Roman Empire and Rome Essay

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Roman Empire and the Athenian Empire were alike in many ways. Both developed a culture based on the same mythology in order to unite their people in belief (the Romans Latinized the Greek gods and goddesses but the narratives remained largely the same). Individuals like Socrates in Athens or the early Christians in Rome were persecuted for teaching a faith that opposed the native mythology (Haaren, 2010). Both empires expanded their influence through war: the Romans conquered lands as far away as England, while the Athenians kept mainly to Greece but did repel invaders (like the Persians) and war against other city-states (as in the Peloponnesian Wars) in order to secure their own routes, borders and dominance in the region (Rome similarly destroyed Carthage multiple times so as to maintain its dominance). Both Rome and Athens were culturally and militarily suited to dominate, and this paper will describe how both used the arts, their militaries, their mythology and their philosophy to maintain their empires.

Rome was founded in 753 BC by brothers (Romulus and Remus): their strategy for building their community was based on accepting the outcasts of other societies. This strategy worked well as the Romans were hardened by fighting and united by their shared experiences. Their society was based on fairness because they knew that if they did not look after and respect one another, they would have nothing. Gradually the kingdom grew, with Romulus as their leader (Rome was named for him). Over the centuries, Rome had many kings -- but these kings also became very corrupt and eventually the Roman citizens revolted against these corrupt kings and vowed never to have another king over them. This lasted for some time, with Roman leaders being selected by vote (Racine, 2013). Eventually, this too changed: when the Roman soldier Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and marched his troops onto the city of Rome a new day dawned. The Romans wanted to crown Caesar king. In truth, Rome was no longer a kingdom, but an empire.

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Julius Caesar was assassinated shortly thereafter by a group of conspirators. Caesar's nephew took control of the empire, however, and became the first Roman Emperor.

The Athenian Empire began similarly, with the Grecian people forming out of obscurity but being brought together by war. The Persian invasion of Greece brought out the best in the Athenians: they led the Delian League, which was founded in 478 BC in order to oppose the Persians. This League was similar in a sense to the collective Greek warriors who fought together against Troy, as described by Homer in The Iliad. Homer's epic poem depicts a group of Greeks of different origins, united by the gods to battle the Trojans. Mythology is dominant throughout the poem and this mythology would play an integral role in the Athenian Empire (Pericles would oversee the construction of many marvelous temples and statues to the gods and goddesses that their culture worshipped) (Racine, 2013). Indeed, as Homer points out, the Greeks from the beginning days of their history had a special sense of their relation to the spiritual and the divine -- and their relationship with one another could be complicated or exacerbated by their neglect or disrespect of the gods (a common theme explored by the great Athenian playwrights, from Aeschylus to Sophocles to Euripides). As Homer writes in the opening lines of The Iliad, "And which of the gods was it that sent them to quarrel? It was the son of Jove and Leto; for he was angry with the king and sent a pestilence upon the host to plague the people, because thee son of Atreus had dishonored Chryses his priest" (Homer, 2004, p. 2).

During the Persian invasions, the Greek city-state leaders met in Delos, but the Athenian leader Pericles took command (Athens was the central hub of Greece -- it led the way in culture, arts, philosophy, learning, politics, and so on). The League did not last many years, because….....

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