Ancient Rome transformed from a small village into a luxurious world empire we still take after to this day. The lifestyle of Rome’s citizens centered around luxury, survival, and pleasure. Home to nearly 1 million people, Rome’s architecture was futuristic and monumental. In fact, Ancient Rome was so advanced they were essentially about 1000 years ahead of the rest of the world. Their engineering and multiple majestic constructions were something nobody else had ever attempted or succeeded at. The Romans were modeled themselves self-assured, confident, and powerful.
Romans valued power and authority greatly. In many instances, power was even a matter of life or death. Turning your back in Ancient Rome was risky, others were always out to get each other. The only two ways to help aid your safety was to either comply to others requests or create inspirational architecture. Doing so expedited the development of Rome, which essentially gave more power to them worldwide. All and all, my opinion regarding Ancient Rome remains mixed. I admire their revolutionary headway with architecture and luxurious living. However, the dangers of Rome make me feel as though they valued power and materialistic things too much.
The Romans were centuries ahead of their time regarding their development. They had elaborate aqueducts, roads, and monumental buildings. Romans invented concrete and introduced the worlds first shopping center, both of which we use today worldwide. This newly found invention of concrete was a major avail to the building of their inspirational architecture. Not only did it make the creation of some of these now historical buildings but has kept many of the buildings standing into the 21st century. Additionally, Romans were incredibly intelligent and made many vital findings. Some of these breakthroughs include the discovery that water had the potential to carry diseases. Romans studied, experimented, and found a solution to purifying diseased water.
Many would think culture today compared to Ancient Rome’s culture differs incredibly. However, of the developments in the 27-25 BC, Ancient Rome was the most like ours. Romans introduced shopping centers, stadiums, and intricate buildings like the designs we use today. Additionally, stadiums served as entertainment for the Romans. Entertainment included chariot racing, theatre, animal fights/battles, and their version of sports. The likings of many currently are similar, so we can infer this originated from the Romans.
Although I found many things interesting, I was most fascinated to learn that the stadium could hold up to 350,000 people. On top of this, I found it incredible that a stadium built so long ago has maintained the largest arena built. I also learned that military service was both a duty and privilege of Roman citizens.