After Rome become the greatest and powerful nation between (300 – 200 BCE ) and conquered many lands and provinces, that makes Rome contact with many new cultures, languages, religions, and thoughts. But the most foreign influences come from Greece which was conquered by Rome, but Greece had the upper hand to civilized the Roman society in many domains like philosophy, literature, art, and even of her religion. As they said, " when Greece was conquered by Rome, Rome was civilized by Greece." ( Morey, 1901, Ch. 18).
The Roman Religion
Roman religion considerably changed since they adopted the Greece ideas and God stories which conveyed from Greek Olympus to Italy and changed the old Roman religion that was depending on the worship of exalted
Romans adapted to the greek religion in many ways. They started to worship the gods and
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
The Romans firstly came into contact with Greek culture during the conquest of Magna Graecia, which was the Southern part of Italy, as well as Sicily. Greek had settled in theses regions since the VIII century BC, and so when the Italians conquered these parts of Italy, they sure were influenced by this new and foreign culture. When the ancient Greek Empire fell into the hands of the Romans, they took Greek slaves, some of whom ended up as tutors in noble Roman families. This educational influence, led, of course, to a strong cultural influence from Greece to the Roman world. Horace (65-8 BC), a Latin writer, noticed the irony of this situation and said: “Captive Greece conquered her savage victor.”
The Greek and Roman religions were the two major religions that were established in the ancient world. Greek religion was the first to be recognized and instituted, followed by the Roman religion. Many people believed that the Romans mimicked the Greek religion; however this was a common misconception, even though they appeared to be the same there are many distinctions between the Romans and the Greeks. Even the similarities between the two religions had slight distinctions, like their gods, they had similar functions but some of their gods were completely unique to one culture (Ferguson 154). Roman religion also had different concepts like religio, ideas about afterlife and gods that emphasis on household religion. The Romans integrated certain aspects of Greek religion into their own practices, they also maintained their own ideas which made it unique and separated the Romans from the Greeks.
The Roman adoption of Greek culture and arts started via the Greek colonies sometime c 700 BC; yet it was intensified in the late Third and Second Millennium BC, when expansion into the Hellenistic world 'opened Roman eyes ' to the hitherto unregarded aspects of the mesmerizing
Ancient Rome It’s hard to believe that something from so long in the past, can have such huge impact on society today, but Ancient Rome has affected today’s civilization for the better. The brilliant Romans created so many new inventions and ideas that advanced humanity as a whole. Ancient Rome was a time where society grew more advanced culturally, scientifically, and architecturally, and these advancements still greatly affect people today. Rome was a great empire that for hundreds of years, and it was a very prosperous time in which many innovations and ideas were created. Rome began in the 753 BC, and fell in 476 AD, that means it lasted for about 1,300 years (12,13).
The thoughts and practices of the Romans had little need for Greek culture, art, literature or philosophy. Their desire lay in the interest of the conquered land and riches, however, as the lands were conquered and plundered, they became influenced by the ideas of Greek art, religion and philosophy. The Romans added to their slavery pool whenever they conquered land, in doing so, would force some of the educated Greek citizens into slavery with their tasks being to teach their children or write their books. Some of the Roman's author's were Caesar for writing "Commentaries on Gallic War", Catullus for writing about beauty and grace, and philosopher Lucretius (50 BC) who wrote, "Yet neither is anything so easy, but
At the beginning of chapter six, we learn that the Greek and Roman societies had a lot of things in common. The Romans self-sufficiently became a highly distinctive civilization, but with a great inspiration from the Greeks. I believe they could have accomplished this task on their own without any influence from the Greeks, but they were a great influence because they went through many comparable challenges. The Romans were better equipped to handle any problematic task that they were faced with and because of this, the Romans persevered, unlike the Greeks, the Romans were able to create the lives that they imagined. The last Roman king, Tarquin The Arrogant, was expelled by the Romans.
Ancient Roman civilization was impacted and influenced by Greek culture. One area of influence from the Greeks was Roman religion or mythology. They used many of the Greeks myths and legends and adapted them to fit within Roman society. Their system was based on a trust between them and the gods. This involved the need for them to try to secure the goodwill and peace of the gods.
When the Romans conquered Greece, not only did they discover that the Greeks had much to offer, but the Romans eventually adopted and built upon many of the Greek traditions. In terms of religion,
The majority of their gods were from the Greek culture, but the Romans changes their names to make it their own. The Greek Zeus became the Roman Jupiter, but he still was the god of the sky. The Romans still worshipped similar to the Greeks where a sacrifice was offered, worshipped in temples, but the Romans held more festivals than the Greeks did. Unlike Greece, where there was only one main religion, in Rome at this time, other religions were starting to develop. Christianity had begun to be preached in Rome and they were gaining congregations.
The Roman conquest of the Greek East resulted in the beginning of a substantial period of acculturation. At the time, the Roman city-state was considered relatively primitive, however, upon having taken the Greek East, took much from Hellenistic culture. The successful conquest of this region demonstrated the military and economic superiority of Rome over Greece. The fact that a younger nation, that of Rome, was capable of conquering a more ancient civilization demonstrated the rapid military progress realized by the nation.
The culture in Ancient Rome has a massive impact on our society today, it influenced our sports, language, government, technology, etc.
Religion is one of the defining aspects of pre-modern era, and in none more evident than ancient Greece and rome. Both Greece and Rome had different beliefs and rituals. In ancient Greece, one of their most important beliefs was that “the gods existed, they could influence human affairs, and they welcomed and responded to acts of piety and worship” (Cartwright 1). The fact that religion was a major part in their day to day lives was also evident in their plethora of temples scattered across the southern Balkan Peninsula, some of the most notable being the Temple of Artemis, the Erechtheion, the Temple of Zeus, and the Parthenon. Ancient Greeks sacrificed animals and burnt offerings to appease the gods, and called upon them in time of war. Romans were also polytheistic, adopting many of the gods of Greece and other nearby civilizations (Wasson 1). Even though Rome adopted some of the Greek gods, they still remained two different religions. Roman religion was far more strict than Greek religion. In Rome, obeying a strict set of rituals was far more important than your individual
Western civilization was the birthplace of Ancient Greek Culture (Athens University 2010). Many magnificent achievements in areas of government, science, philosophy and the arts that still influence our lives produce Ancient Greece (Athens University 2010). Continuing most notably into Classical Greece, through the influence of the Roman Empire and its successor the culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in Mycenaean Greece (World Book Advance 2012). The Persian also left an influence on the Greek culture as well. The Roman Civilization came into the picture around the 6th century BC. Romans conquered and over one of the biggest chunks of land in the era. According to Rome Wikipedia the period of the ancient Roman civilization, the post-Roman Republic was characterized by government and headed by emperors and large territorial holdings around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, Africa and Asia.