Why The Greeks Influenced Roman Culture

Thesis: The Greek influence of outstanding culture, gods, and their beautiful art to the Romans’ they took this inspiration on to their own creation. Both ancient build devotion to their gods they would bring the most precious things to them temples, however, they would focus on making large empire to rule and to take control of their city-states.

Greece is much accredited for their influence on Roman art. Greek influence spread throughout Sicily and Italy by the end of the 4th century. Greek artists were hired by Romans and ultimately the Romans adopted many of their techniques. Art for the Romans took on a completely new dimension than had for any other culture in the past. Art to them was for decoration. No longer was art a medium to express religion or love for one’s country.

The artwork I chose for the Classical Greece period is the Erechtheion, an architectural building interestingly using six maidens as support columns. Through studies of the architectural history of this piece, Michael Lahanas suggests that the temple was constructed as “a complex design that supposed to represent the legendary contest between Poseidon and Athena for guardianship of the city of Athens” (Lahanas). The relationship between the art and the culture of the related civilization depicts through its purpose as a temple. Some articles suggest that the temple was a place where worship occurred for both Poseidon and Athena; the structure

Romans borrowed Greek gods and myths, the Greek alphabet, Greek literature, and Greek architecture and incorporated them into Roman culture.

The first part of culture that the Romans adopted was the Greek art. Scores of Greek paintings were stolen from Greece and imported into the Roman Empire. Roman artists began adopting the Greek style of art, from the emotional intensity to the great detail. “In many cases, it is very difficult to distinguish between Hellenistic

Sutton, Susan Buck“ Culture of Greece.” Every Culture. Avameg, Inc, 2017. Web. 17 Feb. 2017.

Art was a big thing for both Greek and Roman culture. There were many sculptures made in both cultures. There were probably more sculptures made in Greek culture than in Roman. The sculptures were made very well. They had excellent shapes and curves in the sculptures. They held up for a very long

Despite being fierce rivals on the battlefield, Greece had a great impact on many of the aspects that made Rome such a strong and beautiful empire. “Conflict between the two powers [Greece and Rome] arose in the 3rd century as Roman expansion in South Italy and Sicily encroached on Greek colonies located there” (“Greece and Rome”). “Agelaos of Naupaktos… spoke of the urgent need for peace, stating that ‘for if the cloud rising in the west should reach Greece, we shall be praying heaven to give us back the chance to call our very quarrels our own”’ (“Greece, History of” 2: 111-128). Peace was never reached; Greece and Rome continued to fight over territory until the official end of Greek civilization in 146 B.C. with their defeat at Corinth (“Greece, History of” 2: 111-128). Despite this defeat, their constant contact with Roman civilization over hundreds of years ensured their civilization would never truly die. As the Greeks and Romans exchanged land, goods, and ideas with each other, many of the most important parts of Greek civilization become a part of Rome’s identity as well. The aesthetics of Greece, specifically the art, architecture, and literature, may have had the most significant influence of all on Roman culture. Ancient Greece greatly impacted the aesthetics of the Roman Empire.

“Greek civilization is alive; it moves in every breath of mind that we breathe; so much of it remains that none of us in one lifetime could absorb it all.” Ancient Greeks are known to be one of the greatest and most advanced people and have left behind a legacy that helped define the Western civilization. Cultural diffusion helped spread Greek culture all over the world, and its effects can still be felt today in almost every aspect. Greek culture has greatly affected different parts of my daily life including architecture, food, government, inventions, music, religion, and education.

The Hellenistic civilization marked an important time in Greek culture. This was the period between 323 and 31 BC, at one point the Greek society changed from being withdrawn and localized to an aggressive multinational, unprotected, and eager culture that infused together southwest Asia and eastern Mediterranean. The Hellenistic world involved many different people but the Greeks’ thinking and way of life influenced most of the matters.1 Every aspect related to culture followed the beliefs of the Greeks and this led to the Greek language becoming established, as the official language of this area. The following arguments are centralized around

During the expansion of Rome the citizens of Greek greatly impacted the Roman culture. This particular Culture was based on entertainment, and the importance of celebration. They entertain themselves by watching plays, circuses and fighting. The Romans were very talented architects (Whittaker, 1). The culture of Rome has many values and tradition like no other, and they all came from Greek (Whittaker, 1). This shows the roots of Rome mostly came from Greek, the Greek also had an impact on the Romans culture. They created the kind of people the Romans are today and the activities they take

Ancient Greek history has played a vital role in cultures throughout time. From its neighbors in Europe to all the way across the Atlantic, ancient Greece has influenced many nations. From United States to Canada to Mexico, the influence of Greece can still be seen today. While the influence of ancient Greece is grand, there was one place that was so enamored by the Greek way of life, that they seemingly adopted it as its own. The culture of ancient Rome so closely mirrors that of ancient Greek society that it is not uncommon to mix the two up. Since the Roman Empire did not flourish until after the Greek downfall, it is known that the Romans were directly influenced by the Greeks. Assimilation Of Greek cultural traditions created a bizarre situation, in which Rome was culturally Greek, but it was culturally unique, as it still retained influences from early Italians. While it is obvious that the Romans were influenced by the Greeks, one may wonder when this cultural assimilation of Greek culture began. The Roman conquest of Greece was a period in time where The Romans and the Greeks were at war and how eventually Greece became one of the first provinces of the emerging Roman Empire.

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,

Focusing on two of history’s most notorious mythologies, Greek and Roman, one may believe that they are exceedingly comparable; however, beyond a first glance, it is clear that each system is extremely distinguished. The Roman Empire, developed nearly a millennia following the great, Greek Trojan war, was highly influenced by the elaborate Greek myths of gods, goddesses, monsters, and mythical creatures. Their captivation of Greek culture bore a permanent effect on the Roman Empire, as Rome adopted much that defined Greece, including its art, philosophy, literature, drama, and most importantly, mythology. However, despite their indistinguishable origins, Roman and Greek mythologies prove to be very individualized.

When one thinks of Roman architecture, many things come to mind, such as arches, columns, statues, and richly covered surfaces in marbles. One must stop to think that this empire, which gained power and influence in the first century BC, must have been influenced from the thousands of years of cultures preceding them in order to create their masterpieces of ingenuity. This phenomenon can be seen in our borrowing of ideas of ancient Greece and Rome for the construction of our capitol buildings in the United States. The Romans surely considered design principles of other cultures when developing their buildings, since daily conquests of new lands opened Roman soldiers’ eyes to innovations from the great vastness of their empire. This