罗马文化

By : Naomi Canon

Published: April 18, 2012 From: CNN

Web site: Momentous Contributions of Ancient Rome to 21st Century Civilizations - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

Momentous Contributions of Ancient Rome to 21st Century

Civilizations

Bryn Mawr College describes ancient Rome as the era in history spanning 600 years from the first century BC to the fifth century AD. Ancient Rome represents the period in history and civilization when autocratic Emperors ruled Rome and its

territories. At the peak of power, the territories encompassed lands in West and South Europe especially around the Mediterranean Sea, Britain, Asia Minor and North Africa. The accomplishments of this era impacted civilizations up to contemporary time.

Invention of Cement/Concrete

The discovery of fast curing cement represents a most powerful innovation. Accomplishments in other areas could not have occurred without the initial development of cement and concrete. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, modern concrete mixtures data back to ancient Rome. Vitruvius, an ancient Roman architect and engineer described the mixture of concrete as limestone, water, volcanic ash to construct cement and then add water, sand and aggregates of fine gravel.

Concrete formed the basis for large-scale constructions found in the remains of large buildings in Rome today.

Road Design

Romans introduced the pavement of roadways with the straightest, flattest routes. Engineers today continue to use the same concept of design for roads. Brims Website describes the Roman design of roads. Before the advent of the Roman Empire, roads consisted of mud tracks. Since the Roman army required quick movement of their soldiers and gear, the Romans constructed roads as straight as possible. Roman

surveyors located the routes without angles, curves or elevated pathways. The roads connected important towns in the Roman Empire. Many of the same roads exists today as those designed during ancient Rome.

Builders of Aqueducts

Even though other countries of ancient history such as Persia, India, Egypt and other Middle Eastern regions used water systems before ancient Rome, the Romans rank as the greatest aqua builders of ancient time. According to Crystalinks, the Roman Empire contained the most elaborate system developed by engineers to bring fresh water from the hillsides to the cities. The water system flowed by gravity both underground and elevated on elaborate concrete arches. Some aqueducts remain in use today. Modern engineers refers to aqueducts as any system of pipes, canals or sustaining structures constructed to move water from its source to a distribution place.

Architectural Design

Even though the amphitheater concept arises from the Greeks, the ancient Roman Coliseum represents the first free-standing amphitheater, according to Roman Life - Rome Italy. The ancient Roman Coliseum now resides on the new list of the 7 Wonders of the World. The Coliseum can be described as one of the most venerated works of architecture and engineering. The oval shaped structure seated 60,000 to 85,000 people and encompassed a lattice work structure and compartments in the base of the seating area. The base area housed the gladiators and wild animal. Where would the Super Bowls of modern times be without our sports areas today replicating aspects of the Roman Coliseum?

Shopping Mall Precursor

The Trajan's Forum represents an example of a forerunner to today's shopping malls. According to the University of Minnesota, this structure contained no less than 150 stores in the center of ancient Rome. The inventive architect Apollodorus of Damascus designed the covered Trajan's market. The shops varied in size and resided on two levels, but most took up very small spaces. Behind the colonnade of Trajan's forum, the curved fa?ade of the markets can still be seen today.

Public Newspaper

Roman citizens became the first people to receive a daily newspaper. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes a daily handwritten newspaper, called the Acta

Diurna or Daily Events, as a daily gazette started during the reign of Julius Caesar. Updating the public about official activities represented an attribute of most autocratic rulers. Military news and working class activities populated the Acta Diurna. The Acta Senatus or Proceedings of the Senate, a second newspaper, reported proclamations, edicts and political decisions made by the Roman Senate in ancient Rome.

Much of civilization in government and society as we know it today would not exist without the achievements in the Roman era. Many inventions arose from previous civilizations, but ancient Rome took many concepts to a higher level with massive developments.

古罗马文明对21世纪的重大贡献

布林莫尔学院描述了古罗马时代在历史上的时间跨度600年从公元前一世纪到公元5世纪。古罗马代表了在历史和文明时期当独裁皇帝统治罗马和它的领土。在高峰期,领土包围了在西部和南部欧洲特别是在地中海、英国、小亚细亚和北非的土地。这个时代的成就影响了当代文明。

水泥/混凝土的发明

快速固化水泥的发现体现了一个最大功效的发明。这些成就在其他时代不可能出现在没有最初水泥/混凝土的开发的情况下。根据史密森尼杂志，现代的混凝土合料可以追溯到古罗马时代。维特鲁威，一个古罗马的建筑师和工程师，他把混凝土的混合物描述为石灰岩，水，火山灰建造水泥然后添加水，沙子和聚集的细砾。以混凝土为基础构建的大型结构建筑物仍然保留到罗马的今天。

