grecoroman

Greco-Roman refers to the cultural world formed by the interaction and fusion of Greek and Roman civilizations in the Mediterranean from roughly the 4th century BCE through late antiquity. The term is used in archaeology, art history, and classical studies to describe artifacts, institutions, and intellectual currents that blend Greek artistic and philosophical traditions with Roman political organization, law, and material culture. In the eastern Mediterranean, Greek remained a major language of culture and learning, while Latin dominated in the western regions; many educated Romans studied Greek literature and philosophy, and Greek ideas were adapted to Roman contexts.

In art and architecture, Greco-Roman style combines idealized Greek forms with Roman technical innovations such as extensive engineering, monumental sculpture, and realistic portraiture. Roman copies often preserved Greek originals, and Roman architects adapted Greek orders within large-scale public buildings, temples, and urban planning. In literature and philosophy, Greek genres and schools influenced Roman writers, who blended Greek models with Roman themes and rhetorical styles. The religious landscape also reflected this synthesis through the integration of Greek myth with Roman religious practices and later syncretism.

Geographically, the Greco-Roman world encompassed Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt, much of the western Mediterranean, and parts of the Levant and North Africa, extending into late antiquity and the early Byzantine period. The term is also used in sports to denote Greco-Roman wrestling, a distinct wrestling discipline in which holds below the waist are prohibited; this style has roots in European traditions and is featured in modern Olympic competition.

Overall, Greco-Roman denotes a broad historical and cultural continuum that shaped law, education, art, philosophy, and daily life across a vast region for many centuries.