In Search of Identity: Greek Acceptance and Rejection in Roman Culture

When the Roman public heard news of Virgil’s upcoming Aeneid, the city buzzed with excitement. However, Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad already had set high standards for epics—there was profuse pressure for Virgil to create something greater. Fellow Romans, like Propertius, only added to the pressure with predictions that “something is coming to birth greater even than the Iliad” (Virgil xi-xii). While Virgil used existing plot lines from both the Odyssey and Iliad in his Aeneid, he differentiated Roman identity from traditional Greek culture by establishing a stance that although the Greeks are great and honourable, Romans were not, and should not be, like them. However, there are still instances where Virgil continues the Greek legacy in the Aeneid by using traditional Greek writing styles and themes. 

In Book 6 of the Aeneid, Anchises, father of Aeneas, recites the following speech to Aeneas in the underworld:

“Others will hammer out bronzes that breathe in more lifelike and gentler 

Ways, I suspect, create truer expressions of life out of marble, 

Make better speeches, or plot, with the sweep of their compass, the heaven’s 

Movements, predict the ascent of the sky’s constellations. Well, let them! 

You, who are Roman, recall how to govern mankind with your power.” 

(Virgil 6.846-851)

In this excerpt, Virgil compared two characters: “others” and “you.” Since this epic was written to give Rome a mythical history, Virgil differentiates Romans from the Greeks by referring to the Greeks as “others,” thus differentiating the outsider Greeks from the Romans. Further, Anchises directs the “you” toward Aeneas, displaying the emphasis on their Roman, not Greek identity. In different works of Roman literature, poets like Juvenal echo Anchises’ sentiments. In Satire 3, Umbricius sees Greeks as “the race that’s cleverest at flattery,” meaning that they are willing to lie and cheat to become powerful and to steal from the native Romans (Juvenal 173). Although this is a satire, which exaggerates reality, it still shows that Virgil was not the only author to notice such distinctions. In some ways, both Virgil and Juvenal were afraid of Greek influence because they were a powerful and prominent nation while Rome was just starting to develop a unique identity. 

Although prominent Roman authors like Virgil wanted to emphasize Roman differences from the Greeks, they were not completely independent from each other. Virgil still used existing stories and themes from the Greeks as his famous work, the Aeneid, is a reconstruction and combination of Homer's two epics, the Odyssey and Iliad. Moreover, his writing style remains loyal to traditional Greek ones. One example is that throughout the Aeneid, Virgil uses “patronymics,” a Greek method of addressing a group of followers. Patronymics is evident when the warrior Nisus addresses the Trojans as “sons of Aeneas” in reference to their leader Aeneas. Virgil describes the scene in Book 9: “Hyrtacus’ son began thus: ‘Listen, sons of Aeneas,’ with open Minds” (Virgil 9.234-235).

Even though this is a minor detail in itself, many of Greece’s traditional writing forms were used throughout the Aeneid, reflecting the Romans’ reliance on Greek traditions due to their lack of a complete, original culture at the time. 

While Virgil writes that Romans are different from the Greeks, it is controversial to state that most Romans rejected Greek traditions. When examining to what extent Romans wanted to, and did, differ from the Greeks, reading Virgil’s Aeneid is not enough on its own. Daily objects, activities, and rituals are crucial to understanding how Roman traditions parallel or diverge from Greek ones. For example, Romans often worshipped the same gods as the Greeks but under different names. In the Aeneid, Juno is the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess, Hera, who is present in the Iliad. Through Roman and Greek mythology, respectively, both goddesses are portrayed as troublemakers who share an overpowering drive and desire for control because they create conflicts for petty reasons and disregard the wellness of the whole world. The way Virgil depicts female goddesses, like Juno, not only reflects the continuation of Greek deities, but the stereotypical women and female divinities imagined throughout ancient civilizations, which portrayed women as distractions and idealized them as only worthy for their beauty. The only adjustment made was a name change while most of the content and characteristics remained the same. 

However, this is not to say that rejection of Greek traditions does not exist in Roman society. For instance, the Romans did indeed borrow architectural elements, such as columns, temples, pediments. However, instead of duplicating conventional Greek architecture, they established their own innovative architectural practices, such as the use of concrete and the invention of aqueducts. Although Romans inherited certain Greek architectural styles, they further enhanced their knowledge by experimenting with new creations. Prominent buildings like the Pantheon were made of concrete, and the invention of aqueducts supplied public necessities including baths, toilets, and drinking water. The aqueduct was not only an architectural innovation, but a scientific advancement, as the Romans learned to use gravity to their advantage. For instance, one of longest aqueducts constructed by the Romans, the Zaghouan Aqueduct in modern Tunisia, stretches more than 130 kilometres long to supply Carthage, which was under Roman control, with water after the Punic Wars. These changes clearly illustrate that although Roman culture was built under the shadow of Greek traditions, Romans still created their own culture with innovative ideas and practices. 

However much or less Virgil wanted the Romans to differentiate from the Greeks, it was impossible to escape their titanic influence. Greek culture was highly respected in Rome for the most part, for instance, Homer’s epics were praised by Roman scholars of the past. Through literal and figurative proximity, Rome has been influenced by Greece for millennia; their land and culture was practically constructed on the basis of Greek traditions, knowledge, and values, thus making it difficult for them to break off. To better comprehend the Greek influence on Roman civilizations requires a wider range of evidence from the everyday life of a Roman. For example, letters or journal entries from common Roman people can show whether they agree with the sentiments expressed by Virgil. Everyday life objects like clothing, dinner utensils, and furniture can also show how much Greek-ness was adopted by Romans. 

To conclude, Roman authors like Virgil acknowledged the greatness of the Greeks and used Greek-style composition in the Aeneid; however, he still attempted to differentiate Roman culture from Greek culture by developing a distinct identity. Archeological evidence shows a shift away from Greek traditions in real life society as the Romans developed their own technological innovations, although some values and rituals carried over. Simply looking at an author’s opinion is not sufficient to determine the extent of Roman rejection or acceptance of Greek-ness, and it most definitely does not show how much the general Roman public agreed with authors like Virgil. Perhaps the content in the Aeneid exists only to create a story, not to reflect actuality. 

Bibliography 

Juvenal. “The Satires of Juvenal: Satire 3” in Juvenal and Persius, edited and translated by Susanna Morton Braund. London: Harvard University Press, 2004. 

Virgil. Aeneid. Translated by Frederick Ahl. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.