The Roman Debt to Greece

[Ghostmojo]

As a member here who is primarily concerned with matters Greek - I would be interested in hearing what the more Romanophiles think about the subject of just how much Rome owed to Greece in her establishment, culture, politics, military, etc. etc.

I do, however, also have a passing interest in Rome. The two periods that particularly interest me are her early republican period (especially when she clashes with Carthage, Pyrrhos and Makedon etc.) and also her later 'end of empire' days in Britain.

It seems clear to me that the debt was huge. You can start with the gods and goddesses; work down through the aspects of society that seem 'borrowed' from either Sparta or Athens; continue with the mythical connections (via either Sparta or Troy); the clear influence from the Italiote Greeks; early hopite type armies; certain Roman's love of Greece and her culture; the occasional ease with which Rome acquired or was bequeathed slices of Hellenistic empires; Caesar and Anthony with Cleopatra; Roman architecture; military science (particularly siege equipment and artillery) and so on ...

It is a fairly large area of discussion I would suggest and I would be interested to hear some opinions.