greeks and romans

Greeks and Romans

Overview

• A Political History of Greece and Rome• Cultural Synthesis• Attitudes Towards Each Other• Greeks vs. Romans

Political History of Greece and Rome

• Roman Monarchy (753-509)– What’s happening in Greece?


• Roman Monarchy (753-509)– What’s happening in Greece?– Greek Influence on Etruscans



• Early Republic (509-272)– What’s happening in Rome?



• Early Republic (509-272)– What’s happening in Rome?– What’s happening in Greece?




• Velvet Glove (272-190)– Hellenistic Era: Macedon and Federated Leagues– Wars vs. Carthage and Macedon– Liberating the Greeks




• Velvet Glove (272-190)– Hellenistic Era: Macedon and Federated Leagues– Wars vs. Carthage and Macedon– Liberating the Greeks– Titus Flaminus (197-196)

Titus FlamininusAccordingly, at the Isthmian games, where a great throng of people were sitting in the stadium and watching the athletic contests (since, indeed, after many years Greece had at last ceased from wars waged in hopes of freedom, and was now holding festival in time of assured peace), the trumpet signalled a general silence, [4] and the herald, coming forward into the midst of the spectators, made proclamation that the Roman senate and Titus Quintius Flamininus proconsular general, having conquered King Philip and the Macedonians, restored to freedom, without garrisons and without imposts, and to the enjoyment of their ancient laws, the Corinthians, the Locrians, the Phocians, the Euboeans, the Achaeans of Phthiotis, the Magnesians, the Thessalians, and the Perrhaebians. At first, then, the proclamation was by no means generally or distinctly heard, but there was a confused and tumultuous movement in the stadium of people who wondered what had been said, and asked one another questions about it, and called out to have the proclamation made again; [5] but when silence had been restored, and the herald in tones that were louder than before and reached the ears of all, had recited the proclamation, a shout of joy arose, so incredibly loud that it reached the sea. The whole audience rose to their feet, and no heed was paid to the contending athletes, but all were eager to spring forward and greet and hail the saviour and champion of Greece.

What is the herald telling the Greeks?How do they react?

Titus FlamininusAnd that which is often said of the volume and power of the human voice was then apparent to the eye. For ravens which chanced to be flying overhead fell down into the stadium. The cause of this was the rupture of the air; for when the voice is borne aloft loud and strong, the air is rent asunder by it and will not support flying creatures, but lets them fall, as if they were over a vacuum, unless, indeed, they are transfixed by a sort of blow, as of a weapon, and fall down dead. It is possible, too, that in such cases there is a whirling motion of the air, which becomes like a waterspout at sea with a refluent flow of the surges caused by their very volume.

Is this a realistic depiction?

11. [2] And here, their pleasure naturally increasing, they were moved to reason and discourse about Greece, saying that although she had waged many wars for the sake of her freedom, she had not yet obtained a more secure or more delightful exercise of it than now, when others had striven in her behalf, and she herself, almost without a drop of blood or a pang of grief, had borne away the fairest and most enviable of prizes. Verily, they would say, valour and wisdom are rare things among men, but the rarest of all blessings is the just man.

What is Plutarch saying in the bolded statement?

Titus FlamininusFor men like Agesilaüs, or Lysander, or Nicias, or Alcibiades could indeed conduct wars well, and understood how to be victorious commanders in battles by land and sea, but they would not use their successes so as to win legitimate favour and promote the right. Indeed, if one excepts the action at Marathon, the sea-fight at Salamis, Plataea, Thermopylae, and the achievements of Cimon at the Eurymedon and about Cyprus, Greece has fought all her battles to bring servitude upon herself, and every one of her trophies stands as a memorial of her own calamity and disgrace, since she owed her overthrow chiefly to the baseness and contentiousness of her leaders.

What does Plutarch mean in the bolded statement?

Titus Flamininus[4] Whereas men of another race, who were thought to have only slight sparks and insignificant traces of a common remote ancestry, from whom it was astonishing that any helpful word or purpose should be vouchsafed to Greece—these men underwent the greatest perils and hardships in order to rescue Greece and set her free from cruel despots and tyrants.

• Who are the men of another race? And what is Plutarch saying about them?

• What does this reveal about early Greek-Roman relations?

A Political History of Greece and Rome

• Velvet Glove (272-190)• Iron Fist (190-146)– Why does Rome get more aggressive?• Greek uprisings• Testing Ground• Slave Labor


• Velvet Glove (272-190)• Iron Fist (190-146)– Why does Rome get more aggressive?

• Greek uprisings• Testing Ground• Slave Labor

– Effects on Greece• Art Treasures• Devastation of Greek Econ/Polit/Population• Slaves• Personal Interactions• Stability


• Velvet Glove (272-190)• Iron Fist (190-146)

– Why does Rome get more aggressive?• Greek uprisings• Testing Ground• Slave Labor

– Effects on Greece• Art Treasures• Devastation of Greek Econ/Polit/Pop• Slaves• Personal Interactions• Stability

– Cultural Synthesis• Horace: "Greece, the captive, made her savage victor captive.”


• Velvet Glove (272-190)• Iron Fist (190-146)

– Why does Rome get more aggressive?• Greek uprisings• Testing Ground• Slave Labor

– Effects on Greece• Art Treasures• Devastation of Greek Econ/Polit/Pop• Slaves• Personal Interactions• Stability

– Cultural Synthesis• Horace: "Greece, the captive, made her savage victor captive.”

