ROMAN CIVILIZATION

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY (GE 6)

BRIEF HISTORY
Founded by Romulus and Remus,
twin sons of Mars, the god of war.
Left to drown in a basket on the
Tiber by a king of nearby Alba Longa
and rescued by a she-wolf, the twins
lived to defeat that king and found
their own city on the river’s banks in
753 B.C. After killing his brother,
Romulus became the first king of
Rome, which is named for him.
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 THE INFLUENCES
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JULIAN CALENDAR
When Julius Caesar came to
power, he decided to throw out
the old calendar and invent a new
one. The new calendar was
Caesar's calendar on which it has
365 days each year for three
years, and 366 days on the fourth
year, just like our calendar today.
Julius Caesar named a month
after himself, the month of July.
THE ROMAN AQUEDUCT
The aqueduct led to the
creation of public toilets,
baths, a sewage system and
the supply of fresh drinking
water. The introduction of
thermal heating to the
aqueduct system enabled
the further creation of
heated baths, central
heating and floor heating.
SEWERS AND SANITATION

The Romans established a

number of public baths,
latrines, and an interlinked
sewage line binding them all
together in a complex and
efficient feat of engineering.
NEWSPAPERS
The first newspaper was
created in 59 BC on the
orders of Julius Caesar. It was
called the Roman Acta
Diruna and shared news and
details of upcoming events.
The Acta Diruna was carved
on stone or metal and
displayed in public places, like
the Forum of Rome.
ROADS AND HIGHWAYS
In a period of about 700 years,
they built about 55,000 miles of
paved highways and the roads
usually followed a straight
route across the countryside,
making travel efficient and fast.
Thus, the Romans were one of
the first to use road signs and
mile markers.
THE ROMAN NUMERALS

Roman numerals were developed

to serve the purpose of delivering a
standard counting method that
could be efficiently used in
communication and trade. However,
these Roman numbers came with
their flaws such as the absence of
the number zero and the inability to
calculate fractions, among others.
MASS ENTERTAINMENT

Gladiators, animals and

soldiers engaged in all types
of combat within the
Colosseum. The Colosseum
could even be flooded to
allow naval reenactments to
take place.
THE ROMAN REPUBLIC AND LEGAL SYSTEM
It started in 509 BC and ended in
27 BC, with the establishment of
the Roman Empire. The Republic
was led by two elected consuls and
advised by a senate of appointed
magistrates. Extremely hierarchical
by nature, the Republic led to our
current legislative structures and
modern democracy and is arguably
one of the greatest Roman
contributions to the modern world.
THE THREE COURSE MEAL
Known as Cena, it was an
important focus of Roman social and
family life on which it was developed
first into two courses and then, later,
into three. The first course was
known as gustatio, the second as
primae mensaie and the third as
secundae mensae. Today, many people
still consume their main meal as
three separate courses – a starter,
main and dessert.