Roman Achievements Essay, Research Paper
Where would the world be today without the founding of the Roman Household and the idea of paterfamilias, advances in science and medicine, and the many changes in Christianity and marriage practices? It is hard to imagine what our society would be like without a head of the household, medicine for illness, science for technology, and Christianity along with marriage practices.
The Romans made many advances in science and medicine. Archimedes of Syracuse founded the formulas of spheres and cylinders, the actual number of pi which is used mostly for a circle s circumference, as well as other discoveries in astronomy and engineering (Osheim and Roberts 138). Archimedes also invented the water snail which was a screw like device to raise water for irrigation which made it possible to irrigate previously barren land (Osheim and Roberts 138).
The idea of astronomy first came from advances in mathematics (Osheim and Roberts 138). The Romans used to believe that the sun revolved around the earth, when in 275 B.C., Aristarchus of Samos made the hypothesis that the earth really revolves around the sun, and then in 135 B.C., Hipparchus of Nicaea proved this hypothesis correct (Osheim and Roberts 138). Many other medical advances were made around this time, such as cross-fertilization and the first dissection of a human. The scientists would practice dissecting on criminals that were condemned to death (Osheim and Roberts 138).
One of the leading scientific beneficiaries was Herophilus of Chalcedon, a practicing physician in Alexandria, for he found that the brain was the center of the nervous system, as well as the first dissection of the human, and the discovery of the ovaries (Osheim and Roberts 139). Scientific discoveries helped the army with technology. They were able to build engines and bombs for war, ways of transportation, and many other industrial wonders.
In many cultures, the father is usually the head of the household, and the Romans emphasized this in their families, setting some standards by which we still live by today. The familia was the basic unit of Roman society the Roman household was an authoritarian institution governed by a male (Osheim and Roberts 159). The oldest male in the family, usually the father, but sometimes the grandfather was known as the paterfamilias, which had supreme power within the household (Osheim and Roberts 160). The paterfamilias could do whatever he wanted with his wife, the children, his property, slaves, etc. He could sell his children to slavery, kill his wife or a child, and expose his young daughters (Osheim and Roberts 160).
Contemporary society does not follow these rules and guidelines for the head of the household now, but the basic concept of the father being the head and in charge remains the same. It is hard to imagine what life was like back then in the early century s B.C. Women were not legal, for they were considered a piece of property. They married in late teens, and served her husband for the rest of her life (Osheim and Roberts 160).
Before Christianity was formed, women were not allowed to turn down a marriage, for their father would make them marry whomever they picked, men did not have to be faithful, and divorce was not an option (Osheim and Roberts 241). According to an article by Athenagoras titled Sexuality and Family Life (Perry 174), it is a good thing to stay a virgin until marriage. Saving yourself for one person is like saving yourself for God. Because in the beginning God made one man and one woman and dissolving the strictest union of flesh with flesh, formed for the intercourse of the race (Perry 175). Cheating on your spouse or partner is a sin and one will be punished at the end of his life. Even if an individual s spouse dies, one must remain loyal to him/her because he/she is still technically married to the deceased person.
Christianity opened many jobs and options for women. They were able to teach in Christian schools which helped them gain some sort of independence, and break the stereotype of the housewife, although even in today s society women are still not given all rights as men (Osheim and Roberts 242).
Even in the twenty-first century, more than two thousand years later, the laws and guidelines of Christianity are still being followed. The church does not like divorce, but it is allowed. Women can choose who they want to marry, for their fathers no longer have to pick a partner for them. Also, it is taught that both men and women are to be faithful to their spouse, not just the woman.
With all of these advances in medicine, science, households, and religion, it is hard to say where society would be without the Romans. These people helped scientists and other higher individuals understand many concepts that might not have been invented or founded until much later in time, which could have slowed the pace for technology growth. These Romans deserve an enormous amount of credit for what they have accomplished, for without them, who knows where society would be today.