Greco-Roman Influence

Greco-Roman Influence

While researching through the Mediterranean Society, there were many similarities and disparities under the Greek and Roman rules. Both the Greeks and Romans began as city-states, and had similarities in their religious beliefs. Their political views were different in many ways, such as their Republican, and democratic views, and traditional behaviors. Although Romans embraced many of the Greeks views; their differences seemed to be what separated them in many cultural aspects.

The geography placement of the Greeks and the Romans significantly varied, which seemed to help the Romans have more of the upper hand when it came to trades. "Greek cities were founded around the Black Sea, North Africa, Italy, Sicily, France and Spain"(Ancient Greece, sec. geography) .The Greeks were isolated to the coastlines and the mountain terrains of the Greek peninsula, while the Romans location was in the middle of the north-south plain, which gave the advantage to access both the seas and the mountains. When it came to trades, Greece seemed to concentrate on olives and vines, whereas the Romans would concentrate on the cultivation of fruits and vegetables or the production of manufactured items (Bentley, 2008 pg.149). Fortunately, the Greeks and Romans were able to focus on the cultivation of many manufactured and producible items. Because of trade and travel, both the Greeks and Romans were able to gather what was needed if it could not be produced on their own.

Mediterranean Greek and Roman Societies had the same religious beliefs. Neither Greeks nor Romans recognized just one god that held all power. "During the early days of their history, the Romans recognized many gods and goddesses, who they believed intervened directly in human affairs" (Bentley, 2008 pg.150). Like the Greek who recognized more than just one god; the Romans seemed to have followed in the same footsteps as the Romans, with their same beliefs in multiple Gods. They were both ruled by spiritual misconceptions; who both believed in fate, in which some things were just meant to happen in life. Yes, the Greeks and Romans shared the same religious beliefs but, they had differences in religious cults, which were created within each society. For example the Greeks had cults that would only be open to one sex, whereas the Romans had a specific cult called "the cult of Isis" that allowed both men and women to become a part of together and build up multiple temples.

The Greek culture made vast amount of sways on the cultures in the western world. Greek culture influenced the development of Roman civilization because the Rome's ideas from the Greek colonists in southern Italy, and their contribution to borrow from Greek culture after they conquered Greece. "Greece contributed the idea of a republic, while Rome contributed that of an empire. Similarly, Greece contributed the idea of liberty, and Rome, that of law" (Kurth, 2002 par. 5). This is where the traditional Greek culture was considered to be the culture that provided a strong foundation of the Western civilization. During this time, Rome dominated the Greek empire and its civilization; but the Greek culture