Was Rome Really that Ancient?

When you think of Rome, what comes to mind? An ancient city with crumbling pillars? The modern day city bustling with life? While these thoughts are both very different, they are still similar in some ways and are greatly connected. As most things in history do, ancient Rome greatly affected modern day Rome. Not only did it affect modern Rome, it affected many things we do in our world today. So is Rome really that ancient? Technically, ancient Rome is indeed ancient. However, many of ancient Rome’s thoughts, ideas, systems, arts, architecture, and even more have influenced what people do and live like today, so it is not very ancient.
Ancient Rome had an incredible affect on what we do today, although most people do not even know it. Lots of ideas that Romans created are things that we still do. Take roads for example. Romans created wonderful roads and put lots of effort into building them. Rome traded a lot with the rest of Europe, so the roads made it quick and easy for them to trade, and they in turn got a lot of money. We still even use roads for transportation today, so the Romans were thinking pretty far ahead of their time. The roads and other things they built, like aqueducts, are so sturdy and well built that they can still be used, more than 2000 years later. Also, the Romans were very big on medicine and health. Although they did not have advanced supplies like we do today, healthcare was very important to them. Any improvement in their healthcare system was a great breakthrough for them, no matter how small. Many of the same ideas that they used are still in place today, as we care a lot about healthcare. However, there are more similarities than these.
Besides the on goings and achievements in the city that are similar, basic human feelings are still there in each person. For example, Romans enjoyed entertainment, although the type of entertainment varied from then to now. They watched gladiator fights, and we watch modern sports. An ancient Roman letter states "I turned in to the games one mid-day hoping for a little wit and humor there. I was bitterly disappointed. It was really mere butchery." (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/seneca-letters7.html). Humans are always up for fun, so in the sense of feelings, Rome was not ancient. It is funny to see that Romans used to get upset if the games weren't as good that day, just like we do when our favorite teams don't play as well. Although many things about Rome were very advanced, there still are a lot of ancient characteristics.
Rome was very powerful in the ancient days. They had a good army, and continued to get more and more powerful as the years went along. Although many people think of ancient civilizations as old and crumbling, Rome had many different aspects and was a very detailed city. They were into music, art, sports, entertainment, architecture, healthcare, religion, politics, and more. They obviously were a very strong and thought out city. So why do we think of them as ancient? Many people say that something ancient is just something old. Merriam Webster dictionary says: “1: having had an existence of many years. 2: of or relating to a remote period, to a time early in history, or to those living in such a period or time; especially: of or relating to the historical period beginning with the earliest known civilizations and extending to the fall of the western Roman Empire in a.d. 476.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ancient)They even relate ancient times to be around the time of the Roman Empire. Well, the Roman Empire eventually did fall, as many ancient cities do. It never came back to be as powerful as it had been. Most people think of the old Roman Empire as the ancient city, and the modern Rome as something completely different. However different they are, they are still connected by their cultures.
Overall, Rome is a very developed city. We would not be where we are today without the help of Rome. So many people cannot even begin to imagine how many things that they are doing are some of the same things that ancient Romans did more than 2000 years ago. So Rome really isn’t that ancient, is it?
Sources:
"A History of Ancient Rome." History Learning Site. Web. 05 Mar. 2010. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/a_history_of_ancient_rome.htm .
"Culture of Ancient Rome." Wikipedia. Web. 5 Mar. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_ancient_Rome .
"How the Ancient Roman Empire Still Influences Our Lives Today by Terry Knouse World Wide Store." SearchWarp Writers' Community for Do It Yourself and Current Events Commentary. Web. 05 Mar. 2010. http://searchwarp.com/swa134118.htm.
"Ancient - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 05 Mar. 2010. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ancient .
"Ancient History Sourcebook: Seneca: Epistles 7: The Gladiatorial Games." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 06 Mar. 2010. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/seneca-letters7.html.
Photographs from:

Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia, 30 Apr. 2007. Web. 6 Mar. 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colosseum_in_Rome,_Italy_-_April_2007.jpg>.

Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia, 2009. Web. 6 Mar. 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:18446_247582503165_503923165_3168072_5448673_n.jpg>.

Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia, 03 June 2009. Web. 6 Mar. 2010. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cliffe_Roman_Bridge_1.jpg>.