Greek Art vs Roman Art - Ideals, Techniques, and Cultural Influences

Although Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome are both located in the Mediterranean area and are often confused with each other, there are many major differences between the two, both in terms of social class, mythology, and life. Ancient Greece flourished in the 5th century BC, while Rome did not flourish until hundreds of years later. It is believed that much of what Rome was like in everyday life was adopted from the Greeks, but with minor modifications.

Greek clothing adopted by the Romans

Socially, both the Greeks and Romans had a society based on a hierarchy. Greece had a social system divided into five categories: slaves, free people, mestizos (foreign citizens, but with some rights), citizens and women. In Greek civilization, women did not hold a position, they were considered even lower than slaves. Roman society was divided into four different categories: free people, slaves, plebeians and patricians. In Roman society, unlike Greek society, women had a privileged status, being considered citizens, except in the case of those born into slavery, but they could not hold political office or vote.
Both Greece and Rome are perhaps most famous for the stories from mythology, which both civilizations had. However, it is believed that the stories from Greek culture were adopted by the Romans, with minor changes to names and certain situations. An example is the famous manuscript Iliad, produced by the Greeks. Similarly, almost 700 years later, the Romans produced a similar manuscript called the Aeneid. However, the differences between the mythologies of the two civilizations are given by the values ​​of the people and their perspectives on life. The Greeks focused on their behavior during life, not on planning for life after death. The Romans on the other hand believed that if they were ideal citizens, then they could become gods in the afterlife.

Major differences in art

The differences in ideology between the Greeks and Romans are probably what lead to the differences in technique. The Greeks believed that art was an expression of perfection, always seeking the perfect physical form in their works of art. The Greeks often represented the gods in their art, in an effort to express the ideal form of beauty, physical endurance and strength. For the Romans, however, art had a more practical function. The work of art was used mainly for ornamentation and decoration. As a synthesis we can say that the Greeks were more interested in an idealized representation, while the Romans were interested in a representation of reality, these fundamental differences being very visible in their art.

Greek sculpture tends to focus on subjects from mythology and representations of athletes, of course also in an idealized form. The Romans preferred to sculpt historical events and real people, being famous for their detailed busts.

We can say that the Romans were the most creative when it comes to painting. While the Greeks developed more painting on ceramic vessels, the Romans created colorful murals, many of which are still intact. Painted portraits were also quite popular in the Roman era.

The Greeks and Romans are also remembered in history for their contribution to the architecture of today's buildings. The Greeks were responsible for incorporating three different styles into architecture: the Corinthian style, the Doric style, and the Ionic style. Greek architecture inspired Roman architecture, which in turn included arcades and aqueducts in their buildings. Another different architectural aspect is that the Greeks chose to integrate a lot of statues into their buildings thus honoring the human figure, while the Romans seemed to focus more on the design of the buildings and the technical part of the construction. The Greeks used materials such as plaster, wood, marble, and metals to create their architecture. While the Romans, even though they used the same materials, were also responsible for integrating concrete as a new building material, something the Greeks never had.

These are just some of the major differences between the two civilizations, considered today as classical, many of the periods that followed or were inspired by the cultures of the two, an important example being Byzantine art.