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High culture which includes arts, literature, philosophy and science, has risen and fallen many different times in Western Civilization. In Rome, there were times when high culture was overlooked and there were also times when it was a main focus. Rome had many times when they were focusing on their military and shutting down attacks. Other times, they were very focused on arts or any other part of high culture.
The main focus of this paper will be showing how and why high cultures were put aside at many times. The times discussed will go from the plebeians and patricians to the crisis of the third century. The events that will be talked about will range from the sixth century to about 284 C. E. Again, high culture has risen and fallen many different times in Western Civilization. The cycle that I have chosen is when high culture goes from low to high and back to low.
Somewhere around 500 B. C, Rome was really focusing on their military. At first they were very defensive while trying to ward off attacks from neighboring countries. By about 265 B. C Rome nearly had the control of the entire Italian peninsula.
After warding off the attacks, they began to shift to the offensive side of the table. Rome then started expanding there territories by conquering all the Etruscan territories. As a consequence Romans saw no need for the development of industry and commerce. The heros from this time are not high culture heros, but war heros.
One of the biggest wars of the time was the First Punic War. In this war, Rome fought extremely hard to defeat Carthage. The biggest war hero that came out of the punic wars was the one and only Hannibal. Not only was Romes focus on their military at this time, they were also going through political turmoil. At this time the King was being replaced by two consuls.
As you can see, a lot of the focus during this time went to the military and political problems or political changes. After they established their republic, the patricians (who dominated aristocracy) were being challenged by the plebeians. The plebeians rebelled to try to get themselves some power. For those reasons, there was not much focus put on the important high cultures of this time.
Education was very poor, therefore, most citizens remained illiterate. Writing was only used for copying laws, treaties, and funerary inscriptions. There was also no time for technological advances because all of the inventors had to help ward off the enemy's. Agriculture and war continued taking up the majority of the population. Very few craftsmen were found in the cities, so that put a damper on the arts of the time. So, this period of time had a very low interest in the high cultures.
Even though it seemed that Rome would be involved in wars and agriculture for a long period of time, high cultures came to surface in no time. Rome soon took the influences of the Hellenistic civilization. After the taking of the Hellenistic civilization ways, Romes army became of less importance. Philosophy became a major influence when Cicero came into the picture and brought Stoic philosophy to Rome. This was a high point for philosophy in Rome because it made others strive to reproduce in Latin some of the more popular forms of Greek Literature. Another main influence during this time came from a very powerful individual named Augustus.
He came to rule when he defeated Antony's army in the naval battle of Actium. The victory ushered a new period in Roman history, the most glorious period that Rome had ever experienced. His new period of rule is properly called the Principate, to distinguish it from the periods of the Republic, and the later Empire. Augustus established a lot of things that would help Rome focus on things other than war and agriculture. The establishment of a new coinage system for use throughout the Roman Empire, the introduction within Rome itself of a range of public services, and more self-government for cities and provinces were just a couple of the things that Augustus brought to Rome. He also got rid of the old system of farming out of the collection of financial dues.
Augustus now appointed his own representatives as tax collectors, paid them regular salaries, and kept them under strict supervision. Through all he did, he enhanced local peace in Rome. The comeback of Rome into a high culture society was in high gear. The establishment of a stable government by Augustus brought in a period of prosperity that lasted for more that two centuries. Another great thing was that manufacturing of pottery, textiles, and articles of glass was increased.
As you can see, one individual can totally change a whole empire. Although it seemed that Rome would continue to build their empire to a unbelievable height, it soon fell. The crisis of this third century came from political chaos and a number of other factors. With the death of Aurelius the period of imperial rule came to an end.
Although he was known as one of the most philosophic rulers who ever ruled, he wasnt smart enough to realize that his son was a terrible incompetent. Once his son (Commodus) came to rule, Rome engaged in Civil War. Constant war once again interfered with agriculture and trade. Landlords then had no motive to produce at a time when production was most necessary. Another thing that occurred at this time was the mass of population going to the armies. After the armies were built up, a plague swept through Rome and killed much of the army and all other population.
The thing that hurt most from this time was that Rome had absolutley no technological advances. This problem came about because landlords figured that as long as they had slaves around why did they need new technology. As you can see, not many things were going good for Rome during this time. In conclusion, it is evident that the times when war and prosperity were a problem high culture was left in the dark.
It is also noticable that military, political, economic, technological, demographic, enviromental, mental, and roles of individuals played a key role in the decline of the roman empires. Also, just as in todays society, a lot of things that are important in the world disappear when war is fought. The last comment about the rise and fall of high culture is that without arts, literature, philosophy and science, not only did the Roman empire fall, present day USA would not survive without them either. Bibliography:
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