Here is a survey of Roman art and culture from the time of the first settlements on the eastern bank of the Tiber to the moment when secular Rome was succeeded by ecclesiastical Rome during the middle ages. For a long time, Roman art was considered essentially nothing but a deriviative, provincial form of Greek art. It is the special aim of the author to stress the unique quality of Roman culture and to present it as a national art,in spite of all the outside influences. Celts, Iberians, Germans, Greeks, Anatolians, Syrians, Egyptians and North Aftricans have blended their culture with that of Romans, but the Roman identity was so strong that it was able to absorb, digest and master all these foreigh influences. Professor Hahler with the aid of history clarifies the meaning of "Roman" and then enlarges on the specific aspects of Roman art and culture. Romans had a very unusual feeling for space. As a result, those arts in which spatial characteristics predominate reflect the Roman contribution to world architecture, reliefs, portrature, and murals. The majority of the illustrations in this volume, potraying these arts, give evidence of the importance of the Roman impact on European culture. This volume included dozens of full color plates printed on high gloss stock as well as several black and white photos and illustrations which richly amplify the scholarly text.