Ancient Rome Introduction

Last updated over 4 years ago

1 question

Watch the video below for an introduction on Ancient Rome!

Now we will read about the many ways Ancient Rome has influenced our society today! 

      Three thousand years ago, Rome was a very tiny village on the shores of a river on the Italian Peninsula. The Romans were farmers, surrounded by more powerful neighbors. From this modest beginning, the Romans went on to conquer a vast empire.

      Today, the Roman Empire no longer exists. However, Rome made great contributions to law, language, architecture, and culture. It has influenced nations throughout the world. In addition, many aspects of Roman culture are still part of our lives, from expressions such as vice versa and status quo, which are still used, to the names for the planets, which come from Roman mythology.

      Rome is the capital of Italy, a country in southern Europe. The city is a very popular tourist destination. That is mainly because it has so much history. There are many striking things about Rome. For instance, many of its ancient buildings are still standing.

       The Colosseum is one ancient building that is still standing. It is one of the most famous ancient buildings in all of Europe. Today, the Colosseum is a landmark for tourists to visit. For ancient Romans, the Colosseum was a sports arena.

       What happened inside this ancient arena? Gladiators were forced to fight each other to the death. Thousands of spectators watched their battles. Sometimes, they even had to fight fierce exotic animals. Imagine having to fight a lion or tiger!

       Most gladiators were slaves or prisoners of war. They couldn’t choose whether they wanted to fight or not. The crowd, however, could choose whether a gladiator lived or died.

       The Roman emperor would let the crowds decide what happened to a defeated gladiator. He could be killed or have his life spared. The people would vote with their thumbs. Thumbs up meant the gladiator should live. Thumbs down meant he should die.

© 2012 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ancient Rome Introduction

Read the passage on ancient Rome. Explain how today’s society has been influenced by the ancient Roman civilization. Use CELEL (see CELEL chart below)