Although Ancient Greece and Ancient Roman times were separated by nearly 500 years, the location near the Mediterranean heavily influenced their floral design choices. Greece and Rome were able to use their geographical locations to their advantage by way of selecting fresh seasonal blooms. Although Greece had a bustling trade market that was defined by their inability to farm the mountains and islands surrounding them, Rome’s prosperity evolved greatly due to its hilly landscape. Rome’s government became easy to protect due to the surrounding hills and mountains, which caused the entire city to flourish; they were able to spend their money on greater personal expenses because their need for state security was not near as prevalent as other civilizations. In turn, Rome’s financial prosperity greatly affected their ceremonies, events, and festivals, and invigorated the way that they brought together floral arrangements with these celebrations.

Much like Ancient Greece, Romans valued the free-spirited aspects of floral design and enjoyed loose decorations and cornucopias displaying flower petals and buds. Unlike Ancient Greece, however, Ancient Rome took this one step further and refined Grecian floristry with their own regal and elaborate designs. Designs, such as garlands, became much fuller and wider. One great example of this was the difference in Roman wreaths vs Grecian wreaths. Often used to adorn the head for ceremonies and festivals, Grecian wreaths were simple and understated. Roman wreaths, however, involved tapered olive branches that were so elaborate that they belonged mostly to the heads of Roman emperors or royalty. When looking at some of the many statues left behind by Roman culture, we can still see evidence of how distinguished these head wreaths are today.

While Greek Civilization focused on more spirited interpretations that affected their floral arrangements, Romans were much more opulent. They led their civilization with excess and lavish displays. Floral arrangements were used in not only festivals and ceremonies, but in day to day life. Rose petals were often piled high on the floor and were used elaborately by royalty, such as Nero and Cleopatra. Many floral designs were arranged with flowers that were not native to Rome, but traded with civilizations like Greece. Roman arrangements featured both new and exotic flowers such as laurel, ivy, myrtle, crocus, and oleander. Rome’s own environment struggled to keep up with the demand of flowers and they relied heavily on this trade to supplement their own growing, which often took place on city hot water pipes due to the struggle of supply and demand.

While Rome was both similar and differential from Greece, one of the most interesting Roman floral traditions still affects modern history today. The Romans made a lasting impact on floral history and design through Dies Rosationi, or the day of rose adornment. This particular tradition was developed by Romans to honor and commemorate the dead by placing flowers at burial sites. This is a practice that has developed into modern western culture, where we often adorn burial sites with individual flowers or arrangements before saying our final goodbyes.