FREE Comparing Ancient Rome and America Essay (original) (raw)

Everything that has a beginning has an end. This phrase, used to advertise the third installment of The Matrix series, also applies to civilizations. Rome, which legend tells us began with Romulus and Reemus, is no longer, so therefore it must have ended. But that makes us wonder what brought such a powerful civilization down. It could have been a number of things, such as money problems or the corruptness of humankind. Those two things are happening in the United States today,whether it be the 87 million dollar military grant, the gang violence, or the thieving of the most recent presidential election. The current state of America is starting to seem a lot like the fall of Rome, one of the most powerful civilizations to date, much as America is. .
So why exactly did Rome fall? That is uncertain. However, there are a few guesses at the answer. Maybe one is correct. Maybe it is a combination of a few or all of them. Regardless, they follow: political corruption, the decline of morals and values, military spending, inflation, inferior technology, and public health. Starting with political corruption, in the ancient days or Rome there were multitudes of bribes concerning election and getting people to vote for a bill. Also, a specific incident would be the famous assassination of Julius Caesar by Brutus. The decline of moral and values is demonstrated in the facts that there were large drinking parties where most people would get hopelessly drunk, and there were around 30,000 prostitutes roaming the streets. With the money issue, Augustus and Septimius both spent exorbitant amounts of money on the military, and there was less gold and more copper in coins, so they were worth less. Rome all suffered by not spending money on developing new technology. They could have used better harvesting machines and better weapons so that they could match or be above their opponents technologically.

1. History Of Slavery

I will first discuss the treatment of slaves in ancient Rome. I will then compare this to their treatment today. Slaves in Ancient Rome In ancient Rome, more specifically Athens and Sparta, slaves were very common. ... An average slave in American South in 1850 cost the equivalent of 40,000intoday′smoney,whiletodayaslavescostanaverageof40,000 in today's money, while today a slaves cost an average of 40,000intoday′smoney,whiletodayaslavescostanaverageof90. ...

2. Keeping the Masses Under Control in the Ancient Roman Empire

Plan of Investigation The Ancient Roman Empire, regardless of social status, took their revelry and entertainment very seriously. ... First of all, it will be necessary to compare and contrast the different ways of entertaining the people according to social classes, as well as how they spend their leisure time. ... Evaluation of Sources "A Brief Social History of the Roman Empire"," which is part of the information found in the chapter 13 of the web page called "History Guide: A Lecture on Ancient and Medieval European History" (Kreis, 2009), is a well documented lecture describing how life...

3. The Extension of Ancient Rome into World Cultures

The four elements chosen to research for the ancient Romans were clothing, food, art, and music. ... Typically the Romans would only wear the toga as a public display garment, to tell the rich from the poor in Rome you had to spot the difference in the fabric. ... Roman food is similar to American ways of eating but also different greatly. The Romans had break, lunch, and dinner just like Americans only they differed in these ways. ... Now comparing the Roman instruments and music to other cultures including the Mayans and the Sioux the reader may see significant differences and similarities. ...

4. Coliseum

The elliptical shaped arena in the ancient world of Rome served the purpose of an amphitheater for entertainment as well as a guideline for future architecture. ... The American society depends on these stadiums for most of their entertainment. ... These arenas provide entertainment for sport much like the Coliseum did in the ancient world. ... In closing, many similarities are evident between the society of the Romans and our modern society, just by comparing our entertainment arenas. ...

5. Kingship: Ancient And Medieval

Kingship - Ancient & Medieval Due to the Kings and high ranking officials from the Ancient and Medieval periods of time, much of the information acquired from the average person is partial. ... "Their content can be compared to that of an American president's State of the Union address: little of the personality of the incumbent emerges from this material, stress rather being placed on his presidential "or ancient kingly "qualities and on events that exemplify his successful execution of his office. ... Both of which influenced many decisions made by the kings through Ancient...

6. Why is the Education of Henry

Comparing his effort to St. ... Adams says of his Harvard education, "Beyond two or three Greek plays, the student got nothing from the ancient languages." ... This way of thinking can only be accomplished if the student actually learns the ancient language. ... The modern student learns nothing from medieval Rome. ... Medieval Rome was sorcery. ...

7. The Welfare System and the Collapse of the United States

Governments have been enlisted to care for their citizens since ancient times. ... It is that phenomenon that eventually led to the destruction of what had built up to be the strongest government of the ancient world. ... Welfare in Rome was promoted for the same reasons that the idea is still pushed today. ... " Simply put, there would not be a great purpose in the life of one who was not given everything compared to a life of inherited luxury. ... Muhlhausen writes that the gross debt of $17.3 billion is "a staggering sum that is difficult for Americans to grasp. ...

8. The Roman Influence on American Society

The travesty, though, is that we commonly fail to realize the extent these ancient people have modeled and molded our society today. ... Styles such as Roman, Greek and Gothic were brought into American culture. ... The Corinthian columns are the most intricate in design compared to the other two columns. ... For instance, a construction crew can build a road in a few days, but in ancient Rome it took long periods of time to construct a road across a town due to lack of technology. ... American society would have never been the same without Roman influence. ...

9. Comparing Superman with Hercules

These traits are constantly repeated in modern and ancient literature. ... It comes from ancient Greece, one of the world's richest civilizations. ... He was both the most famous hero of ancient times and the most beloved. ... He was worshipped in many temples all over Greece and Rome. ... Hercules was both the most famous hero of ancient times and the most beloved, same goes with Superman. ...

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