Discuss how much of Roman society and thought were Greek in origin. We might say that when Greece was conquered by Rome, it was Greece who civilized Rome (Morey, 1901). The Rome's conquest exemplifies how Athens of Greece was determined to the expansion of territory prominently influenced Rome, the conquest tycoon of foreign territories. The military might of Rome was illuminated similarly to Sparta’s indigenous of war battles. In Etruscans, the architectural designs of building arches influenced the structures of Roman prominent buildings existed today. Finally, Rome influenced were seen in Rome’s new ideas of religion and philosophy, literature, and art, which were adopted from Greeks of Athens. Roman Religion and Philosophy In the earliest period of Rome, the state of religion was the …show more content…
supreme triad—Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus. When Greece was captured by the third century B. C, the old Roman deities were equated with the Greek gods and enriched with the Greeks attributes and myths. For instance, the Dionysus' worship and Apollo were brought to Rome. Another example was the Greek Olympus, where Rome adopted for ideas and stories regarding their gods. Thus, the Roman religion transformed into paganism, which was against the old belief of Roman honor and virtue. In philosophy, the Romans were more interested in learning the Greek philosophy. Some citizens studied Stoics, who wanted to preserve the simplicity and strength of the old Roman character. Contrary to the Stoics was the study of Epicureans, an idea to justify a life of pleasure and luxury. Roman Literature When Rome took control of Greece, it’s inhabitants were taken as slaves. Some slaves worked in the fields and some were displaced to Roman households, where they were treated better. Thereupon, the Greeks taught the Romans how to write poems, comedy scripts, and history. Namely, Andronicus, a Greek slave, wrote about Latin poems as an imitation of Homer. Another, Naevius, a native Italian, who incorporated the Greek literature of tragedies into the Roman literature, thus he wrote about the First Punic War. Also, Ennius, who taught the Greek language to the Romans and wrote a book called “Annals”, which was about Rome's history. Likewise, Plautus and Terence were Roman's comedy writers who adapted the Greek literature. Lastly, Fabius Pictor, who wrote Rome's history in the Greek language. Roman Art By 146 B.C., Greek artists settled in Rome, where they had influenced on the wide-range of Roman art (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2012). Eventually, the Romans collected Greeks’ work of arts, decorated their buildings with Greek-style columns and ornaments, thus preserving the art of Greeks. In my opinion, Rome was an insignificant but a clever student of great teachers of Carthage and Greece, who transformed Rome into a superpower.
The resourceful Rome benefited from Carthaginian’s genius of constructing supreme quality of naval ships that led to the fall of the Carthaginian Empire validating their superpower nature. Furthermore, it was Greece who civilized Rome, who adapted the Greeks influence on literature, religion, philosophy, and Art. Although no previous mention of Greece, the founder of a democratic government, adopted by the Roman Republic, which the citizens could vote for their leaders in the Assembly. Therefore, it was evident that the basic foundation of the Roman society and thoughts were originated by the Greeks. RESOURCES The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. (2012). Roman Religion. Influence of Greek and Middle Eastern Culture. Retrieved on October 10, 2015, from http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/society/roman-religion-influence-greek-middle-eastern-culture.html Morey, C.W. (1901). Outlines of Roman History. Chapter 18-Rome as a World Power. Retrieved on October 11, 2015, from
http://www.forumromanum.org/history/morey18.html
From 500 AD to 500 B.C, during the classical era, Rome and Greece, developed and settled along the Mediterranean Sea. Within these 1000 years, both Rome and Greece went through multiple transitions of power and struggled to maintaining peace. America learned from Greece and Rome’s mistakes and evolved into a more successful version of the two civilizations. The two civilizations did not only teach United States, but they also influenced American culture and infrastructure. Although Greece contributed to many elements of modern day America, Rome had a larger influence on America through the use of democracy, economy, and advancement in culture.
Luttwak, Edward. The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire: from the First Century A.D. to the Third. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1979. Print.
