The Greeks Influence on the Roman Empire

Rome brought a significant change to the world; the construction of a indicate network of roads connected to Europe and helped establish three governmental branches. Rome's role in the world is seen in the satirical Monty Pythons" Life of Brian". According to an old saying, "Rome was not built in a day". It took several years for Rome to be built by Greek. Rome succeeded as an empire through the influence of the Ancient Greek civilization. Rome adopted Greek concepts of knowledge in literature, art, architecture, and warfare, which positively impacted Rome. Ideas of warfare, Religion, literature, Education, and language and art played a significant role in developing future civilization. Greek was the center and founder of civilization in Rome. In this essay am going to discuss the period when Greek culture influenced the development of Roman civilization: Religion and mythology, Education and language, and Architecture with Art.  

Greece greatly influenced Roman in Religion. There were similarities in religious beliefs between Greek and Rome. Early Rome practiced a polytheistic system of worship, which comprised of gods and goddesses. Roman gods shared basic Greek gods' features, which proved how Greek contributed to Rome's well-being as an empire. Both sets of gods lived on Mt.Olympus in Greece. The gods' difference was that Greek gods were named after human and physical forms and traits, whereas Roman gods were named after objects and lacked physical appearance. The Roman god Neptune directly correlated to Poseidon Zeus, the Greek god. Some of the Roman gods shared similar names with those of Greek. Romans adopted Greek god Apollo" as a diet medicine and healing" (Bailey, 1932). The god maintained its behavior and was worshipped with Greek rites in the maintenance of the Greek name (Bailey,1932). Greeks importance on Roman's religious development was summarized with Cyril Bailey's statement: "it may be questioned whether Rome would ever have reached the full measure of anthropomorphism, had it not been for her contact, first indirectly, and then directly with Greek religious thought and conception" (Barley, 2015).

 Roman columns became more decorative features of the building as opposed to structural requirements. This is also an essential part of the Greeks' influence on Roman rule. Roman built houses and buildings, considering Greeks models of colonnades and rectangular designs. "Furniture, utensils, houses," and "colonnades" were Greek models ( Wedeck, 1929). The Roman church of Maison Carree is an influence of Greeks architecture. Greek and Roman deferred in architectural designs. Later, Roman incorporated concrete, Greeks design for construction, which resulted in enormous building Roman implemented "forms based on curves, and dome" (Spielvogel,2003). Greek architectural design was evident in every Roman structural work. At Colosseum, "on each level of the exterior, arches were framed by a series of decorative or engaged, columns displaying the three Greek orders: Doric as well as nic and Corinthian" (Fiero, 2015). With this massive influence of Greek art, the Romans engaged in a dramatic Hellenization process in their society. According to Jerome Pollitt, it was "inevitable that, as time went by, the Romans would begin not only to examine their artistic subtleties and differences but also to assess what their value was, if any, to Roman society." (Pollitt, 1978). Paintings in Roman were a result of Greeks knowledge. Greek morals inspired Roman in painting, which included scenes from "literature, mythology, and everyday life" (Fiero, 2015). 

Lastly, the Greek ideas of Education and language were of great importance to the Roman empire. Greek was the common language of the Eastern Mediterranean and Asia. Most of the lands ruled by Roman spoke Greek. Romans had to change their language to be in line with the rules of rhetoric. Most educated Romans spoke Greek, and hence Greek and Latin became two official languages in the Roman empire. Romans playwrights of Plautus and Terence were the outcome of Greeks literature. The slavery of Greek in Rome "were in high demand as tutors, musicians, doctors, and artists" (Spielvogel, 2003). Teachers taught in Greek ascent, which forced the Romans" upper class to learn Greek and Latin to prosper in the empire" (Spielvogel, 2003). Greek was seen as "master of philosophy and the arts" (Fiero,2015). Romans were much moved by the Greek's Education and language and practiced every part of it. 

In conclusion, ancient Greece played a massive role in the Roman empire's development. It is indeed true that Romans' success was adversely on Greeks. Education and language, architecture and art, and Religion demonstrated contributions made by Greek in Rome. Roman worked on Greek ideologies and thoughts in creating its powerful empire. Greek became dominant over Rome. If it were not for Greece, Rome would not have succeeded as it is and the world. Both Roman and Greek civilizations transformed the whole world and our homes. Rome became dominant in the whole world. Its location and reign allowed trade with the Mediterranean Sea. They created an infrastructure that was used as a tactic to describe themselves as a global superpower. Roman civilization has given great leaders to the world, along with rules and principles. 

Reference 

Bailey, M. D. (2006). Magic and Superstition in Europe: A concise history from antiquity to the present. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. 

Bailey, C. (1932). Phases in the religion of ancient Rome. Univ of California Press.

Berlin, J. A. (1981). A bibliography of rhetoric in England and America in the, nineteenth century: The primary sources. 

Fiero, G. (2015). Looseleaf for The Humanistic Tradition, Book 5: Romanticism, Realism, and the Nineteenth-Century World. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. 

Wedeck, H. E. (1929). The Roman attitude toward foreign influence, particularly toward the Greek influence during the republic. The Classical Weekly, 195-198. 

Spielvogel, J. J. (2003). World History. New York, NY: Glencoe. Lendon, J. E. (1999). The rhetoric of combat: Greek military theory and Roman culture in Julius Caesar's battle descriptions. Classical Antiquity, 18(2), 273-329. 

Pollitt, J. J. (1978). The impact of Greek art on Rome. Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-), 108, 155-174.