Roman Morality
To me, the Romans are, or rather were, a fascinating civilization, whose influence ran throughout time, and can even be seen today. Here, I hope to ignite a thought-provoking conversation on the many facets of Roman morality. Much of what I am going to write about is explaining my viewpoints on Roman morality with information I've accumulated from classes and readings over time. Needless to say, another's evidence may contradict mine, and if anybody finds a contradictory point, please let me know.
Some topics, I have clear opinions, which may be reflected in my writings. In other areas, I will try only to present information. For seasoned classical scholars, many of facts I present will be 'old news', so to speak, and for those of you who are as avid about classical history as I am, you may find it better to skip directly to the questions I provide in my conclusion.
When one thinks of the ancient Romans and their practices, one's mind brings forth images of orgies, needless consumption of food, and bloodsport. One imagines the Senator to be corrupt, the soldier to be thick headed, and the pleb to be marginal, while imagining the slave to be an opressed super hero of sorts, held down by an atrocious Imperial system. While these wild misconceptions are based partially in truth, there is a completely different side to the Romans.
I. On Decadence
In the earliest days of the Roman Republic, tiny Roma was surrounded completely by much stronger regional and continental powers: the Etruscans to the north, Greeks to the East, Gallic tribes to the north, and Carthaginians to the south. In these days, the Romans had very little, and the aristocracy and peasantry, called patricii et plebiani, respectively, were tied closely to one another. Even those who were wealthy had little. All Romans led austere lives, far outside the realm of decadence.
Several centuries later, the Roman Republic was in an entirely different state of affairs. The reformed Marian Legions brought incredible raw power to the Romans, who had already begun to conquer lands outside of Italy. Perhaps, even, with the semi-recent conquest of the Carthaginians, they thought themselves to be invincible. And, of course, with this comfortable position comes complacency. At that time, Romans began to develop the decadent practices we see in movies such as Gladiator. However, not all Romans fell into that trap of langourousness. The ideal of a Roman man and the ideal of a Roman woman perservered for centuries, and that ideal was of one who was strong, independent, patriotic, and, of course, austere. Conservative Romans chose not to indulge themselves, rather living sparingly, as their ancestors did. In fact, some of the greatest Romans from the Late Republic and the Principate (from Cicero and Caesar to Augustus and Virgil to Marcus Aurelius and Cassius Dio) were of the conservative type. In short, widespread Roman practice was 'sinful', while core Roman ideal was 'pure'.
II. Homosexuality
I've already made mention of the Etruscans, whom the Romans fought in their early days. Alongside the Greeks, the Etruscans were an enormous influence on the Romans. One of the largest cultural differences between Greeks and Etruscans was their view of women. While the Greeks, as we know, generally looked down on women, the Etruscans allowed women far more rights than most ancient cultures (such as land ownership and freedom of action). For this reason, the Etruscans found it far better to love women, and remain loyal to a single woman, than the Greeks who favored taking male partners, and multiple female partners.
The Etruscans' closer proximity to the Romans than the Greeks meant that early Roman culture recieved more from Etruria than Greece, and so the early Romans generally tended to be heterosexual, and in many cases monogamous. In the later Republic, when Rome conquered classical Greece (the cities of Athens, Sparta, and Corinth, specifically), Greek ideals rubbed off on the Romans. Aside from architecture and literature, Greek ideals of male dominance (along with homosexuality and pedophilia) mergred with the ideals of the Romans.
While in the early Republic homosexuality was tollerated (but not encouraged, since men needed to create more Roman babies), pedophilia was abhored as a degenerate Greek practice, to be shunned and discouraged. Therefore, conservative Romans, (see the examples from section I) were generally adverse to both homosexuality and pedophilia (Augustus, specifically battle those two practices, as he was adamant about restoring the sanctity of marriage -ironically, that seems to be what the modern conservative argument agiants homosexuality is-). Once again we see Roman conservativism coinsiding with the ideals of modern morality.
III. Bloodlust and the Games.
The Arena Games of ancient Rome have often been described as cruel and terrible, and described as savage by any means. While I can offer no argument against that, I ask only that modern society be juxtaposed to that of the Romans. Today, grotesqurie and violence are ubiquitous in the media, specifically the American media. First, there is no need to speak of the atrocities commited on the Internet. While modern media outlets like video games substitute real violence with pretended violence, when a child who has played those games for too long is exposed to real violence, or that of a serious film (such as Saving Private Ryan), they often respond to gore and violence with mirthful laughter.
IV. Slavery
Slavery is thought of as an unconditionally awful practice, but still more awful is that Roman slavery was far more kind than later European slavery. The Romans enslaved people not based on ethinicty, but rather because they needed a work force. In Rome, a slave who saved his money wisely could free himself, and even free his friends, so long as he had the money. House slaves under considerate masters could have a great deal of freedom, as we have seen in some of Pliny the Elder's letters, in which he allowed his slaves to celebrate holidays in his villa, while he retired to his villa to work.
Of course, it is important to realize that the treatment of slaves depended on the disposition of their master. For example, a cruel and depraved slave driver would treat his slaves in a cruel and depraved manner, while a kindly old poet would probably give his slaves a lot of freedom. While the practice was by no means fair, a slave always had hope for a better life, even hope for freedom.
V. Conclusion
In conclusion Rome was a multifaceted civilization. Hopefully, my arguments have made that clear. It is unfair to call the Romans an evil race, inaccurate to call them moral. In essentiality, it all depended upon who you were in Rome, as it does in modern republics. If it pleases you, and you have time please tell me in your replies: what was your opinion of Rome before reading this post? Has it changed at all?
Thank you for reading.
Good Health to you all!
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Originally Posted by Aulus Cornelius Lepidus
