Roman legacy and its influence on Western civilization

Roman Legacy

The Legacy of the Romans

The Romans have a grand legacy that has carried over into the modern day in a lot of ways. They have made contributions in virtually all realms of society, and some of these are more significant than others. In addition, there are some contributions that many people probably do not even know belong to the Romans. They just assume that these things have always been around or they really do not question where they came from. One of the main things that the Romans gave to this world was their language (Goldsworthy, 2003). They spoke Latin, and that language is still around today. Not that many people speak it, but it is used in medicine and the sciences, and it is very common when it comes to naming species of plants and animals (Asimov, 1989). The Romans also came up with many of the political ideas that we have now, and they wrote a lot of literature and created a lot of architecture that we still enjoy today (Goldsworthy, 2003). The Romans did a lot of things that either carried over into more modern times or were lost for a while and then reemerged in more modern times through being rediscovered by someone else.

One of the contributions of the Romans was the calendar that included leap years (Asimov, 1989). Up until that point no one had seemed to understand that the extra day had to be put in every four years, but the Romans managed to figure it out (Goldsworthy, 2003). Christianity was something else that the Romans gave to the modern day. It was not their original religion but it became theirs later and they passed it on to many other generations and societies (Asimov, 1989). The neo-classicistic and Byzantine architecture came from them as well, as did an extensive system of roads that was constructed by the Roman Army (Goldsworthy, 2003). Those very same roads are still in place today, which is a testament to how well the Romans built and created the things that they needed to keep their society moving forward (Taagepera, 1979).

They were likely not planning for a legacy, but instead were planning for what they needed in their lives (Asimov, 1989). They just made things so well that those things remained (Goldsworthy, 2003). Since the networks of roads were created, the time that it took to travel between various places in Europe went way down in the nineteenth century when steam power started to be used (Asimov, 1989). This was one of the many practical things that the Romans gave to people as a society (Taagepera, 1979). Another thing that they gave to society was astrology (Goldsworthy, 2003). That might not be as practical as roads or architecture or language, but many people take it as being very important and it is something that has remained for a long period of time (Taagepera, 1979). Astrology is important in the modern day. Most newspapers have horoscope sections, they can be found all over the Internet as well, and there are many other issues that go along with the field of astrology (Goldsworthy, 2003; Taagepera, 1979).

The Romans continued their contributions into the political and government sector, as well. The constitutions of various European countries have been influenced by the Romans, and the framers of the United States constitution remarked, when they were working on creating the Presidency, that they were desirous of an 'Augustan Age' (Taagepera, 1979). The legal thinking that most of the modern world has also came from the Roman law, which was full codified in what was called late antiquity (Goldsworthy, 2003). The Romans governed such a vast and impressive territory that they had to have a good way that they could rule over it safely and securely (Taagepera, 1979). They did that through a form of public administration that had never before been seen and they also created a civil service and a formal method of collecting taxes (Starr, 1974). The Romans were busy people and they were very serious about their society (Taagepera, 1979).

In the West, the term 'Roman' often started to become synonymous with the Church of Rome and the Pope, but the Romans were actually much more than that (Goldsworthy, 2003). Because they brought so much to civilized society they have created perhaps the largest legacy of any of the older civilizations that have since died out (Starr, 1974). There were many other societies that have come and gone throughout the history of the world, and very few of them have had everything lost (Goldsworthy, 2003). Most societies perpetuated at least something that people still enjoy or are aware of today (Durand, 1977). Some societies have more than others that remains for people to focus on in the present day, but there is always something left. For the Romans, the current society is infused with what they have brought to the table (Goldsworthy, 2003).