Roman Empire vs. Athenian Empire: Culture, Military, and Myth

Introduction: Two Empires, Common Strategies

The Roman Empire and the Athenian Empire were alike in many ways. Both developed a culture based on the same mythology in order to unite their people in belief — the Romans Latinized the Greek gods and goddesses, but the narratives remained largely the same. Individuals like Socrates in Athens or the early Christians in Rome were persecuted for teaching a faith that opposed the native mythology (Haaren, 2010). Both empires expanded their influence through war: the Romans conquered lands as far away as England, while the Athenians kept mainly to Greece but did repel invaders like the Persians, and warred against other city-states — as in the Peloponnesian Wars — in order to secure their own routes, borders, and dominance in the region. Rome similarly destroyed Carthage multiple times so as to maintain its dominance. Both Rome and Athens were culturally and militarily suited to dominate, and this paper describes how both used the arts, their militaries, their mythology, and their philosophy to maintain their empires.

The Origins and Rise of Rome

Rome was founded in 753 BC by brothers Romulus and Remus. Their strategy for building their community was based on accepting the outcasts of other societies. This strategy worked well, as the Romans were hardened by fighting and united by their shared experiences. Their society was based on fairness because they knew that if they did not look after and respect one another, they would have nothing. Gradually the kingdom grew, with Romulus as their leader — Rome was named for him.

Over the centuries, Rome had many kings, but these kings grew very corrupt, and eventually Roman citizens revolted against them and vowed never to have another king. This arrangement lasted for some time, with Roman leaders being selected by vote (Racine, 2013). Eventually, this too changed. When the Roman soldier Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon and marched his troops into the city of Rome, a new day dawned. The Romans wanted to crown Caesar king. In truth, Rome was no longer a republic but an empire. Julius Caesar was assassinated shortly thereafter by a group of conspirators. Caesar's nephew took control of the empire, however, and became the first Roman Emperor.

The Athenian Empire and the Age of Pericles

The Athenian Empire began similarly, with the Greek people forming out of obscurity but being brought together by war. The Persian invasion of Greece brought out the best in the Athenians: they led the Delian League, which was founded in 478 BC in order to oppose the Persians. This League was similar in spirit to the collective Greek warriors who fought together against Troy, as described by Homer in The Iliad. Homer's epic poem depicts a group of Greeks of different origins, united by the gods to battle the Trojans. Mythology is dominant throughout the poem, and this mythology would play an integral role in the Athenian Empire — Pericles would oversee the construction of many marvelous temples and statues to the gods and goddesses their culture worshipped (Racine, 2013).

Indeed, as Homer points out, from the earliest days of their history the Greeks had a special sense of their relationship to the spiritual and the divine. Their relationships with one another could be complicated or worsened by neglect or disrespect of the gods — a common theme explored by the great Athenian playwrights, from Aeschylus to Sophocles to Euripides. As Homer writes in the opening lines of The Iliad: "And which of the gods was it that sent them to quarrel? It was the son of Jove and Leto; for he was angry with the king and sent a pestilence upon the host to plague the people, because the son of Atreus had dishonored Chryses his priest" (Homer, 2004, p. 2).

During the Persian invasions, the Greek city-state leaders met in Delos, but the Athenian leader Pericles took command, as Athens was the central hub of Greece — it led the way in culture, arts, philosophy, learning, and politics. The League did not last many years because of infighting among the city-states, namely between Athens and Sparta, but the Athenian Empire was effectively at its height during this time. It acted as the leader in Greece and operated at the forefront of the repeated repulsion of the Persian invasion. Pericles oversaw the establishment of democracy in Athens, the expansion of theater, the rise of artisans and craftsmen, and the building of the Parthenon and the temple of Athena.

