Roman Adaptation Of Greek Culture

Romans adapted and adopted Greek culture by having their children sent to school in Athens or had their children taught by Greek tutors. They also read Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. The Romans modeled their plays and theaters after the Greeks.

During the Pax Romana, Rome expanded its rule into areas of the Mediterranean world where Greek culture already thrived. Greek city-states came under Roman control, as did vast territories conquered centuries earlier by Alexander the Great. As Roman rule spread, Greco-Roman culture created a bond between people separated by many miles.

In religious matters, Romans adopted Greek deities and gave them Roman names. So Zeus became Jupiter, Hera -> Juno, Poseidon -> Neptune, Hades -> Pluto, Athena -> Minerva,
Aphrodite -> Venus, Ares -> Mars, Artemis -> Diana, Demeter -> Ceres, Hermes -> Mercury, Hephaestus -> Vulcan, Hestia -> Vesta, Dionysus -> Bacchus. The only Greek god whose name didn’t change was Apollo.