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The cities of the ancient Roman Empire were grand in scale and elegantly simple in design, maintaining an aesthetically pleasing ambiance that the citizens, at least the upper classes, had to have enjoyed. Scholars have debated for years as to the origins of the Roman forms of architecture and sculpture, pinpointing such cultures as the Greeks and Etruscans. Some think one or the other is the main or only influence whilst others believe that it could very well be both. Depending on where one is in the Roman Empire (Italy in particular), it is obvious that both cultures did, indeed, inspire the Romans toward one end or another. However, Greece seems to have played the larger role in the scheme of things, especially once it and the provinces of the east were assimilated.

During the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.E the Greeks had spread beyond their earlier bounds of Crete, the Greek mainland, and modern-day Turkey and settled all along the Aegean coastline, building colonies in several places including Italy and Sicily. They had already established a name for themselves throughout the Mediterranean, and by the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.E, they had achieved a cultural high point. The Persian Wars had been won, and Athens in particular, home of the Acropolis and Agora, was held by many outsiders and insiders alike in high regard.

It was around this period when Rome had begun to shake off Etruscan rule, developing the Republic and power all her own. The houses and temples were constructed the Etruscan way, which is what sparks part of the debate mentioned earlier, but it would not be long before the Romans came in better contact with their Greek neighbors to the south and east. After the Second Punic War which ended in 202 B.C.E, Rome became increasingly involved with Greece and the Middle East, importing art, marble and other luxuries in droves. Etruscan styles were traded for the Hellenistic, and buildings such as the Temple of Portunus began to appear, mimicking temples in Greece. The styles were still mingled, the Romans never truly and completely letting go of what the Etruscans had left them with. The Temple of Hercules at Cori is an example of this phenomenon, being built upon a podium with a broad roof (both Etruscan attributes) with Doric (Greek) columns.

Contact with the Hellenistic world inspired other things amongst the Romans than simply the style of architecture. The Greeks had been amongst the first civilizations to develop a layout for urbanization,

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