From the early Roman republic to the very beginning of the rise of Christianity, the view
of humanity can be found through the expressive and demonstrative ways that were used during
the time period such as the Roman view of human relationship with the gods, literature, art, and
also philosophy. Not only can it be found here in these examples but it can also be found in the
way that the Roman people felt about Rome and the ideas that came from the way they governed
and abided in the place that they lived.
Romans believe that their existence as a human relied solely on the exactness of the way
they worshiped their gods and goddesses (Spielvogel 81). Many of these paralleled the gods and
goddesses that were embraced in Grecian culture and religion. The gods and goddesses had the
same traits and characteristics as the Greek gods and goddesses. The mythological history of
Rome also relied heavily on the gods. Aeneas’ mother was believed to have been Venus who
was the deific mother of the Romans. Romulus and Remus who had supposedly founded Rome
were the sons of Mars. Although it was not the goodness of the person who was worshiping the
gods that gained one favor it instead was the accuracy of the rite being performed that gave one
“peace of the gods” (Spielvogel 81). A worshiper also might make an offering to the god or
goddess being worshiped. Cicero stated that, “We have overcome all the nations of the world
because we have realized that the world is directed and governed by the gods” (Spielvogel 81).
The people of Rome truly believed that the reason that they were such a great nation was
because of the gods. Their livelihood depended totally upon the gods and their worship and their
whole entire culture revolved around it. The Romans also worshiped together as a state by
having religious festivals and later on during the empire age, games such as the gladiator battles
were introduced (Spielvogel 82).
Roman literature also had an influence on how Romans perceived themselves to be
human as a whole. Many of the playwrights and writers of the late Republic were influenced by
outside sources like Greek comedies and such (Spielvogel 85). Cicero was a great orator of the
time and he often spoke on platforms such as politics involving the aristocracy. He also believed
and showed that to better humanity one needed to life a fulfilled life (Spielvogel 86). During the
early Empire, Virgil took place as one of the greatest literary composers of all time even to this
day. He also believed, like many others, that Rome was destined to rule the world and he helped
to more establish the belief that Aeneas took a great part in the mythological development of
Rome by writing the Aeneid (Spielvogel 100). Like Cicero, Virgil symbolized through his
literary works that government was very important to the Roman people and that it was one of
their greatest contributions. Virgil once said, “But, Romans, never forget that government is
your medium! Be this your art:- to practise men in the habit of peace, Generosity to the
conquered and firmness against aggressors.”(Spielvogel 101)
Roman art also developed from ideas of Greek descent. During the time of the Republic,
Romans integrated art into their everyday lives even though some pieces of art were Hellenistic .
The elite had wall-murals that sometimes depicted the important mythological past of Rome and
like the Greeks they also fancied realistic sculpture of the human body (Spielvogel 86).
Depictions of the mythological past of Rome were important for the Roman people to embrace
because they believed that everything depended on their pleasing of the gods. Romans also had
precise engineering and architectural talents by incorporating aqueducts and curvilinear forms
into their city. They also built a very famous coliseum which can hold 50, 000 people
(Spielvogel 86).
Philosophy played an integral part on what it meant to be human as a Roman. Stoicism
was probably the most important philosophy of their time and the ideas from it, as many others,
originated in Hellenistic Greece. Stoicism enforced ideas that people were to accept any
situation regardless of the condition of it and this was the definitive success of Stoics. Human
reason and the soul were thought to be part of the “divine logos. Many of our ideas and
conceptions about Romans of this time period are derived from the concepts of Stoicism they
held. During the empire age, Seneca was a philosopher who viewed Stoicism highly. He
believed that there should be a “universal love for all humanity” and that one should “live
accordingly to nature”(Spielvogel 102). He also said that, “philosophy promises us the feeling
of fellowship, of belonging to mankind and being members of a community” (Spielvogel 102).
The Roman people felt that as a human they needed to uphold the virtues and traditions
of their ancestral Romans. One of these virtues, which was the most important, was pietas. This
was the devoted practice of duties to one’s neighbors, to the state as a whole and to the gods
(Spielvogel 86). The Fall of the Republic signified almost as though these virtues and traditions
were beginning to fade and it seemed as though the need for material possessions and affluence
took their important place.
The Romans also believed that family had great involvement in making up the
organization of the Roman society. The home was headed by the central male figure, or
paterfamilias (Spielvogel 83). It was believed that the family was just another small state within
the larger state and since it was human obligation as a Roman to serve the state, there was also a
great obligation to the family as well (Spielvogel 82). Roman people were to be married for life
just as we marry but divorce was also accepted in their culture.
Titus Livius or Livy was a Roman historian who wrote “The History of Rome from its
Foundations.” He often spoke about the old values that Rome once held so dear. In his
“History..” Livy states, “The study of history is the best medicine for a sick mind; for in history
you have a record of the infinite variety of human experience plainly set out for all to see; and in
that record you can find for yourself and your country both examples and warnings: fine things
to take as models, base things, rotten through and through, to avoid.”( Gochberg 386) I think that
we can learn a lot just from this little piece of a perspective about the human condition and
human history. By studying what the Romans held to be factual about what they were to do as
humans and as Romans, one can really reflect on the human condition as a whole, not just for
every human and your country but also for yourself as and individual also. Throughout history,
there have been successes and losses but all of the experiences play out in a much bigger scheme
of things which allow one to narrow in on what is held to be good and bad and more importantly,
the magnitude of the human mind, ability and just how exceptional the human nature really is.

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