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Ancient Greece and ancient Rome

Compare and contrast the legacies of ancient Greece and ancient Rome in the area of development and use of mathematics. Discuss possible reasons why there were a lot of mathematical developments in ancient Greece but mostly applications in ancient Rome.

The great Roman statesman Cicero stated: Greek mathematics lead the field in pure geometry, while we limit ourselves to reckoning and measuring (Lecture 7, 2009). By this statement, Cicero meant that the Romans excelled in construction, architecture, and hands-on disciplines, often using Greek concepts and methods, but they did not spend much time engaged in philosophizing about mathematics on their own. The resources of Rome were diverted to empire-building, and Romans who were active in politics and the military were valued in society, not individuals who shone in the arts and pure philosophy. Much of Roman abstract thought, decorative art, and religion was imitative rather than innovative. As a large empire rather than a loose conglomeration of city-states, Rome also had the luxury of picking and choosing which aspects of various civilizations it might like to incorporate into its own.

In contrast to the Romans, the Greeks attached a certain amount of stigma to manual labor: Xenophon commented that: What