...The Ancient Greeks and Romans both began their histories as city-states. While the irregular coastline and the mountainous terrain of the Greek peninsula isolated the various Greek city-states from one another, the city of Rome was located in the geographical middle of a generally north-south plain bordered on the east with mountains and on the west by the sea. Therefore, Rome was exposed to the migrations and invasions of people from the Po River in the north and Sicily in the south. The two primary ethnic and cultural influences upon the Romans were determined to a degree by this geography. That is, the first influence was that of the Etruscans in the north, and the second major influence was that of the Greeks in the south. By the time the city-state of Rome had emerged as a distinct entity out of its Etruscan origins and was prepared to expand its own unique influence, Greek civilization had spread throughout the Mediterranean basin. However, the fierce exclusiveness of the Greek city-states from one another, stemming from their geographical isolation, had determined that Greek colonization of the Mediterranean would be an extension of isolated city-states. The Greek polis did not permit the building of a Greek empire, and the strict barriers to the extension of citizenship prevented any one city-state from becoming dominant. As we have seen from Greek history, the Athenians were on the way to creating an empire through their domination of the Delian League, but this trend...
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...Greco-Roman Influence Cory Martin World Civilization 1 ABG1143A Lisa Burgin October 31, 2011 Greco-Roman Influence The cultural fundamentals of Greek philosophy helped shape the Roman Republic and the empire they ruled. Under both the Greeks and the Romans, the Mediterranean basin became much more tightly integrated than before as both societies organized commercial exchange and sponsored interaction throughout the region ( Bently, Ziegler & Street 2008). The Mediterranean basin, North Africa, parts of Asia and much of Europe was dominated by the Romans at the height of their rule. Five hundred years before B.C.E., until five hundred years after C.E., the Roman Empire was one of the most flourishing empires of its time and era. The Greeks and the Roman government differed greatly. One difference was that the Romans shared their citizenship and became alliances with conquered countries, which allowed them to trade with Rome, have roman spouses and even become citizens of Rome. They also allowed them to run their internal government without the Roman government taking over. These types of well-liked changes allowed Rome to become the most powerful influences of their time. The Roman government, the wars they fought and the religion they believed in, all had influences on their territories and the world as it is today. Shaping of Wars Wars have always been a part of shaping countries. Wars that the Greeks and the Romans ran throughout their empires and conquering...
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...Greek and Roman Comparison Lisa Lain HIS275CA June 1, 2015 Zachary Lenz Greek and Roman Comparison The Greek and Roman empires were very important to the history of the world. With their empires came religions and philosophies. While their religions were much different, both the Greeks and the Romans turned to Christianity at some point. Their philosophies were also quite different. They each studied the building blocks of the universe and created their own theories. With any empire come societal struggles. Both the Greek and Roman empires dealt with such struggles but the main aspect of the struggles varied. Territorial expansion was very important in both the Greek and the Roman empires. They both sought out to find more land and fought for the land they found through wars and battles. Trade and commerce were a major contribution to both empires as well. While both empires traded different things both within their empires, they also traded outside of it. The Roman and Greek civilizations also dealt with a decline in civilization. The reasoning behind their declines was different, but both empires contributed to their own decline. Religions and Philosophies While the Greek and Roman religions differed greatly, they both turned to Christianity at one point. In the beginning religions, the Greeks and Romans alike believed in many gods. Each of these gods was believed to be a god of certain events. Both the Greek and the Romans worshipped their gods at temples...
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...Unit 1 Introduction to Humanities Individual Project Tenisha Greene HUMA215-1101B- AIU Online Instructor Marek McKenna, MA August 25, 2012 Differences and Similarities Early Greece Early Rome |The Greeks were responsible for various temples and such sculptures as the Parthenon, the temple at| |The Roman empire built some of the grandest structure amongst all other early civilizations. | |Hephaestus, and the concert hall Odeon. The three architectural styles the Greeks used to build | |The Romans built aqueducts, the amphitheaters, the coliseum, walls, temples, cathedrals, | |structures were Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. These styles were used to create palaces, sculptures,| |tombs, sculptures, pottery, and clay terra cotta statues. The Romans specialized in arched | |art, and jewelry. During the archaic times the Greek culture made grade stride with their | |entrances and columns. The three architectural styles the Romans used to build structures | |sculptures, pottery and clay terra cotta statues. | |were Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. | | | ...
