Greek influence on Rome + Rome's achievements

Greek influence on Rome + Rome's achievements

Learn how the Greeks influenced Roman culture and their achievements in science, engineering, art, architecture, and written laws.

Greek influence on Rome

The Romans have long admired Greek achievements. Many Romans visited Greece to study Greek art, architecture, and ideas about government. Greek religion influenced the Roman religion. Like the Greeks, Romans practiced polytheism (belief in many gods) and offered prayers and sacrifices to their gods.

Multiple Choice

What is the belief in many gods called?

• monotheism

• christianity

• polytheism

• buddhism

Roman Gods

Many Roman gods and goddesses had Greek counterparts. For example, the Roman god of the sky, Jupiter, shared characteristics with the Greek god Zeus. The Roman goddess of arts and trades, Minerva, can be compared with the Greeks’ Athena. The Romans also adopted heroes from Greek mythology, such as Heracles, Hercules to the Romans. As their empire spread, Romans appealed to and adopted other foreign gods as well.

Multiple Choice

Who was the greek counterpart to the Roman god Jupiter?

• Hades

• Poseidon

• Hera

• Zeus

Roman Values

 Greeks and Romans both valued learning, but in different ways. The Greeks were interested in ideas. They sought to learn truths about the world through reason. The Romans were more interested in using the ideas of the Greeks to build things. The Romans developed outstanding architecture and engineering skills. With the skills, they built their empire.

Multiple Choice

What were the Romans more interested in?

• architecture and engineering

• arts and education

• science and math

• music and art

Arches

 Early Roman art and architecture copied the Etruscans. Later, the Roman studied and copied Greek sculpture and architecture. They then developed their own style.

 Roman statues and buildings were heavier and stronger in style than those of the Greeks. Using arches, Romans were able to build larger structures.

Multiple Choice

What did Romans use in their buildings to make them larger and stronger?

• bridges

• arches

• marble

• columns

Building material

Most large buildings were built of bricks covered with thin slabs of marble. An important development was a new building material, concrete. Concrete is a mix of stone, sand, cement, and water which dries as hard as a rock. Concrete helped the Romans construct buildings that were far taller than any built before.

Multiple Choice

Which building material enabled the Romans to make things stronger and harder?

• marble

• brick

• clay

• concrete

Colosseum

 Possibly the greatest Roman building was the Colosseum, the site of contest and combats between people and animals. This giant arena held 50,000 spectators. It was so well-built that the floor of the arena could be flooded for mock naval battles using real people in actual boats. Stairways and ramps ran through the building. There were even elevators to carry wild animals from dens below the floor to the arena.

Multiple Choice

What was the Colosseum?

• a theatre for dramas

• an arena for battles

• a stadium for sports

• an arena for swimming

All roads lead to Rome

 Do you know the saying “All roads lead to Rome”? In Roman times, all the major roads of the empire did lead to Rome. The Roman road system covered a distance equal to twice the distance around Earth at the equator.

Open Ended

What does the saying "All roads lead to Rome" mean?

Aqueducts

 Romans were famous for their aqueducts, structures that carried water over long distances. The aqueducts were huge lines of arches, often many miles long. A channel along the top carried water from the countryside to the cities. Roman aqueducts tunneled through mountains and spanned valleys. Some are still in use today.

Multiple Choice

What were aqueducts used for?

• bridges for transportation

• carrying goods

• transporting water long distances

• roads for walking

Roman Laws

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 Like Roman roads, Roman law spread through the empire. The Roman Senator Cicero said that laws “cannot be bent by influence, or broken by power, or spoiled by money. "

Open Ended

What does the quote mean that “laws cannot be bent by influence, or broken by power, or spoiled by money. "

Justinian's Code

A later ruler named Justinian used Roman laws to create a famous code of justice. Here are a few laws from Justinian’s Code.

 " No one suffers a penalty for what he thinks. No one may be forcibly removed from his own house. The burden of proof is upon the person who accuses. In inflicting penalties, the age and experience of the guilty party must be taken into account. "

Open Ended

Explain what one of these laws from Justinian's Code means:

1. No one suffers a penalty for what he thinks.

2. No one may be forcibly removed from his own house.

3. The burden of proof is upon the person who accuses.

4. In inflicting penalties, the age and experience of the guilty party must be taken into account.

Roman laws and today

Roman laws continue to be passed down to other cultures including our own. Other Roman ideas of justice are also basic to our system of laws. For example, persons accused of crimes had the right to face their accusers. If there were any doubt about a person's guilt, he or she would be judged innocent.

Multiple Choice

Which Roman idea did we use to create our system of laws?

• justice

• courage

• wealth