09a: Introduction

All things change, and we change along with them. In this exciting lecture, Rome will continue trying to deal with both the positive and negative consequences of being the superpower of the Mediterranean world. The Romans had been reasonably familiar with the ancient Greeks they encountered in Italy. But when they conquered Greece, the Greeks in turn conquered them, to use Horace's phrase. Like the Roman empire, the Roman government was a work in progress, and not all of the progress was positive. As the Roman nation became more wealthy and powerful, so did individual Romans. The consequences of these Romans' actions - and inaction - would cause great problems down the line.

In segment 09b: Romans and Hellenism, we take up the Romans' love-hate relationship with the ancient Greeks. After the conquest of Greece, Romans re-discovered Hellenism - the cosmopolitan Greek lifestyle developed in mainland Greece and spread about the Eastern Mediterranean by Alexander the Great.  Hellenism opened up a new world of art and literature and creature comforts far beyond what the mos maiorum prescribed. The Romans tended to look down their nose at the Greeks for being soft, frivolous, and unable to rule themselves effectively. Yet the Romans wholeheartedly admired the Greeks' cultural achievements and adapted many Greek customs and technologies for their own use. The result was the truly Greco-Roman civilization which served as the foundation for the Roman Empire.

In segment 09c: The Costs of Success, Rome wrestles with the social costs of her success - most notably, the decline of Rome's former backbone, the small farmer class. Killed off in Rome's wars or run off of their farms by agribusiness, the former small farmers had nowhere to go but the cities. This usually meant Rome. Rome evolved politically during this time, but only in some ways. Allowing the plebeians (wealthy ones, that is) to hold political office and to marry patricians was a positive change. The "noble class" which sprang up from the mixture of classes brought needed fresh blood to Roman leadership. But on the other hand, very little was done for the urban poor even by the politicians who pretended to champion their interests. They had little to look forward to and even less hope of bettering their lot. The same was true of Rome's Italian allies, who contributed men and money to Rome's war efforts, but got nothing in return because they were not citizens.

Segment 09d: Rise of Militarism explains what happened when Rome's growing empire required more soldiers, only to find the small farmer class gone. For decades, the neglected small farmer class had been moving into the city, becoming poor and therefore ineligible to serve in the military. When the need for soldiers became too great, generals such as Marius and Sulla recruited, trained, and paid entire armies at their personal expense. These "client armies" achieved great things for Rome in the last decade of the second century BC. But they also set an awful precedent because they were loyal to their generals first, and only then to Rome. Marius indeed dismissed his client army after his last consulship in 100 BC, but future warlords would not show similar restraint.