Essay Sample on Greco-Roman World Era

One of the most outstanding things that took place during the Greco-Roman world era is the emergence of Christianity. Although it was significantly misunderstood by the people who played a critical role in its growth and development, it is clear that it occurred at the most appropriate time in history. The Greco-Roman world made a significant contribution to the development of Christianity by giving Christianity its language, which is mainly the language of its writing. While reflecting on the first-century Greco-Roman context of the New Testament writings and how they may differ from the 21st-century Western context, it is therefore important to understand some of the most important elements from the Greco-Roman context and how they may affect the New Testament.

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The Greco-Roman religion was polytheistic. That is to mean that the Greco-Roman worshipped many gods and goddesses. Devout members originating from both groups believed that their gods and goddesses influenced all their natural phenomena. Different stories were developed that were key in elaborating such phenomena, which were based on how the deities behaved. Such stories included both the strengths and weaknesses of the Greco-Roman world era (Dorandi 38). Such an element differs from the 21st-century western context since there are no myths developed in today's world to illustrate a particular culture. This is the most important element that stood out in my mind as the most important element from the Greco-Roman context. It illustrates its own set of important gods and goddesses and how they used to be worshiped and honored.

The first-century Greco-Roman context of the New Testament writings was mostly affected by the gods and goddesses they used to worship. They used to worship them daily while offering parts of all their meals to the gods and goddesses. The religious rituals and ceremonies were as well included in all the major life cycle events, which included birth, marriage, and death. Unlike the 21st-century western context, the Greco-Roman context of the New Testament writings mainly focused on the mysteries of life and nature, which included the origin of life and nature. However, the Greco-Roman world era did not include any particular rules of proper behavior (Duncan 16). The era was not inclusive of any beliefs, neither principles that the people were expected to follow. This element completely differs from the 21st-century western context, which is full of principles that people are expected to follow strictly. All the citizens were free, especially in deciding how they are supposed to behave. The only thing that the people were expected to adhere to was the different public official worship ceremonies.

There was always room for discussing the exact meaning of a good life during the first century of the Greco-Roman context. The discussion would also include what nature is constructed of and how the thinking system used to be established during the Greco-Roman world era. During the 21st-century western context, such questions used to be answered by the religion. That resulted in the Greco-Roman context being a revolutionary in the history of human thought. That world era was mainly based on logical reasoning, which led to the establishment of the first scientific vocabulary. The 21st-century western context mostly relies on the foundation of such elements. The Greco-Roman tradition mainly served as the dominant religious system in the western world, not until the fifth century.

Works Cited

Dorandi, Tiziano. "Notebooks and Collections of Excerpts: Moments of ars excerpted in the Greco-Roman World." Forgetting Machines: Knowledge Management Evolution in Early Modern Europe. Brill, 2016. 35-57.

Duncan, Anne. "Female Performers in the Greco-Roman World: An Introduction." The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Women on Stage. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2019. 9-20.