路的设计

罗马提出了路面的道路用最直白、平滑的路线。工程师们今天继续使用相同的概念设计道路。Brim 网站描述了罗马设计的道路。罗马帝国出现之前，公路由泥浆跟踪。自从罗马军队需要快速运动的士兵和齿轮，罗马人修建的道路笔直。罗马测量员位于的路线没有角度，曲线或高价途径。在罗马帝国，道路连接重要城镇。许多相同的道路那些在古罗马的设计仍然存在于现在。

建筑商的沟渠

尽管其他国家的古代历史如波斯、印度、埃及和其他中东地区用水系统在古

罗马,在古代罗马人被列为最大的水建筑商。根据文章,罗马帝国中最复杂的系统开发工程师从山坡上的城市带来新鲜的水。水系统由重力流向地下和高架精心准备的混凝土拱门。一些沟渠今天仍在使用。现代工程师指沟渠作为任何系统的管道、运河或维持建造结构将水从其来源分布的地方。

建筑设计

即使竞技场的概念起源于古希腊,古罗马竞技场代表第一个独立的圆形剧场,根据罗马人的生活——罗马意大利。 古罗马竞技场现在驻留在新名单的世界七大奇迹。 香港体育馆可以被描述为一个最崇敬的建筑和工程。椭圆形结构坐60000到85000人,包含一个网格结构和车厢底部的座位区。基地面积的角斗士和野生动物。超级碗的现代体育领域没有我们今天复制方面的罗马竞技场吗?

购物中心前体

在图拉真的论坛代表了一个例子,一个先进的今天的购物中心。根据明尼苏达大学的,此结构包含不少于150家门店在古罗马的中心。创造性的建筑师设计的Apollodorus大马士革的市场的覆盖图拉真。商店不同的大小和驻留在两个级别,但大多数拿起非常小的空间。后面的柱廊图拉真的论坛,弯曲的正面市场今天仍然可以看到。

公共报纸

罗马公民成为第一个人接受每日报纸。《大英百科全书》描述了一个每日手写的报纸,称为每日纪文或日常事件,作为一个每日公报开始统治期间,尤利乌斯?凯撒。更新公众关于官方活动代表一个属性的大多数独裁统治者。军事新闻和工作类活动密集的每日纪文。该协定元老院或者诉讼的参议院,第二个报纸报道说,公告,法令和政治决策由罗马参议院在古罗马。

很多政府和社会的文明在我们今天知道不存在没有成就在罗马时代。很多发明源自早期文明,但古代罗马拍了许多概念到一个更高的水平与大规模的发展。

【词汇注解】 ① autocratic: [,?t?'kr?t?k] adj. 专制的；独裁的，专横的 ② limestone: ['la?mston] n. [岩] 石灰岩 ③ surveyors: n. 测量员；验船师；调查者（surveyor的复数）

【知识链接】

Acta Diurna: 公告式的官方公报。是古代罗马统治者采用的重要传播方式之一。公报一般写在布告牌上，除了这种方式，还有书记员抄写，颁发给各地要人和驻军首长。

公元前59年的古罗马，凯撒当选执政官后下令创设。当时的名称是“阿尔布”，后来人们称之为《每日纪闻》。

是将每日公布元老院及公民大会的议事纪录，用尖笔书写在罗马议事厅外一块涂有石膏的特质木板上。书写内容多为政府要事，具有很强的政治性。

凯撒创设《每日纪闻》的目的就是争取舆论支持，扩大政治影响。传播当时已经成为政治斗争的工具。

公元前27年，凯撒的养子屋大维成为罗马最高的主宰者。

公元前6年，屋大维恢复《每日纪闻》，从此该手写公报时断时续刊布会议记录、帝国故事、战争消息等，一直到公元330年迁都君士坦丁堡为止。

有学者认为，罗马帝国之所以能统治辽阔疆域，至少有一部分原因是因为它有一个发达的，包括《每日纪闻》在内的传播系统。而其灭亡，部分原因是由于《每日纪闻》的停办，传播组织远落后于军事、商业、行政等社会组织的发展，无法协调复杂的活动。

西方人一直认为世界上最早的报纸是罗马共和国在公元前60年创建的《每日纪闻》，他最早是一块树立在罗马元老院门口的木牌，用于向广大罗马市民发布元老院的最新决策。相当于现在的公告栏，后来，随着罗马的版图不断扩大，已经远远不局限于意大利，为了使广大疆域上的各部落臣民都能“沐浴”到共和国的恩泽，共和国最后一任执行官恺撒责专人，将《每日纪闻》的内容书写在布匹上，带到各个行政省的首府，并在那里翻译成各种语言，再通过公告栏的形式发布给民众。这一信息传播的方式对西方后世影响甚重。

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