The Roman Empire

 

ROME

     Italian peninsula occupied by 1000 BCE by Latin speaking tribes

     800 BCE: Greeks arrive in south, Etruscans in north

     Rome a republic in 509 BCE, power in a Senate

 

Roman Technology

     Roads, aqueducts, buildings, cities

     The Rule of Law

 

Roman Science

     "Greek science written in Latin"

     Transmitted to Rome in Alexandrian period (300 BCE - 200 CE)

 

     Biological Science

 

         Herophilus of Alexandria (250 BCE?)

              A brief site on Herophilus: http://www.britannica.com/seo/h/herophilus/

              Herophilus was one of the founders of the science of anatomy. It is an interesting commentary on the ethical issues in science that his great advances in anatomical knowledge was due in part to the freedom he had to dissect the human body – a practice forbidden in other times and cultures. He actually had even more freedom than that: he had the gruesome right to take live criminals who had been condemned to death and dissection their bodies while they were living. I cannot think of any other time when this practice was condoned.

 

         Galen (b. 129 CE)

              worked in Roman Empire

              sought principles of medicine

              wrote definitive treatise on anatomy and physiology -- became the standard test for over 1400 years

              A site on Galen: http://www.systemajo.com/scientific1.html

 

 

     The Julian Calendar

         introduced 45 BCE

         365 day year with leap years every fourth year

         About the Julian Calendar:

          http://webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-christian.html#SECTION00310000000000000000

 

 

Encyclopedists

 

     Martianus Capella on the 7 Liberal Arts: http://www.fwkc.com/encyclopedia/low/articles/s/s023001268f.html

     And another brief explanation of the 7 liberal arts: http://cosmopolis.com/villa/liberal-arts.html