pp. 171 - 175 (5)
p. 174 - Art of Love
Culture and Society in the Roman World
One of the most
noticeable characteristics of Roman culture and society is the impact of the Greeks. By
the end of the third century B.C.E., Greek civilization played an ever-increasing role in
Roman culture. Greek ambassadors, merchants, and artists traveled to Rome and spread Greek
thought and practices. After their conquest of the Hellenistic kingdoms, Roman military
commanders shipped Greek manuscripts and artworks back to Rome. Multitudes of educated
Greek slaves labored in Roman households. Virtually every area of Roman life, from
literature and philosophy to religion and education, was affected by Greek models. Rich
Romans hired Greek tutors and sent their sons to Athens to study. As the Roman poet Horace
said, "captive Greece took captive her rude conqueror." Greek thought captivated
the less sophisticated Roman minds, and the Romans became willing transmitters of Greek
culture—not, however, without some resistance from Romans who had nothing but
contempt for Greek politics and feared that Greek notions would put an end to the old
Roman values. Even those who favored Greek culture blamed the Greeks for Rome's new vices,
including luxury and homosexual practices.
Roman Literature
The Romans produced
little literature before the third century B.C.E., and the Latin literature that emerged
in that century was strongly influenced by Greek models. The demand for plays at public
festivals eventually led to a growing number of native playwrights. One of the best known
was Plautus (c. 254-184 B.C.E.), who borrowed plots from Greek New Comedy (see Chapter 4)
for his own plays. The actors wore Greek costumes and Greek masks and portrayed the same
basic stock characters: lecherous old men, clever slaves, prostitutes, and young men in
love. Plautus wrote for the masses and became a very popular playwright in Rome.
In the last century
of the Republic, the Romans began to produce a new poetry, less dependent on epic themes
and more inclined to personal expressions. Latin poets were now able to use various Greek
forms to express their own feelings about people, social and political life, and love. The
finest example of this can be seen in the work of Catullus (c. 87-54 B.C.E.), the
"best lyric poet" Rome produced and one of the greatest in world literature.
Lesbia for ever on
me rails;
To talk of me, she never fails.
Now, hang me, but for all her art
I find that I have gained her heart.
My proof is this: I plainly see
The case is just the same with me;
I curse her every hour sincerely,
Yet, hang me, but I love her dearly.
The ability of
Catullus to express in simple fashion his intense feelings and curiosity about himself
and his world had a noticeable impact on later Latin poets.
The development of
Roman prose was greatly aided by the practice of oratory. Romans had great respect for
oratory because the ability to persuade people in public debate meant success in
politics. Oratory was brought to perfection in a literary fashion by Cicero (106-43 B.C.E.), the best exemplar of the literary and intellectual interests of the senatorial
elite of the late Republic and, indeed, the greatest prose writer of that period. For
Cicero, oratory was not simply skillful speaking. An orator was a statesman, a man who
achieved his highest goal by pursuing an active life in public affairs.
Later, when the
turmoil of the late Republic forced him into semiretirement politically, Cicero became
more interested in the writing of philosophical treatises. He was not an original thinker,
but performed a valuable service for Roman society by popularizing and making
understandable the works of Greek philosophers. In his philosophical works, Cicero, more
than anyone else, transmitted the classical intellectual heritage to the Western world.
Cicero's original contributions came in the field of politics. His works On the Laws and
On the Republic provided fresh insights into political thought. His emphasis on the need
to pursue an active life to benefit and improve humankind would later greatly influence
the Italian Renaissance.
The most
distinguished poet of the Augustan Age was Virgil (70-19 B.C.E.). The son of a small
landholder in northern Italy, he proved to be only the first of a series of literary
figures in the Augustan Age who welcomed the rule of Augustus. Virgil's masterpiece was
the epic poem, the Aeneid, clearly meant to rival the work of Homer and fulfill
an earlier promise made to Augustus to write a great work in his honor. The
connection between Troy and Rome is made explicitly. Aeneas, the son of Anchises of Troy, survives the
destruction of Troy and eventually settles in Latium; hence, Roman civilization is
linked to Greek history. The character of Aeneas is portrayed in terms that remind us of
the ideal Roman—his virtues are duty, piety, and faithfulness. Virgil's overall
purpose was to show that Aeneas had fulfilled his mission to establish the Romans in Italy
and thereby start Rome on its divine mission to rule the world.
