The ancient Romans adopted every good idea that they saw.

If other people
were doing something better then the Romans, the Romans changed their way
to the better way. They copied anything if they thought it was good. A perfect
example of this would be the myths of the Greek gods.

The Romans heard the myths of the Greeks. They loved the stories so
much that they took these stories and changed the names of the Gods and
made them Roman gods. The Romans had their own religious beliefs. They just
added the Greek gods to them. But they didn't copy the Greek gods exactly.

They added Roman personalities to the Greek gods, and insisted they had
always been Roman gods. The Romans never gave any other civilization credit
for inventions. According to the ancient Romans, everything was invented in
Rome. You can learn more about the similarity of the Greek and Roman gods
here: The Truth About Myths.

Another idea they copied from other people was probably the idea of
lipstick and cosmetics. Which was the first ancient civilization to use cosmetics to
enhance natural appearance? The answer is: Nobody knows. But the Romans
were not first. Most probably, the first would be the people in the Indus Valley, or
perhaps the people in ancient Egypt, or in faraway China. There were many
occurrences like that.

The Romans were very good at copying other peoples ideas. And, they did
invent some things themselves.

1. Architecture: The ancient Romans developed many new techniques for

buildings and construction of all types including concrete, Roman roads,
Roman arches, and aqueducts.

2. Public Health Programs: The Romans were great believers in healthy

living. They made sure that all the people of Rome were able to get
medical help.

3. Public Welfare: The Romans also believed that all Romans should have
food and shelter so they developed welfare programs for the poor.

4. Latin: The Romans spread across Europe, Southwest Asia, and North
Africa bringing their traditions and their language. man language
(Latin), the root of all the romance languages including English, French,
and Spanish.

5. Religion: The Catholic faith, which kept learning alive after the fall of the
Western Roman Empire.
6. Roman Law/Politics, including the law that states a person is innocent
until proven guilty (from the Twelve Tables), and propaganda
campaigns including coinage with the current emperor's picture on it, to
remind everyone who was in charge of the empire.

7. Literature, Theatre, Art: Satire, which was a loud and rude sort of
sarcastic approach to comic theatre, works of literature including Virgil's
Aeneid, realistic statues, ornate jewelry, masks, mosaics.

8. Customs, including the use of rings to denote friendship, engagements,

and weddings, and the use greenery to decorate during winter
holidays, exchanging gifts on the first day of the new year, and other
holiday customs.

9. Roman Calendar: Roman Calendar

10. Clothing: Socks (called soccus by the ancient Romans) worn by both
women and men. Shoes, all kinds of shoes, including the hobnailed
shoe that made such a scary racket when worn by the common soldier
- along with shoe construction that adjusted for left foot, right foot
variance in shape, which made wearing any shoes a lot more
comfortable. And a bunch of neat hats.

11. Games: Many board and ball games including knuckleball (jacks) and
hoops. Roman Games

Reference:
http://rome.mrdonn.org/achievements.html