Jose Gomez
Art 1000-OL009
Gregory Caicco
Writing Assignment 2
Thomas Edison University
June 14, 2026
The following paper will discuss the continuous path from Hellenistic to Roman art. In order to
do that, we must mention the Etruscan and Judaic influences seen in the evolution, which follows
the established pattern of continuity and transformation previously discussed in the first lectures
of Soltes. For a better understanding, examples of art that illustrate this evolution from
Hellenistic to a unique Roman art form will be carefully analyzed. Some key words like:
Hellenistic, Etruscan, Judaic, syncretism, oikumene, pathos, and pietas will be included and
defined.
Hellenistic to Roman art was not a quick switch; it developed slowly. To achieve a better
understanding, Philip II becomes the most important political and military figure in the entire
Hellenic, also called Greek-Like period. He does two important things of consequence, being the
second, defeating the Athenian-Led allies at the battle of Chaeronea in 338, and preparing an
expedition to go to Persia two years later (Soltes, Lecture 6, 00:01:57). The other was the arrival
of Aristotle to his Capital Pella, because Phillip saw himself as Greek, but the main point to
make emphasis is that he wanted Aristotle to teach his son Alexander the Great. While he was
not getting along with Aristotle, the knowledge allowed him to conquer multiple territories
because he not only bought his army, but also different kinds of intellectuals, such as
historiographers, biographers, and so many others, which made the process simpler and could
give him strategies on how to get the objective(Soltes, Lecture 9, 00:02:39). Unfortunately
Alexander is dead himself because of a fever at an age of just 33 years old which opens up a
power struggles for his following generation even though later everything clears out.
One of the obvious features of the Greek-Like period is “syncretism.” This refers to the
combination of ideas and language, literature in art and architecture. The other is the issue of
“alienation” because this allowed the oikos to expand, also called “oikoumene” because of this
expansion, we can find elements that are familiar to us. Okoumene gives us two things:
economy and ecumenical. By bringing the multiple elements to feel home-like, and on the other
side, the different representations of money for the economic part. But let’s look at the Dying
Gaul, a Roman copy of a Hellenistic work in approximately 230. We can observe the blood
gushing from the wound in his side. It was represented with a torc around his neck to expose
themselves heroically, and the position of his arm on the floor transmits a sense of collapse
(Soltes, 00:06:00). What we can take out of this piece of art is that he makes us feel empathos or
in other words, “one with him”. Reviewing another one, we have “Statue of an Old Woman”,
similarly to the previous one, this is a Roman version of a Hellenistic original art. She is
represented as old and impoverished, and we can say that it was a symmetria exercise gone
crazy. One leg is bent, while the other one is straight. The notion of reveal and conceal has taken
on a new nuance; we can see one of her knees completely covered, and the other one is exposed,
in the same manner, part of a breast is shown. Because of the previous examples, we can still
appreciate the continuity and transformation since the Roman art was utilizing old Greek-like
pieces of art and slightly changed some characteristics while maintaining the same concept
behind.
Roman art is influenced by different cultures, not only Hellenistic art but also by the Etruscans
and Egyptians. While it was influenced by those early mentioned, it does not mean it was
merely imitative or emulative, but also innovative. They proved their innovation with “Arch of
Titus” looking at this arch, mainly to commemorate Titu’s (emperor 79-81) accomplishments by
his younger brother, Domitian. This work utilized the Corinthians embedded columns, but
underneath the representation of Titus ’ most important accomplishments were. One of the most
notable was the completion of the suppression of the painfully long revolt against the authority
of Rome (Soltes, Lecture 8, 00:02:54).
In conclusion, a distinct pattern of continuity and change can be seen in the transition from
Hellenistic to Roman art. Roman artists combined cultures from Etruscan, Egyptian, and Jewish
cultures with many elements of Hellenistic art, such as emotion. Roman art evolved into a unique
artistic history that represented Roman ideals, accomplishments, and identity through the process
of syncretism. Roman art kept aspects of the past while bringing new forms of expression, as
shown by the Dying Gaul, the Statue of an Old Woman, and the Arch of Titus.