A Day In History

The Nasty Private Parties Of The Roman Elite (2022x55)

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The Roman Empire fell in the 5th century AD, prey to internal corruption, disputes, and many enemies on and within its borders. Despite being just a memory for over fifteen hundred years, the ancient Romans, whose territory included almost the entire coast of the Mediterranean even before an emperor ruled them, have cast a long shadow. The politics of many nations today are based upon many ancient Roman principles. So are laws and modern Western architecture - just three things descended from ancient Rome. First, the language of Rome, Latin, is one of the two main building blocks of many modern European languages, along with Greek. Second, English words coming directly from Latin are "convivial" and "conviviality," relating to a pleasant but not overly raucous good time with good company. "The party was quite convivial, and all the guests enjoyed the spirit of conviviality encouraged by the party's hosts."