Greco-Roman Culture

Romans were not the bloodthirsty, sadistic people that popular film and literature portray them to have been; they enjoyed friendship, entertainment and leisure, they strived for civility, and were often paralyzed by prohibitions not usually associated with late antiquity. City living had many pleasures to offer the Romans and they strove to make life as pleasurable as possible, but they made nature their own as well. Festivals and the pagan religion were an integral part of the Greco-Roman culture and influenced social interactions within the communities. Roman entertainment included intellectual elements, luxury and leisure, as well as feats of courage and strength. The modern day image of love associated with the Greco-Roman culture does
110). The baths were similar to modern day beaches – used to tell stories, meet people and show off (Veyne, pg. 111). The role of the baths, however, was to make life as pleasant as possible and even the poor had access to this luxury (Veyne, pg. 110). Because there was no distinction between pleasure and work, benefactors often found themselves ruined after investing in aqueducts for the public baths, theaters, or giant amphitheaters (Veyne, pg. 112). Contrary to popular belief, the gladiator battles that we are familiar with today were not viewed for the slaughter of the participant, but his display of courage during the event (Veyne, pg. 112). It was glory for an athlete to die in the arena and unlike what is portrayed in popular film or literature, Veyne states that all gladiators were volunteers, it made for a better show. Romans did not take pleasure in the murder of athletes; they were in fact, critical of those who did (Veyne, pg. 113). Roman imagery and literature actually paint a very different picture of the culture, not sadistic in nature. In fact, when Romans colonized a barbarian nation, their first concern was to end human sacrifice (Veyne, pg.