adopted Latin as their language and it developed into French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian – are called Romance languages because of their common Roman heritage Latin influenced other languages; half of English words have a Latin basis Literature – Romans found inspiration in Greek works, but used Roman themes and ideas – Virgil’s Aeneid is the most famous work in Latin literature and follows the epic of the legendary Aeneas. It’s modeled after the epics of Homer and praises Rome and Roman virtues.

9 Religion – Roman mythology was based on Greek polytheistic religion Roman gods took on personalities and legends of Greek gods, but the Romans gave their gods different names – Adoption of Christianity as imperial religion Emperor Constantine adopted and legalized Christianity In A.D. 313, Constantine ordered the end of the persecution of Christians and in the Edict of Milan, he declared Christianity one of the religions approved by the emperor In A.D. 380, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the Empire’s official religion Emperor Constantine, became a defender of the Christian faith Jupiter was the mythological king of the Roman gods

10 Rome’s most lasting and widespread contribution was its law – The first written law code of Rome was the Twelve Tables, created in 451 B.C. Important principles of Twelve Tables: – Innocent until proven guilty – Punish people for actions, not thoughts The principles of Roman law formed the basis of legal systems in many European countries and the U.S. Rome’s first written law code was engraved on twelve tablets, or tables, and hung in the Roman Forum