This essay outlines several classic greek and roman inventions that have influenced our lives today. It clearly shows the invention and then explains how it has affected daily life.

Essay by The_InformerJunior High, 9th grade August 2003

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Both Greek and Roman influences have had a major impact on the world today. For instance, the Olympics have survived to this day and even retain much of its former meaning of peace. Another important invention is the calendar; the modern calendar is based upon the Roman version. Even our military uses inventions from Greek times. Greek fire has inspired the creation of petroleum bombs and napalm weaponry, and spurred the terrorist favorite of psychological warfare.

The Olympics represent the height of sports competition in which athletes train for their entire lives in order to win. While the competitive drive of today's athletes is no less than that of the Greeks, today's Olympics are much less violent. In ancient Greece, instead of using boxing gloves, leather was strapped to the opponents' hands, leaving the fingers free and adding a sting to the punch. These sports represent the constant training people underwent to hone their bodies to physical perfection and pit their abilities in a man vs.

man competition where only the best would win. Today's Olympics are more team oriented, and the success of the team depends on everyone's physical conditioning and skill as opposed to ancient Greece, where the games were more individualized. Despite the physical violence involved in ancient Greek Olympics, the games promoted peace. In Greek times the entire old world would cease war to participate in the Olympics. Today, while the games are less violent, the meaning of peace is not as strong. For example, the Olympics were cancelled for World War II. However, the meaning of peace is not totally lost, as is apparent in North and South Korea's unification for the games.

Romans concocted one extremely important invention that is still in use today, the calendar. The Roman calendar was almost completely accurate,