Let others fashion
from bronze more lifelike, breathing
images—
For so they shall—and evoke living faces from marble;
Others excel as orators, others track with their instruments
The planets circling in heaven and predict when stars will
appear.
But Romans, never
forget that government is your medium!
Be this your art:—to practice men in the habit of peace,
Generosity to the conquered, and firmness against aggressors.
As Virgil expressed it, ruling was Rome's gift.
Another prominent
Augustan poet was Horace (65—8 B.C.E.), a friend of Virgil. He was also close to
Augustus and had a strong sense of identification with Italy. Horace was a very
sophisticated writer whose overriding concern seems to have been to point out to his
contemporaries the "follies and vices of his age." In the Satires, a medley of
poems on a variety of subjects, Horace is revealed as a detached observer of human
weaknesses. He directed his attacks against movements, not living people, and took on such
subjects as sexual immorality, greed, and job dissatisfaction ("How does it happen,
Maecenas, that no man alone is content with his lot?"). Horace mostly laughs at the
weaknesses of humankind and calls for forbearance: "Supposing my friend has got
liquored and wetted my couch, ... is he for such a lapse to be deemed less
Ovid (43 B.C.E.-18
C.E.) was the last of the great poets of the golden age. He belonged to a youthful,
privileged social group in Rome that liked to ridicule old Roman values. In keeping with
the spirit of this group, Ovid wrote a series of frivolous love poems known as the Amores.
Intended to entertain and shock, they achieved their goal. Ovid's most popular work was
the Metamorphoses, a series of fifteen complex mythological tales involving
transformations of shapes, such as the change of chaos into order. A storehouse of
mythological information, the Metamorphoses inspired many painters, sculptors, and
writers, including Shakespeare.
Another of Ovid's
works was The Art of Love. This was essentially a takeoff on didactic poems. Whereas
authors of earlier didactic poems had written guides to farming, hunting, or some such
subject, Ovid's work was a handbook on the seduction of women (see the box on p. 174).
The Art of Love appeared to applaud the loose sexual morals of the Roman upper classes at
a time when Augustus was trying to clean up the sexual scene in upper-class Rome. The
princeps was not pleased. Ovid chose to ignore the wishes of Augustus and paid a price for
it. In 8 C.E., he was implicated in a sexual scandal, possibly involving the emperor's
daughter Julia, and was banished to a small town on the coast of the Black Sea where he
died in exile.
The most famous
Latin prose work of the golden age was written by the historian Livy (59 B.C.E.-17 C.E.).
Livy's masterpiece was the History of Rome from the foundation of the city to 9 B.C.E.
Only 35 of the original 142 books have survived, although we do possess brief summaries
of the whole work from other authors. Livy perceived history in terms of moral lessons.
He stated in the preface that
The study of
history is the best medicine for a sick mind; for in history you have a record of the
infinite variety of human experience plainly set out for all to see; and in that record
you can find for yourself and your country both examples and warnings: fine things to
take as models, base things, rotten through and through, to avoid.
For Livy, human
character was the determining factor in history.
Livy's history
celebrated Rome's greatness. He included scene upon scene that not only revealed the
character of the chief figures but also demonstrated the virtues that had made Rome
great. Of course, he had serious weaknesses as a historian. He was not always concerned
about the factual accuracy of his myriad stories and was not overly critical of his
sources. But he did tell a good story, and his work became the standard history of Rome
for a long time.
In the history of
Latin literature, the century and a half after Augustus is often labeled the "silver
age" to indicate that the literary efforts of the period, while good, were not equal
to the high standards of the Augustan "golden age." The popularity of rhetorical
training encouraged the use of clever and ornate literary expressions at the expense of
original and meaningful content. A good example of this trend can be found in the works of
Seneca.
Educated in Rome,
Seneca (c. 4 B.C.E.-65 C.E.) became strongly attached to the philosophy of Stoicism. He
was a prolific writer, producing nine tragedies, 124 philosophical letters, seven books of
Natural Questions, and a number of philosophical dialogues. In letters written to a
The greatest
historian of the silver age was Tacitus (c. 56-120). His main works included the Annals
and Histories, which presented a narrative account of Roman history from the reign of
Tiberius through the assassination of Domitian (14-96). Tacitus believed that history had
a moral purpose: "It seems to me a historian's foremost duty to ensure that merit is
recorded, and to confront evil deeds and words with the fear of posterity's
denunciations " As a member of the senatorial class, Tacitus was disgusted with the
abuses of power perpetrated by the emperors. Forced to be silent in the reign of Domitian, he was determined that the "evil deeds" of wicked men would not be
forgotten. Many historians believe he went too far in projecting back into his account of
the past the evils of his own day. His work Germania is especially important as a source
of information about the early Germans. But it too is colored by Tacitus's attempt to show
the Germans as noble savages in comparison to the decadent Romans.
