Ancient Rome's Impact On Modern Life

Introduction: Roman Civilization

Roman civilization is important in history because it has impacted today’s modern life. The Roman’s impacted modern life in many ways, but this paper will focus on the top four. First, government and laws. Next, the language and alphabet. Third, religion. Last, preservation of earlier culture. All four of these ideas have been influenced by the Romans and impacted the world in so many different ways.

Government and Law

First, the government and laws of Roman civilization is an inspiration for the way the government should be in the United States. The idea of the senate had a great impact. In Rome, the senate ruled for 500 years and eventually became an empire. The idea of veto also began in Roman civilization and we continue to use to this day. Roman officials used a veto to reject and rulings they did not agree with.

Language and Alphabet

The Romans used Latin which enveloped from the Greek’s alphabet. Romans actually cleaned it up and is very similar to today’s alphabet that we use. English was greatly impacted by Latin which the language of the Romans had an even greater impact on the Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, and Romanians. They have impacted modern life so much that there are 800 million people that speak these languages. The Roman language has inspired the world and is spoken on every continent. Latin led to Western languages such as English using the Latin roots for a foundation.

Religion

Third, religion was spread, Christianity. The Roman Empire was known to spread Christianity. Today, we know Eastern and Western Christians as Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics. The emperor, Julian the Apostate, tried to bring back the Hellenistic religion but did not succeed as Theodosius I Nicene ruled in 291 and Christianity then became the state church of the Roman Empire.

Preservation of Earlier