Peter Stearns. World Civilizations, the Global Experience.
Greece and Rome featured an important variety of political forms. Both tended to emphasize aristocratic rule. But there were significant democratic elements in some cases, as well as examples of autocracy. Later Rome added emphasis on law and the institutions of a great, though somewhat decentralized empire.
Politics were very important in classical Mediterranean civilization, from the Greek' city-states through the early part of the Roman Empire. Indeed, our word politics comes from the Greek word for city-state, polis, which correctly suggests that intense political interests were part of life in a city-state in both Greece and Rome. The "good life" for an upper-class Athenian or Roman included active participation in politics and. frequent
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And, the minority of people throughout the empire who were Roman citizens were intensely proud of this privilege.
Strong political ideals and interests created some similarities between Greco- Roman society and the Confucian values of classical China, although the concept of active citizenship was distinctive in the Mediterranean cultures. However, Greece and Rome did not develop a single or cohesive set of political institutions to rival China's divinely sanctioned emperor or its elaborate bureaucracy. So in addition to political intensity and localism as characteristics of
Mediterranean civilization, we must note great diversity in political forms. Here the comparison extends to India, where various political forms, including participation in governing councils, ran strong. Later societies, in reflecting on classical Mediterranean civilization, did select from a number of political precedents. Monarchy was not a preferred form; the Roman republic and most Greek city-states had abolished early monarchies as part of
Camille Sicat #26 3/16/16 Writing/Social Studies Power of the People: Athens vs. Rome Essential Question: Citizenship in Athens and Rome: Which Was the Better System? Prior to the idea of people being “citizens” of a nation, people were subjects, with no rights and forced to serve under the iron fist of their ruler. The idea of people having rights and responsibilities to their country originated in Athens, Greece circa 500 B.C. (Background Essay). Rome, however, far surpassed the Greeks in their social contract theory of citizenship (Background Essay) for the following reasons: 1) More people were considered citizens i.e. females and sons of freed slaves; 2)
.Introduction Athens and Sparta were two major city-states in old Greek. We review their governance and compare them for their similarities and differences. How did people in Athens and Sparta obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community?
We have learned that not all monarchies or tyrannies were bad, that they could be benevolent, and that democracy was also not entirely good. It would take a very long period of time for the democratic system to gradually evolve into the representative democracy that we know today. It is also important to note that the founders of modern day democracy looked to aristocratic and oligarchic systems for inspiration rather than the Athenian democratic system at the time (Brand, n.d., 35). Hence, the study of Greek history and evolution of governmental structures can help us better understand the political systems that we have today. 7 UNIT 2 ASSIGNMENT -
Many of the qualities of the New World were greatly affected by the people of historical Europe. The people of the Greek and Roman Empires, the Dark Ages, and the Renaissance helped establish what is now our government, economic system, and social structure. In historical Europe, many of the countries were ruled by tyrants who dictated the citizen’s daily lives. In Ancient Athens, a new system arose that would greatly impact the course of history. ““In the year 507 B.C., the Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced a system of political reforms that he called demokratia, or “rule by the people.”
Athenian Democracy: a brief overview. Stoa.org. Retrieved 19 June 2017, from
Most notable, however, was the democracy of Athens and the oligarchy of Sparta. The driving force behind all of Greek life and politics was this concept of arete. While arete differed between Athens and Sparta, this lust for excellence became the driving force behind their democracy and oligarchy. The geography of Greece did not allow for a strictly central government, and so, the Greeks adapted.
The Romans had a system of indirect democracy where the people had the power to vote for representatives who would advocate for them on the state level. The Greeks had a government in which the people directly were involved in the governmental and legislative process. In addition, both systems were flawed in their representation of their people in their respective governments through neglecting a large portion of their population. Both societies did well to create term lengths to decrease the likelihood of corruption and abuse of power through creating accountability. However, the Greek democracy was a caliber above its counterpart.
The government plays a major role in any civilization. The Greeks had several different types of government: Monarchy, Aristocracy, Oligarchy, and Democracy. The Democratic Government is the type of government, which mainly influenced our modern civilization. Democratic Government simply means the citizens have the power, which is the type of government here in the United States of America.
The Polis and Ancient Greek Life To the Ancient Greeks, the Polis was the center of their way of life. From socializing to conducting business to even deciding whether to go to war, the Polis was a very important aspect of the Greek’s lives. In the essay, the functions of the Polis will be discussed along with how the Polis managed to bring about the formation of Democracy, with the Polis of the city of Athens being the main example. The importance of the Polis will be explored through this essay because without the Polis, Democracy as we know it may not have ever formed. In ancient Greece, the Polis was the center of everything, consisting of the main town, but also farms and villages surrounding the polis.
The Ancient Greeks’ renowned use of democracy influenced Ancient Rome’s government structure. The strong belief in Gods and oracles in Ancient Greek shaped the religion of Ancient Romans. The Spartan-like training and leadership style of Ancient Greek war heroes formed the
Political elements like oligarchy versus democracy molded Western Civilization's political science and political philosophies. An Overview of the Greek Geography as a Trigger of Western Civilization
The system of government was based on philosophy rather than belief of something higher like gods. The Greeks believed in the ability of men to think rationally and govern based on reason. Greece believed more in what they could see. The Greeks government was run through the citizens, it was voted on who would rule; it was not like India where the rulers were based on patriarchy. Some might argue that Ancient India and Greece were more similar rather than different, however Greece and India were more different than they were similar.
Ancient Greek and ancient Rome are often confused with one another even though there are great differences between the two. Both countries are Mediterranean but have social class differences, different mythology, different life values and different architectural concepts. It is said that much of what Rome used in everyday life was taken from the ancient Greek civilization as the ancient Greek civilization started 5th century BC. And it was not till hundreds of years later that the roman civilization started. Cities in Ancient Greece were differentiated by hills.
Leadership in Athens evolved from being an empire that was being governed by a monarchy, then on to an Aristocracy where a few began to rule but were also the wealthy few. From there was the governance form of where those who ruled totally seized control with their supreme power, Tyranny. The last form of governance that Greece was introduced to and they kept throughout the rest of their history was Democracy – which allowed the people of the society the power to influence changes in their community. Finally the entire population was to be represented and had the chance to choose how they wanted their life and city-state to be. Democracy is the main system of governance in the modern era.
Ancient Greece had been through with thousands of poleis (city states) existing at the same time. Together with the existence of these poleis were different systems of governments being set up. In particular, there were five main types of government dominantly appeared during the history of ancient Greek, including monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy and democracy. Each type of government mentioned here was substituted by one another during the course of ancient Greek’s development. So, the question is, what is the difference among all?