ABSTRACT
Roman aristocrats used Greek art to proclaim their triumphs over the older culture that they were appropriating as a mark of social prestige. Greek was the international language throughout the wider world of which Rome had become an important part. Wars on the Greek mainland and in Hellenistic kingdoms exposed the Romans to both the classicizing idealism of Attica and the emotional realism of the Hellenistic Greeks. In 196, the first triumphal arch marked the blending of a distinctively Roman form with the Greek style of decoration. Even more important was the development of new construction techniques that allowed the Romans to combine massiveness of form with Greek elegance. The tradition of Roman bronze sculpture and terracotta relief continued in the second century. The first freeborn Roman citizen to achieve success as an author was Livius Andronicus’ slightly younger contemporary Gnaeus Naevius.
