Roman Accomplishments ROMAN ACHIEVEMENTS - PowerPoint Presentation

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Roman Accomplishments

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ROMAN ACHIEVEMENTS

The Romans developed

innovations

that are still used today; what made them such

influential innovators?

Definition of

“

INNOVATION

”

:

something new or original (such as an idea, an invention, a device, a method)

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ROME: AN EMPIRE OF INNOVATION

Rome

’

s

location on the Mediterranean Sea allowed for trade and

cultural diffusion

(blending of cultures) with other people and nations

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ROME: AN EMPIRE OF INNOVATION

Through the cultural diffusion, the Romans were able to

borrow

the best ideas from other civilizations (especially the Greeks) and

improve upon them

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ROME: AN EMPIRE OF INNOVATION

The

wealth

of the Roman Empire, especially during

Pax Romana, enabled the Romans to promote culture

and

invention

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Roman Architecture

The Romans were tremendously

skilled builders

; they improved upon

Greek designs with two new architectural features: arches and domes

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Colosseum

One of the greatest feats of Roman engineering

Colossus – gigantic

Home of gladiator fights, to animal hunts

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Pantheon

A temple to all the Roman Gods

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Roman Architecture

ARCHES:

these are

curved

structures over an opening that can support its own weight; arches were used to create enormous buildings like the Coliseum and the Pantheon

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Roman Architecture

DOMES:

they created vast open spaces and

ceilings

inside buildings (like the

Pantheon

) and magnificent exteriors

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Roman Architecture

The Romans built

arenas

(like the famous

Coliseum

in the city of Rome) so thousands of people could attend

“

circuses

”

(entertainments such as gladiator battles)

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Roman Law

Roman

laws

were made by the Senate and then publicly posted for all to see in

displays

called the Twelve Tables

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Roman Law

The Roman legal system included a criminal

court system

(with lawyers and juries) so people accused of crimes could defend themselves; witnesses could give testimony to tell of what they saw or heard

Roman law allowed anyone (including the poor and slaves) to

accuse

others of crimes

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Roman Law

Most lasting and widespread contribution

Laws were fair and applied equally to all people.

All persons had the right to equal treatment under the law.Innocent until proven guilty

The burden of proof lies with the accuser, not the accused.A person should be punished for actions, not for thoughts.Guilt must be established “clearer than daylight” through evidence.These laws became the basis for legal systems in Europe and Latin America

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Roman Engineering: Roads

The Romans built the largest and longest-lasting network of

roads

in the Ancient World

At the height of the Empire, Roman roads stretched for

56,000 miles

and included 29 major highways

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Roman Engineering: Roads

At first, the roads were built to

move soldiers

quickly, but eventually the roads served many people for many purposes, especially as

trade routes

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Roman Roads

Constructed throughout the Roman Empire, over 52,000 miles

Were effective in helping to move the army from place to place, and trade within the empire.

Example of how people adapt to their environment.

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Via Appia

All roads lead to Rome!

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Roman Engineering: Aqueducts

One of the Romans

’

greatest engineering feats was

channeling water

to their cities throughout the Empire

Roman engineers built the

aqueducts

to move the cold, clear water from

springs

to towns; sometimes they would be up to 250 miles long

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Roman Engineering: Aqueducts

Some Roman aqueducts are up and still in use today; one in Spain is 95 feet above the ground and 2388 feet long

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Roman Language

Roman conquest spread their language,

Latin,

through much of Europe; over time, different regions in Europe developed their own languages based in Latin

Languages based in Latin are known as the

Romance languages

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Roman Language

See how many modern languages come from Latin; try to figure each of the three words in the

“

Modern English

”

column

Words in the five major Romance languages often sound alike: for example, the Latin word for liberty,

libertas

, translates as

liberta

in Italian,

liberte

in French,

libertad

in Spanish,

liberdade

in Portuguese, and

libertate

in Romanian

?

?

?

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The Roman Calendar

The Romans began using a new

solar calendar

that borrowed heavily from the Egyptian calendar and was improved by scholars from Alexandria

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The Roman Calendar

This new calendar (called the

“

Julian Calendar

”

after Julius Caesar) had

365

days and one extra day every fourth year

July

was named after Julius because it included his birthday

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The Roman Civil Service

Augustus set up a

civil service

with skilled and salaried workers to take care of the

running

of the Empire

Rome

’

s first emperor, Augustus, created several systems to help himself rule the

enormous

Roman Empire

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The Roman Civil Service

These bureaucrats helped oversee the Empire by keeping track of such operations as

grain production

, the roads, mail delivery, and

tax collection

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The Influence of the Greeks and Romans

The

influence

that the Greeks and later on the Romans had on

Western civilization

cannot be overstated

Many facets of modern

American life

can be traced back to the innovations of the Greeks and Romans: things like

government

,

language, religion, law,

education

,

entertainment, literature,

art,

mathematics, astronomy, engineering,

science,

buildings, customs, traditions, sports, philosophy and

medicine

all can trace their roots back to

Greece

and

Rome

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Greek and

Roman

art and architecture

are all around us

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Jefferson Memorial

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Lincoln Memorial

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The US Capitol Building

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Statue of Justice

US Supreme Court Building

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Federal Court

Building in NYC

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Metropolitan Museum

of Art

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Statue of Liberty

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Literature and History

The Roman Empire was unified through language.

Latin

was adopted by many different people and became the basis for other languages, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and English.Poetry – Virgil wrote the AeneidHistory – Livy – wrote

The History of Rome from its foundation

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Rome

’

s AccomplishmentsScience and Engineering

Greek doctor Galen studied the body to improve healthGreat builders who used cementBuilt roads in layers like we do todayCreated lasting structure using arches, like in their aqueducts.Combined arches helped in the construction of vaults

Architecture and ArtRoman Architecture copied some older Greek designs and use of marbleEngineering techniques like the vault.Roman artists were known for mosaics, paintings and statues

Literature and Language

Virgil was an author who wrote the

Aeneid

, which was about the founding of Rome

Ovid wrote poems about Roman mythology

They wrote in Latin which later developed into the Romance languages.

Other Romance languages are Italian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and

Romanian.