[extropy-chat] CULTURE: Did Romans ruin Greek Culture?

The Avantguardian avantguardian2020 at yahoo.com
Thu Mar 11 20:23:33 UTC 2004


> Romans were a "civilization" and Greeks were a
> "culture" and civilization
> is the end, the death of culture.
> 
> Any thoughts?

      Natasha, I don't think that the author of your
book truly understands either culture or civilization.
Yes the Greeks had much in the way of art that Rome
was initially lacking in. But there is more to culture
than mere art. There are also customs, rituals, a
language, social institutions, and a shared history.
      The Greeks had all these things yes but they
were not the same for all Greeks everywhere until
after the rise of Greek civilization. Initially the
each Greek city state developed it's own unique
culture. For example you had the warlike and stoic
Spartans contrasted with the contemplative and
indulgent Athenians. Each of these city states
developed along a different paths until they were
forced to unite under the common banner of Alexander's
Macedonian empire. 
      Thus began the reign of Greater Greece and
within this new civilization over the years a new
common Greek meta-culture arose. It was a tasteful
melange of elements from the cultures of Athens,
Sparta, Thebes, and the rest of the city states thrown
into the stew pot of Macedonian rule with a touch of
Persian and Egyptian to spice things up a bit.
      Thus just as there is more to culture than just
art, there is more to civilization than just
engineering. Civilization is not simply the building
of bridges, roads, and walls. It is also the army and
the marketplace. The senate hall and the arena. It is
the whole set of destructive, synthetic, and
reconstructive forces that bind a disparate mix of
cultures together under a single roof.
      In this way Rome did not bring an end to Greek
culture so much as preserve and perpetuate it through
history intertwined with the other threads of the
tapestry of Roman culture. It did not "die" but
instead merged with cultures and traditions from the
far-flung corners of the Empire: Persia, Syria, Gaul,
and Punica. Culture is a color. Civilization is the
rainbow. 

=====
The Avantguardian 


"He stands like some sort of pagan god or deposed tyrant. Staring out over the city he's sworn to . . .to stare out over and it's evident just by looking at him that he's got some pretty heavy things on his mind."

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