Final answer:
The Greeks influenced Roman civilization through architecture, governance, and cultural elements, while the Etruscans contributed to Roman society with gladiatorial combat, engineering, temple design, and religious practices, as well as their social and funerary customs.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Greek and Etruscans each had a significant role in shaping Roman civilization through their cultural and artistic contributions.
- From the Etruscans, Roman society inherited the spectacle of gladiatorial combat, hydraulic engineering, specific temple designs, and religious rituals. This influence remained so strong that even after the Etruscan civilization was absorbed into the Roman Empire, Etruscan elements, such as maintaining an Etruscan priesthood in Rome, were preserved.
- The Etruscans also impacted Roman social customs, particularly in the practice of divination from a sacrificial animal's entrails and their elaboration of funerary traditions with their intricate tombs.
- As for the Greeks, they significantly influenced Roman culture through direct contact, trading relations, and colonization. Greek influence is evident in Roman architecture, which was modeled after the Greek Classical Era's monuments, and in the Romans' adoption of Greek governance concepts, leading to the development of the Roman Republic.
- Greek thought, philosophy, religion, and education systems profoundly shaped Roman societal views, with Latin struggling to maintain linguistic significance amidst the popularity of the Greek language among the Roman elite.