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Greek and Roman Society, Relationships

ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN CIVILIZATION

Ancient Greek and Roman civilization left an indelible stamp on history, including the areas of literature, politics and the state, architecture and art, religion and philosophy. As J. M. Roberts (88) comments, we must, however, trace the origins of society to Greece “The role of the Greeks was pre-eminent in making this world and with them its story must begin...The Greek search for excellence defined for later peoples what excellence was and their achievement remains difficult to exaggerate.” Yet, if it were not for the Roman and Arab civilizations that emerged around them, we might not know a great deal about the Greek contribution to society. When Rome conquered Greece, Romans were not unimpressed with many aspects of their culture and society which they readily adopted. For example, the Romans adopted the Greek system of education with a focus on the disciplines that are today embodied in the Liberal Arts curricula. This analysis will focus on three elements shared by both cultures which will help demonstrate the relationship between these two ancient civilizations: literature; gods (polytheism); the state.

The Roman arts, including plays, poems, sculpture, dance and architecture, mirrored their Greek counterparts. It is the transmission of these aspects of Greek culture that still find expression in modern society, from the philosophy of Plato and Socrates to our architecture, legal system and education. Yet, for all their borrowing, Rome did achieve new forms of literature not witnessed in Greek civilization “The Romans cultivated literary genres that had already been established by the Greeks—drama, poetry and historic narrative. They also developed new genres, including satire, and placed great importance on the art of rhetoric” (Roberts 50).

If we look at The Iliad, we can see what is meant by historical narrative. In The Iliad, we are treated to the fall of T...

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Greek and Roman Society, Relationships. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 08:12, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1685594.html