In the Roman Republic, panels painted to decorate walls were very common. These panels often depicted a house's owner and his family, as well as nature landscapes, but in public building, battle scenes were more common. The technique used to create these panels is called fresco. The Roman Republican custom of painting wall panels influenced artists in later periods, such as the Renaissance.
During the Republic, Roman sculpture included statues of officials, senators and military commanders as a way to celebrate a military or political achievement. These public portraits were full body or bust representations and always carried a detailed inscription about the subject's achievements. This use of portrait sculptures influenced commemorative sculpture in many modern-day societies. The Roman Republic also influenced the way the human body is represented in some modern-day sculptures, with more realistic and less idealized forms.
In addition to painted wall panels, mosaics were also a popular art form in wealthy homes during the Roman Republic. Mosaics were often placed on the floors and showed various patterns and themes, according to family social position and tastes, depicting pet animals, wild beasts, flowers, soldiers and goddesses. Mosaics were also popular in public buildings, where they often depicted battle scenes.
Epigrams or short poems were popular during the Roman Republic. These poems often ended with a clever twist or witty saying and were more satirical in comparison to Greek epigrams. When writing epigrams, poets could use obscene language to express their wit. Less educated common people also wrote epigrams, as a form of entertainment. Long epic poetry, comedies and tragedies were also popular during the Roman Republic and were often used to tell tales of distant conquered lands. These genres influenced the direction of European literature during the Renaissance, including the plays of Shakespeare.