¿Qué diferencia a los griegos de los romanos?

This video is brought to you by Platzi, the education school with the largest online community and the first technology education startup to launch its own satellite! Stay until the end to see how Platzi students are benefiting from this big step. Many yesterdays ago when we made the video on the differences between Mayans and Aztecs we were asked for a video on the differences between Greeks and Romans, so today we will discover.

. . What is the difference between Greeks and Romans?

Both were great civilizations located in the Mediterranean and on which a large part of Western culture is based, which is why sometimes they speak of Greco-Roman or Greco-Roman culture, but the Greeks and the Romans were sooo different. What is considered Ancient Greece took place from the year 1200 to 146 before our era and to begin with the Greeks were not a unified people, or a country as we now understand it, but several cities or independent polis that controlled a territory. Actually, “Ancient Greece” is a historical and cultural construction that we use today.

Although for a while they call themselves Hellenos. This self-designation was used by 12 tribes that guarded the temples they shared, such as the Oracle of Delphi and who considered themselves descendants of Hellen, the son of the survivors of the flood Deucalion and Pyrrha. Despite sharing the Greek language and beliefs, each city had its own culture and considered itself independent.

The largest and most recognized polis are a clear example of these differences: Athens was a cultural and intellectual center, where rulers were chosen by vote, women had no right to education or citizen participation. On the other hand, in Sparta they were educated for war, there were two kings; one dedicated to administration and another to defense, as well as a council of elders and another of magistrates. Women enjoyed more freedoms and managed property.

Being so different, the cities sometimes fought among themselves, although they joined to fight common enemies, such as the Persians. In the year 750 before the era the Greeks began their period of expansion and came to colonize Asia Minor, Cyprus, Thrace, the Sea of ​​Marmara, the Black Sea, parts of the Ukraine and Russia, the coasts of Italy, southern France and They had colonies in Egypt and Libya. At the same time that the Greeks begin to expand, in central Italy the Latin, Sabine and Etruscan tribes unite, not without their respective friction, and the Roman civilization arises.

The Romans, in addition to sharing the Latin language and their gods, identify themselves as a unified people. The Romans were present from 753 before our era until 476 of the common era. In its beginnings, Rome was a small territory with an elective monarchy, but as they grew, discontents arose and the king was overthrown.

Then a republic is established that creates a senate and an army and it is during this time that the Romans are conquering territories. In the acquired territories, they allowed the use of the original languages ​​and traditions, but all official and administrative documents are handled in Latin and thus, little by little, Latin is imposed. In 146 before the common era, Rome conquered Greece, putting an end to what we know as Greek civilization, and something very curious happened: the Romans recognized the great Greek knowledge and made a point of speaking Greek in order to learn and apply it, and they adopted much of the culture.

Greek. We tend to believe that among the things that the Romans copied from the Greeks were their gods and that the Romans only changed their names, but the story is much more complicated. We know that the Romans already worshiped Luppiter, that is, Jupiter, the king of heaven, the thunderer and king of the gods.

Yes, he looks a lot like Zeus, let's see why. Luppiter is a compound word that comes from the Old Latin words: lou and pater, these in turn come from the Proto-Italic word Djous Patēr and from the Indo-European Dyēu-pəter, which means: day or sky and father. The father of heaven, (mmm suspiciously known).

Well, and you will ask yourself, what does that have to do with it? Well, the name Zeus derives from the same Proto Indo-European word Dyēu-pəter. So, it is normal that Zeus and Jupiter look so similar, in fact, from there the Vedic god DIAÚSH PITÁ, the Norse god Thor, the Latvian god Dievs and yes, also the word God were derived.

So the Romans didn't take Zeus and just rename him Jupiter, what did happen is that it seemed so similar, the Romans took some of the Zeus stories and added them to the Jupiter repertoire. Since before the conquest of Greece, the Etruscans had a goddess named Menrva; goddess of wisdom, war, art and commerce, a god named Maris, who some scholars consider to have originated the Roman god Mars. The Romans also worshiped Aurora, the goddess of the dawn.

