Roman Civilization: The Pre-Christian Centuries
The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze Roman Civilization. Specifically it will discuss the pre-Christian centuries of Roman civilization, including personal impressions, supported by cited research. The Pre-Christian centuries built the foundations of Rome and Roman civilization, and clearly show just how a major civilization develops, grows, and moves on from its roots.
Early Roman civilization was complex, extremely modern for its time, and legendary in some of its opulence and excesses. The early Romans valued their agrarian roots, their families, and showed the world what a complex civilization could grow to and accomplish. Ancient Rome was a marvel of architecture, engineering, government, and society, and the people lived good lives, filled with leisure activities and artistic pursuits. Rome and the surrounding areas developed some of the mores and ideas that would lead them into the modern world and that would influence many other civilizations and cultures. The ancient Roman world is fascinating to study, and to see what they accomplished so many thousands of years ago is quite enlightening, even today.
In pre-Christian Rome, religion was still important. The Romans worshipped a variety of gods and goddesses and enjoyed rituals and symbols that would ensure their health, happiness, and continued prosperity. The Romans also kept their ancestors memories alive in their homes and used their funeral masks in yearly rituals and religious ceremonies (Matthews & Platt 111). This indicates the Romans were spiritual even before Christianity entered their realm, and also indicates how the ritualism of Catholicism, their major modern religion, would appeal to them later in history.
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of their society was their openness to change and the influence of others. Many scholars believe the Romans simply copied Greek culture and civilization in developing their own, but others dispute this belief. Another historian familiar with Roman culture writes, "The Romans were the first and last people to unite the whole of the Mediterranean littoral under a single authority, and they maintained their empire for centuries -- one of the most remarkable feats in history" (Jenkyns 3). Certainly, Roman culture was influenced by the successful Greek culture, but they also developed strong differences which would remain individual and important to their culture and the world. For example, they developed complex architecture and beautiful building techniques like the Greeks, but they took this one step further. They also developed complex engineering techniques, such as their systems of aqueducts which brought water to their cities, and systems which brought water to their villages and public baths.
That of course is not to say that Rome and its culture were perfect. That is simply not the case with any complex civilization, as our own modern civilization clearly indicates. While the Roman system of government during the city-state was reasonable and semi-democratic, it ended by 600 B.C. Even during times of good government, there was still a great distinction between the classes, and eventual exclusion of the plebian class. When the Roman republic replaced the earlier government, it was a model in government and separation of powers (Matthews & Platt 114), and it evolved through several stages, but it was still dominated by strong families and politicians, and it eventually disintegrated into an autocracy. The government had become corrupt, imperialistic, and largely ceremonial and ineffectual, no longer fully representing the entire population and their needs and wants. When the autocracy was formed, the rulers relied on military power to hold on to their rule. Society improved, and so did trade, but just about every aspect of culture changed when Rome changed from a republic to an empire, even the arts and architecture. Many things advanced, in parallel with Greek culture, but other aspects diminished, which eventually led to unrest, unhappiness, and eventual collapse. During the empire, culture, the arts, and philosophy all reached a "golden age." It almost seems as if Rome reached a pinnacle and could go no further, and so, there was no where to go but down. Historian Jenkyns notes that one reason the empire finally fell was the influence of other customs and societies as other cultures infiltrated Roman civilization. He writes,
The end of classical civilization in the West -- roughly between AD 450 and 650, with regard to transmission of texts -- is...
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