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...determines your destiny.” The Romans inherited a cornucopia of knowledge from the Greeks and Hellenistic cultures in the Mediterranean, such as architecture, strategies of war, politics and the humanities to name a few. However what the Romans had that the Greeks didn’t was extreme self-discipline and organizational skills and when they opened their minds and allowed themselves to be less dogmatic, more artistic and more inclusive they were able to conquer the world. Since we have limited space in which to make our point, we will use religion, philosophy, politics and art in which to illustrate the magnitude of the influence of the Greeks and the Hellenistic cultures on the Romans. The Hellenistic times were a period of questioning our purpose in this world, why things happen, and what transpires after death. Consequently philosophers from many perspectives became popular and presented people with answers and a multitude of options that were being derived from all the Hellenistic societies surrounding the Romans. The political systems inherited from the Greeks became the inspiration for the Roman Empire’s republic and has become the cornerstone of democracies around the world today. Greek and Hellenistic art became the largest influence on every single aspect of Roman life, including their weapons, fashion and home decor. Professor Weber clearly gives the impression that the Romans “conspicuous consumption” was not a positive after effect of the Roman conquests because it changed...
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...touch tangible artwork. The artwork has also captured the history and lifestyle of that time. Art History has also expressed its social and political events that happened during that time. This gives the present person a good understand on what events took place during that era. Some of the most prominent artwork of the western civilization is Greek, Etruscan and Roman art. That historical artwork has paved the way for modern art to have a place in art history world. I will compare and contrast the Greek, Etruscan and Roman characteristic and traits of its historical artwork. During the Geometric and Orientalizing art in the 900-600 BCE, the human shape returned to Greek art in the structure of bronze statuettes and simple silhouettes and other motifs on Geometric vases. One art example is the Dipylon krater, Athens, ca 740 BCE. During the Archaic Art, 600-480 BCE the earliest real-life stone statues appeared in Greece. The first Greek kouroi copied the frontal poses of early Egyptian statues, however designed the young men nude the same way that the men competed in the Ancient Olympics. In the beginning of the early 6th century BCE, Greek sculptors recreated the magnitude of the shapes and included “Archaic smiles” to their faces to make them more human-like. An example of Archaic Art is Kroisos, kouros from Anavysos, 530 BCE. During the early and High Classical Art, ca 480-400 BCE it was considered as the Golden Age of Greece. During the early classical period sculptors set...
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...Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire is the eastern Greek portion of the Roman Empire, sometimes termed the Later or Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine Greeks presented themselves as Romans and their Empire as the Roman Empire. They perceived themselves as the prolongation of the Roman Empire and on no account utilized the term "Byzantine" to present themselves (Frucht, 2004). For the reason of administration, Diocletian (who ruled about 284-305) segmented the dominion of the empire among four emperors. He administered the eastern part of the empire (McMeans & Teacher Created Resources, 2010). The Empire was reunified in 324 when, conquered all his foes, and became the dominant authority of the entire empire. The Byzantine Empire may then be dated to Constantine's development of a second capital; that he modelled on Rome, at Byzantium (Frucht, 2004). So from the establishment of this city as a second Rome, the division of east from west was developed, and the east soon came out as the prevailing half. In 330, Constantine the Great relocated the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople. There were a few reasons for that; one was that the city was a splendid defensive position. Secondly it approached the wealthy Eastern cities of the Empire and was close to the Military outposts edge with the Empire's principal rival, Persia (Frucht, 2004). Constantine also endorsed the initiation of Christianity from Constantinople. The eastern section of the Empire talked Greek as its...
