did the ancient romans die away from history.

[SigniferOne]

Really? I tought the Romans loved everything Greek (concidering how they absorbed the Greek culture and even their Gods ).

Not that this is a thread for this or anything, but absorbed Greek gods? Maybe you've been reading modern revisionist history or something. Are you aware there was a statue of Hercules and Minerva, one with lionskin round his neck, the other in full battle armor, standing in the 6th century Forum Boarium? Or paintings of Mercury with winged helmet and heels on 4th century BC Roman artifacts?

[Duke_of_Bavaria]

What's your point? The Greeks had colonized Italy by that time already...

[SigniferOne]

What's your point? The Greeks had colonized Italy by that time already...

Ehh, not Rome?

Unless you accept the idea that there were Greek colonists in Rome from the start, an idea I'm not averse to.

[jackwei]

except the greeks in terms of power might and prestige the ancient rome was the massive inspiration for it who could ever rival rome they way they were soo technological advanced and infront in their days with like by the time of the 1st century AD had basically a colossus unbeatable military despite the
9AD disaster in germania etc practically they were super-soldiers in their days their military machine was maginificent and sometimes u wonder how it all fell down and died away in the west. whenever u read in history something about a powerful nation in the past. prime minsiter palmerston mentioned that Russia could be as powerful and great as the old roman empire prehaps that was the aim of Nazi germany too to build an empire to surpass everything the old rome every did in its day. since even until then was there a really military colossus as powerful as the roman empire was in its day? prehaps some can argue that the british empire was close and the second german reich too and even napoleon or Nazi germany.

[Duke_of_Bavaria]

@SigniferOne:
Nono but Syracuse or what it was called. My point was that they had already been influenced by the Greeks.
Anyway, are you suggesting that the Greeks adopted the Roman Gods and not vice versa? I've never heard that but you might be correct. I have no knowledge in the area.

@Jack
Pretty please try to use some "," and "." in your posts. It makes it way easier to read.
Anyway, OT:
Indeed, during their prime-time they were mighty. But empires that become too mighty are bound to fall, so was the case with Rome and so it has been with all empires. As the bible says: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
As far as I know the west fell because too much happened at a time. Generals fighting for the throne, mercenaries without any love for Rome in the armies, corruption, Germanic invasions etc. etc. I'm no expert in the subject but I think that's how it happened.

There are actually quite a few empires in history that surpassed Rome in size. The British empire held 1/3 of the world not to meantion they pretty much ruled the seas. Anyhow I don't dispute you at all when you say that the Roman Empire was grand and awesome, they are deffinately up there. It's just hard to compare military might between empires from different milleniums ;D.

And yes, Hitler loved the Roman empire. The Germans, even though never fully subdued by the Romans have always tried to become the second Rome. Hence the medieval Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Even today the German coat of arms resembles the Roman Eagle.

[Mig el Pig]

@duke of bavaria

sin't the welsh dragon symbol also not a reminder of the time they were part of the roman empire?

[SigniferOne]

I have no knowledge in the area.

I was just wondering why you were making such claims, if that is your state of knowledge on the matter...

Nono but Syracuse or what it was called. My point was that they had already been influenced by the Greeks.
Anyway, are you suggesting that the Greeks adopted the Roman Gods and not vice versa?

I'm not suggesting that, I'm suggesting that there was a general Mediterranean culture, of which the Romans and Greeks were only the top representatives; but for instance, the Etruscans exibit some of the same Olympian gods too. Or Prometheus, a great hero of Greek Drama, who wasn't even Greek in origin, but came from the stories from Russian Caucasus mountains about a man who brought the fire of gods to man, and was imprisoned and chained to a rock for it. Etc. None of these gods were "Greek" just in the way that we don't think of Cinderella as a "German" fairytale. She's simply a "European" fairy tale, we all read about her in unison, and girls from all over Europe and America try to imitate her equally. There is much ludicrousness in the manner in which today's "scholars" abstractly proclaim Romans "adopted" alien Greek gods, when it flies in face of evidence, and of basic human psychology as well.

Nevertheless, despite basic similarities, there were differences in mythologies between regions, and Romans possessed their own, authentic mythology of the events. Ovid (with his Metamorphoses) is the best surviving poet of authentic Roman mythology, the mythology I might add which was taught all over Europe. That was the case until the 19th century when men too smart for their own good declared that Greek mythology was the only real and good Classical mythology to be had, in the process destroying both our conception of Roman myths, and European affinity with the Romans and with the Classics.

That is the argument the middle of which your post has been thrust into...

[jackwei]

yes, however in terms of military might and glory beyond reason u think of Rome as the one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen by far. as i said before sometimes i believe in the imperial ideology was basically to create an empire to rival old rome and surpass all her greatness basically be the most dominate power in everything sector in the whole world. i remember recalling that when the british captured Iraq and palestine linked to egypt in WWI they said we haven't seen greatness and glory since Rome.

In terms of colonialization the british matched the romans

In terms of military the Germans of second and third reich and prehaps Napoleon's grande armee did too.

Engineering industrialization well thats tough some may say the british due to the industrial revolution or later Germany and the US.

Trade and economy wise first britian and then the US.

Oh yes but some can argue that the romans introduced more in terms of being a real man in culture than the greeks in terms of sex etc, because of the gay stereotype they had, which lives on even now in films and by some people.