Art
The Romans were also
dependent on the Greeks for artistic inspiration. During the third and second centuries B.C.E., they adopted many features of the Hellenistic style of art. The Romans developed a
taste for Greek statues, which they placed not only in public buildings, but in their
private houses. Once demand outstripped the supply of original works, reproductions of
Greek statues became fashionable. The Romans' own portrait sculpture was characterized by
an intense realism that included even unpleasant physical details. Wall paintings and
frescoes in the houses of the rich realistically depicted landscapes, portraits, and
scenes from mythological stories.
The Romans excelled
in architecture, a highly practical art. Although they continued to utilize Greek styles
and made use of colonnades, rectangular structures, and post and lintel construction, the
Romans were also innovative. They made considerable use of curvilinear forms: the arch,
vault, and dome. The Romans were also the first people in antiquity to use concrete on a
massive scale. By combining concrete and curvilinear forms, they were able to construct
massive buildings—public baths, such as those of Caracalla, and amphitheaters, the
most famous of which was the Colosseum in Rome, capable of seating 50,000 spectators.
These large buildings were made possible by Roman engineering skills. These same skills
were put to use in constructing roads (the Romans built a network of 50,000 miles of
roads throughout their empire), aqueducts (in Rome, almost a dozen aqueducts kept a
population of one million supplied with water), and bridges.
p. 174 - Ovid and
the Art of Love
Ovid has been called
the last great poet of the Augustan golden age of literature. One of his most famous works
was The Art of Love, a guidebook on the seduction of women. Unfortunately for Ovid, the
work appeared at a time when Augustus was anxious to improve the morals of the Roman upper
class. Augustus considered the poem offensive, and Ovid soon found himself in exile.
Ovid, The Art of
Love
Now I'll teach you
how to captivate and hold the woman of your choice. This is the most important part of all
my lessons. Lovers of every land, lend an attentive ear to my discourse; let goodwill
warm your hearts, for I am going to fulfill the promises I made you.
First of all, be
quite sure that there isn't a woman who cannot be won, and make up your mind that you will
win her. Only you must prepare the ground. Sooner would the birds cease their song in the
springtime, or the grasshopper be silent in the summer . . . than a woman resist the
tender wooing of a youthful lover. . . .
Now the first thing
you have to do is to get on good terms with the fair one's maid. She can make things easy
for you. Find out whether she is fully in her mistress's confidence, and if she knows
all about her secret dissipations. Leave no stone unturned to win her over. Once you have
her on your side, the rest is easy. . . .
In the first place,
it's best to send her a letter, just to pave the way. In it you should tell her how you
dote on her; pay her pretty compliments and say all the nice
If she refuses your
letter and sends it back unread, don't give up; hope for the best and try again. . . .
Don't let your hair
stick up in tufts on your head; see that your hair and your beard are decently trimmed.
See also that your nails are clean and nicely filed; don't have any hair growing out of
your nostrils; take care that your breath is sweet, and don't go about reeking like a
billy-goat. All other toilet refinements leave to the women or to perverts. . . .
When you find
yourself at a feast where the wine is flowing freely, and where a woman shares the same
couch with you, pray to that god whose mysteries are celebrated during the night, that the
wine may not overcloud your brain. 'Tis then you may easily hold converse with your
mistress in hidden words whereof she will easily divine the meaning. . . .
By subtle
flatteries you may be able to steal into her heart, even as the river insensibly overflows
the banks which fringe it. Never cease to sing the praises of her face, her hair, her
taper fingers and her dainty foot. . . .
Tears, too, are a
mighty useful resource in the matter of love. They would melt a diamond. Make a point,
therefore, of letting your mistress see your face all wet with tears. Howbeit, if you
can't manage to squeeze out any tears—and they won't always flow just when you want
them to—put your finger in your eyes.