Ancient Greece and Rome, two great civilizations, are the cradles of western culture, two eternal monuments in the history of world culture, and the moderns that westerners talk about. The industrious people of ancient Greece and Rome used their wisdom to create amazing masterpieces for us, leaving us a height that could not be surpassed in the history of culture and art. Among them, ancient Greek culture is the source of Roman culture, and Roman culture has been developing and innovating on this basis, creating many unique cultural and artistic ideas and masterpieces. Therefore, this paper mainly discusses the similarities and differences between the two cultures, finds out what "primitive Greece" is, distinguishes the innovation of Rome, and provides some superficial clues and veins for the inheritance and development of western culture. This paper will be divided into four aspects: economy, politics, culture and art.

Economic development model

Let's go back to the map and see the geographical locations of Greece and Rome. Greece consists of the continental peninsula and some small islands scattered in the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It is surrounded by the sea on three sides, and only the north is connected with the land. It has a mild maritime climate with many hills and few plains. It is precisely because of such geographical conditions that its agriculture is difficult to develop. In order to survive, the Greeks learned to exchange agricultural products with other regions and gradually formed a prosperous trade exchange in the Mediterranean region. The environment in Rome is similar to that in Greece. It is located in the present Italian peninsula, and it is a hilly and swamp area. So agriculture is not very developed. But Rome did not solve this problem through free trade and barter, as Greece did. It used a bloody way-aggression and expansion. In order to meet the growing demand of the Roman Empire for food and wealth, the Romans chose to keep invading. Relying on powerful troops and weapons, Rome jumped from a humble town on the Tiber River to an imperial center that ruled 2 million square miles. (4) Every day, hundreds of ships and vehicles arrive in Rome on docks and roads, bringing gold, silver, jewels, grains and grain plundered from all over the world. At the same time, with the continuous expansion of the Roman Empire, the consumption of these materials increased sharply, which in turn led to the continuous expansion of the Roman Empire, thus forming a vicious circle, which accompanied the Roman Empire from beginning to end. In contrast, in order to resist the harsh and changeable sea environment, Greece has developed a benign competition model of mutual cooperation. Moreover, the latter has penetrated into the spiritual field of contemporary westerners. In addition, the economic development of Greece mainly depends on overseas and regional trade conducted by businessmen and farming by local farmers. The number of slaves in Greek city-states is much less than that in Rome. After years of war, Rome brought wealth and a large number of slaves. These slaves are widely distributed in most industries, such as mining, metallurgy, navigation, paving roads and building large buildings. It can be said that a large part of the greatness and achievements of ancient Rome were created by slaves.

Generally speaking, the economic development of Greece and Rome took completely different paths and embodied two completely different ideas, which had a far-reaching impact on the economic development of western countries later. Anyone who knows a little about history knows that western countries have basically gone through these two stages, such as the overseas expansion of the new European Empire to Africa and America, and the slave trade, which is just another version of the Roman form, while the widespread trade between countries at the same time is a Greek reproduction.

Politics and democracy

When it comes to democracy, we will think of the contemporary western "human rights" society, but the word democracy first appeared in Athens, ancient Greece. Greek democratic politics, on the one hand, gave democracy to hundreds of people, on the other hand, deprived thousands of slaves and freemen of their right to participate in politics. The essence of Greek democracy at that time was: majority rule; Everyone is equal before the law; Freedom of personal life. Although democracy at this time has a strong class nature and is only aimed at citizens' democracy, this view has far surpassed its era thousands of years ago. Compared with the democracy of our time, I think their connotations are the same. Although contemporary western political circles keep saying that "everyone is equal and human rights are guaranteed", does this democracy really exist? For example, in the United States, its politics is still in the hands of a few rich and powerful big capitalists, which is reflected in its appearance as the spokesman of "democracy" funded by it-the president of the United States. Middle and lower class citizens are still often played by politicians in the illusion of "democracy". In this sense, its democracy is completely consistent with that of ancient Greece.