Pericles helped impress upon Athenians the importance of honoring the gods and goddesses, which was a vital aspect of maintaining Athens's culture and integrity as an empire during the so-called Age of Pericles. Thus, when Socrates began to teach that the myths of gods and goddesses fighting were more likely a projection of human qualities onto God than a realistic representation of the divine, the philosopher was condemned to death for corrupting the youth of Athens. Such was the intensity with which the Athenian rulers viewed the importance of upholding mythology. Ironically, their killing of Socrates only made him all the more famous and significant, as it inspired Plato to write his works and caused the Athenian school of philosophy to lay the foundations for Western thought for the coming millennium.

Conclusion

The empires of Rome and Athens were similar in the sense that they both used culture and the arts, military strength, and the strategy of combating and warring with other city-states who posed economic or military threats to their empires. The rulers of both empires celebrated the mythology of their realms and condemned those who taught an opposing religious culture or viewpoint: Socrates was condemned in Athens, and Christians were condemned by a succession of Roman emperors until the time of Constantine, who ended Christian persecution.

References

Haaren, J. (2010). Famous Men of Greece. NY: ReadaClassic.

Homer. (2004). The Iliad. NY: Cambridge University Press.

Lamp, K. (2015). Citizens and captives: Depictions of the 'conquered' in the Roman Empire. Advances in the History of Rhetoric, 18(2): 147–161.

Morley, N. (2010). The Roman Empire: Roots of Imperialism. NY: Pluto Press.

Racine, F. (2013). Cosmopolis: Imagining community in late classical Athens and the early Roman Empire. Classical Review, 63(1): 90.

Annotated Bibliography

Haaren, J. (2010). Famous Men of Greece. NY: ReadaClassic.

This classic work by Haaren is a scholarly source, as Haaren was a highly respected classics professor and president of the department of pedagogy at his university. His Famous Men series has been used by educators for decades to inform students about the history of ancient civilizations. In this book, Haaren describes the lives and times of various important Greek figures, including Pericles and Socrates. This source provides information on Athens and what it achieved during its height of empire, as well as how it achieved it.

Homer. (2004). The Iliad. NY: Cambridge University Press.

Homer's epic poem is a classic of literature that has been respected, admired, taught, and read for centuries. It provides insight into the Greek mind as well as how the Greeks used mythology in their own lives. This source supports the argument that Athens used culture to maintain its empire — by building temples to the gods and goddesses, by celebrating dramatic art, and by memorializing the heroic deeds of its ancestors.

Lamp, K. (2015). Citizens and captives: Depictions of the 'conquered' in the Roman Empire. Advances in the History of Rhetoric, 18(2): 147–161.

This is a scholarly source, as it appears in a peer-reviewed academic journal. It discusses how the Romans were able to expand their empire so quickly and so effectively by granting certain allowances to the people they conquered, provided those peoples accepted Roman culture. This source is used to show how the Roman Empire, like the Athenian Empire, used culture to maintain its position.

Morley, N. (2010). The Roman Empire: Roots of Imperialism. NY: Pluto Press.

This source is scholarly, as Morley is a Professor of Ancient Economic History and Historical Theory at the University of Bristol and has written several books on these topics. His book on the Roman Empire discusses how Rome was able to maintain its empire by using its military and its cultural influence — especially its emphasis on building and providing aqueducts and roads, as well as entertainments, wherever it extended its empire. This source demonstrates that Rome expanded and maintained its expansion through the combination of military force, culture, and innovation.

Racine, F. (2013). Cosmopolis: Imagining community in late classical Athens and the early Roman Empire. Classical Review, 63(1): 90.

This source appears in a peer-reviewed academic journal and may thus be considered scholarly. It discusses the ways in which Athens and Rome used the city to support outward expansion. The city constituted the heart of the empire and gave birth to cultural ideas as well as political expression. These ideas and expressions were taken up by artists, military generals, and politicians, all of whom supported the maintenance of the empire. This source is used to show that both Athens and Rome were able to maintain their empires by drawing on what their cities offered — a vibrant base where philosophy, education, politics, the arts, mythology, and military leaders could be cultivated and exported throughout their respective networks, thereby strengthening and fortifying the connections they constructed beyond the city walls.