Horace wrote conquered Greece took captive her conqueror

Horace wrote, "Conquered Greece took captive her conqueror": when they conquered Greece, the Roman Empire did not really extinguish Greek culture, they assimilated it more, thoroughly embracing Greek philosophy and arts and spreading these widely throughout the Empire.


A) when they conquered Greece, the Roman Empire did not really extinguish Greek culture, they assimilated it more, thoroughly embracing Incorrect

two IC without semicolon(;)

B) when the Roman Empire conquered Greece, it was not like extinguishing Greek culture, but like assimilating it, and they thoroughly embraced Incorrect

the Roman Empire singular, whereas they plural

C) in the conquest of Greece, the Roman Empire assimilated Greek culture more than extinguishing it, and it thoroughly embraced Incorrect

the Roman Empire embraced .............and spreading ...........these widely throughout the Empire - sounds weird.
I guess the Roman should be done this, not empire.

for this reason and meaning issue eliminate C & D

D) in conquering Greece, the Roman Empire did not so much extinguish Greek culture as assimilate it, thoroughly embracing Incorrect

same as C

E) in the conquest of Greece, the Roman Empire was more like an assimilator of Greek culture than like an extinguisher of it, and the Romans thoroughly embraced Correct

E looks correct and eliminate meaning issue

My answer is (D). It took me 01:20.

(A) "They" has no antecedent. There is no noun/pronoun in plural in the rest of the sentence.

(B) A sloppy use of "like". Such usage is not appropriate in a serious / academic discourse.

(C) The first "it" refers to "Greek culture", yet the second "it" refers to "the Roman Empire". Good writing should not test readers' discernment.

(D) No manifest errors.

(E) A sloppy use of "like". Such usage is not appropriate in a serious / academic discourse.

Horace wrote, "Conquered Greece took captive her conqueror": when they conquered Greece, the Roman Empire did not really extinguish Greek culture, they assimilated it more, thoroughly embracing Greek philosophy and arts and spreading these widely throughout the Empire.


A) when they conquered Greece, the Roman Empire did not really extinguish Greek culture, they assimilated it more, thoroughly embracing
'they' don't have the right reference therefore out

B) when the Roman Empire conquered Greece, it was not like extinguishing Greek culture, but like assimilating it, and they thoroughly embraced
comparisons should be done with such as rather than 'like' therefore out

C) in the conquest of Greece, the Roman Empire assimilated Greek culture more than extinguishing it, and it thoroughly embraced
'it' doesn't have the right reference therefore out

D) in conquering Greece, the Roman Empire did not so much extinguish Greek culture as assimilate it, thoroughly embracing
No immediate errors therefore let us keep for now

E) in the conquest of Greece, the Roman Empire was more like an assimilator of Greek culture than like an extinguisher of it, and the Romans thoroughly embraced
Similar reasoning as B

Therefore IMO D

Horace wrote, "Conquered Greece took captive her conqueror": when they conquered Greece, the Roman Empire did not really extinguish Greek culture, they assimilated it more, thoroughly embracing Greek philosophy and arts and spreading these widely throughout the Empire.

A) when they conquered Greece, the Roman Empire did not really extinguish Greek culture, they assimilated it more, thoroughly embracing -> "they" don't have clear precedent. Incorrect

B) when the Roman Empire conquered Greece, it was not like extinguishing Greek culture, but like assimilating it, and they thoroughly embraced -> "they" is plural, but "Roman Empire" is singular. Incorrect.

C) in the conquest of Greece, the Roman Empire assimilated Greek culture more than extinguishing it, and it thoroughly embraced -> second "it" doesn't clear precedent. Let's search for a better option.

D) in conquering Greece, the Roman Empire did not so much extinguish Greek culture as assimilate it, thoroughly embracing -> This is better. Let's keep it.

E) in the conquest of Greece, the Roman Empire was more like an assimilator of Greek culture than like an extinguisher of it, and the Romans thoroughly embraced -> like is incorrect to use.

So, I think D.

Eliminate B, and E - wrong usage of "like" for comparsion.
Eliminate A - "They" plural has no antecedent
Plus A, and B, has tense error "conquered" makes intended meaning flaw

Between C, and D
As verbs the difference between conquer and conquest is that
conquer is to defeat in combat; to subjugate while
conquest is to conquer

C) in the conquest of Greece,
the Roman Empire assimilated Greek culture more than extinguishing it, and
it thoroughly embraced Greek philosophy and arts and
spreading these widely throughout the Empire
Error:
1. Embraced not // to spreading
2. Two "Its" pronoun, antecedent referance error.
3. assimilated (past tense) more than extinguishing (present tense) - Intended meaning error.

Correct option D
D) in conquering Greece,
the Roman Empire did not so much extinguish Greek culture as assimilate it,
thoroughly embracing Greek philosophy and arts and
spreading these widely throughout the Empire