They look a lot like: Athena, Ares and Eos respectively and they all come from the Proto-Indo-European cults. That the gods look alike is not unusual because throughout the Mediterranean there were similar gods. In fact, with Aurora/Eos something similar happens with Jupiter.

It is the Hindu goddess Usás, the Avesta Ušå, the Lithuanian Aušrine, all with the same origin. Other gods were not so related, but they already existed before. For example; the Roman god Mercury was the god of trade, barter, and finance; when they meet the Greek god Hermes, he seems similar to them because he is the god of merchants, although Hermes is also the god of travelers and roads.

Some of the gods that were adopted from Greek culture were: -Apollo, which the Greeks in turn probably took from Anatolia. -Bacchus, or Dionysus for the Greeks, who was a god venerated since 1500 before our era by the Mycenaean civilization that was before the Greek. -And the Gemini, who in Greece were known as Castor and Pollux.

The Romans not only adopted Greek gods, they also adopted the Egyptian goddess Isis and, much later, Jesus himself whose worship was legalized in 313 CE and by 380 Christianity was adopted as the official religion of the Roman Empire. condemning Greco-Roman beliefs and cults. Well the gods didn't completely steal them, how about the architecture?

The theater of Marcelo, the temple of Portuno and the Pantheon of Agrippa are very similar to the Greek architecture. While the Romans borrowed the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns, as well as the symmetry and rectangular windows of the Greeks, they added arches and domes to their constructions. They improved the construction of aqueducts, which allowed the creation of larger cities , and they created road systems, some paved and that continue to this day!

The roads allowed them better communication and from there comes the saying: All roads lead to Rome. They invented cement and with it they achieved bigger and more resistant buildings, in fact, the Romans lived in something like apartment buildings. And yes, perhaps the Romans were inspired to paint their temples and sculptures in bright colors like the Greeks did, although today we associate the Greeks with their beautiful white marble buildings and sculptures, they were actually all painted.

Other similarities between both civilizations can be seen in their armies. At first glance, even the soldiers look very similar, the main difference being in the shape of the shield and cuirass. Then in their formations, the Greeks had the hoplitic formation while the Romans had a formation called testudo or tortoise.

For both the army was important, although no one took it as seriously as in Sparta, where everyone was a soldier. For the Romans the army was also vital, the soldiers trained in running, jumping, riding and swimming. General Cayo Mario trained his soldiers to carry his equipment, which weighed about 30 kilos plus his armor and weapons, which weighed about 20 kilos.

Three times a year and for 25 years they had to walk 36 kilometers in 5 hours carrying all their equipment. The arduous training, their strategy and superior technology, were what allowed them to conquer such a vast territory. For the Greeks discipline was not just military, they believed that physical activity it had to be incorporated into the day to day and not only the soldiers.

They invented the discus and javelin throw, and the episkyros ball game, which is the granddaddy of soccer. In addition to the body, the Greeks sought to cultivate the intellect and their natural philosophy is the mother of all sciences. In Rome there were also great philosophers, thanks to the Greek influence, such as Lucretius, Cicero and Seneca.

But in general the Romans were much more practical, they invented the first surgical instruments and when their empire was so big they invented the census that they did every four years, as a way of keeping track of people and that we still use today. . The Greeks had fun with theater and comedy, the Romans with the circus and its gladiators.

A super simplified way that we could differentiate both civilizations is with two words: knowledge and technology. The Greeks created schools and sought understanding through knowledge. The Romans sought technological processes and constructions that allowed them to grow and rule a huge empire.

Ancient Greece was conquered and the Roman Empire fell into decline after their separation, but their culture lives on in present-day Greece and Italy, was essential in movements like the Renaissance and Neoclassicism, and their languages ​​and institutions continue to influence our societies today. . Curiously!

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