The Roman Republic: The Rise And Fall Of Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome must have been an interesting time and place to live. One major reason to believe this is, Rome underwent a major evolutionary change. The Roman Republic became the Roman Empire and very little of the Roman culture was left unchanged from one period to another. The Roman Republic lasted for approximately 100 years and when it collapsed and became the empire, Rome lasted for another 500 years. Although not particularly known for a religious affinity, roman religion was a mixture of Greek mythology and philosophy (Passageway to the Ancient World). In 1776 the final emperor of Rome, Romulus Augustus, was killed which ended Rome’s time-in-the-spotlight as a super power. The Roman civilization was split into two different ages. The first age was known as the Roman Republic. This came to be from the Latin’s overthrowing the government that ruled them.
They achieved this in the year 509 B.C.E.
When they overthrew the Etruscans they transitioned from a monarchial rule to a government of the people or a republic (Passageway to the Ancient World). Although this age was the key to Rome being so successful it didn’t last for very long. Warring regions throughout its self caused the republics eventual fall in around 409 B.C.E. After the republic fell the Roman Empire came in to power. This was the bulk of Rome’s years mainly because this government took better care of their civilians. One way the empire took better care of its inhabitants is that they took time and built 50,000 miles of paved road so that trading would be much easier. Also, the empire built 11 major aqueducts that were used to transfer water. The largest one, 59 miles long, was used to transport millions of gallons of water each day. The second way that the empire lasted longer than the republic is they provided better entertainment. The most widely known
entertainment all throughout these days was the coliseum. This is where many gladiator battles and chariot races went on. These battles were not the only use of this great building though. There were also a lot of human sacrifices that went on here. How they would do this is take a random person and send them into an arena with no weapons or armor until he gets into the arena then he would find some in there but he would have a hard time getting it due to the fact that a lion is trying to eat him. Any of these major events could be watched by more than 50,000 people in this enormous amphitheater. These are the main reasons the empire reigned supreme over the republic in Ancient Rome. One thing that stayed constant throughout the years in Rome is religion. The Roman religion was a mixture of Greek mythology and philosophy. The religion was polytheistic and believed each god had certain powers for a signature. For example, Jupiter was lord of the skies and had lightning bolts he would throw, whereas Neptune and Pluto had very different powers. This religion even though some people thought little of it, had a major impact on Rome. It helped people in more ways than one. The first thing the religion did was give the people something to believe in. So when a person was having terrible luck they would believe they angered a god. Secondly, it gave them something to explain the unexplainable. A myth was started about how Rome was formed by a pair of twins by the name of Remus and Romulus. It is said that they were sons of the war god Mars and the priestess Rhea Silva but were raised by a she-wolf. In addition to this Remus was also supposedly killed by his brother during the construction of Rome. After killing his own brother Romulus continued building Rome on his own.