The Graeco-Roman world

We may begin our historical analysis by looking at the way in which people evaluated their peers and religion in the Graeco-Roman world at large.

The appraisal of fellow-humans

Individualism

The hellenistic age was marked by the decline of the city-state with its close-knit social bonds and by the rise of individualism. No longer was corporate solidarity the ideal. Instead people cultivated a rigorous self-sufficiency (αύτάρκεια). Philosophers stressed human autonomy and ethicists called for individual initiative. Consequently, people began to focus on themselves and in particular on cultivating their self-worth. For many, self-appreciation became the goal and self-glorification the reward.

Status

In Roman society rank was a prized possession. It determined one's behaviour, relationships and legal privileges. All people belonged to one of two classes: the honestiores or the humiliores, the high or the low. The former was made up of the nobility – senators, equestrians and, away from Rome itself, decurions. These were men who, together with their womenfolk, were esteemed for their dignitas and often possessed great power and fortune. The humiliores – plebs, freedmen and slaves – lacked dignitas and were held in no honour by the nobility. Since rank was hereditary, movement from one class to the other was virtually impossible. Yet there was social mobility.