Morey, William C. "Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 19." Forum Romanum. 1901. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. .
Morey, William C. "Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 26." Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 26. American Book Company, 1901. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. .
It is always important to look to the past in order to move towards the future. This was done in the formation of Western Society, and more specifically the formation of American society. The Greek culture served as a frame of reference for many aspects of Western life including government, architecture, math and the arts. Ancient Greek culture served as a very broad base for our society to be built upon.
Roman vs. Greek Civilization Although both Roman and Greek civilizations shared similarities in the areas of art and literature, their differences were many and prominent. Their contrasting aspects rest mainly upon political systems and engineering progress, but there are also several small discrepancies that distinguish between these two societies. This essay will examine these differences and explain why, ultimately, Rome was the more advanced civilization of the two. Greece, originally ruled by an oligarchy ("rule of the few"), operated under the premise that those selected to rule were selected based not upon birth but instead upon wealth.
Dio, Cassius. "Roman History - Book 50." 17 June 2011. University of Chicago. 31 October 2011 .
Rome was a major power because it always made certain its own military prowess was preeminent. There have been many ideas presented as to the fall of the Roman Empire. Many believe that Rome declined morally and the violence and decadence of the societal norms led to the demise. Gibbons has been credited with the theory of the influence and transference of Christianity over the Roman system of Gods and Goddesses that perpetrated the fall. Another theory lays the blame at the feet of the Emperor, that the happiness of the people and the functioning of the government was directly correlated with the personal merit and management skills of the reigning authority. This 10 page paper argues that the imperialistic tendencies of Rome over time and the pre-eminence of military expansionism in the latter stages, was the deciding feature of the "fall". Bibliography lists 7 sources.
Western Europe. But how did this western way of life come to be? Their are many different
The Romans adoption of the Greek culture allowed for them to improve upon their own beliefs and make the Greek culture more profitable for the Roman Empire. This cultural exchange, then helped the Romans advance in their community to become one of the greatest empires of that time. We know the Romans for their beautiful art, their outstanding architecture, even for their form of government but none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for the adaptation of the Greek culture, because their art and their architecture was an establishment from the Greeks that the Romans took. If it wasn’t for the Romans taking up the culture from the Greeks then there would not have been a possibility for the Roman Empire to have even expand and spread to the point where other cultures would have also adopted to the customs of the Romans, or make the Roman empire well known. Because of this, Romans were now open to new ideas that expanded their way of thinking and allowed their empire to expand with great power. From the structure of their government, education, and even industrialization this cultural exchange with the Greeks allowed the Romans to create a successful development of their Empire.
Heichelheim, Fritz, Cedric A. Yeo, and Allen M. Ward. A History Of The Roman People. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1984.
"Rome, History of Ancient Rome From Its Founding To Collapse." World History International: World History Essays From Prehistory To The Present. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. .
Retrieved from: http://anonemuss.hubpages.com/hub/Greek-Influences-today Damerow, H. (2006, May). Retrieved from: http://faculty.ucc.edu/egh-damerow/romans.htm Kreis, S. (2000). Lecture 7 Classical Greece, 500-323 BC. Retrieved from: http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture7b.html Sakoulas, Thomas. (2002).
“The Greeks molded the mind of Western Civilization, if not the body and the culture” (PowerPoint #6). The Greeks had a very powerful impact on the entire world, making them a huge influence to Western culture. The Greeks showed their power over the world by their great intellect. Through their accomplishments in art, architecture, government, philosophy, education, and science they helped shape Western Civilization. They built strong and intricate buildings, allowing others to see throughout history the plan of the architecture used. The Greek government was one of the first to have a Democracy. Their ac...
It was not until Rome conquered the small Greek society, Tarentum, in 272 B.C. that they could see the importance of being intellectuals (Dobson 92). This contact with Greek culture allowed Romans to employ the Greek values of education that could be observed within this small culture (Dobson 92).