The early political system of ancient Rome was modeled after Greece. In the later period, from Augustus Caesar, "democracy" ceased to exist and became an absolute monarchy until its demise. The greatest contribution of the Romans was legislation. In the process of fierce contradictions and struggles between the nobility and the poor, the first written law, the Twelve Copper Tables Act, came into being. Although this law still safeguarded the interests of the nobility and the upper class, it was a great progress of civilization at that time. After that, civil law, civil law and civil rights law came into being one after another, which laid the embryonic form of the western legal system. In particular, the provision that "citizens' private property is sacred and inviolable" in the Civil Rights Law has become the eternal theme of western law.

Religion and art

Horace, a Roman poet, once sang: "Greece was captured, and the captured Greece captured the savage victors, and literature and art moved into a lonely place." Indeed, the early Roman culture was almost a pure inheritance and imitation of Greece, which was reflected in myths and religions. For example, the mythical Roman God is almost a copy of Greek mythology. Demeter, the Greek goddess of the earth, became celis, the god of the Roman valley; Zeus, the king of the gods, became Jupiter; Hera became Juno; Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, became Venus. With the continuous expansion of the Roman Empire, foreign religions spread everywhere, among which Christianity, which appeared in Rome around 40 AD, had the greatest influence. From its appearance, Christianity rose rapidly throughout the Roman Empire. At this time, the imperial emperors needed a kind of spiritual public opinion to restrain people's thoughts out of the need of rule, so in the last emperor's parish era, Christianity was designated as the state religion of Rome, which opened the European Christian era. Until today, Christianity is still regarded as a vast area of the West.

In education, the Romans carried forward the "academy" education of the Greeks and created a series of very sound educational systems. Including primary education and higher education. This system continues to this day and has become the main body of education in various countries. It is worth mentioning that the higher education in Rome, then called "institutions of higher learning", was the predecessor of modern universities. It emphasizes moral education and points out that "teachers should not only have profound knowledge, but also be role models for students in life". This idea of teaching and educating people with both ability and political integrity was inherited by later generations.

In the field of art, it is manifested as solidified art such as architecture and sculpture, and also as literature. The architectural styles of ancient Greece and Rome are quite different. Italian architect Bruno Saiwei pointed out in his "Architectural Space Theory": "Hellenism = a beautiful era, symbolizing meditation and rest in passion; Romanesque = the age of force and luxury. " If appreciating Greek architecture is like listening to a peaceful and beautiful serenade, which inspires your deepest thinking and imagination everywhere, then ancient Roman architecture is more like a magnificent symphony. If the architecture of ancient Greece is exquisite and continuous, then the architecture of ancient Rome is a magnificent gathering. The most representative of Greek architecture is the temple. It is generally made of marble and supported by various stone pillars. Simple and elegant, the styles of Parthenon and Acropolis handed down from later generations can be seen. The architecture of ancient Rome inherited and absorbed the Greek style and gradually developed. At first, Roman buildings mostly used circular arches and domes, and their temple buildings mostly used Corinthian order. For example, the famous Pantheon in Rome is an extremely solemn and magnificent huge building, which was built in Octavian's era in 27 BC. The whole hall is a huge drum-shaped architectural style, with a glittering dome above and a dazzling array of reliefs inside. Ancient Greek and Roman architecture had a far-reaching influence on later western architecture. Especially during the Renaissance, a huge wave of imitating the classical period was set off. At this time, a large number of antique-style buildings appeared, such as: Mantua St. Andre's Church with the Arc de Triomphe in ancient Rome as the sample; Rusella Mansion with classical columns; St Peter's Cathedral with a dome and columns. ③

In addition, in literature, sculpture, natural science and other aspects, ancient Greek and Roman civilization also provided a steady stream of inspiration and vitality for the development of western literature and art in later generations.

The above is only a brief discussion on some aspects of the influence of ancient Greece and Rome on later generations, and I can only knock on the heavy door of western classical period with my vulgar words. But only from these aspects, we can see how great and far-reaching the influence of ancient Greece and Rome on the western world is. Maybe we can learn to reflect on our own culture, find the essence of it, reposition ourselves rationally and move forward with more motivation.