1. Assimilation of other Cultures into our own society
As was presented in the Livy slide show for today's readings, "As Rome expanded, she both
absorbed elements of the cultures she conquered and in turn brought Roman institutions, including
Roman citizenship, to the conquered." In the United States there is a very diverse population, with people coming here from all over the world and in doing so bringing along their cultures and traditions.
2. Road Travel:
Also from the Livy slide show, "A good road system was crucial for movement of the Roman armies, conveying goods across the Roman Republic, and for maintaining good communication." Though in the United States today we don't use the roads as much for the movement of armies, or maintaining communication, we still do use the roads for conveying goods across our great country. Whether it's UPS, a grocery truck full of great food's or even just moving of general goods the roads are constantly used for the transportation of goods!
3. City Planning:
There are many things that go into planning the layout of a city, I would imagine. There are all sorts of zoning areas where you are and not permitted to build certain buildings. Housing zones, schooling zones and business zones to name a few. This sounds an awful lot like the Romans city planning where, "There were certain areas for eating, for sewage, for training, and for housing according to rank." Granted we do not have an exact housing according to rank, but there are definitely areas in each city where the most expensive houses are located.
In the Livy slide, we read that many of the Marble buildings in Rome were found to have been made of brick but on top of that they had a thin layer of Marble facing. This can be found in many placed in the United States today, and the main instance that I thought of was in houses. Many people are tiling the floors and walls of kitchens, and bathrooms with Marble tiles.
5. Busts
The Roman busts that were created in remembrance of those who had died, and were made incredibly lifelike. As I am married to a huge football fan it immediately reminded me of the Football Hall of Fame. How they have a bust created for everyone who is inducted into the Hall of Fame.
http://photos.igougo.com/pictures-photos-p316877-NFL_Hall_of_Fame.html
I didn't think about city zoning when I thought of city planning. That is a good parallel. Also, I think busts are slightly creepy, but we definitely get that from the Romans, too.
ReplyDeleteI really like the comparison of the two cultures you made in the final parallel. I can see how you would appreciate the hall of fame and how significant that could be in your life, being that football is part of your life. So, the reason I really enjoy reviewing the last parallel is that it seemed more personable from your end, rather than just picking things in the America that compare to Rome, without some sort of personable attachment.
ReplyDeleteThese were some really interesting comparisons. I am also married to a huge football fan and my grandpa played for the NFL, so I hear about all the legendary players all the time, but I never thought of how that would compare to Rome. That is so interesting and I will definitely have to relay that information. Even sports can relate back to Roman influence and it really is impressive what an impact their society had on us.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed a lot of your parallels. It's very true that we do not use are roads as much for armies but we do for most everything else. I remember learning in High School about the extensive work that the Romans would do to make their roads look as best as possible. They would use many different layers so that they would last a long time. It kind of reminds me of the never-ending construction on I-15!
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting to think that Rome was a "melting pot" as it absorbed other nations and adopted a variety of elements from other cultures. The United States is the same way except instead of it being one nation starting out and absorbing other nations it was several different nations that all came to the same place and had to learn how to accept the practices and beliefs of all the others. Interesting parallel.
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