>>13
I think it's due to the perception of Roman society upholding a certain standard of male self-discipline and viewing sissy pursuits like drama and philosophy with disdain. You see a similar glorification of Sparta by the same kind of people, which also had real power only for a fairly short period. Other Greek cities, while they made a greater mark on history, were too tolerant of effeminate men in togas strumming lyres and debating which age boys are the most beautiful at.

On that note, it may be a factor that the Romans were Christian (eventually) and didn't fuck little boys (eventually).