Analyzing the Impact of Roman Civilization - Essay Example

Before the art of glass blowing, the Roman glass industry made glass through casting which is what Roman craftsmen had all along been doing. Roman glassmakers used The Hellenic technique of sagging glass for open-form cups and bowls over a convex mold in casting in the 1st century BC The glass-blowing technique allowed the development of myriad shapes and designs which revolutionalized the glass industry all over Europe. It also increased the use of glass in many aspects of life all over the Roman Empire because it was easier to make it.

Question: 3   

            The war victories by the Romans led to more conquests which were possible because the Appian Way was there. This led to contact with other cultures hence the Roman culture had a lot of influence from many parts of Europe. Slaves of war brought their cultural influence. The Roman Empire was able to spread its culture throughout Europe including Latin and this was only possible because the army was well supplied and could move in speed to any “theatre of war” as Claudius had intended.

Question: 4   

            Mostly, such works were made when the aristocrat was alive and as such, it paints a connection between the present to the past. Roman art was predisposed to realism unlike that of the Greeks. An aristocrat would like such a depictive sculpture made to indicate to his lineage that life is a continuous journey and in addition, to make a connection to great personalities who existed before them. The care with which the aristocrat holds the busts shows reverence and not disdain as scalp hunter would hold their trophies in contempt.

Q5

1. Roads; There is no nation that can succeed without an infrastructure to support movement from point A to B and this stands to date.
2. The aqueducts; shows the brilliance in utilizing natural resources to serve the needs of the people. To date, not many cities can boast such magnificent displays of genius in serving their populace.
3. The use of concrete; in the Roman Empire is still remembered because there is proof of how great they were through existing buildings like the Parthenon. To date, concrete is still the material of choice centuries after the brilliant Roman engineers invented it.

Question: 6

            The colosseum could hold a crowd of over 70,000 spectators and this is exactly the average number that most football stadia hold. There was seating space that was differentiated based on one’s standing in society and today, there are tickets that range based on how much one pays. The colosseum had night lighting that was provided by candles all the way to the arena and a chandelier above and this has been replicated in modern stadia by floodlights that enable night games. Finally, the circular shape of the colosseum which gave everyone a perfect view is the same applied to today's football stadia. Differences that exist between the two structures include materials used in the building. The Roman Colosseum was built using the incorporation of bricks, stone, and concrete vaults, while the 20th-century sports arena is built using steel components. Another difference is viewed in the changes seen in the 20th Century sports arena, where shops, restaurants, and bars have been included within the sports arena, while in the Colosseum, such facilities were not present. In addition, the colosseum is built as an oval-shaped dome, while the 20th-century sports arenas have assumed a rectangular shape.

Question: 7   

            In Homer’s classic The Odyssey the hero Odysseus can be shown to have taken three clear steps as delineated by Christopher Vogler. The call to adventure (second stage of the journey) occurs when Odysseus and other Ithaca warriors are called upon to go and rescue the beautiful Hellena from Troy. Odysseus had been a comfortable and wealthy aristocrat but this call disrupts all this and he has to leave the young boy Telemachus and face the perils of the Trojan War. The Meeting with the mentor (fourth stage of the journey) is seen when the goddess Athene is Odysseus’ mentor who guides the warrior through the tests and trials (Rieu, 2003). The hero faces challenges including losing men while crossing between Scylla and Charybdis among other challenges but the mentor rescues him. The other stage is the resurrection (the eleventh stage of the hero’s journey) where the hero murders all the suitors with the help of Telemachus and two shepherds. This marks the return to the ordinary world. The purification of the compound after the murders is the final culmination of coming back from the dead because all the suitors had in fact declared him dead as had the community.