How Do Societies Progress from Other Societies?
- anndeek
- Oct 13, 2018
- 5 min read
Although Rome is considered to have incredibly rich history and deep-set traditions, we must also take note that Ancient Rome did not begin its empire possessing its reputation of having the vastest empire the way most of us know it to be; on the contrary, the empire started out as scrambling city states attempting to conquer the next bordering city for the first three centuries of its existence. Yet, as Rome learned to accommodate itself in the midst of agitation between Carthage, its neighboring enemy, the Romans were able to adapt and equip themselves in order to flourish.
Centuries later, the many nations of fourteenth-century Europe were inspired by the classical ideas that thrived through these empires. Known today as the Renaissance, the Europeans were inspired by the teachings of these societies; the Europeans began to integrate the ideologies and customs upheld by the Greeks and Romans into their own societies, thus becoming inspired like the previous empires before them.
This brings us to our main question, which inquires the different ways that societies progress from the practices and ideologies upheld in others. We bring forth the rise of Rome from the influence of its own enemies, as well as the legacy it lives in future societies.
Rome was extremely adept in integrating imagination into their cultures and practices. In regards to their religious beliefs, Roman mythology borrows many of its ideas from Greek, Anatolian, and Egyptian beliefs. This is due to Rome’s large conquest and trade efforts, which over time leads to a blend of culture and tradition. In addition, Rome knew that many societal practices—Greece’s in particular—outmatched theirs. In an attempt to improve their own empires, they hired tutors from various parts of their conquered empires to educate their own, and thus diffusing many practices and strengthening the ideologies upheld in the empire.
In contrast to the ideas borrowed through the Arts, the Ancient Romans incorporated battle tactics into their own societies in order to improve their legions. Doing so would not only throw the enemy off course, but it would allow the Romans to approach strategies using imagination and creativity. This was true especially when the Romans had to devise a strategy to attack and defeat the Carthaginians. Gaining status as Rome’s strong, more adept enemy, the Carthaginians were a descendant of the Phoenician peoples, and was considered to be Juno’s hated race (Virgil). The strength of the Carthaginian fleet left the Roman legions scrambling every time after battle, and left both sides at a tremendous loss.
In order to defeat their more equipped enemy, the Roman soldiers were forced to adapt to their enemy’s weaknesses and incorporate some creativity into their battle plans. One way the Romans were able to outsmart the Carthaginians was by building smaller boats with sharp spears that would be hidden under the waterline. In battle, the smaller Roman fleet would ram their spears into the side of the large Carthaginian fleets and sink the ships (Zissos), and effectively sink the ships and win the battle. These tactics were a form of progress to the Roman fleet, as the Romans were able to adapt to their surroundings as well as equip themselves to stay in power.
It is important to note that the Romans were able to adapt to their strengths by finding weaknesses in another society. These tactics allowed Rome to progress and become a stronger military power, which allowed them to essentially conquer vast lands. In doing so, the incorporation of these lands will mean further diffusion and growth of power within the empire. This denotes the success of an empire because it emphasizes how a society learns from another, and adapts itself. This equates to progress.
This inspired the Renaissance thinkers during beginning in the fourteenth century to use Roman practices as a model to found their own ideologies. The modeling of one’s nation based on the influence of a powerful society, executed successfully, equates to progress.
A large factor that contributes to this progress is the ability to avoid re-inventing the wheel. As cliché as the phrase itself sounds, a society tends to fare better if there is a blueprint it is able to follow to build itself upward. With essentially a roadmap that would provide useful information to the building society, there is a better chance at keeping stability within the nation than if it had no source to act as a guide. This leads to the introduction of a second factor—the tendency to create less mistakes. If the practices were studied close enough, a society influenced by another has a better chance to avoid chaos because it is more aware of the warning signs that may appear before turmoil.
The Renaissance began because the continent was in religious turmoil: Europe had just escaped the Dark Ages, and with it, the Crusades and the Black Plague. In order to essentially restart itself, many began to turn to art as a reprieve. We therefore have an extensive collection of art that nods at biblical references and the glorification of man by a western God—with all due respect to the beliefs of other societies who do not believe in the god of the Bible, we must refer to this god as such.
For example, Michelangelo’s renowned paintings that cover the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel revolve around the connection between man and God—his fresco, The Creation of Adam, is the centerpiece of the entire mural (Artble). The panel is at the center of the church, and it depicts God reaching out to touch Adam’s fingers. In addition to this being an example of a painter referencing the story of Adam and Eve from the Bible, it is also important to note how deeply Greek and Roman custom is embedded into other cultures: Michelangelo, who painted the fresco nearly a millennium after the fall of the Roman empire, still managed to incorporate Roman ideologies into his work. Although the God depicted on the fresco is supposedly to be the God of the Bible, his facial features and his representation of the ethereal stem from the influence of the Greek god Zeus and Roman god Jupiter (referred to as Jove in Virgil’s The Aeneid).
In addition to the styles incorporated into the more common art mediums during the Renaissance, from sculptures to frescoes that glorified man and man’s body, much of the architecture during the Renaissance featured styles that imitated those built by the Ancient Greeks and Romans, as well. The architecture that followed these structures at the time of the Renaissance is categorized as Neoclassical Architecture, which is defined as architecture that is modeled off the styles of the classical periods of Greece and Rome. An example would be St. Peter’s Basilica, which is located in the Vatican City, in the heart of Rome—the church consists of many intricately carved columns and features a dome at the top of the structure (Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia) These characteristics mirror the style of classical architecture built in Ancient Greece and Rome.
Of course, it’s important to note that the progression of a society does not depend on the ideologies limited to the Roman empire; although we discussed how Rome had fostered ideas to future societies by the influence of the powerful societies that came before it, Rome is only one of the many examples who have been impacted and made an impact on another nation. But, Rome is an excellent connection to discussing how nation progress from each other over time, by incorporating the good practices into their own society, while avoiding their own downfall by studying the weaknesses of others.
Bibliography & Citation
Artble. (2016). Sistine Chapel Ceiling. [online] Available at: http://www.artble.com/artists/michelangelo/paintings/sistine_chapel_ceiling [Accessed 13 October 2018].
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “St. Peter's Basilica.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 13 Dec. 2017, www.britannica.com/topic/Saint-Peters-Basilica.
Philosopher ClipArt, Ancient Greece
Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The Triumph of Death. 1562
Sanzio da Urbino, Raphael. The School of Athens. 6 Apr. 1520.
Stuck, Wolfgang. St. Peter's Basilica in Rome Seen from the Roof of Castel Sant'Angelo. Vatican City, Sept. 2004.
Tomax. “The Creation Of Adam - 1000pc Jigsaw Puzzle by Tomax.” SeriousPuzzles.com, www.seriouspuzzles.com/the-creation-of-adam-1000pc-jigsaw-puzzle-by-tomax/.
Virgil. The Aeneid Of Virgil. Toronto ; New York :Bantam Books, 1981. Print.
Zissos. Humanities Core, Roman Empire. University of California, Irvine : California:Lecture, 2018. Lecture
Comments