The influence of classical Western civilization can be found all across the United States.

Our capital, Washington D.C., is full of buildings that trace their influence to the Acropolis in Athens or the Eternal City of Rome.

Our political systems, from the separation of powers, the structure of the Senate, and the concept of a democracy also echo back to those early civilizations.

But what can looking at the classics tell us about modern American history? Academics for years have been comparing the growth of American influence across the globe with how the Roman Republic, and eventual empire expanded.

Wednesday on the "Sound of Ideas," we'll look back about 2,000 years and see what lessons we can take from the politics of Rome.

Evelyn Adkins, who studies classics at Case Western Reserve University and Edward Watts from the University of California - San Diego join us for the conversation. It's something that Watts has spoken about before.

Later in the hour we'll check in the a curator from the Cleveland Museum of Art and learn about a statue that's soon heading back to Turkey.

The piece carved an interesting path from it's origins in a Roman temple to a spot in the classics wing at the CMA.

Finally, we learn about markers noting LGBTQ+ places in Ohio and how the construction of those markers was stopped by the current administration.

Guests:
- Evelyn Adkins, PhD, Associate Professor of Classics, Case Western Reserve University
- Edward Watts, PhD, Professor of History, University of California - San Diego
- Seth Pevnick, Curator of Greek and Roman Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Tony Pankuch, Education and Outreach Coordinator at the Center for the History of Psychology, The University of Akron