Social
The United States has adopted some of the social aspects from Rome, especially in the family. The traditional family is still seen as in ancient Rome where the head of the house is the husband, and he’s in charge of the wife and kids. The social view of the organization in the traditional family is still very clear to everybody. Odysseus is a great example of a father who does all he can to make back home with his wife and son. Nevertheless, in modern times, the concept of family is extending from its original roots.
Another social aspect that gets its roots from the Roman times is the distribution of social classes. The USA still has a hierarchy where people are part of group mostly because of their economic status. In ancient Rome, however, the status was determined mostly by the family heritage of the person. Most of the main characters in The Iliad and The Odyssey seem to have an important heritage, either by gods or kings. Agamemnon and Achilles were powerful because of their inheritance.
Political
The modern United States has based its politics in many aspects taken from the ancient Rome. Today, the country has a president, but any decisions need to be approved by the congress. In ancient Rome, assemblies used to take place in order to determine matters concerning the nation. Even during Homeric times, people established or called meetings to make decisions of any matter, though the king had usually the ultimate word.
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| Source: http://www.vhinkle.com/rome/spartacus.html |
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| Source: http://www.hangthebankers.com/?attachment_id=2378 |
Another big parallel between the ancient Rome and The USA is The Constitution, which contains the laws and bills that keep maintain the order in the country. Men need to abide by rules and laws to actually enjoy freedom. Thucydides talks about how they had a “constitution… that favours the many instead of the few”. Just like the constitution The USA that favors the many and not just a few citizens. As consequence, people have freedom in their ordinary lives.
Art
Ancient Roman art can be seen all around the architecture in many of the buildings in the United States. One of the aspects most commonly seen is the use of classical columns in national buildings. In the ancient Rome, these columns are mostly use in the temples and important buildings. Also, sculptures of important personages of history of the United States show how much influence the ancient Roman has in our current society. In the ancient Rome, people sculpted gods and kings of great importance. The USA has done the same with sculptures of people such as Abraham Lincoln.
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| Source: http://www.touropia.com/ancient-roman-temples/ |
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| Source: http://architecture.about.com/od/greatbuildings/ss/SupremeCourt_2.htm |
Definitely, ancient Rome and The USA have a lot on common, it's amazing how this aspects have survived through out the centuries.
wow! It's amazing how we're able to witness both the Roman ruins and the modern day United States as having both social and political similarities. It's amazing how the traditional pillars that are part of Roman buildings made their way to United States. Certain architectural designs didn't just make their way into the United States, but they are also part of the political sector.
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome how much we have in common with the Romans. I think it's so interesting that we both started out with the traditional family structure and honest government but as the generations went on both deteriorated. It seems we are following in their footsteps. I love the columns though, those are awesome!
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