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Several Greek city-states established colonies (settlements) in southern Italy and Sicily in the 8th and 7th century BC, presumably due to insufficient land to support population growth in the homeland. Being a more advanced civilisation, their arrival had a big impact on all the Italic peoples they came in contact with during the archaic (early) period. This led, among other things, to the adoption and adaptation of the western Greek alphabet by all Italic peoples, including the Latins and the Romans (the Romans were Latins).

Etruscan civilisation arose out of trade with and influence by these Greeks in what has been called the orientalising period; a term which refers to a period when Greek art was influenced by motifs from their east/orient, notably Syria and Egypt. The wealth which gave rise to Etruscan civilisation came from their mines and selling their metals to the Greeks. The Etruscans imported Greek manufactures, particularly pottery. They also adapted and adopted the orientalised style for their own pottery.

The Italic peoples also adopted stone houses and temples and the columns used to support roofs or for porticoes of the Greeks. Recent archaeological finds have shown that the archaic Latins were also involved in this process described above and that there was influence by the Greeks of Cumae (a Greek city near Naples, some 125 miles south of Rome) as well as the Etruscan neighbours.

Very early Roman religion was influenced by the Sabines and the Etruscans. The Sabines were part of the early population of Rome. The foundation of Rome involved a fusion between the Latins and the Sabines who lived on the Seven Hills of Rome. The second king of Rome was a Sabine from the nearby land of the Sabines. He laid the foundation of archaic (early) Roman religion (which then decayed). The Etruscans were Rome's next door neighbours.

The biggest influence on Roman religion was the Greeks. Originally it came for the colonies (settlements) the Greeks established in southern Italy and Sicily from the 8th and 7th century BC. Then with the beginning of contacts with mainland Greece, there was also influence for that part of the Greek world.

Already the 6th century BC the Romans started using the books of the Sibylline who were Greek oracles, some of whom lived in Greek city of Cumae in in southern Italy, just 125 moles south of Rome. They also adopted the Greek god Apollo, who was an oracular god (that is he was the god of the oracles) and built the Temple of Apollo Medicus (the doctor) in in 431. BC. Apollo's son, who mediated Apollo's association with medicine and healing, was also adopted. The Senate was instructed to build a temple in his honour by the Sybil oracles in 293 BC. The Romans also procured a statue of him from Greece. The Romans also adopted the Greek twin gods Castor and Pollux and the mythology associated with them by the late 5th century. They turned Heracles, the Greek mythological hero (whom they called Hercules) into a god because he was said to have killed Cacus, a fire-breathing giant who was terrorising the Roman countryside during his 10th labour and founded an altar of Hercules. During the Second Punic War (218-202 BC) they 'imported' Cybele (whom they called Magna Mater, Great Mother) a Greek goddess because the books of the Sibyl oracles said that with this Rome could defeat Carthage. Besides adopting some Greek gods, at one point the Romans linked their gods to the Greek gods and their associated mythologies

With contact with mainland Greece, there was also influence from this part of the Greek world. The first professional teachers in Rome were Greeks. The children of the rich received an education in both Latin and Greek and were fluent in Greek. The pinnacle of their education was a stay in Greece to study Greek philosophy. From Augustus onwards, the Romans modelled their statues on the Hellenistic ones. They also copied and modelled statues on those of the great classical sculptors of Greece. They adopted Greek medicine and Greek sports. They adopted and greatly improved on the Greek cranes and the ballista (a crossbow-like) catapult. Latin tragedies and comedies and theatre were based on the Greek ones. Roman theatre architecture was inspired by that of the Greeks. However, whilst the seating of Greek theatres were always built on hillsides, the Romans also built theatres with their own foundations which could be built on flat land.

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Romans came into contacts with Greeks during the Sammite Wars during the third and fourth centuries BC. Later, the Romans conquered Greece.

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Roman culture was not so much "Changed" by Greece as much as it was based on Greek culture, as the first settlements of the Italian Peninsula were Greek colonies.

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The Romans conquered the Greeks and made them slaves.

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when Macedonia became it's province

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Q: How was the roman culture changed by contact with the Hellenistic of Greece?
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Continue Learning about Ancient History

How did Greek culture influence other cultures?

Other cultures were influenced by ancient Greek culture because they had established so many colonies throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Westerly at least as far as Sicily and the Southern Italian peninsula, Greek colonies came into contact with other cultures. Many of which were not as advanced as the Greeks and by this they were influenced in a positive way. Greeks also expanded into the eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea and came into contact with peoples in Syria, Judea among other nations. Their "Hellenistic" culture brought with them the great philosophers of ancient Greece and methods of government. Greek culture also became an influence because of the Roman empire. In many ways, the conquered Greeks, became a significant influence in ancient Rome. As Rome expanded, it not only brought with them Roman culture but also the Hellenistic culture of Greece.


Why were these three kingdoms called Hellenistic?

The kingdoms were called Hellenistic because their culture was Greek-like after Alexander the Great fused his Hellenic culture with the lands he conquered. Hellene was the Greek name for things Greek after the legendary founder Helen. Greek is a word used by Romans. Greeks even today call themselves Hellenes.


What is tghe meaning of hellenic?

The word Hellenic means of or relating to Greece, Greek, or the Greek language. It can also specifically mean of or relating to ancient Greek history, culture, or art before the Hellenistic period.


