In what ways were the Romans heirs to Greek and hellenstic civilization?

IN WHAT WAYS WERE THE ROMANS HEIRS TO GREEK AND HELLENISTIC CIVILIZATION?
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Introduction
Hellenistic civilization marks an important time in the history of the Greek society. This was the period between 323 and 31 BC, when the Greek society transformed from being introverted and localized to a multinational, open, and enthusiastic culture that permeated the southwest Asia and eastern Mediterranean. The Hellenistic world involved many different people but the Greeks’ thinking and way of life influenced most of the affairs.1 All aspects related to culture followed the beliefs of the Greeks and this led to the Greek language becoming established, as the official language of the region. This paper describes how the Roman emanates as the heirs to the Greek and Hellenistic civilization as presented by different authors such as Professor Mathews, Platt, and Noble in the western humanities and Professor Weber who presents it from the western tradition.
The Varied Aspects of Hellenistic Civilization
Trade
The ancient Greece was made up of large mountainous topography called Peninsula, in the coast of Turkey and Islands of Aegean Sea.2 The mountains served as innate barriers and acted as the determinant of the political character in Greece. Initially, Greece was divided into independent communities that were separated from each other by hilly landscape and this were later developed into city states and each one had its own system of law and way of governance. The hilly terrain made farming difficult, and therefore, the only suitable activity was pastoralist. The people who lived in Greece practiced some trade where they produced pottery, olive oil, and wine that they traded with other people who came from the Mediterranean. The exposure that the Greeks got with other communities, such as the Romans through trade, made them aware of the main achievements of the other civilizations. Hellenistic period promoted trade as people moved freely in the Hellenistic kingdoms. The Greeks shared a common culture based on religious beliefs, traditions, language, and economic ties.3 For example, they all believed in the same gods and goddesses such as Apollo and Athena, who lived on mount Olympus.4 Almost everyone in the kingdoms spoke the same language and this made it easier for them to trade. However, people soon felt divided because of the new cultural and political landscape as influenced by other nations with whom they interacted with, especially while trading.5
Chauvinism
In the ancient Greece, women were regarded as lesser by men and they were barred from the public life. Women were subject to their husband’s will and left to manage their homes. Romans had adopted the Greeks’ traditional view on the roles of women in the society and women were accountable to the household functions while the men were representatives of the family, in the public life.6 Roman law stated that the women should pass from the influence of their father and be subject to the authority of their husbands. Moreover, the law did not allow women to hold office, but the men who held offices were allowed to seek counsel of their wives and this could only be done in private. However, equality of men and women was more in the Roman society than it had been in the Greek culture.
Art
The Romans were innovators and borrowers, but not originators.7 Their artistic works were characterized by practicality. Their extent of the Greek influence and language was established through the olden Greek coinage. Portraits became more real and the symbol of a coin was used to exhibit the propaganda image, which was used to honor an event or to show the image of the god that was favored. The literature of the Hellenistic period was stigmatized because the renaissance period was ponderous and imitative, but there was great richness in the writing. There was also a dispute in the philosophy among the educated people and the contributions of the Epicureans and Stoics to the world were great.
The Roman culture placed a high importance on property, home, marriage, making wills, and women who belonged to the lower class worked outside their homes. The literature and art were changed and instead of focusing on the ideal, the Hellenistic art concentrated on the real. The illustration of man in both literature and art concentrated on the interesting themes of the daily lifestyle and the emotional aspect of human beings, heroes, and gods alike.
Politics
In the humanities of the western, Professor Roy Mathews and Dewitt Platt argued about the period for the Hellenistic civilization. This is when the institutions and culture of other nations intermingled with the Greek’s in order to create a cosmopolitan and heterogeneous civilization. From their definition, this would seem to suggest that Rome should not be counted as Hellenistic civilization because of the difference in the period. However, though Rome was situated in the right geographical area, it had a heterogeneous and cosmopolitan civilization because of its expansion and method of conquering people. This explanation indicates that Rome was an heir to Hellenistic civilization even though it does not fit according to the definition given by Professor Mathews and Platt.
Professor Thomas Noble, on the other hand, explains how the fall of the Roman Empire led to the rising of three great civilizations namely the Byzantine Empire, medieval Europe, and the Islamic caliphate.8 Professor Noble advanced a twofold argument that explained that the barbarians were both friendly to the Romans and were their heirs. In addition, he argues that they promoted the Roman life and that the eastern and western parts of the Roman Empire were Christianized. He dethrones the tired and old idea stating that the falling of the Roman Empire was in 400s because he demonstrates how the Roman Empire flourished for a long time after this period. Professor Noble takes a position of the continuity as he helps to trace the developments through the unity and diversity of the barbarians, expansion of Christianity, and the significance of the Byzantine Empire. He explains the roots of medievalism found in Rome and that the change of Rome to medieval Europe was slow and gradual. Rome provided a pragmatic attitude towards providing a framework and a concern toward the human society that...