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Literature
In the field of literature, the Romans owed a great debt to the Greeks. Many
Romans spoke Greek and used Greek styles of writing in their poetry. However, the
Romans wrote their work in Latin and tried to create their own stories.
Often Roman writers would try to satirize, or make fun of, political figures. They
would change names to protect themselves from punishment.
In the epic poem the Aeneid, written by Virgil, tried to show that Rome’s past was
as heroic as the Greeks. He linked Homer’s work about the Trojan War to Rome by
telling about Aeneas’ escape from Troy to find Rome.
Aeneid
I tell you about war and the hero who first from Troy’s frontier,
Displaced by destiny, came…
To Italy-a man much travailed on sea and land
By the powers above, because of the brooding anger of [the goddess] Juno,
Suffering much in war until he could found a city
And march his gods into Latium,
Whence rose the Latin race,
…and the high walls of Rome.
Use the following question to help you
discuss the character Aeneas
What forces caused Aeneas’ suffering
and led to his founding of Rome?
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Roads
The Romans used great public projects to make the city the most advanced of
the ancient world, and to create the largest empire of the era. Many of the roads of
ancient Rome are still used today.
The roads made it easier to travel and trade with faraway
provinces. It also made it easier to collect taxes. Also with so
much of Western Europe conquered by the Romans, the
Romans needed roads to move their troops around quickly.
Poorly built roads would not help this. A good road system also
made it easier for the emperors to control their empire as
messages and orders could be sent quickly.
Roman roads were straight and followed an exact
design. The bulk of the building of the roads was done by
Roman soldiers. This would ensure all the demands of the government were meant
when creating these roads. The expression, "All Roads Lead To Rome" refers to the
fact that Rome was the center of modern civilization, due to the complex system which
developed.
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Architecture
While the Greeks aimed for simple elegance in architecture, the Romans
emphasized grandeur. Immense palaces, temples and stadiums stood as mighty
monuments to Roman power and dignity. They improved devices such as columns and
arches.
The Romans built many amphitheaters, or huge stadiums. People would gather
in amphitheaters to watch shows with clowns, jugglers, and acrobats. Some of Roman
entertainment was very cruel. People would watch fights
between wild animals and Gladiators. Gladiators were
usually slaves or criminals who fought with swords against
animals or each other. A skillful gladiator might win his
freedom by defeating an opponent. More often, the
gladiators lost their lives.
The largest amphitheater, the Coliseum, seated
about 45,000 people. Only a portion of the Coliseum
remains standing today. Earthquakes have destroyed some of the structure. Also,
engineers used some of the stone from the Coliseum to build later Roman buildings.
Some of the stone used to build St. Peter's Basilica, the church where the Pope resides,
came from the Coliseum.
The Pantheon is a temple to all the Roman gods located in Rome. It has a
domed roof using concrete as the material. It is the best preserved Roman building and
has been continuously used. Since the 7th century it has been a church known as Santa
Maria
Rotonda.
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Aqueducts
The Romans excelled in engineering, which is the application of science and
mathematics to develop useful structures and machines. Roman engineers build the
roads but they also built structures such as bridges and harbors.
Roman engineers built many immense aqueducts, bridge like stone structures
that brought water from the hills into Roman cities. The wealthy had water piped in, and
almost every city boasted public baths.
Aqueducts moved
water through gravity alone,
being constructed at a
downward gradient. Most
aqueducts were underground,
following the contours of the
land. However where valleys
became an issue engineers
built bridges. With the angles
and the pressure from water,
movement through the
aqueducts was easy.
As a result of
aqueducts cities began to
have a large amount of dirty
water. Due to this a complex
sewage system was built to
remove the excess water.
Since Rome is a valley among
seven hills, the water could easily build up if the proper measures were not taken. The
sewer system led to bodies of water away from the city. It allowed for over one million
people to live within this city at the time of the Roman Empire due to the cleanliness.
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Science
As Rome expanded it eventually took over other areas which had intellectual
achievements such as the Greeks. The Romans usually left scientific research to the
Greeks who were citizens at the end of the Roman Empire.
The Greek doctor Galen advanced the frontiers of
medical science by insisting on experiments to prove
conclusions. Galen compiled a medical encyclopedia
summarizing what was known at the time.
The Romans themselves did very little
research but did put science to practical use. They
applied geography to make maps, and medical
knowledge to help doctors improve public health.
Like Galen, they collected encyclopedias to store
information.
The Roman scientist Pliny the Elder compiled
volumes on geography, zoology, botany and other subjects based on peoples work.
This work was written in Latin which allowed many different cultures to not only
understand it but translate it in the future.
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Circus Maximus
Throughout the empire, rich and poor alike loved spectacular entertainment. At
the Circus Maximus, Rome’s largest race course, chariots thundered around an oval
course, making dangerously tight turns at either end, Fans bet on their favorite teams—
the tight turns Reds, Greens, Blues or Whites—and successful charioteers were hailed
heroes.
Gladiator contests were
even more popular. Many
gladiators were slaves who had
been trained to fight. In the arena,
they battled one another, either
alone or in groups. Crowds
cheered a skilled gladiator, and a
good-fighter might even win his
freedom. But if a gladiator made a
poor showing, the crowd turned
their thumbs down and signaled
that he should be killed.
These amusements were paid by the emperors with taxes collected. The rulers
found the entertainment as a way to give organization to the restless population and
avoid fighting in the streets. Today the site is now a public park.