As Greece expanded, Italy took it's example during the eighth century BC. The Roman people imitated much of Greek culture. Things such as government, and warfare. Though Greek was a lot more successful than Greece ever was, especially with warfare. In just five centuries Rome became the vocal point of a vast empire. This empire stretched to Mesopotamia to the Atlantic Ocean. Though, with much land, comes hardships and difficulty. Soon enough, a new man of history rose to power - Augustus Caesar. He was an army commander. He totally helped Rome do a 360!
Lots of aspects of Rome imitated farming skills and tricks from the Greeks or Palestinians. Many of the Indo-European settlers created tribes. They settled on a few hills by the Tiber River. It was called "Seven Hills". From the previous land owners - the Etruscans - they passed down some ideas from them. The Romans also borrowed lots of Greece. With many different cultures and ideas mingling, Roman thrived morphing them into one.
Heavily influenced by the Etruscans and the Greeks, the Romans had gotten skills they couldn't have even dreamed of! The king was also assisted by a "council of elders" sort of like the President is nowadays with Congress. A new term came into play also "patricians". This terms is upper class mean who belonged to the noblest Roman families.
More Terms
Republic - System of government in which decisions and power was shared between the Senate and the groups of male citizens.
Plebeians - Roman common people, normal people, usually wealthy. Were not patricians.
Senate - A government group that the king picked. Under their Republic government, all of the members were made patricians, but after some time plebeians (wealthy ones) were also aloud to be a part of this.
Consuls - In the Roman Republic, two senators who were the leaders of government and the military for one terms and they were also able to chose their successors.
Dictator - A person in the Roman Republic who ruler over everything and had total control over decision making. They had a maximum of six months for their term.
Tribunes - Magistrates that were chosen by plebeians, they even eventually got power to approve and veto laws.
Around 500 BC, Romans overthrew their monarchy. They were now a Republic! It was a mixture of the Greek democracy, and the oligarchy. This hadn't been known until this point in time. Now to discuss patricians and plebeians The patricians were the original people who were aloud to be part of the senate. Though, over time plebeians were also aloud to join these. Among the group of senators, there was the consul . (refer to definition). These two men were aloud to chose their successors, so they made sure to be persnickety and pick good candidates for the future Senate. The Romans also had a strong desire to never revert back to monarchy. The consul was supposed to help keep this mantra alive. Soon every public office was given a consul.
In crisis the Senate and the consul were aloud to pick a dictator to rule for a bit. (Usually they ruled for about a 6 month term). The plebeians originally did not like this idea. But as Rome grew and the plebeians ultimately got wealthier, they started to get upset that they were treated second class. They put a lot of pressure of the patricians, and even though they wouldn't admit it, they depended on the Senate. So then over the next two hundred years, plebeians became eligible for the Senate! They also got protective laws to help keep them protected and more secure. The laws were passed down and many of the patricians who were judges misinterpreted these laws, angering the plebeians slightly. So now the laws were written on slabs, so they could be properly understood by the latter generations of Romans. They were called the "Twelve Tables". They also served as a large basis and foundation of what was to be the Roman law in the next few centuries. What an influential thing!
As more time passed, the plebeians became even more respected and high in society. Also now, common people such as farmers were aloud to elect magistrates to office this was called tribunes. These tribunes eventually gained the power to add their own laws to society. Inkling by inkling, the plebeians were given more respectable place in society. Around 250 BC, people didn't even seem to bother between distinguishing these two groups. It didn't matter in government and politics if you were a patrician or a plebeian.
Now we move onto the Roman's "Mixed" Government. Their government was a mixture consisting of many features from both oligarchy and democracy. This was quite the advancement and widely admired in ancient times. It is still used as a model for governments in modern day societies. Though, it was still a struggle picking who the ultimate leader of their city-state to be. This decision rested on the shoulders of the Senate. Ultimately though, only the very wealthy were able to join the Senate. The Senate didn't even give out a salary. Though it had its downs, it was for the greater good. The Senate proved quite helpful and effective in society. They helped to veto the bad and to initiate laws for the greater good. They had vast power, but not total power. On another note, the pontiffs (see definition below) were Rome's leading magistrates in the Republic.
Rome was also very in touch with their mythology. Their empire had three deities representing them. They put these deities on display at the Capitol. Their citadel was what the acropolis of Greece would be - very popular and visited often. The three deities were Jupiter, god of the sky (the equivalent of Zeus for the Greeks); the goddess of fertility, Juno (equivalent to Hera); and Minerva (equivalent to Athena) who was the goddess of skill and wisdom.
Client - Person who gives services in exchange for money and the patron's protection.
Patron - A very wealthy person who helps to support others (less fortunate) with money and security. They do this in exchange for personal services.
Pontiff - One of the Republic's highest of priests.
A lot of Roman values were very in sync with some Greek values as well. Such as men fighting in wars, community solidarity, the poor bare burden of war. Since Greek women didn't have rights in politics and such, neither did the women of Rome. They had to get the women guardians for all of the legal "transactions" because of their, in lack of nicer wording, their lack of logic. This was even declared on the Twelve Tables.
Paterfamilias - The "family father". They had unlimited power in their household.
Matron - An honorable title given to married woman in ancient Rome.
Unlike Sparta, dedicating your entire's lives to the military, the Roman's first and ultimate responsibility was their clan (family). The fathers kept their family in order. The idea of paterfamilias was absolutely sacred! Fatherly figures were a common theme in Rome - Senators referring to each other as "conscript fathers". Another highly held goddess was Vesta - goddess of hearth and home! Every house's fire (hearth) was dedicated and in honor of Vesta. There was even a group - "Vestal Virgins" - a group of six women that devote thirty years of their lives to keeping the fire of Vesta alive in her temple. Motherhood was also very honored in Rome. Women were even expected to contribute to the family - we're talking several clan "bread winners" now. The thing matrons were supposed to demand was hard work, courage, and devotion to duty - all summed up as general "manliness".
