. The grandeur that was Rome; a survey of Roman culture and civilisation:. ces at Rome, but whether the lessons that they learnt inRoman society were altogether salutary is doubtful. Behind this wall the great provinces of Asia, Syria, andBithynia were wrapped in profound security. Here Greekculture continued to flourish with periodical incursions oforiental religion and philosophy. In every considerable townthe Jews formed a great and growing section of the populationbut even they were half Greek in their ways of life. Thecountry was rich and lazy and utterly unwarlike. Civilisationhad risen
. The grandeur that was Rome; a survey of Roman culture and civilisation:. ces at Rome, but whether the lessons that they learnt inRoman society were altogether salutary is doubtful. Behind this wall the great provinces of Asia, Syria, andBithynia were wrapped in profound security. Here Greekculture continued to flourish with periodical incursions oforiental religion and philosophy. In every considerable townthe Jews formed a great and growing section of the populationbut even they were half Greek in their ways of life. Thecountry was rich and lazy and utterly unwarlike. Civilisationhad risen to a high pitch and it was probably this part of theworld which sent to Rome those artists who contributed to therevival of sculpture. Pretty little epigrams in Greek elegiacsseem to have been their principal literary provinces have very little history—happily for them—at this period. We know them best from the Acts of theApostles, where we get a glimpse of their superstitions, theireagerness to embrace new religions. We see the fanaticism of200. Plate 47. THEATRE OF MARCELLUS ROME (See p. 251) AUGUSTUS Ephesus with its magnificent temple of Diana and statelyworship, a religion of oriental character overlaid with Greekculture, and only rivalled in its attractions by the Romanamphitheatre. For these people as for the rest of the worldAugustus had his policy. Since worship was their instinctiveneed and Euhemerism had accustomed them to worship men,he set up an elaborate cult of himself, or rather, by a subtledistinction without a difference, a cult of the genius ofAugustus. Temples were built to Rome and Augustuswith an elaborate hierarchy of High Priests, Asiarchs, and Bithyniarchs, which became the highest social distinctionsin the society of the day. This was his method of securingthe allegiance of nations devoted to religion and in the near future was to be the field of that momentousconflict between this State religion and Christianity,
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