Cultural development
In addition to creating new administrative problems and transforming economic life, the expansion of Rome brought about profound changes in Roman culture. These changes were the inevitable result of the close contact of Roman Italy with the Greek and Hellenistic civilisation.
Rome had been subject to Greek influences from as early as the sixth century BC, both indirectly, through the Etruscans, and directly, through the Greek cities of southern Italy and Sicily. But it was after their expansion in the East that the Romans began to feel the full impact of Greek civilisation. Important channels of Greek culture were the Greeks who came to Rome as ambassadors, teachers, physicians, merchants and artists, as well as the large numbers of educated Greek slaves who were employed in Roman households. The introduction of Greek models had a profound effect on every aspect of the Roman culture, including education, religion, art and science.[554] Knowledge of Greek now became essential for every educated Roman and, as the demand for instruction in Greek language, rhetoric and philosophy increased, schools began to be established under the patronage of prominent men.Greek philosophical thinking, in particular, attracted many followers among the members of the Roman upper classes, despite the fact that the Romans at first looked upon philosophers with some suspicion and on two occasions (in 173 and 161 BC) fears of the possibly subversive effects of philosophical doctrines on the moral order resulted in the temporary banishment of Greek philosophers. Schools of philosophy offering rules of life, such as Stoicism and Epicureanism,[555] accorded well with the practical tendencies of the Roman character for, unlike the Greek philosophy of earlier periods, what these schools were primarily concerned with was not so much ways of thinking about the world but, rather, ways of teaching people how to live in the world and how to attain success in public and private life through the practice of virtue. The success of these schools, and in particular Stoicism, was also due to the fact that their teaching reflected best the cosmopolitan ideals of the times.
The Stoic ideal of a world state based on the brotherhood of men exercised a strong influence on Roman thought and provided one of the foundations upon which the political philosophy of the Empire was built.The reception of Greek civilisation gave a tremendous impulse to Roman cultural development. At the same time, however, the adoption of Greek models had an erosive effect on the long-established moral and religious norms upon which the unity of the Roman society was based, notwithstanding the fact that in many respects the Romans remained faithful to traditional ideals. Greek morals, in particular, were laxer and more sophisticated than those of the Romans and their sudden introduction into this new world of wealth, power and uncertain standards led to moral confusion.[556] The weakening of the old value system, established by a tradition-conscious upper class, ultimately undermined social cohesion and was one of the main factors that precipitated the socio-political crisis that marks the closing years of the republican period.
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- Historical development
- LEGAL DEVELOPMENT BY INTERPRETATION
- The development of the law of torts
- The Development of Canon Law
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