In World Cultures my freshman year, we learned about the zeitgeist theory. This theory says that as a culture passes from the dominant world culture to a subsidiary culture, they pass on their knowledge and glory to their successor. Zeitgeist is actually a German term, meaning time ghost, signifying that the ghost, or soul, of a culture is passed through time. Currently, America is the dominant culture in the world, and more and more we are noticing the soul of Rome popping up in our day to day lives.To get to the root of this phenomenon, we should look at our roots; the way in which this country was founded. Pilgrims left their homelands in search of a free land, one where they could escape the rule of kings. In time, the colonies of England did indeed break free of the rule of England. They set up a democracy and in time sought to conquer the western three-quarters of the country. This is clearly similar to Rome. Rome started as a tiny city in Italy and in time teamed up with their neighbors, much like the initial loose union of states in the United States. After a time, the Romans got their lust for more, and began to spread. Spread they did, and their wrath was felt throughout the Mediterranean lands, and their word was law.This did not come overnight though. The Romans had to prove themselves worthy of the supreme nation on Earth. They did so by defeating Carthage in the Punic wars. The Punic wars are often described as the World Wars of the early world. The first Punic war was the real test of Rome, their first big victory that opened the worlds eyes to the power of the nation. It was their first naval victory and it was against the greatest navy on earth. Much like the first World War opened the worlds eye to the might of the red, white, and blue. In both cases, the war victory was one that gained the country respect. In both World War II and in the Second Punic war, the enemy made a fatal mistake that cost them the ...