• Why did the Romans Win?


• Velvet Glove (272-190)• Iron Fist (190-146)• Why did the Romans Win?– Decline of Polis– Greek infighting– Hellenistic Monarchy – Roman Military System

Cultural Synthesis

• Art• Architecture• Language• Education/Philosophy• Religion

Cultural Synthesis: Art

• Raiding• Roman Copies


• Raiding• Roman Copies• Sculptors in Greek Tradition

Roman God Tibernius


• Raiding• Roman Copies• Sculptors in Greek Tradition• Roman Distinctiveness– Focus on Realism– Political Sculpture

Architecture

• Hard to distinguish Greek from Roman• Theaters

Architecture

• Hard to distinguish Greek from Roman• Theaters• Roman Distinctiveness– Fancy designs

Architecture

• Hard to distinguish Greek from Roman• Theaters• Roman Distinctiveness– Fancy designs– Engineering Advances

Computer Reconstruction of Colosseum

Ruins of Roman Colosseum

Architecture

• Hard to distinguish Greek from Roman• Theaters• Roman Distinctiveness– Fancy designs– Engineering Advances– Political Propaganda

Augustus

Language

• Greek language widely spoken• Koine Greek in Eastern Half• Mark of Cultural Sophistication

Education/Philosophy

• Greek language• Educational Models (tutoring, rhetoric)• Ethical Philosophy (Stoicism)

Religion

• Roman Inclusivity• “Syncretism”– Annulment in 217 BCE

• Differences– Animism vs. Anthropomorphism– Relation to Politics– Piety vs. Slackerdom

Overview

• Far-reaching Greek Inspiration• Roman Adaptation and Distinctiveness

Greek and Roman Attitudes Towards Each Other

• Overview and Context• Roman Attitudes• Greek Attitudes

Greek and Roman Attitudes—Overview and Context

• Admiration and Distrust• Both Consider Other Inferior• Context


• Admiration and Distrust• Both Consider Other Inferior• Context– Greek Arrival early 200s– Power Relationship


• Admiration and Distrust• Both Consider Other Inferior• Context– Greek Arrival early 200s– Power Relationship– Greeks Educated/Professional– Greek High Culture in East

Greek and Roman Attitudes—Roman Attitudes

• Hellenomania– Borrowing and Idealization– Nero– Hadrian


• Hellenomania– Borrowing and Idealization– Nero– Hadrian

• Hellenophobia– Sources– Anti-Intellectual Sentiment– Moral Decadence


• Hellenomania– Borrowing and Idealization– When Empire Crumbles…– Nero– Hadrian

• Hellenophobia– Sources– Anti-Intellectual Sentiment– Moral Decadence



• Hellenophobia– Sources– Anti-Intellectual Sentiment– Moral Decadence– Cicero: “deceitful, untrustworthy, servile, and given to obsequiousness”

• Sinon• Actors



• Hellenophobia– Sources– Anti-Intellectual Sentiment– Moral Decadence– Cicero: “deceitful, untrustworthy, servile, and given to obsequiousness”

• Sinon• Actors

– Roman Superiority at…

Greek and Roman Attitudes—Greek Attitudes

• Context: Roman Power– Polybius– Plutarch

Greek and Roman Attitudes—Greek Attitudes

• Context: Roman Power– Polybius– Plutarch

• Greek Attitudes Towards Romans– Cultural Superiority– “Opici”

Greeks vs. Romans

• What Romans Got…– Professional Fields– High Culture/Education– Greek Tradition

Greeks vs. Romans

• What Romans Got…– Professional Fields– High Culture/Education– Greek Tradition

• What Greeks Got…– Stability/Infrastructure– Preservation

Greeks vs. Romans• What Romans Got…

– Professional Fields– High Culture/Education– Greek Tradition

• What Greeks Got…– Stability/Infrastructure– Preservation

• Comparison– Innovation vs. Derivativeness (Adaptation)– Idealism vs. Practicality

• Greek focus on Ideals• Aeneid: “But Rome! ‘tis thine alone, with awful sway, To rule mankind, and make the

world obey; disposing peace and war, thy own majestic way.”– Metaphors:

Greece/Rome vs. Europe/America

• Europe


• Europe– Older Power– “Refinement”– Bickering– Madden: "Eventually, one group conquered the

rest and held the peninsula captive before it was freed by an overseas republic on its way to becoming a superpower.”


• Europe– Older Power– “Refinement”– Bickering– Madden: "Eventually, one group conquered the

rest and held the peninsula captive before it was freed by an overseas republic on its way to becoming a superpower.”

• US

Greece/Rome vs. Europe/America• Europe

– Older Power– “Refinement”– Bickering, Tangled in Alliances– Thomas Madden: "Eventually, one group conquered the rest and held the

peninsula captive before it was freed by an overseas republic on its way to becoming a superpower.”

• US– Ascendant Power– Cruder/Cowboys

• Madden, “Most of Roman culture came from the Greeks in very much the same way that most American culture comes from the Europeans”

– Federate US and then Expand– Religious vs. Secular

greeks and romans

Documents

years greece

romeroman monarchy

greek influence

etruscansearly republic

federated leagueswars

hellenistic era

velvet glove

general silence