How Did The Romans Influence Modern Society

From the great civilizations we covered thus far this semester two outshine the others. The Greek style of a democratic government was able to influence future great civilizations, which many countries use a modified version today. The Romans, while were influenced greatly by polytheistic religion early on, were converted to Christianity. Those converts had to endure great scrutiny, but prevailed and worshiped a religion that has over two billion followers today. Romans also made strides in architecture with the creation of the Roman Arches that lead to the building of the aqueducts that provided necessary water to its citizens. The ancient world was a time of discovery in architecture, religion, art, and government. The Romans and the Greeks strived to leave a lasting mark on the world, and both ancient civilizations left important elements that are still so vital modern society. The Greek democratic government first developed in Athens and was a style the world had not thought to be possible at that time. Most countries, empires, and cities were controlled by a family of successors passing their bloodlines through generations of absolute rule. In a …show more content…
The Roman Arches were an adaptation from the Etruscan arches but made from stone and cement, the arches were their greatest architectural feat. Romans were the first to use cement. Used mostly as a base, the cement was made from water, sand, rubble, and limestone, and made construction cost effective on a large scale. One of their most innovative structures was the aqueducts. Because the water needed to travel so far from its origination point (some stretching almost one hundred miles or more), arches were strategically used to create a path to the water's destination. This famous Roman Arch design was used by many cities all over Rome and was not only aesthetically pleasing but was able to deliver over forty million gallons of water per day to the people