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How religion influenced the daily life of the romans
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It is no simple task to pinpoint the most important contributions of the Greco Roman ages towards the later Western Roman culture of the Renaissance. Almost every aspect was influenced or supported by another. Despite this, there is a particular concept that has continually served as a core contributor: religion. From the time of early Greece and Rome, around 2500-500 BC, humans have considered religion to be not only an explanation of how life was created, but also a guide on how to live life. Initially, religion in Greece was centered around the poetry of Homer and Hesiod. Gods were thought to be of great multiplicity and each had a distinct personality which reflected the society of man. Their essence lacked uniformity, as portrayed …show more content…
Philosophy, in turn, related back not exclusively to rational thought, but also to religion. One particular ancient philosophy that was revived in the Renaissance was Plantonics. It was actually so prominent in Renaissance thought that the revived version was given a new name: Neoplatonics. Initially, many early doctors of the Church came in contact with Neoplatonism. From this exposure, elements of Christian philosophy became “inextricably mixed with Plato’s teachings.” Thus, the Greco Roman roots of Plato, which had been instigated by the movement countering the polytheistic religion of mythology, and the Greco Roman formation of Christianity both served as the main contributors to the Neoplationism of the Italian Renaissance. Furthermore, Neoplatonism itself contributed ideas that inspired many aspects of the Renaissance. Two important figures of philosophy and literature of the Renaissance era include Dante and Petrarch. In at least four of Dante’s works,Vita Nuova, Convivio, com media, and Timaeus, Neoplatonism shines through. In fact, Dante served as a well known initial predecessor of the Platonic Academy in Florence. Petrarch was inspired by Plato in even greater ways. He was the first to distinctively link Plato with the ideals of Italian humanism. Through his work, Petrarch foreshadowed the “central motive of the Florentine Neoplatonist’s: the deification of …show more content…
In fact, by the 16th century Neoplatonism was so prominent that even its direct influence on art was great. Neoplatonism contributed to the arts in two main ways: by its theories of ideal beauty and of universality of men. Greco Roman religion also influenced and provided inspiration for politics during the Italian rebirth. At the beginning the Renaissance, Nicholas V. was elected as pope. During this period popes acted more as monarchs than as pontiffs. Nicholas V. initiated a New Vatican. He conceived this idea of a New Vatican from the idea of restoring the old supremacy of Rome. This concept was borrowed from the religious unity once created by Augustus in the Greco Roman ages. Nicholas V also hoped to revive the traditions Christianity held before the middle
The eighteenth century philosophers were more similar to the thirteenth century theologians than to humans today.
The ancient Greeks practiced a religion that was in effect, a building block to many ensuing pagan religions. This religion revolved around their reverence to the gods. Essentially, the Greeks worshipped numerous gods, making their religion polytheistic. They believed that exercising the opportunity to choose between a wide array of gods to worship offered them a great sense of freedom that they treasured. After all, the Greeks were known for their intellectual distinction of which their means of worship played a huge part. Each city-state, or polis, thus had an affiliated god who protected and guided its residents. Within a given polis, the belief in common gods unified the people. Ultimately, the Greeks yearned for this unity and order in the universe, which is a characteristic that is not unlike that of people today. It might seem contradictory that they believed in many gods and sought organization at the same time, for larger numbers are inherently unstable. But, to the god-fearing Greeks, each god represented a different facet of life that together upheld an organized universe if each of these gods was properly appeased. To satisfy these gods, the Greeks participated in activities such as prayer and sacrifice and erected divine temples and centers for oracles in honor of specific gods. There is evidence of this institutionalization early on in the reign of the Olympian gods, thus forming the Olympian religion.
As Michelangelo once said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it” ("Michelangelo Quotes"). During the Greek/Roman periods prosperity was scarce, and to the early citizens who lived during this time one of the only values was personal religious beliefs/ideas - mostly pagan. The expression of these beliefs/ideas were most commonly portrayed through paintings, sculptures, and buildings. During the Renaissance periods prosperity was on a steady but slow growth. This growth was still accompanied by a flowering of philosophy, literature, and especially art. Renaissance arts mostly portrayed the beliefs of Christianity. Acknowledging the years passed between the Greek/Roman to the Renaissance, art was still valued as one of life’s great prosperities in both times. Against the backdrop of different political stabilities and prosperity statuses both time periods were jointed by the importance of personal desires and one's beliefs. While the Renaissance and Greek/Roman time periods were different in many ways, the two time periods had similarities including the expression of the human form, the confidence with the body, and different religious beliefs.
Throughout the ages religion has been a very important part of history. It shaped many cultures and allowed us to further understand numerous civilizations. Through art we have been able to interpret the beliefs, and value of each culture. Two of these cultures include the Christians and Greeks. Both which had many similarities and differences in their beliefs and their depiction of God/gods.
In about 30 B.C. Christianity started to spread around the Roman Empire. As discussed earlier, it is in the best interest of Roman leaders if their religion remained as the predominant religion. As a result, Roman leaders began
The ancient Greeks with their brilliant and imaginative spirit created a complete order of things that functioned harmoniously in the infinite world that contained them. Although its exact origins are lost in time, Greek religion is thought to date from about the 2d millenium B.C., when the culture of Aryan invaders fused with those of the Aegean and Minoan peoples who had inhabited the region of Greece from Neolithic times [1]. The beginning and the genesis of this world occupied the ancient Greeks in much the same way it did the early people of every civilization. Greek religion was at the beginning a blend of Minoan, Egyptian, Asian, and other elements, but it subsequently evolved along with Greek thought.
