12-20-10 The Han and Romans were very large empires that existed from 200 B.C.E through 200 C.E. Technology was key to both empires but they both had different views on technology. Both empires used water to their advantage but the way they used it was different, for example the Han used water to benefit the everyday man while the Romans built the aqueducts, which only benefitted people that had homes. The way they treated the people was different because the Han followed Confucius’ teachings while the Romans were selfish towards the people. The Romans and Han had a huge thing in common which was that they felt superior to the rest of the world.
This helps to reach a better understanding of why Hellenization actually occurred in Rome. As Rome was in the midst of a changing republic it looked on new ways to express ones power and wealth. They looked to the Greeks and saw the beautiful temples and structures being built by the wealthy and successful in battle, thus the romans began to use architecture as the Greeks did. Octavius was the first roman to Hellenize Rome with his porticus and therefore was the start to a new era in roman architecture. The reason the Porticus Octavia is relied on so much to describe the Hellenization is due to how similarly Octavius modeled after the Greeks.
“did the romans conquer the greeks, or did the greeks conquer the romans?” . My final opinion is that the greeks conquered the romans . In my assumption , for the greeks, it must have been much like living before they were physically conquered, they still had all theirs ways of living since the romans copied it. it is much more important to have conquered a civilization with your religion, art, technology, science, philosophy ,literature language, government, and the list goes on: then to have just conquered a civilization because you have a stronger military. The greek beliefs and lifestyles must have been that powerful for the romans to base their whole lives around it and have it impact the reason they were so great.
According to abrahamlincolnonline.org, “New York architect Henry Bacon modeled the memorial in the style of a Greek temple. The classic design features 36 Doric columns outside, symbolizing the states in the Union at Lincoln's death”. Furthermore, the District also has another Rome like arcutecture which is the Jefferson Memorial. This particular memorial is very similar to the Pantheon in Italy, Rome, in difference; I came to realize that Washington D.C has a very strong relation with Roman artifacts when it comes to historical landmarks. I assume that with research I will be able to discover may other buildings and sculptures that have been heavily influenced by ancient history.
The governing authorities again like to use culturally significant figures in the tales of innovation and invention and discovery. Even with such advanced politics and thought, a class distinction still persisted, and though they had seen the benefit of all this technology, there were those in the upper class who felt it was beneath them to use such tools in any way. T Innovation was of great value to both the Han and Romans. The Han placed a higher attribution to culturally relevant creators. For example, Huan Tan, an upper-class Han philosopher wrote in New Discourses (Document III) of an emperor of myth inventing and refining the pestle and mortar for all people.
Ancient Greek architecture is a product of the Hellenic and the Hellenistic people. Ancient Greek architecture is best known for its temples, most of which are found in the region as ruins. Ancient Greek architecture is distinguished by its highly formalized characteristics, both of structure and decoration, particularly in the temples. Most often these temples are raised on the high grounds so that the beauty of the well illuminated structure can be enjoyed from a good distance away in all angles. Although limestone was available the building material primarily used was stone, especially high quality marble.
The Parthenon is a beautiful marble temple that served as a model for the architecture of the Lincoln Memorial. The Lincoln Memorial shares these same qualities with the Parthenon but instead, a statue honoring Abraham Lincoln is inside. The ancient Greeks very much enjoyed storytelling especially about heroes. Hercules is a very famous hero of the ancient Greek time who displays many of the same characteristics as America’s own hero, Superman. Hercules and Superman both are not real but Hercules left the impact of showing what an ideal hero looks like.
Another just as important contribution was the development of a constitution. The idea of everyone having equal treatment was as well an ingenious idea that was created by them that would later influence democracy. Many other important things were also contributed to democracy but those were just the minimal and the basic few. The Greeks contributed a lot to democracy. An impeccable example of this is that, “Athenian leader Cleisthens introduced a constitution or plan to govern.”(Mejia’s notes).
This paper will focus on three key points shared by both cultures which will help demonstrate the relationship between these two civilizations: religion, science, and art. Ancient Greece and Roman civilizations made a permanent mark in history, including the areas and components of: religion and its gods and goddesses, Art and sculptures, and scientific and spiritual medicine. If it were not for the Roman civilizations that emerged around and eventually overcame the Greek, we might not be quite as aware of the contribution that the Greek had to society. When Rome conquered Greece, the Romans were thoroughly impressed with a multiple concepts of their culture and society. The Romans willingly adopted many concepts from the Greek.
On the other hand, Roman sculpture was more inclined toward realism of forms. The statue shows Augustus about to deliver a speech, with a natural act. Secondly, another key difference is about the subject matter. The Greeks were fond of making statues of the various gods, creatures of mythology, athletic and strong character. Polykleitos is a young man holding a spear.