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