This paper aims to discuss the enduring contributions of the Greek and the Roman civilizations to the contemporary world and the paper will start by giving some background information about the two civilizations. The paper will then address the major influences of the ancient Greek civilization on the modern world before looking at the major influences of the ancient Roman civilization on the contemporary world. The paper will finally make a summary while including some miscellaneous influences of both civilizations which have not been covered among the major influences.
The Greek and the Roman civilizations are two of the most influential civilizations that have ever graced the face of this world and two civilizations started in the cities of Athens and Rome. The two civilizations are similar in many ways though there are some striking differences between the ancient Greek civilization and its Roman counterpart. For example, the political systems of the two civilizations were very different because the Greeks had an oligarch political system though it became democratic as time went by. Roman Empire on the other hand did not allow the common citizens to participate in state affairs and it formed different organs of government to represent different components of the society (Duicker, 2000). Roman civilization was also more advanced than Greek civilization especially in the areas of art and architecture because while Greeks focused on balanced symmetry, Romans place emphasis on arches and the goal of their architecture was to create an impression of a vast amount of space. Ancient Roman engineering processes were also more advanced than that of the Greeks because though both civilizations had elements of civil and hydraulic engineering, Roman engineering was higher in quality because it had a network of durable variables that towered above the Greek engineering process. Despite the glaring differences between the two civilizations of the ancient world, it is evident that these civilisations had an immense impact on the modern world. The Western civilisation heavily borrows from the Greek and the Roman civilisations and it is imperative to note that modern civilisation is an improvement of the structures created by these two ancient civilisations.
The Greek civilisation has contributed immensely to various disciplines in the contemporary world. One of the most important contributions of the Greeks was is politics. The Greeks had the polis which was an integral part of their culture. The polis was the hub of all artistic, political and commercial activity and each polis would govern itself and this allowed every polis to experiment with different forms of governments. The polis tried all systems of governance ranging from the oligarchs, monarchs, and democracies and these government experiments by the different Greeks states led to the growth of democracy that is used in the modern society. The word polis gave rise to the modern day term, politics. The polis was the most was the most organised form of government in ancient Greece and it has influenced systems of governance in the modern society and were it not for the development of these polis, countries like United States of America would not have the states that are independently run. In fact, the US model of government which is also practised in many other countries was heavily influenced by the Greek polis. The polis gave the chance for the growth of democracy and without the them the world would be not be enjoying the democracy it enjoys today and the world would be ruled through other dangerous forms of governments. The modern idea of the trained and disciplined military was invented in Athens and Sparta during the Greek civilisation. The American military system is based on the civic militarism that was used during the Greek civilisation.
The other area of the modern society that has been heavily inspired by the Greeks is literature and the first novel in the history of literature was written by Homer. The novel was called The Iliad. The people of this civilisation wrote very many literary works that ranged from drama to epics and these works of literature are still used by scholars in the modern day literary world. The Greeks revolutionised the world of Drama and they created the modern dramatic categories of the comedy and the tragedy. The most famous tragedy writers were Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Modern literature employs the stylistic aspects introduced by the Greeks and later day literary greats like Shakespeare and words worth were highly influenced by the Greek literature. Greek literature has really shaped the modern day literary world whose background lies in the works of early Greek literary greats (Wyke, 1999)
Modern sporting world has been heavily influenced by the Greeks. During the formative years of the Greek civilisation, Greek communities in the entire civilisation region would send their best athletes to a polis called Olympia to engage in various sporting events that were meant to test their speed, skills and strength. This led to the development of the modern day Olympic games that are televised world-wide. Similarly, the roman civil code influenced activities such as boxing, wrestling, long distance races and long jump and these have developed into high profile sports in the contemporary world.
The idea of trial by the Jury which is one of the most important roles of the modern legal systems was started by the Greeks (Scheidel, 2008). They also established court systems which were quite primitive in comparison with the modern day court systems. However, it is important to note that the modern day court system is modelled after the primitive system of the Greeks that involved parties arguing in front of the Jury without lawyers, then the Jury would vote to determine if the person accused is innocent or not. The founders of USA borrowed the Athenian model of the courts and put it in the constitution though there were various modifications and evolutions that took place to develop the modern judicial system used in America.
Just like the Greeks, the Roman civilisation had a lot of influence on the modern western civilisation. One of the areas that the Roman civilisation influenced heavily is modern architecture. A look at many modern cities especially in the west will point at the influence of Roman architecture on modern day architecture. The architecture used in modern sports arenas, churches, courts, government buildings, sewerage systems and even roads are heavily influenced by the architecture that was used during the time of roman civilisation. Another modern area that the Roman civilisation has heavily influenced is the Law. The modern law is built upon the Roman civil codes. All the countries outside commonwealth and the US have their laws modelled using the Roman civil law. In fact the Muslim religious law used in the Muslim world borrows heavily from the Roman law. The Roman culture was syncretic in nature and used to absorb cultural practices from its neighbours and this served as a basis for the development of western civilisation after the roman civilisation collapsed. The modern western law is based on the fusion of the catholic laws and the Roman law and this has helped in the development of western legal scholarship, principles of civil rights, legal equality, due process, gender equality and principles of democracy (Gabucci, 2007).
