Greek and roman influence on modern history Greece: Democracy. The Socratic Method of investigation. The column in architecture. Geometry. Trigonometry. The theatre. Literature – Homer’s ‘Iliad’ is the first known western book. Sculpture. Rome: Concrete – still the basis of all large construction projects. Grid system layout for towns and cities. The arch as an architectural feature. The Roman emperor Trajan built the first shopping mall (completed 112 AD). Central heating. French,Spanish,Italian,Portuguese, and Romanian are all languages based on Latin.
Latin is still widely used in medicine,Law,Academia, and publishing. Birthday cake. Names of the months of the year and calendar. Literature – the epigram and satire were invented by Roman writers. The Romans and Greeks both gave many things to Western Civilization. Although the Romans copied many aspects Greek culture, they also made distinct contributions. Greece had the first democracy. All citizens could participate in the government. Rome built on the Greek democratic government and established a sharing of the administration with checks and balances.
Both Greeks and Romans believed in justice and the equality of people to a certain extent. The Greeks allowed all citizens, rich and poor, to participate in the government. Romans gradually gave the Plebeians, the working class, more rights until they were equal with the Patricians. The culture and contributions of Rome and Greece have given Western civilization a huge boost in society. A vast majority of countries in the world use a system of law we call the “Civil law” which is derived from the Roman law.
A lot of other law systems have come from the Romans such as trial by jury. We’ve taken a lot of words from the Roman and Greeks which is why a lot of words come from Greek words, such as the word “delta” which is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. People will also never be able to forget the technologies that both of these civilizations gave to us. The Greeks were superior in mathematics and the Romans were superior in military. Western civilization is what we call modern society that mainly includes North America andWestern Europe.
But how did this western way of life come to be? Their are many differentways but mainly through ancient cultures. The two main ones are the Greek and Roman. Greece with their golden age and Rome with its great Empire and Republic and alsotogether. Their are many ways in which western civilization is like the ancient Greekcivilization. They started the Olympic games. Greeks come up with the idea of an alphabetthat it still used today. They were the first to think of the idea of democracy. They hadcommon people participate in their government and to elect a leader.
Their trials had anactual jury made up of commoners. Greece was the first to think of paying people for theirlabor It also had the initial philosophers and thought up of the way we now write literature. Including the idea of putting on a play. One of historys greatest writes, Homer, thought upof poems that are story size that we now call epic poems. But it was mainly throughgovernment that Greeks influenced the world. The other greatest influence on western civilization is the one of Ancient Rome. They formed a law code much like the ones used now a day in many countries.
First tobelieve someone was innocent tell proven guilty. Had a Senate much like the ones usedtoday, with both upper class and lower class in it. And also had other assemblies. Romespread the Latin language which is the bases for almost all languages. They also thought upthe modern calendar. Rome helped expand Christianity, making it the most wide spreadreligion. Romans also invented the numeral system that is still being used. First to havepeople living in apartments and to think up a welfare system. Romans were even the onesthat gave the planets their names.
Because of all these things Rome had a big impact onwestern culture. Rome and Greece both had a major impact on the architecture of western civilization. Rome invented concrete which is the #1 thing used in building today. They also used brickand glass. While the Greeks used marble, which is still applied today. They both built big, beautiful structures, many which are still standing. The Greek invention of the column, andRome with there favorite architecture shape, the arch, are both still very much used in thepresent especially on government and capital buildings.
Greece thought up the idea ofmaking sculptors of real people not just gods or animals. And they made it symmetricalwhich is how sculptors make them to this day. Romans invented aqueducts and sewers. They built great roads that were all connected and some are even still being walked on. Allof these things are a very big part of how we construct our buildings and cities. In conclusion, with the Greek and Roman ideas and inventions they were able to havea lasting effect on the world.
In one way or another Greek and Roman civilizations havehelped develop math, science, literature, philosophy, architecture and art into what they arenow. But there biggest impact on our lives must be religion and government. Greece andRome were the birth place of democracy and Christianity, the two most importantdevelopments of modern history. Although these great empires fell thousands of years ago, they are still part of our lives every day. Research paper and essay writing, free essay topics, sample works Greek And Roman Influence On Western Civilization.
