Download Roman Culture

Roman Culture
The Romans admired and copied the
Greeks in many ways but they always
adapted what they borrowed to better
suit their own needs.
Art
Greek Statues
• Idealized (made to
look perfect – young,
healthy, and
beautiful.)
Roman Statues
• Realistic (made to
look real – wrinkles,
warts, and all.)
Architecture
Greek Structures
• Used porches and
colonnades (rows of
columns)
Roman Structures
• Also used arches,
domes, and vaults (a
curved arch ceiling)
Architecture
Roman Concrete
• Romans invent
concrete, a mixture of
volcanic ash, lime and
water.
• It was long lasting,
light weight in
comparison to stone,
and could be formed
into what ever shape
was needed.
Literature
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Greek Writing
Epic poems – such as
Homer’s Odyssey
Satires – works poking
fun at human
weaknesses.
Myths – tales of Gods
and Goddesses
Histories – recorded
events of their civilization
Plays – tragedies and
comedies
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Roman Writing
Epic poems –such as
Virgil’s Aeneid
Satires – the poet Horace
followed the Greek style
Myths – the writer Ovid
based some of his works
on Greek myths.
Histories – the writers
Livy and Tacitus recorded
events of Roman history
Plays – the writers
Seneca, Plautus, and
Terence based their
works on Greek plays
Language
Greece
• Greek was the language
of the Greek city-states
Rome
• Latin was the language of
the Roman Empire
(although educated
people also learned
Greek.)
• Latin became Europe’s
language for government,
trade, and learning up to
1500.
• Latin is the basis for
many modern languages
such as Italian, French,
and Spanish.
Science
Greek Science
• Questioned how the
world worked.
• Galen, a Greek doctor,
brought many medical
ideas to Rome. In
particular anatomy (the
study of the body
structure.)
Roman Science
• Questioned how the
world worked.
• Galen’s anatomy
• Ptolemy – mapped over
1,000 different stars and
created rules to explain
the motion of the planets
and stars. He also
created detailed maps of
the known world.
Engineering
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Roman Engineering
Buildings
A large network of
roads
Bridges
Aqueducts
Sewers
Religion
Greek gods and goddesses were popular in the Roman
Empire, although they were given Roman names.
Religion
The Roman Empire eventually adopted the religion of
Christianity; making it the official religion of the entire
empire. This spread the religion to hundreds of
thousands of people all around the Mediterranean Sea
area.
Philosophy
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Greek Philosophy
Greek Stoicism –
focused on finding
happiness through
reason
Roman Philosophy
• Roman Stoicism –
focused on living in a
practical way (accepting
and dealing with life’s
problems), doing your
civic duty by participating
in public affairs, and
keeping your emotions
under control. Writers
Epictetus and Seneca
were two famous Roman
Stoics.
Law
• The Romans followed a code of law which
made popular the idea of all people being
considered innocent until proven guilty. It
also made popular that citizens had both a
right and a responsibility to help run the
country.