The Roman Empire is considered one of the most influential civilizations in human history. Their philosophical, technological, and artistic developments would remain surpassed by the rest of the Western world for over a thousand years after the collapse of Rome. However, the Romans were not entirely original. Before there was Rome, there was Greece. As the Romans expanded and became in close contact with the Greeks, they began to absorb rich Greek philosophy and culture, which in many ways was very similar to existing Roman ideas. However, many Romans rejected this Greek influence, because they believed it to be a threat to their way of life and a corruption of the mind. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The beginning of the Roman Empire did not mark the end of ancient Greek culture. Greek schools of philosophy were also supported with the invasion of the Roman Empire, as the Romans also considered Greek culture worth preserving. Even during the height of the Roman Empire, Greek schools were supported and expanded. Some emperors of Rome were also active in promoting and integrating Greek philosophical ideas. Marcus Aurelius, known as "the philosopher emperor", was greatly influenced by Greek philosophers, and much of what he is known to have written and disseminated was the result of this Greek influence. The Roman Empire was greatly indebted to the philosophy brought by the Greeks. The Roman writer Cicero was himself a student of Greek philosophy and was a supporter of Greek Stoicism. Cicero, in the Laws, explores the Stoic idea of ​​natural law: "Surely there is nothing more precious than the full knowledge that we are born for justice, and that law is based not on the opinions of men, but on Nature" (Sources 74). Cicero had completely accepted the idea of ​​natural law governing the universe. He states that virtue, which exists only in man and God, is a “resemblance between man and God” (Sources 74). This idea of ​​virtue is nothing other than perfect nature. Patriotic Romans, particularly in the more unstable Roman Empire, were strongly opposed to Greek philosophy, as the influence and credibility of Greek philosophy posed a threat to the idea of ​​total superiority of all things Roman. . When Greek philosophers began coming to Rome, a clear divide developed between obsessive admiration and general contempt for philosophers, particularly between young Romans who were first exposed to them and older conservative Romans interested in superiority Roman. The attractive reasoning of Stoicism made sense to many younger Romans, but the conservative powers of the time did not appreciate it so much. The Greek Plutarch discusses this tension in his work Lives. "Thus it soon began to be said that a Greek, famous to the point of admiration, conquering and bringing everyone before him, had impressed such a strange love on the young people, that abandoning all their pleasures and pastimes, they went mad, as if they were, after philosophy; which indeed pleased the Romans in general" (Plutarch then contrasts this with Cato the Elder, a conservative Roman who denounced Socrates and warned that Greek philosophy would cause Roman youth to engage in incendiary behavior). similar (Sources 76). Furthermore, Cato would have wanted all philosophers to be “driven out of the city” (Sources 77), and feared that philosophy would bring destruction upon the Romans, although Plutarch seems to think “as, indeed, the city of Rome achieved its highest fortune while entertaining Greek culture” (Sources 77). This attitude held by Cato was due to the fear of a revolution on the part of the youth.