Human civilization has many monuments to the past and people have to remember them. Different nations in many periods left their own monuments, which surpass the modern monuments that are created by the means of new technologies.
The Roman Republic made a present for the next generations. Its creations of art admire people all over the world. The most beautiful masterpieces of that time are the temples. Romans believed in many gods, so they have built many temples, which were devoted to some of them. Much money was given for their building. A person is such a being that has to see in order to believe after. It is easy to believe, when you see those monuments and cam imagine how the god looks like. The temples were the places, where people could find the gods, their patrons and ask them for help. In addition, they could give them a sacrifice for their favor. It is one of the best ways to raise the spiritual attitude. One of the most prominent temples of that time is the temple probably dedicated to Poprtunus. The time of its building is the late second century BC. This temple was devoted to the god of the river port. History did not raze it to the ground and people can see it now. The temple is surrounded by the six columns. This type of the temples was very popular in Rome and Latin in that period. Even the east has the same examples of historical monuments.
One more sight is the Flavian Amphitheater. It is the historical monument, which was built in 70-80 CE. The Romans were the great fans of the sport, and Vespasian started the building process of the greatest arena. The second name of the Flavian Amphitheater is the Colosseum, because next to it is the statue of Colossus. Its outer wall is 159 feet high. It is an oval with the sizes 615 by 510 feet. Its floor is covered with sand and has the following sizes: 280 by 175 feet. In this building many events were held. Some of them were sporting, like athletic events, blood sports. Some of them were very cruel, such as animal hunts, fights to the death. Gladiators fought between each other or against wild animals. In addition, some events were held for entertainment, such as trained animals which took part in different performances. The acrobats were also very popular. However, the fights between gladiators or between gladiators and wild animals are not the best examples. The Roman audience wanted to see it but it was not compassionate. As the statistics shows, more than 2000 gladiators and more than 9000 wild animals died there. The Colosseum is a remarkable monument with easy access to any of its parts and good crowd control. Everyone has an uninterrupted view of the center of the building. Healthy nation is a happy nation and Colosseum helps to conduct different competitions. Strong spirit is the base of the nation.
Of course, many other nations have a lot of beautiful monuments as well, and some of them are worthy of paying attention to.
One of the early civilizations was the Byzantine civilization. It was centered in the lands along the rim of the Mediterranean Sea. In that period many temples were built. They still exist in Greece and southwestern Ukraine. The Byzantine Empire gossiped about the multiplicity of geometric forms and rich decorative effects both inside and out. Mosaic is a special appeal in the architecture of that time. The best example of it is the temple of Santa Sophia in Kiev (the capital of Ukraine). Many mosaics are used here. It is very beautiful. People all over the world want to see it even if they are not Christians.
Judaism is the religion that believes in the God, Jehovah. They believe in the part of the Holy Bible, called the Old Testament. Al Khazneh (The Treasury) is the most prominent monument of Jewish culture. It is the temple in Petra, which was built between 100 BC and 200 AD. The sculpture of it is full of mystery creatures, which are connected with the afterlife. There are four eagles on the top of the temple, which have to carry away the human souls. It was built under the Greek influence. Jews are monotheists, as well as Christians and Muslims. So, we can see that this monument also develop the people’s spirituality and force them to think about the afterlife.
Islam is an old religion. The holiest place for every Muslim is Mecca, the Kaaba. Every Muslim has a holy duty to visit the Kaaba at least once in his life. Mosaic is also very popular in the Islamic icons. One of the most prominent monuments of Islamic culture is the building Shah-i-Zinda, the funerary complex in Samarkand. The princess was buried there. Some people made tombs for their relatives. On the Earth, every religion treats dead people kindly. Most of the religions believe in life after death. Tombs and funerary complexes allow people not to forget about the life after death and prepare for it on the Earth.
In our world there are many religions. Some of them attract many people, such as Christianity and Islam; others have not so many followers. The main book of the Christians is the Holy Bible; and the main one of the Muslims (people, who profess Islam) is the Koran. In these books one can find stories about the life of saints and people, who formed these religions. The Christians believe in Jesus Christ, and Muslims believe in Allah and Prophet Mohammed. Islam is a religion that is stricter towards women than Christianity. Christianity is a more loyal religion. Both religions are numerous and it shows the index of people’s spiritual level. Of course, both religions are very old; however, it is the best evidence that people’s spirituality is on the high level. As for me, it will be good to combine these religions. Strict laws of Islam allow to obey and not to step over the rules, but the Christian laws allow women to have free choice and more rights.
Christians pray to Jesus Christ, Mary and the God. They look at the pictures with their portraits. Such pictures are called icons. The most prominent one is “Virgin and Child with Saints and Angels”. The date of its creation is the sixth century AD. It is encaustic on wood. It is preserved in the Monastery of St. Catherine, Mount Sinai, Egypt. Mount Sinai is holy for all Christians. On this Mount the God showed his face to Prophet Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the most important rules for every Christian. All icons are devoted to the life of Jesus Christ, his mother Mary and his father Jehovah. It helps people to understand and to believe. Their spirituality will increase with this. As for me, every person has to believe in something, because it will be very hard to live without faith.
Of course, there are many other monuments on the Earth, which are not less important. However, the mentioned ones fully display people’s history and faith. We can see that people gained many treasures through the life of the world; and as for me, our world will not be as good as now without such experience and history. Every epoch made a great contribution to the development of the Earth. If the aliens come to our land we will have what to show them. We will share our experience. For sure their attitude towards our monuments will raise their spirituality and change their way of life.