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...1. Roman Verism was often used by the Romans in marble sculptures of heads. Verism, often described as "warts and all", shows the imperfections of the subject, such as warts, wrinkles and furrows. “The beautiful head of the Buddha, with its expression of deep repose, was also made in the frontier region of Gandhara. (Gombrich, E.H. The Story of Art. 97. Print.)” “This attention to realistic detail almost exaggerating the effect of aging on people is a characteristic of Roman sculpture (Watson, Mark. "Part I." Week 4 Lecture. .Lecture.). 2. “Through the course of Roman history was a transition of a republican model of government to a vast empire that conquered the entire Mediterranean and invested a great deal in one man, an emperor (Watson, Mark. “Part I." Week 4 Lecture. .Lecture.). Victory columns and triumphal arches depict this power and stability of the empire and can be categorized as t. Triumphal arches were monumental symbolic arches built over the top of Main Street and the Roman Empire. “The triumphal arches use the orders frame and accent the large central gateway and to flank it by narrow openings. It was an arrangement that could be used for architectural composition much as a chord used in music (Gombrich, E.H. The Story of Art. 94. Print.)” Victory columns. The victory columns were columns that were put up to show their victories in various wars. The columns were representation of more modern architecture. You can literally step inside from the bottom through...
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...The Ancient Greek and Roman Empires began their histories as city-states. The early empires cultures were very much similar, yet unique. Both had an influence on the Western world. Rome conquered many areas around the Mediterranean Sea. It grew into a huge empire because of how it dealt with the cities they conquered. Unlike most, when a city is defeated they are extracted from the land but Rome offered the defeated people citizenship. Often when the people became citizens, they actually joined the Roman army. Greece was conquered in 146 B.C. They became united with Rome by force. Their culture and philosophy were more advanced and taught the Greeks many things. The Romans soon discovered that the Greeks had much to offer such as knowledge, art, architecture and traditions. The Romans built upon and adopted some of these traditions. In many ways, these two empires were similar. Each of these relied on an agricultural economy. Greece relied on the cultivation of olives and grapes and traded these with foreigners for abundant supplies of grain and supplies needed to survive. The Romans cultivated wheat and grain and other food. They also indulged in trade mostly with neighbors while the Greeks traveled abroad. In both Roman and Greek cultures, the women were responsible for the home and family but their freedoms were different. They also believed that women should not have the same political rights as men (Christian Standard and A Brief Peek at Ancient Greece and Egypt)...
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...The name Babylon means “Gate of God”. The location of the ancient city was along the Euphrates River and today is marked by a long stretch of ruins east of the river. Which is ninety kilometers south of Baghdad, Iraq. This was one of the main trading points of the ancient world because of its central location. Some important events that happened there are things that have shaped the way we live today and we still use the 24 hour day they created this form of counting has survived for four thousand years. Another important event that happened there was the building of the tower of Babel the people built this tower to try and reach Heaven. It was most likely that the tower was used as a place of worship and to create a common religious Centre, Gods only merciful alternative was to separate the people into different languages and countries to disable there plans. Because he had also promised himself never to destroy the earth with floods again because of the disobedience of mankind. So the punishment was quite mild compared to the global flood. “Archaeologists have dreamed of finding the ruins of the tower but have been unsuccessful. There may be biblical evidence as to why they have not found this tower of extreme significance” (Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas) The story is much more than God simply interrupting a building project but it marks the origins of the languages and nations of the earth. “Babylon is even home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, The Hanging Gardens...
