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.
