The The success of Rome's empire- the republic was already an imperial power even before the

emperors-is obvious from its size and longevity. Its sophistication and apparent modemay impress
us, as do its legacies Christianity began under Rome's rule, and together with the Greco Roman
culture of that empire, the Judeo-Christian tradition provides the main bedrock of Western culture
Roman monuments still inspire awn, even in their ruined state

The bathhouse was one of the most sophisticated pieces of engineering ever created by the Romans,
and it is significant that so much ingenuity was devoted simply to make life more comfortable. A
society has to be wealthy to afford such luxury and even small communities and modest army bases
had their public bathhouses, for this was not simply an indulgence for the nich. The vast cost of the
grand public entertainments and the amphitheaters and crouses built to stage them is similar
indicator of priorities. The cruelty of gladiators and beast fights shock us as something utterly alien
to modern sensibilities, but the simple fact that a society could afford to lavish money on such
spectacles is a sign of its wealth. (Gladiators still make good box-office material, and in Hollywood's
Rome, all roads still lead to the arena), Modern analyses of samples taken from the polar ice caps
also appear to bring the Roman world close to our own, for we now know that indusental activity
during the first and second centuries AD generated levels of pollution not seen again until the
industrial Revolution

Rome-successful and sophisticated for a very long time (if also at times appallingly cruel)-afters a
dream of power and success. Roman symbols-the eagle, wide and straight roads, columns and
thumphal arches, laurel wreaths, the title of Caesar or Kaiser or tsar, and the faces that gave their
name to Mussolini's party - have often been invoked by ambitious leaders and states. Eighteenth
century education drew heavily on the classical past, and Amenca's Founding Fathers ooked to
Roman models as they sought to craft a better version of Rome's republic that would not decay into
monarchy For Rome had suffered several senous crises during its long history, and the one that tore
its republic apult in politica violence and civil war was so grim that by the erid many Romans were
eager to accept the rule of an emperor instead of elected magistrates as long as it brought peace

The empire flourished in the first two centuries AD, the period when the vast majority of its great
monuments were built. It also survived subsequent crises, but ultimately it still collapsed. The dream
of Rome's success cannot sold the nightmare of its fall or almost inevitably its "decline and tall," for
the title of Edward Gibbon's great work is firmly established in our minds. Whether called the Dark
Ages or the early medieval period, the world that followed was a lot less sophisticated. The resson
appears to be that progress is not inevitable and success rarely permanent. Yet that has not stopped
of Rome's empire- the republic was already an imperial power even before the emperors-is obvious
from its size and longevity. Its sophistication and apparent modemay impress us, as do its legacies
Christianity began under Rome's rule, and together with the Greco Roman culture of that empire,
the Judeo-Christian tradition provides the main bedrock of Western culture Roman monuments still
inspire awn, even in their ruined state

The bathhouse was one of the most sophisticated pieces of engineering ever created by the Romans,
and it is significant that so much ingenuity was devoted simply to make life more comfortable. A
society has to be wealthy to afford such luxury and even small communities and modest army bases
had their public bathhouses, for this was not simply an indulgence for the nich. The vast cost of the
grand public entertainments and the amphitheaters and crouses built to stage them is similar
indicator of priorities. The cruelty of gladiators and beast fights shock us as something utterly alien
to modern sensibilities, but the simple fact that a society could afford to lavish money on such
spectacles is a sign of its wealth. (Gladiators still make good box-office material, and in Hollywood's
Rome, all roads still lead to the arena), Modern analyses of samples taken from the polar ice caps
also appear to bring the Roman world close to our own, for we now know that indusental activity
during the first and second centuries AD generated levels of pollution not seen again until the
industrial Revolution

Rome-successful and sophisticated for a very long time (if also at times appallingly cruel)-afters a
dream of power and success. Roman symbols-the eagle, wide and straight roads, columns and
thumphal arches, laurel wreaths, the title of Caesar or Kaiser or tsar, and the faces that gave their
name to Mussolini's party - have often been invoked by ambitious leaders and states. Eighteenth
century education drew heavily on the classical past, and Amenca's Founding Fathers ooked to
Roman models as they sought to craft a better version of Rome's republic that would not decay into
monarchy For Rome had suffered several senous crises during its long history, and the one that tore
its republic apult in politica violence and civil war was so grim that by the erid many Romans were
eager to accept the rule of an emperor instead of elected magistrates as long as it brought peace

The empire flourished in the first two centuries AD, the period when the vast majority of its great
monuments were built. It also survived subsequent crises, but ultimately it still collapsed. The dream
of Rome's success cannot sold the nightmare of its fall or almost inevitably its "decline and tall," for
the title of Edward Gibbon's great work is firmly established in our minds. Whether called the Dark
Ages or the early medieval period, the world that followed was a lot less sophisticated. The resson
appears to be that progress is not inevitable and success rarely permanent. Yet that has not stopped