Though often remembered together in history, there are several cultural, social and ideological differences between the people of Ancient Greece and the people of Ancient Rome.

The similarities that they do share, however, are a result of Greco-Roman relations as early as the 8th century BC, when Italian tribes came into direct contact with the Greeks who had settled in Southern Italy and Sicily. The Italians were influenced by many aspects of Greek culture, such as the alphabet, coinage, as well as some of their gods. The next big Greco-Roman clash was during the conquest of Greece and other Hellenistic countries in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. At the time, Roman civilization was still in its infancy, and was nothing like the empire that it would go on to become. In fact, most Romans were peasants, and viewed the Hellenistic lifestyle as far more comfortable and luxurious than their own. They soon adopted several other Greek elements such as statues, mosaics on the floors, and the practice of dining while reclined.

While there are notable similarities between the Ancient Greeks and the Ancient Romans, the differences are vast. First of all, the term “Ancient Greeks” usually refers to the people of Greece from 750 BC (the archaic period) to 146 BC. While “Ancient Romans” are historically considered the inhabitants of Rome from the 9th century BC all the way up until the 5th century AD. Although both civilizations began around relatively the same time period, the Greeks are actually the older of the two. The Greek Dark Age goes back as far as 1150 BC, and there is evidence of Greek civilizations even before then. On the other hand, the Roman Empire lasted for 12 centuries, while the lifespan of Ancient Greece (from the archaic period) was considerably shorter.

Even though the Ancient Greeks shared many gods with the Romans, they often had different names for them. For instance, the god of beauty was known to the Greeks as Aphrodite, while the Romans called her Venus. Similarly, the Greeks had Poseidon, while the Roman equivalent was Neptune. Some gods had common names between the two cultures, such as Apollo.

In ancient Rome, having social prominence often afforded one special rights, while this was not the case in Greece. People born into prominent Greek families generally were not entitled to any additional societal benefits, and were not given any extra power within the government. They were divided into four social classes based on wealth, but it was possible for people to change social class if they earned more money. In Sparta, all men who completed their education were given the title of equal. Slaves in ancient Greece had no political power, but were allowed to have families and even own land. In Rome, political power and social status were kindred forces. The voting system consisted of tribes of voters, and the tribes were made up of citizens of the same social class. The tribes of the lowest classes were often very big and few, while the tribes of higher classes were small and abundant. Voting would commence until the majority of the tribes had voted, often resulting in many of the lower class citizens being disregarded.

Another key difference was language. While the people of Ancient Greece spoke Greek, the Romans spoke Latin. Eventually, after increased contact with Greece, Roman nobility and scholars began adopting Greek as a second language.

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