The architectural style of Rome was firmly rooted in the Hellenistic traditions. However, Roman culture is probably more accurately reflected in the development of new engineering skills and secular monuments. The style and construction progress of Roman architecture was different from other styles, even though the origin of their ideas came from the Greek architecture. The Romans were first to use math seriously for the arches, bridges, aqueducts, roof, and mainly the dome. The Romans took the ideas of architecture from other countries and adjusted it, so there were no support beams needed and the buildings were able to stand for thousands of years without really needing restoring. "With the Roman invention of concrete in the first century BC and their growing understanding of the architectural principles of stress and counter-stress, Roman architects were able to experiment with new and elaborate forms of building, many of which were to pass in to the western architectural !.
tradition. (Cunningham and Reich 156)." Until this innovative development, architectural progress had been severely limited and restricted. Building designs, using traditional Grecian models within the post and lintel system, had allowed for limited change. With the development of concrete and the increased understanding of its uses and applications, Romans were able to erect structures that would have previously been impossible using the Grecian post and lintel system. It was also the Roman use of concrete that led the way to many other Roman innovations in architecture, most especially the use of arches and vaults. Prior to the use of arches, Greek and republican Roman temples had been relatively small, partly because of the difficulties involved in putting a roof on a large space, without the use of supports.