Greek Culture And Its Influence On Early Roman Culture

As the Greek and Roman empires ascended immensely throughout the western world, new ideas changed the way the Mediterranean Society handled things, which were spread across the globe. “The rise of the series of city-states of classical Greece began in the ninth century B.C.E. and during the late sixth century B.C.E, Rome’s development as a republic began as Etruscan society declined”(Bentley et al, 2008 p.132, 145). The development of these empires encouraged cultural circulation, blending the culture of the two empires into the land it conquered. As Greece and Rome gained more territory within the Mediterranean society, they began to progress toward a more civilized order of humanity. How were they alike? How were they different? How did

“Mythos”- a Greek word meaning “tale” and the origin of the word mythology; according to the dictionary mythology means, a traditional story aiming to explain the meaning of things concerning deities and demigods.

In examining the impact that the ancient world has had on modern Western civilization, the two ancient civilizations which are frequently understood as having had the greatest influence are Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. These two civilizations would eventually come to shape much of what would become the modern European culture, politics and society, and by extension, a vast proportion of global culture and society. In examining the trajectory of modern history in an era of globalization of Western ideas and modes of living, the importance of these civilizations in world history is extensive, contributing to cultural, political and social trends which may well dominate the globe in the future.

Western Europe. But how did this western way of life come to be? Their are many different

Ancient Greece is one of the most famous and important contributors to Western Civilization and the modern world. The Greek civilization only lasted around 4 centuries, but the Greeks civilization and ideas have formed and shaped the ideas and civilizations of the world for thousands of years. The Greeks strived for arête meaning being excellent in everything they do. The Greeks were in fact, excellent in everything they did. Greek culture is used as a reference for their democratic government, medicine, and sciences. Their literature, philosophy, architecture, math, science, arts, and religion are studied and used today all around the world. The Greeks were a very advanced culture, starting the first democratic government which most democratic countries studied to create their own government. They produce some of the most famous writers and philosophers, such as Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Socrates, Thales and more. Their mathematical theories and formulas are used in math classes around the world. Their architecture is still being used because some of their buildings still stand today and the beauty they were able to capture. They were great merchants, traders, and colonizers. The influences of Greek culture affected not only other cultures or civilizations but still impacting lives today. The Greeks were unique in the way they thought and in their actions. The advanced art and literature are being taught today in schools. Their philosophies are still being examined today.

The Roman Empire’s rise began before its coming into existence. Founded in 753 BCE on the Tiber River, Roman myths say that two brothers founded Rome. Rome “became known for its generosity, particularly toward refugees…” (35). Rome formed military alliances with other nations and tried to incorporate other Italian tribes such as the Etruscans and Umbrians into Roman society and culture. Rome was not harsh or cruel after they defeated their foes. They were like the Persians and offered a treaty with the conquered group. The groups

Some policies and institutions of the Roman Republic were useful to help them succeed in conquering first Italy and then the Mediterranean world. Before of the institution of the republic, the romans were a monarchy since their beginning and they were basically a pastoral people. Rome suffer several changes and improvements under the control of the Etruscan kings. The Etruscan were civilization settled north of Rome in Etruria, and they once had control over almost all the Italic peninsula. The Etruscans influences in Rome were profound, they transformed Rome from a pastoral community to a city (91). The Etruscan built the street and roads that help the development of temples, markets, shops, streets, and houses. They basically brought urbanization to Rome. It is fairly to say that the Rome republic was a fusion between the elements of the Etruscan civilization and the Rome elements. The combination of the different political institutions and policies made the Romans succeed in their conquest territories.

First of all, the Romans learned many rules on how to expand and to rule the large areas around them. Rome learned early on that it was very important to create alliances with surrounding cities in Italy.2 Rome became allies with the other Latin speaking cities of Latium.2 The Romans and their allies then took over the Etruscan city of Veii.2 The Romans learned that careful diplomacy was very useful in taking over larger areas.2 The Romans took a punch to the face in 389 B.C.E. Celts

Beginning in the eighth century B.C., Ancient Rome grew from a small town in the center of Italy near the Tiber River into an empire that, at its peak, defeated and conquered most of continental Europe, Britain, western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands. From the start, the Romans showed a talent for borrowing and improving upon the skills and concepts of other cultures.The Kingdom of Rome grew rapidly from a trading town to a prosperous city between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE. Among the many expansions of the Roman empire, they started to gain dominance over other well-known practices and were able to widespread the Romance languages derived from Latin, the modern Western alphabet and calendar, and the emergence of Christianity

With the rise of Alexander “The Great” begins the Hellenistic Age which is used to describe a time which Greek culture spread to places like Egypt and Asia. Due to this Greek culture had changed from what it was during Classical Greece as they were able to achieve much more with this new diverse culture. The Classical Age of Greece is known for its work in philosophy and the arts. The work of Greek philosophers of this time such Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle cannot go unnoticed in these contexts as their accomplishments still have lasting effects on our world today. Along with the great work of these philosophers, came other great works in architecture and drama. Beginning in 448 B.C. Pericles began the construction of the Acropolis,

Being that Rome grew to be one of the largest empires in the ancient world; it is important to note their accomplishments such as, political, social, cultural, and religious institutions and the other technologies and developments before

Classical Greek culture had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire, which carried a version of it to many parts of the Mediterranean region and Europe. Greek culture influenced the development of Roman civilization because at first Rome absorbed ideas from Greek colonists in southern Italy, and they continued to borrow from Greek culture after they conquered Greece. Ancient Greece has had an enormous amount of impact on culture in the western world. For this reason, Classical Greece is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western civilization. Rome conquered the Greek empire and its civilization, but Greek culture conquered imperial Rome. Furthermore, the Romans willingly

After their conquest, Rome became the greatest power in the world and was able to lead all the cities that were under their control. As she saw her power grew up, she was ambitious and avaricious against their conquests. In that way, their civilization was mostly those of the Greece because before Rome subdued Greece she was humanized by the Greece, so the Greek culture was affiliated to Rome. Not only their culture but some ideas were attributed to Rome as well. Morey said “The Romans adopted the Greek ideas and stories regarding the gods; and their worship became more showy and elaborate”(Morey, n.d).

Greek culture had an astounding impact on Roman civilization once the Roman Empire expanded and a new appreciation for Greek art was acquired through the plundering of Greek cities. The reflection of Greek myths can be found in Ancient Roman religious beliefs and this influence can be seen in various forms of Roman art. One Greek myth, which was first recorded in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, was that of “The Death of Actaeon” and this myth can be found not only on Greek art, such as vases, but also in Roman art including one example that includes a depiction of the myth on a sarcophagus that is on display in the Louvre. Sarcophagi include art, many depicting myths, that are thought to have some thematic appeal to the commissioners and thus we can

Greek influences on Western Civilizations Western civilization would not have been the society we know today without the many influences from ancient Greeks. Greek civilization came to an end more than 2,000 years ago, when Greece became part of the Roman empire. Yet its influence on politics, philosophy, art, architecture, language and literature were still present. Much of the language we use and many of our ideas about science and art come from ancient Greece. Greece has influenced the Western World in many ways.