Ancient Greek sexuality and gender roles and their place in society were very different from what is considered the societal norm today. Society, law and democracy focused on the adult male citizen [Source 9], with mainstream sexuality being defined as his active pursuit of a partner of lower social status than himself who was expected to be passive in both the courtship and the sex act itself [Source 2][Source 6][Source 10]. This partner could be a woman, an adolescent boy, or slaves of either gender. It should probably be pointed out at this point that, while much has been written on “Greek homosexuality,” the Ancient Greeks themselves would not have seen it as such, as such definitions only really came into usage relatively recently [Source 4]. The Ancient Greeks had no concept of “gay” as we would understand it, as equally no concept of “straight.” They viewed sex in terms of phalluses, of active and passive: something that was done to somebody, rather than with them [Source 2][Source 6][Source 9].
Although Christians were good citizens, and people who wanted to follow Jesus, they were constantly impacted by aspects of the Roman culture. The Roman history, pertaining to the way people worshiped, the philosophy and the music all had a significant impact on the Christian church. To begin with, In most ways, I would say that the society significantly impacted them to abandon the pagan lifestyle. Although they adapted and adopted, Christian views and customs were very different from Roman society. A key example is the way in which Christians worshiped God and not the gods.
They were used to mark the phases of life like womanhood or marriage, beginning of a journey, clearing of obstacles, for healing, pleasing the gods and thanksgiving, and were also commonly a part of festivals. For example, soldiers made drink offerings to gods before leaving for battle, there were purification rituals before political assemblies and the well-known rite of passage like the Brauronia festival at the sanctuary of Artemis at Brauron in eastern Attica which marks the coming of age of girls. The social orientation of the Greek religion was expressed in festivals which normally included not just rituals but also drama and musical plays and sports of competitive nature. The awards like wreaths of olives, amphoras filled with olive oil, money and animal for sacrifice which usually end up being dedicated to the deity in honour. People took part in the festivals in the spirit of religion and community.
Ancient Roman Religion Affects Modern Time Sacrificing animals, condemning people for believing in something different, or having no creed are some examples of what presents itself in ancient Roman religion. All may not have followed into today’s time, but seeing divinity in everything, congregating together to worship and religion effecting political standings or issues have. Everything about religion from ancient Rome contributes to modern life. Religion around ancient Rome covers many topics including information with respect to practices and worships, which have blossomed more to today’s attributes. It also includes the effect religion had on the empire and the citizens in Rome that could have changed our political standings today.
Greco-Roman mythology is rich in human names, characters, events, culture, traditions. They had a dozens of Gods, Goddesses who had a structured pattern as to the ways in which mortal humans associated themselves for various traditions , events and cultural practices to demonstrate their power relations in Greek and Roman myths. Power, without any hesitation, can be termed as a driving force for humans as well as gods themselves. Power is capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. The interesting part about these myths has been the incredible relationship and power sharing.
Taking the Roman religion as a norm, one is able to cite this ‘religious flexibility’. For a very long time, Roman religion was animistic, but due to Etruscan influences Romans embraced anthropomorphism. What is more, the names of Roman gods have Indo-European roots . Later on, there is a slow decline in belief in the old deities as Rome was transformed from an agricultural community into an increasingly urbanized and sophisticated one . Yet, all the old public performances and rituals continued, but became colder and formal.
The Carolingian Renaissance was a rebirth of Greco-Roman Culture, and to an extent reversed the cultural decay of the Dark Ages. It was during the Carolingian Renaissance that the foundation was set for the rise of Western
The sex ratio found from the tombstones in both Alexandria and Pompeii showed that …(more in favour of males?! ), which indicates that selected infanticide occurred, with more males reared than females. Had effective contraception been available, this may have been a more suitable (ethical) solution to family planning for Roman families.
Because there was an abundance of Greek art, the Roman’s used it to decorate their buildings and probably the homes of the aristocracy. The presence of Greek philosophy and literature grew in Rome through the influence of the people captured into slavery. Many of these citizens were educated and civilized. They became the teachers to the Roman youth. The Greek and Roman Gods were the same
Unlike modern weddings of today, marriage in ancient Rome was not romantic. Parents organized marriages to produce descendants to tend the ancestral spirits. The name matrimonium with its root mater (mother) shows the principle objective of the institution, the production of children who will be heirs to the father’s property. Usually, men would marry in their late twenties, while women married in their teen age. A marriage needed the support of two families, and as such, it must offer something of value to both sides.