ABSTRACT
In every way, therefore, Rome's expansion into the wider Mediterranean world between 264 and 133 BC had intensified the interaction of Greek and Roman culture. Although Greek influence had been important since the arrival of the Greeks in Italy, it had never been as self-consciously cultivated as it was in this period. Roman leaders intentionally adorned their city with public buildings, monuments, and temples in the Greek style. The rich turned simple Italic atrium houses into complexes modeled on the houses of wealthy Hellenistic Greeks. At the same time, the Romans used new construction materials, particularly molded concrete and baked bricks, which allowed them to surpass the Greeks in the size and complexity of their structures with arches and vaults. The Romans modeled their literature on that of the Greeks. The first known work of Latin literature was Livius Andronicus' translation of Homer's epic, the Odyssey. Later, Andronicus adapted Greek tragedies and comedies for performance at Roman religious festivals.
