The philosophy of Epicureanism was founded around 307 BC and it was based upon the teachings of Epicurus, a Greek philosopher. The philosophy of Epicureanism was that pleasure was the greatest good and the means of doing so were by leading a modest life, knowing the limits of one’s desires, understanding the workings of the world as well as through friendship. By doing so, a person would achieve a state of tranquility (ataraxia) and be free from fear as well as physical pain (aponia). Hermarchus carried on the philosophy of Epicurus and also headed his school after his demise. The existing writing of Hermarchus is just a fragment of his Against Empedocles that was preserved by Porphyry. Epicureanism almost faded away by the fall of the Roman Empire following Christian attacks and repression but it was brought back in the 17th Century by Pierre Gassendi who adapted it to the Christian doctrine. Pierre was a French philosopher, priest, scientist, astronomer and mathematician. He published the first data on The Transit of Mercury.
The philosophy of Stoicism was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium. Stoicism is based on a person’s behavior with respect to virtues or vices. Stoics believed that morally people were unlikely to suffer from destructive emotions as opposed to those who made poor judgment/decisions. Moral Stoics were interested in the interrelationship between Senaca’s Tragedies believed that a sage-a person of moral and intellectual perfection- was immune to misfortune through the emphasis that virtue is sufficient for happiness.
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that expresses that the right course of action is one which ultimately ends up increasing the likelihood of a good result or consequence. This implies that the moral worth of an action is determined by its outcome.
As time went by ancient Roman started expanded and absorbed more cultures as it gained new territories. Their art work which included paintings, sculptures and architecture kept on borrowing from cultures they came into contact with including the Greeks, Italians
Many of the Roman inventions were actually innovations from other countries and nationals like the Greeks, Jews and Egyptians. As a result of interaction with others special inventions came into being such as the Marvelous city of Alexandria.
Pontifex Maximus was the head priest of the Roman State Religion and he was elected by the Comitia Tributa and he served for life at the time of the republic however during the empire, the emperor assumed this position. His duties were determining the future based on the past understanding, seeking favor from the gods and having a collection of omens that he used for interpretation.
The Roman pantheon began in a small village in ancient Rome where they believed in a system of gods. Every household was believed to be assigned a spiritual guardian and all family functions had to include the spiritual guardian. Most of the Roman gods were blended from the Greek gods and some of the Greek names were retained. During the Roman Empire the Romans encountered many religions which they absorbed and benefited in terms of wealth and influence. Sacrifices were made by high priests to honor the Gods.
Festivals were held occasionally and were conducted by religious officials hired by the state. The citizens were required to close their businesses though it was not compulsory to attend such religious ceremonies. Since ancient Rome did not have “weekends” such ceremonies constituted rest periods. Sacrificial meat was offered during such occasions. This closing up of businesses and resting on these special ceremonies showed Roman duty in the Roman culture.