Who is the inventor of Hellenistic civilization?

Alexander the Great was the main influence of Hellenistic civilization. Alexander the Great conquered all of Greece, the Middle East and Asia Minor, in doing so he blended all of their cultures to create Hellenism.


Where did the word Greece come from?

The word Greece comes from the Latin name for the country of Greece or Graecia. The Greek culture actually calls Greece "Ellada. "

Related questions

Olympic games the poems of Homer and Hellenistic culture are associated with which ancient civilization?

ancient Greece


How did the Hellenistic Age achieve a golden age?

The Hellenistic states which succeeded Alexander dwindled and the Roman Empire expanded through Greece. The holdout was Alexandria which became the bastion of Greek culture.


And contrast Classic Greece and Hellenistic Greece?

Both are Greece


What is the name of the period of Greek culture from the death of Alexander the Great to the Roman conquest of Greece?

The Hellenistic period was the period between the conquests of Alexander the Great to the conquest of Egypt, the last Hellenistic state which fell to the Romans,


What culture considered themselves to be Hellenistic?

Greece... Definitley Greeks. Because Hellas is the alternative name to Greece So Hellenic, Hellinistic is Greek. And Ellada in Greek means Greece, Ellinistikos means Greek.


What did Alexander the Great's conquests of Greece Asia Minor Egypt and Persia lead to?

he won against the Persians


Did Persians spread Hellenistic culture?

Not really. The Hellenistic culture didnt affect so much the center of the former Persian empire (Mesopotamia). The most important centers were in Greece, Asia minor, the whole eastern coast of Mediterranean sea (Antioch) and Egypt (Alexandria).


What were the chief characteristics of Hellenistic culture?

One of the factors that defined the Hellenistic period was the decreased importance of Greece proper (the territory of modern Greece) with an increase of importance on Hellenistic "culture" in the various foreign colonies. In fact, the centers of Hellenistic culture during the period were not even in Greece, they were, respectively, Alexandria, in Egypt, Antioch, in Syria and Pergamum in Anatolia (modern day Turkey). The term "Hellenistic", by the way, refers to the spreading of Greek culture over the non-Greek peoples that were conquered by Alexander the Great. Hellenistic culture can best be described as a mixture of Greek culture and the cultures they dominated (i.e.: Near Eastern culture). The four main dynasties that came out of the Hellenistic period, post-Alexander the Great, were the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt based at Alexandria; The Antigonid dynasty in Macedon and central Greece; the Attalid dynasty in Anatolia based at Pergamum and the Seleucid dynasty in Syria and Mesopotamia based at Antioch.Hellenistic art perfected the art of "sculpture in the round", meaning sculpture that can be viewed from all sides. Some of the more famous pieces of Hellenistic art are Laocoon, the Venus de Milo and the Gaul Killing His Wife. The Hellenistic period saw the export of Greek art all over the Mediterranean and North Africa, which really solidified and codified the Greek tradition. The Hellenistic period began with the conquest and colonization of foreign lands to be brought under the mantle of Greek control, and grew to be a tribute oriented amalgam of Greek culture and those who were being dominated. It was a period of Imperialism, militarism, and increased wealth and trade for those who lived in the Hellenistic empire. The period can be defined as a time when disparate cultures found a (sometimes forced) commonality of culture and purpose though the traditions of Hellenistic conquerors.


Describe the wars of Classical and Hellenistic Greece?

The wars of classical Hellenistic Greece were very intimate. They were hand to hand, bloody and brutal. At times, there was interference by the gods.


What were the ideas spread during Hellenistic Greece?

Hey


How did Alexander the greats conquests lead to the development of a new culture?

Alexander was of the HELLENIC culture, that is Greek culture. When he conquered Egypt, the Persian Empire, and parts of the Indian sub-continent, he did not just bring soldiers, he brought Greek culture as well so what happened was the cultures of Egypt and Greece, Persia and Greece, and the Indina states he conquered and Greece, fused together to become what is now known as HELLENISTIC culture. This was one of Alexander's agenda, to create a new society of Greco-Egyptians, Greco-Persians and Greco-Indians. When Alexander died and the Empire divided by his generals, Hellenistic culture reached it's peak. Many Hellenistic kingdoms emerged, Ptolemic Egypt, The Selucid Empire, the Greco-Bactrian kingdoms on where Afghanistan is now, Indian states with Greek influences and many more. This Hellenistic culture endured until around when Agustus, Emperor of Rome, conquered Egypt and the Parthians, or Sassanids (I forgot which one) conquered the former Persian Empire under the Greeks


How did Greek culture influence other cultures?

Other cultures were influenced by ancient Greek culture because they had established so many colonies throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Westerly at least as far as Sicily and the Southern Italian peninsula, Greek colonies came into contact with other cultures. Many of which were not as advanced as the Greeks and by this they were influenced in a positive way. Greeks also expanded into the eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea and came into contact with peoples in Syria, Judea among other nations. Their "Hellenistic" culture brought with them the great philosophers of ancient Greece and methods of government. Greek culture also became an influence because of the Roman empire. In many ways, the conquered Greeks, became a significant influence in ancient Rome. As Rome expanded, it not only brought with them Roman culture but also the Hellenistic culture of Greece.