Tic-Tac-Toe

You could say we're pretty in to games at my apartment.

It’s Sunday night and everyone is sitting around.  What do you do?  The natural reaction, especially in my experience, is to pull out a game.  Growing up, I was surrounded by a highly competitive family—not passing the blame, I was one of the most guilty of the culprits.  This competitive nature made games a great love for my family.  In fact, above our game table we have the words, “It’s okay, it’s just a game,” displayed on the wall—just to remind us of how we shouldn’t take them too seriously.

The Ancient Romans also had a love for games.  Dice, Roman chess, checkers, tic-tac-toe, backgammon.  Many of the games that we play today are products of the Romans.  One account speaks of them having played dice in the Parthenon.  An archaeologist named Eleni Karakitsou found that there were over 50 board games carved into the stairways and floors of the Parthenon.  Art historians have also found depictions on vases and other mediums displaying the Ancient Romans playing.  Seems that they took their games pretty serious as well! (learn more)

Death and Taxes .. but mainly Taxes

The Romans had a very complicated tax system that was used to finance the expansive empire. Taxes got as high as five percent. The different types of taxes include taxes on land, inheritance tax, estate taxes (Which went to soldier pension funds), and even sales taxes.

 I’m going to work for the nation’s largest accounting firm, PwC, and I will be filling out tax returns for non-profit organizations. These days, taxes are so complex that teams of individuals are required to ensure they are filled out correctly for large organizations.

All Roads Lead to...

I was enthusiastic about connecting myself to the Romans through gymnastics because I work as a children's gymnastics coach. Then I found out that gymnastics originated in Greece...so that was a fail worthy of an epic tale.

Instead of sports, I'll talk about art. The two are close cousins, right?

Two summers ago I took an art history class and loved it. In Ancient Rome, sculpture and painting were considered high forms of art, but other mediums were also common: pottery, ivory-engravings, coins, mosaics (as Austin mentioned), and even architecture (as Thomas mentioned).
(Click here for more information)

"The main innovation of Roman painting compared
to Greek art was the development of landscapes"

But what I remember more clearly than the art history class is my mission to Santiago, Chile. There, I saw what reminded me of the Trevi fountain (see picture on Thomas's post , which serves as a well-known example of Roman sculpture and architecture. 

Neptune's Fountain in Chile, the
Trevi Fountain's relative.