Greek Influence on Roman Culture: Conquest and Legacy
Greek Influence on Roman Culture
The southern Italian peninsula and Sicily were colonized by the Greeks, who designated one of these territories Magna Graeca. Its cultural influence was enormous in all fields of knowledge and art. Starting with a “loan” from its script, which gave rise to the Etruscan alphabet, and indirectly through contacts with primitive Roman civilization, it also led to the Latin (or Roman) alphabet, which we use today.
The Subjection of Greece
Greek contact with the world grew with the incorporation of Greek territory in Italy, a process culminating in the taking of Tarentum in 272 BC. After the submission of Magna Graeca, in the second century BC, the Greek mainland was also subjugated, with the kingdom of Macedonia being a key target. The decline of Macedonia marked the start of Roman hegemony in the Greek peninsula. The Macedonian defeat at the hands of a Roman army, commanded by Quintus Flaminius, at the hills of Cynoscephalae (197 BC) was presented by Rome to the Greek world as the recovery of their “freedom.” A second war against the Macedonians was still necessary, which also ended with Roman victory (Pydna, 168 BC).
Consequences of Military Conquest
The conquest of mainland Greece provided Rome with enormous resources, both in terms of war reparations and slaves. The Roman general Aemilius Paulus sold close to 150,000 people after the occupation of the region of Epirus. The destruction of the famous city of Corinth (146 BC) was a clear sign indicating that the Greeks had not regained their freedom as advertised and that Greece had become Roman territory. Indeed, Greece became a double province: Macedonia and Achaea. A great deal of Greek art and a good number of books were brought to Rome.
The Hellenistic Influence on Rome
From the mid-second century BC, in Italy, there was a renewed interest in everything of Greek origin. Many slaves served as preceptors for the children of wealthy families, or as private secretaries. The Greek language became known in Roman culture. This “philo-Hellenism” in Rome was spreading to the point that Cato, called the Censor, spoke publicly against this influence, because he felt it was detrimental to Roman identity. He even suggested that an embassy of philosophers who had come to Rome from Athens be expelled because their doctrines were dangerous for the simple and practical thinking of the Roman man. But Cato was unable to stop the process of Hellenistic influence on Roman culture.
Philosophical Currents
Greek advances in medicine were gradually introduced into Rome, the Latin vocabulary was enriched thanks to the adoption of words of Greek origin, and the philosophical currents of the Hellenistic world were forced to deploy in Rome, which thereby became more cosmopolitan. Of these schools of thought, Stoicism found a welcome in Rome. One of the representatives of this doctrine, Panaetius of Rhodes, even spent several years in Rome itself imparting his teachings. Travel to Athens or Rhodes became a common element in the intellectual formation of a Roman. Cicero did it, as did Julius Caesar and Pompey. Stoic thought reached this level of interest in Rome because it was well adapted to what the Romans considered a “practical ethics,” because it insisted on prudence, fortitude, modesty, and morality of duty. The philosopher Seneca was one of the most distinguished representatives of this system of thought in the first century of our era.
The Legacy of Greek Literature in Rome
Greek literary influence was very important, thanks to the conquest of mainland Greece. However, the imitation of Greek culture had begun earlier. In the third century BC, in Taranto (a city of southern Italy), the poet and slave of Greek origin Lucius Livius Andronicus translated the Odyssey from Homer into Latin and helped to introduce it in Italy. At the same time, he wrote tragedies based on the Greek classical model for the audiences.
Comedy
Comedy was promoted by Naevius, but reached its apogee with the famous Plautus (254-184 BC), whose works are inspired by the Greek writer Menander, but have a more comical style.