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...power from the history of science. According to this theory all the theoretical and philosophical foundations of all the sciences we know were done by the Greek philosophers during their time, Greek philosophers such as Aristotle and Socrates are given the credit for most of these things. Then came the Dark Age and during which nothing much happened and then came the days of the Renaissance during which the European countries took initiative and did major contributions to science by doing the practical applications and proving the philosophical concepts of the Greek philosophers. These include the works of people like Einstein and Newton. This theory is the theory which is supported by the western textual sources and sources like Wikipedia. The alternative theory provided to us by Professor CK Raju, which says is that the Origins of western history of science and not Greek. According to this theory all sciences are universal and if so it does not make for all of them to be found and discovered by one very small group of people. This theory is much more realistic and easy to believe then the one we have been following and I would choose this theory over the Wikipedia theory to be the truth. This theory says that during the days of the Greeks they got the knowledge they claim to be theirs through barbaric incursion. The Greek cities were...
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...blended together to create vast empires. These cultures relied upon each other in mutually beneficial interactions and exchanges. Sometimes, the refusal to accept diversity leads to conflict. Diversity of culture has impacted many of the past’s greatest empires. Among the empires, the Byzantine and the Mongol are perfect examples of diverse culture due to their capabilities of spreading ideas and trade internationally and in exchange for resulting achievements much more beneficial towards them. The Byzantine Empire, although, was deeply influenced by the Roman administration after being the eastern region of the Roman Empire before the split, it also contained Greek elements due to the majority of Greek speaking citizens. The Byzantine Empire served to preserve Roman and Greek culture, allowed the spread of new religion and achievements through cultural diffusion. When the western region of the Roman Empire collapsed in 475, libraries and places of literature were destroyed under the chaos and much of the records kept by the civilization were lost. The eastern half managed to become an independent empire of its own, known today as; The Byzantine Empire. As a result, the Byzantine alone served to preserve the Roman and Greek culture in place of the diminishing western region. Among the preservation saved by Emperor Justinian, the ones that became most significant were the Roman Laws. Justinian then expanded on the law code based on the original Roman Laws to create the Justinian’s...
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...In our team paper we will be discussing the how the Greek and Roman Empires strived for perfection. We will be focusing on the Greek architecture with the coliseum. We will also discuss how the Roman Empire came together and created what could be considered the modern plumbing system with their aqueduct systems to allow them to be able to have flowing water throughout their cities. The Greeks have an extended gleaming history with an influence on other cultures. Greek architecture influences many cultures, including the Roman Empire who carried the Greek theme into their way of building. Marble and limestone are the components that allow major structures to withstand the test of time. Some of the famous buildings are the capital building, and the White House in the District of Columbia. The spread of Greek architecture can be appreciated throughout the Italian city of Sicily The athletes of Greek culture strive for perfection. The Olympics began as an approach for the Greeks to establish themselves. The Olympic games were sacred during times of war. The Olympic competitions conveyed perfection with an influence on the creation of mathematics. Pythagoras was the mathematician who was the original person to illustrate that the planets rotate together in a cycle. The Greeks went to war over the strive for perfection The Romans were known for their engineering know how on how to successfully get safe drinking water to and from the area springs, wells, and rivers...
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...In this research paper, I will examine how Greek education, Greek lifestyles, and Roman ideologies apply to understanding the founders of our nation. To create the foundation for American democracy today, our founders utilized their knowledge of the classics to formulate ideas create and create effective communication. Starting from the as young as the age of eight, our founders began Greek classical condition in order to be able to recite pieces of work for college admission (F.1, 2). These pieces of literature included Greek works such from Isocrates, Homer, Xenophon and the Greek New Testament (F. 2). Because grammar masters focused little else besides literature, teachers “required young scholars to display their knowledge of Latin and...
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...Barbarians are often thought of as men who are like savages and only desire war and empowerment. After some research, however, one can see that, that is not the case. Most people were thought to be barbarian if they were a different group of people from a different place. In fact, the word barbarian is a Greek word that means “anyone who didn’t speak Greek” (Fascinate). This essay will examine how barbarians were interpreted in European art and how it influenced European Christian art. As the Roman Empire spread all through Europe and Northern Africa, they experienced different clans and groups of people. Some battled against the Roman armed forces, and kept striking after Roman triumph of their countries. The Romans, with their efficient...
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