Compare and Contrast Greece and Rome essay

Compare and Contrast Greece and Rome

Virgil

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Not all roads lead to it and it most definitely was not built in a day, but Rome stands out in our modern western culture as the grandest of all ancient civilizations. We see evidence of the Roman world all around us; in such things as our architecture, art and government. But despite its dominance in ancient world history and modern day culture, Rome is often judged in relation to that of its Greek predecessors. Like Virgil’s Aeneid, which attempted to outdo the colossus of Homers Odyssey, the Romans hoped to surpass the Greeks while at the same time borrowing from them heavily.

Both civilizations, in the end and like the characters in their most celebrated poets best works, share a tone of ironic tragedy as each state makes poor political choices, submits its citizens lives to fate through weakened leadership and splintered government and are eventually subsumed in the rushing historical tides of dislocation and war. In the following pages I will attempt to compare/contrast the religious, cultural, economic and political systems of ancient Greece and Rome.

Religion

The pantheon of Greek gods and goddesses in enormously complex as religious myths created by many communities over a long period of time and space is difficult to summarize in a paragraph. Generally, we can be comfortable in saying the Greeks were a polytheistic society with gods made in human form. In a way the Greeks ushered in a revolution in religion by believing gods could be like mortals. The world of Greek mythology, with Zeus at its head, and its PanHellenic deities shared the religious world with the occult and mysteries of omens and oracles. There were shrines for the oracles of Apollo at Delphi and there were ritual cults which re-enacted the processes of the passing of the seasons. The Roman practice of religious myth and cults derived from the eastern Greek tradition and were heavily influenced by the Greek gods and agricultural preoccupations. But as the republic matured and moved away from republicanism its religion became more eclectic and cosmopolitan. Each household was free to have a shine for its own god and each street corner its own idol. Of course this all changed as the emperor cults of Augustus and “mystery” religions floated through the empire, like Zoroastrianism and eventually Christianity, and proved to move the empire toward a monotheist religious order by the 4th century CE.

Culture and Language

Culture and language go together for both the Greeks and the Romans. A shared and common language developed around the Aegean sometime in the 8th century BCE. The peoples of the area we now call Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Crete, spoke the same language and this, together with a shared heritage of religion and myth made them Greek and created a common culture. This does not mean the people in the region were politically homogenous, at least in the early days.

The Roman republic did not begin to take shape and form until the 6th century BCE after the Latin speaking peoples of Latium (with Rome as its largest Etruscan city located on the south bank of the Tiber River) successfully revolted against the Etruscan monarchy. Romans were heavily influenced by Etruscan and Greek culture.

Economics and Politics

The economy and politics of Greece were extremely complex. Most importantly Greek commercial expansion through new trade markets around the Mediterranean with the non-Greek world made it possible for more men to purchase land and power. At the same time the concept of a polis (city) and demos (common people) and the idea of discussion of public choices and possible outcomes with collective concern were born in the city-state. Two of the most well-known to us today are Athens and Sparta, but there were many mo