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Greeks, Romans, and Etruscans Prezi

Legacies of the Ancient and Medieval World

Nothing lasts forever, not the strongest men, or the smartest minds, or even the greatest people. But, they do leave behind artifacts, or ruins, or perhaps even a body, or book. Whatever the case, these people left something behind for us to discover or better yet, study. These things the people of empires left behind are what we call legacies. Each one has a unique or common, yet useful, story. Many of the legacies we have discovered from the past we still use in everyday life. We know how to build and make monuments that will last for thousands of years. We find relief and trust in religion. We find confidence and peace in our government sometimes, but everything we use has a story and to be able to understand those stories, we need to know their history.

Architecture. The word itself is not English. It comes from the Latin word architectūra. Therefore, the word is a legacy of Rome. The Romans made many, many buildings, stadiums, sewer systems, roads, bridges, and the ever-famous arch. The Persians made many different palaces and cities including Pārsa, an ancient city where they worshipped. Greeks also had really nice architecture. They developed three different kinds of columns: the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian. Many people have gone to churches or seen these columns and arches, but they don’t know most of the history the ornate architecture.

Arts were the people’s entertainment. Some cultures had dancing or dramas where people would go and enjoy a seat at the Theater of Dionysus. Others had an excellent sense of pitch and tone, which made singing possible and an extraordinary gift. Greeks and Romans made marble statues of their gods. West and East Africans sang and danced religious tribal dances for their gods. Theater (drama) originated in Greece and Japan. There was comedy, tragedy, Kabuki, Noh, and many other genres of theater. Many movies, plays, and musicals today still use some of these ancient and medieval types of drama. And they don’t know about it!

Government: the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states. That is the official definition of the word government. But where did most of the forms of government that we use today come from? They all came from ancient and medieval kingdoms. Persia and China established their monarchies, which are still used in England today. Greece developed democracy. Romans had a republic, which we still use in Algeria, America, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Angola, and many other countries that don’t start with the letter “A”. Although these countries didn’t evolve until later they held a high belief that they started their form of government. Little did they know that they were wrong.

Some people might say that their god or deities are the only one(s) and none other is higher than theirs. Others might say that we just need a moral belief so that we can survive. Whatever the matter, these people managed to express themselves in a way they felt necessary. Religions from all these people are what motivates us. We find trust and peace in them as we practice these beliefs. Without any of the knowledge these people, we wouldn’t have survived. They were smart to believe, believe in everything. We prefer keeping it on the low for modern excess of natural products, which is killing the world. If it weren’t for them, we would’ve still had to ride horses, trade, have spears and swords as weapons. No development of fashion, or machinery, technology in general. We’ve use math in everyday life. We use the stars to navigate. We explore the worlds outside our own. We have figured out how the human body works. We use medicine to cure people. We have developed writing systems and number systems all over the world. But we only take what was given to us, perfected it, and we use it. But the time will come when everything we have, will be our legacy.

Amphora

On my amphora I drew the Parthenon with the great big statue of Athena inside. I drew the brothers, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. I drew their symbols of power & where their dominion, the sky, the underworld, & the sea. I drew the great hero Theseus saving the princess Andromeda from the Trojan sea monster with the head of medusa, then turning the monster to stone. I drew the goddess Athena (or the god Ares) on a hill standing over their fallen victims (monsters). I also drew the Greek hell called Tartarus, the cheery place of people that have done so bad so they are eternally punished. Yay. So all they had to do was not be bad, follow the wishes of the gods and be heroes and they get Elysium.

GREEK LEGACY

The Greek legacy I wrote about is architecture & religion (mythology). On my amphora I drew the Parthenon with the great big statue of Athena inside. I drew the brothers, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. I drew their symbols of power & where their dominion, the sky, the underworld, & the sea. I drew the great hero Theseus saving the princess Andromeda from the Trojan sea monster with the head of medusa, then turning the monster to stone. I drew the goddess Athena (or the god Ares) on a hill standing over their fallen victims (monsters). I also drew the Greek hell called Tartarus, the cheery place of people that have done so bad so they are eternally punished. Yay. To make a long story short, my legacy is the things they believed in and the buildings that will stand a really long time.