Hellenic Influences

Literary talent highly regarded

Libraries built to attract scholars and authors

Ocritus (little poems)

Historical and biographical literature

• Polybius (chief
• historian; Roman expansion)

Greco-Roman culture

• Catallus: refined Greek forms of poetry to express
• emotions

• Lucretius expounded
• philosophy in the form of poetry (Epicureanism)

• New form of comedy focused on amusement and
• entertainment:

• -         
• Menander of Athens used simple plots

Greek New Comedy

• -         
• Plautus: same stock characters, Greek
• costumes and masks; infused Latin qualities

• Terence wrote for the
• aristocracy (language and character)

• Temples, theatres, gymnasia resembled that of the
• Greek homeland (Corinthian Order)

Sculptors highly regarded

• Classical Period of balance and harmonyà
• realistic art and female nude

• Indians impacted as
• well, through Buddha

Adopted many features of Hellenistic art

• Greek statues placed
• in homes and sold when original art was unavailable

Finally separated from philosophy

Astronomy:

• -         
• Aristarchus

• -         
• Eratosthenes
• Hippocrates

• -         
• Stressed natural explanations and cures
• for disease

Herophilus

Erasistratus

• Euclid
• Archimedes

• Epicureanism
• Stoicism

Stoicism dominating belief

(influenced Roman Law, leading to develop of ius naturale)

• Rhetoric was
• important due to prep for political field 

mystery religions

pantheon of Roman Gods

• Romans believed Greeks were reason for decline of
• republic:

Conservativeà affluence, luxury, homosexuality, wealth

• Dominating Greek life, although they many disliked
• their ways “Greeklings”

Greek became language of entire Hellenistic world

Greek gymnasium--> school

Greek teachers in high demand

Greek tutors

• Greek slaves= doctors, musicians, artists, tutors,
• etc.

Children sent to Athens to study

• Grammaticus was
• formed with Greek literature at the core of the curriculum