14.4 Rome's Legacy

Latin - language of Romans; basis of Italian, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

Half of the English language comes from Latin

Literature: Cicero - public speaking, Tacitus - ancient history, Virgil, Horace, and Ovid - Poetry

Modern Republics base their government systems off of the Roman Republic. (Like America!)

Roman law is the basis for modern laws and for our sense of equal rights and justice.

Ulpian: "Justice is a steady and enduring desire to give every man his due. The basic principles of law are these: to live honorably, not to injure any other person, and to render each to his own."

Ptolemy - studied astronomy

Galen - studies medicine; learned that blood circulated throughout the body.

Roman engineers - brought the science of aqueducts (giving us sewer systems!), and road and bridge construction

Romans also invented concrete

Roman architects - first to build using arches, changed the designs of columns

Basilicas - large opulent meeting spaces. Rome originally used them as city halls but they quickly became the standard design for churches. It remained part of the standard design for hundreds of years.

Romans took the mosaic artform from the greeks and expanded upon it.

Roman artists made sculptures and other paintings of emperors.

Their work encouraged patriotism (loyalty to one's country)

Their custom of minting coins with people's faces on them survives to this day