Modern Christianity has a lot of influence from the Roman civilisation. Though the Christians were persecuted by the Roman authorities during the formative years of the development of the religion, Roman civilisation later contributed to the growth of the religion to its modern levels and the rise of Christianity as a global religion started when Emperor Constantine declared Christianity as the de facto religion of the Roman Empire. The vastness of the roman empire helped Christianity to spread faster and without the empire, there would not be any Christianity today and most of the Christian thoughts about life were borrowed from Roman schools of thoughts, the most common one being stoicism which actually started in Greece but became widely established in the roman empire. Paul of tarsus was the principle figure that led to spread of Christianity within the Roman Empire and to the rest of the world. He spread the religion to the Empire and now Christianity has become a global religion. Paul laid strong background that modern Christian missionaries use to spread the religion. Pauline influences are very evident in modern Christian practices especially Christian missions and evangelism. The modern Christian church is based on the teachings of Paul of tarsus who did his work during the roman civilisation.
Though the Greeks inspired a lot of modern literature, the Roman civilisation also has a contribution to modern literature. Most European writers especially after the renaissance period were inspired by the works of literary greats like Virgil who wrote during the roman civilisation. Most of the modern day writers, artists and painters in Europe were heavily influenced by classical works of literary greats such as Plautus Menachemi. Shakespeare was also heavily influenced by the roman tradition in some of his works like a comedy of errors. The other area that the Romans heavily influenced was government and politics. Though the Greeks invented democracy that is popular world wide, the Roman republic has inspired very many government models in the contemporary world. The federal government of the United States of America was deliberately modelled after the Roman republic and that is why there is a senate in United States of America.
The Romans were the most formidable empire builders and the principles of the roman civilisation are evident in many modern institutions both private and public. The modern western civilisation is heavily built on the principles of roman civilisation and it is important to note that Jefferson and the creators of the new nation were heavily inspired by the roman tradition (Cowel, 1961). United States of America was founded on the principles of the roman civilisation both in government and in law.
Latin, the language used during the roman civilisation may be a dead language today but it has influenced the growth of many modern languages. For example, the modern English language is sixty percent Latin and without the influence of this language of Roman civilisation, the English spoken today around the world would be radically different. French may be considered purer than English but it also has some Latin influences. In fact, most romantic languages spoken around Europe would not be the way they are today without the influence of Latin.
In summary, there are many ways in which the modern world resembles the ancient work of the Greeks and the Romans. For example, the Greeks developed the alphabet that is used today and they also invented the ideals of democracy that are practiced in the modern world. The justice systems that are found in the modern world were also developed by the Greeks and they also provided the philosophical background that inspires modern literature. Salaries and wages which are very important in the modern economy were also instituted by the Greeks during the Greek civilization. The law code of the ancient Rome inspired the formation of the laws that are used in most countries and the Romans were the first to use the legal concept of someone is innocent till proven guilty which is applicable in almost all the legal frameworks of every modern country. Romans developed the first parliament complete with an upper and a lower house akin to the models used in most countries including the United States of America. The calendar that is used in the contemporary world was also developed by the Romans. The Numeral system that is used today was developed by the Romans and the modern apartments we live in were first developed by the Romans who also spearheaded the social welfare systems that are found in many countries. Romans invented concrete, Bricks and glass that are used in the modern construction industry while the Greeks invented the Marble which is still used in architectural aesthetics. Greeks invented the art of sculpture while the Romans invented the aqueducts, sewers and road construction technology, and it is important to not that most of the roads they built thousands of years ago are still being used in the contemporary world. In conclusion, most of the inventions of the Greeks and the Romans have had a profound effect on the modern world because most of the modern aspects of living are based on the inventions of the Greeks and the Romans. The Greek and Roman civilisations have really helped in the development of mathematics, science, literature, architecture, engineering and art into the way they are in the modern world but the biggest impact on the modern world must have been on religion and government because both the Greek and Roman civilisations gave birth to democracy and Christianity respectively and these are the most important historical developments that have shaped the modern world. Though these two civilisations collapsed many years ago, their influence is still being felt in the contemporary world and they will continue influencing future generations because their principles and structures are timeless. Literature, arts, engineering and many other aspects of life will continue being structured using the foundations laid by two of the most outstanding civilisations of all times.
References
Cowel, F. (1961). Life in Ancient Rome. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
Duicker, W. (2001). World History.London: Wadsworth.
Gabucci, A. (2007). Ancient of Civilizations. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Scheidel, W. (2008).The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World.Cambridge: CUP
Wyke, M. (1999). History of Ancient Rome and Athens. New York: Routledge.