From the Punic wars onward cults from Asia Minor and Egypt sprang up. The murals of the Villa of Mysteries at Pompeii afford us a marvelous opportunity to examine art of the Classical world in the context of a religious rite. Outline of Roman Civilization Be prepared to give the dates for the five stages of Roman Civilization and to trace the stages on a map of Europe. The Latins, Iron Age invaders from the north, found the city of Rome in central Italy, sharing the peninsula with the Etruscans in the northwest and the Greeks in the south. The Etruscans, an eastern Mediterranean people, of a more advanced culture than the Latins, rule.
Romans dominate the Italian peninsula.
The Empire is ruled by generals. This period is characterized by the decline of the Empire and paganism, and the rise of Christianity.