7805ac+Ancient+Civ+Report

When you think of Rome, what comes to mind? Pizza and terrible traffic? Togas? Julius Ceasar? There is a lot more to Rome than just that. According to popular legend, Rome was founded by Romulus, who named the city after himself, but then this empire spread out all across Europe. The entire empire circled around the Mediterranean Sea. Though it fell in the middle of the 15th century, the Roman Empire left an important legacy on our generation, including cultural values, religious beliefs, technological advancements, and especially architecture. Most of today’s Mediterranean style homes are based off of Roman country villas. Also, our U.S. government buildings have Roman architecture with white marble, large columns, and huge domes.

Roman architecture was very elegant and had very interesting shapes and engravings. This was passed on to Italian culture and the U.S. government buildings. The homes, parks, and community buildings all led to beautiful buildings today.

Romans lived in two types of residences, villas, which are large country homes for the rich, or mid-sized apartments for the poor and middle class. Merchants lived in homes like villas but were larger and had more elaborate furniture. Even though the apartments were very simple concrete buildings since those that occupied them did not have enough money for such decorative items, the villas were not so simple, because of their level of detail. These neat architectural elements include terra cotta rooftops, white marble columns, fountains, statues, trees, flowers, shrubs, well decorated rooms and fine mosaic floors. They also include The occupants had several servants that were most likely employed to cook, clean, care for children, manage the farms and stables and run errands.

The middle class lived in concrete apartment buildings, that were unlike apartments of today. There was no doorman or tenant amenities, but they still were apartments. Poorest families lived in the upper and smaller apartments, which in some cases were up to 7 stories high. There was no running water so all business was taken to the public baths, and water was accessible from public fountains. Most families had little furniture, which basically was to cover the bare necessities. Surprisingly enough, few apartments actually had kitchens, so people either ate out or had take out. Because of this, I think many Romans were high on their expenses.

Roman towns had several types of community buildings for citizens to socialize, bathe, work, play and take care of other needs. One type of community building is a Roman forum, which was an open air market. These forums had many of the same elements as a villa, like white marble columns and terra cotta rooftops, but were more open to the outdoors, since the walls served only as a fence. There, people met for business or pleasure, and bought and sold items. Another community building is a Temple. They were also built with tall, fancy, white marble columns that supported a very high low pitched terra cotta roof. Inside though, there were statues of the gods, and an altar to make sacrifices for the gods, which was to keep them happy, and to ask for favors. The baths were another place for social interaction and also taking care of personal hygiene, and taking care of business. They had several pools at different temperatures. Though the rich were rich enough to have baths and toilets in their homes, they still liked to come and socialize with others.

Roman construction was quite advanced in their time. They used wooden A frame cranes that can lift heavy objects, like stones or marble. Romans also discovered concrete, not just any concrete, but a very light concrete. This concrete came in handy when the Romans created the Pantheon, since the dome inside is huge. If the concrete was too heavy, the entire thing would collapse, and a whole lot of work just went down the toilet. The top of the dome is thinner than the rest to save weight. Though, back in ancient times construction was a long and difficult process, they were able to come up with techniques to improve safety and efficiency that help us even today. Aren’t Romans fascinating?

The Fall of Rome happened in the middle of the 15th century. Barbarians were coming into the gates and fighting. Eventually, the empire split. Rome gave us a lot of technological advancements, like cranes and cement, so they helped form our future. Rome taught us that even in ancient times, there was always a way.

Glossary

Forum-Open air market Terra Cotta-A reddish-brown clay Mosaic Floors-Floors with lots of tiny tiles that usually make up a design or picture Sources:

( "How Did Rome Get His Name?" WikiAnswers. Answers Corporation, n.d. Web. 16 May 2014. .)

( Fall of The Roman Empire. Perf. John Green. 2012. Youtube. Web. 16 May 2014. < [|__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PszVWZNWVA__] >).

( "Google Maps." Google Maps. Web. 19 May 2014. < [|__https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4506783,12.1050649,8z__] > )

( Fall of The Roman Empire. Perf. John Green. 2012. Youtube. Web. 16 May 2014. .)

( "Legacy of the Roman Empire." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 16 May 2014. < [|__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legacy_of_the_Roman_Empire__] >.)

( Martell, Hazel, and Mark Bergin. "The Villa." Roman Town. Danbury, CT: Franklin Watts, 1998. N. pag. Print).

( The Roman Architecture. 2009. Youtube.com. Web. 19 May 2014. < [|__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8IcwFwNLr8__] >.)

( The Roman Architecture. 2009. Youtube.com. Web. 19 May 2014. .)

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