the Greek achievement. The western Greeks, then, were full
partners in Hellenic civilization, the most brilliant and ad-
vanced of the age. As such, they are of the first importance
as a cultural influence in Italy from the seventh to at least
the second century B.C. But there was never any prospect
that they would dominate Italy politically. Indeed, they never
formed a unity among themselves, sharing as they did to the
full the weakness as well as the strength of Greek civilization
-- the fatal rivalry between city and city, and endemic class
struggle within the city itself. Even the rulers of Syracuse at
their most powerful never controlled the whole of Sicily. The
Greek cities of Italy were to prove no match for the growing
power of the Italian communities, first of the Samnites, and
finally of Rome.

The peoples of Italy before the expansion of Roman
power were of diverse racial origins, speaking different lan-
guages, and ranging in cultural development from brilliant
urban civilizations to semi-nomadic tribal societies. Political
unity was to be imposed by slow degrees; only with the ad-
mission of Gallia Cisalpina to Italy in the time of Julius
Caesar did it finally extend from the Alps to the Strait of
Messina. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire,
such unity was never attained again until 1870, with the
creation of the modern Italian state. Cultural unity was
slower still. In the second century B.C. the poet Ennius said
that he had three hearts, because he spoke Greek, Latin, and
Oscan. Not until the time of Augustus could men speak of
Rome and Italy as a unity, sharing a common destiny.
Sit Romana potens Itala virtute propago, ("Such shall be the
power of Roman stock, allied to the valor of Italy"); this, in
Virgil's view, is the explanation of Roman rule over the
world. To create Italy was the first great historical achieve-
ment of Rome; to make a political and cultural unity of the
whole Mediterranean world was to repeat this task on a larger
scale.

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