Peter Abelard was a renowned dialectician from 1079 to 1142. He subjected theological doctrines to logical analysis. In other words, he used rational argument to discover truth. Saint Thomas Aquinas, was a believer in the power of reason, giving St. Augustine's theory an alternate approach. He taught in Paris and Italy during the years 1225 to 1274. Both of these new age thinkers changed the way Catholic followers viewed the "natural world."
The intellectual traditions of the Greco-Roman world posed serious threats to Christianity and Islam. Greco-Roman traditions taught and emphasized logic and reason and observed the natural world to find answers, where Christianity relied on faith and belief. In some ways Christianity and Islam adopted various philosophies from the Greek world, while severely rejecting others. As a whole, we can identify which ways Christians such as Tertullian or Saint Augustine and Muslims such as Avicenna addressed Greco-Roman learning. We can also infer how they would have responded to Charlemagne’s forced conversions and enthusiasm for classical learning.
The ecclesiastical condemnation of Aristoteleanism and Arabian philosophy in 1277, which included some of the theses of Thomas Aquinas, had a profound influence on the subsequent development of medieval philosophy. Of course, opposition to Greco-Arabian philosophy was nothing new in the 13th century. Its opening decades had seen the newly translated work of Aristotle and Averroes forbidden; yet their vogue spread, and in the years that followed a reconciliation was attempted, with varied success, between Christian dogma and the 'new learning'. The 'heresy' of Latin Averroism as the end of the century only confirmed the suspicion of the traditionalist theologians that any Christian who accepted the credentials of Aristoteleanism must arrive at conclusions contrary to faith. The great condemnation of 1277 expressed their renewed reaction to Aristotle and left an even deeper impression on subsequent scholars of the inadequacy of philosophy and pure human reason, in the name of theology. If, as had been claimed, the 14th century is a period of criticism, it is above all, a period of criticism, in the name of theology, of philosophy and the pretensions of pure reason.
Throughout the history of the world there have been a number of civilizations which have had a longstanding influence not only their own people and culture, but also on various other societies and civilizations. The Greek and Roman civilizations are two such civilizations. Both Greek and Roman influences have permeated societies and cultures besides their own. While there are many notable similarities between ancient Greek and Roman mythology and religion, there are likely also many differences in their origins, beliefs, and practices. Still, ancient Greek and Roman mythology and culture have influenced people of the world from the medieval ages up to the present. Indeed, ancient Greek and Roman mythology and culture have influenced world theology through the ages.
Throughout the lifespan of the Roman empire, religion and religious rituals were an important part of Roman identity. For many, religion served as more than just a casual system of shared beliefs, but as a dedicated way of life. Religion governed who people associated with, how their day was structured, their adherence to the Roman Empire, and what was deemed as appropriate behavior. Christianity was born during a time of great religious diversity in the Roman Empire, many of the key characteristics that we view as being ‘Christian’ today were heavily influenced or even taken directly from the surrounding beliefs and rituals.
By the 5th century philosophy was well developed by several logicians and philosophers but as its reach spread from the eastern world to the west issues arose that had to be addressed. For most western societies Christianity had a strong hold and was not allowed to be tampered with or contradicted. Never the less, people were in search for faith and truth which philosophy could help them discover. Thus began theologians from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions attempting to blend and balance faith with philosophy.¹ Many theories from philosophy seemed to add logical backing to religion helping to create an even more concrete belief as proven by many, especially Augustine of Hippo; however, like any religious movements there were combatants
One influential cult was based upon a mystical interpretation of Plato. Neo-Platonism was like a rational science that attempted to break down and describe every aspect of the divine essence and its relationship with the human soul. An Alexandrian Jew named Philo tried using Greek philosophy to interpret the Jewish scriptures. He wanted to unite the two traditions by suggesting that the Greek philosophers had been inspired by the same God who had revealed himself to the Jews.
The period saw the development and growth of a new attitude towards life and more importantly towards the role of nature around us. Rationalism, as an ideology, gained importance and influenced literary works to a large extent. Rationalism as a philosophical doctrine, asserts that reason and factual analysis, rather than faith, dogma or religious teaching should determine the truth. Such a philosophy provided stability and order to the society and was hence considered as a welcoming change from the chaos that Europe had recently experienced. The Age of Reason, hence, emphasized on the importance to perceive life in a scientific and detached manner. It rejected emotion or fashionable belief and stressed on a more rational, logical and scientific attitude towards life. The discoveries of Isaac Newton, the rationalism of Réné Descartes, the skepticism of Pierre Bay...
Overall, the transition or the development between the three stages of philosophy differs by reason and faith. Ancient philosophy focused on faith and reason versus Medieval and Modern philosophy has a separation between reason and faith. The main theme of the development of “Western Philosophy” is faith and reason. In the conclusion of this paper, I already discussed the development of Western philosophy, and the historical standpoint of the how philosophy became what it is