Classical Persia and Greece are two civilizations that both paralleled and differed from each other. Similarities between the two classical Empires include aspects of their social structure. Differences between classical Persia and Greece comprise of their approaches to politics and their religious practices. Though the two empires were bitter rivals for much of their existences, they still share certain common factors that linked their cultures and histories. It is important to compare and contrast these two societies in order to see where one succeeded where the other failed, and how these factors ultimately contributed to their triumphs as well as their downfalls. Learning from both their mistakes and achievements may help us to shape our own civilizations now and in the future. Classical Persia and Greece were both empires with highly stratified social structures. There was a pyramid style class structure in either civilization; the upper class were the small tip, while the peasantry …show more content…
One of these major differences was their political systems. Though both classical Persia and Greece were comprised of a number of divided regions, their government sought to control these regions in different ways. While Persian rulers attempted to unify these regions through infrastructure, Greece’s mountainous landscape contributed to the empire’s overall lack of connectedness. Greek city-states (or polis’) varied in terms of the way in which they were governed: some were monarchies, while others were oligarchies. Other polis’ were ruled by tyrants. In addition, Persia had a system of dynastic rule, in which a central government controlled by a small number of nobles would control the goings-on within the empire. Greece on the other hand, had no centralized government (and subsequently: no system of dynastic rule). In Classical Greece, polis’ governed themselves through whatever means they saw
The population difference was also a major difference. Persian civilization had a size of 35 million people and the Greek civilization just about 2 million to 3 million. The Persian governors placed a very effective administrative system which was called satraps, which was in each empire’s twenty-three people earn responsibility while lower-level
One reason is because Persia had a stronger government structure in the area of their kings. One example would be, as stated, “To maintain order among the populace, Persian kings established courts to resolve legal disputes” (Persia Doc E). In contrast, Athenians were not forward thinkers of the area of their leaders and the laws created by said leaders. For example, as stated, “Anyone whose behavior was believed to be a threat to democracy could be ostracized; they would have to leave Athens for 10 years, within the ten days of the decision being taken” (Greek Doc A). The kings and laws of Persia were stronger than Greece’s laws and leaders because the kings of Persia made legal disputes to create peace and unification.
The geography of Greece influenced the development of ancient Greek government and politics. When describing ancient Greece, “mountainous land” is the phrase one would use because Greece is made up of many mountains. Because of the mountains, it was difficult to commute from place to place. As a result of that, instead of Greece being ruled by one government, it formed many different poleis, which each had their own government Polis is the Greek word for independent city-states. Greeks had a strong connection with their polis, and they strongly identified with them.
Athens and Sparta, located between the Aegean and the Ionian Sea, allied with each other in the Greco-Persian war. Due to the advanced and powerful navy of Athens incorporation with the well-built army of Sparta, they gained victory over the Persian Empire. After the victory, Athens gained wealth and dominance over the other Greek societies causing tensions between Sparta. They both share similarities towards their cultural background but had different views in creating an ideal society in addition to their state’s place in the world. Moreover, they differ from the concepts of a well trained or educated society and a well built military, but share similarities in their government format.
From 600 b.c.e to 200 c.e 2 empires with distinct political, religious and social structures were formed in Han China and Classical Greece. The Han dynasty differed greatly with Classical Greece in how it governed, what they believed and its social structures which lead to it being able to sustain a much larger population and last for a much large period of time compared to classical; Greece. To begin the Han dynasty continued the centralized government begun by their predecessors the Qin dynasty by having a monarchy however there were still regional governments. This differed greatly from the political structures in greece because in greece governments were organized in city states and many city states ran things completely different form others.
Ancient Greece had many different forms of government within its many eras and countries. To name a few of these governing styles you had monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and the founding of democracy. Overall each governing style can be found within a few time points throughout Greek history. Some Greek governments established mixes of different governing styles. Such as Sparta which had a mix of Monarchy, Oligarchy, aristocracy, and tyranny.
in the more advanced areas of Greece, economically and socially speaking” (“Greek Administration”, 1988). The polis was a way of the Greeks finding a way to organize themselves into a society, becoming more civilized. According to Greek Administration, “In its fundamental essence it was never conceived as an extent of territory, although its boundaries could be drawn on a map, but rather as a group of citizens feeling themselves bound together under the rule of law” (“Greek Administration, 1988). In terms that are more familiar to the way we teach history today in our society, the polis is what we would call a city-state, each individual polis being its own city-state, acting almost like a small country. According to Nardo, “Although all Greeks, the residents of the various poleis developed differing local governments and customs as well as different forms of currency” (Nardo, 2007).
Great number of polises encircled culture and political life of a state. However, this fact is also often called as one of the main factors which led to decline of Ancient Greece. The thing is that there was no centralized state which could be able to resist some invaders. The whole history of ancient Greece can be takes as the chain of wars for dominance in the region. Polis, which managed to conquer the rest of cities in the area, became the main power which determined further development of a state,
When you think of powerful empires, Ancient Greece will be one of the numerous that might come to mind. This is because of their extraordinary military, advanced culture, and many political structures. Although they were one of the best civilizations in history, they shared and differentiated several aspects of their culture with other parts of the world. This essay will show the comparisons and contrasts of Ancient Greece’s culture and government counter to Ancient India’s Hinduism’s caste system and Sparta’s military to Japan’s Samurais. Ancient Greece was the birthplace of the democratic government and great philosophies, that hold has some of the main fundamental elements towards western culture.
The ancient world’s Classical Era, occurring between 600 BCE and 600 CE, provided the foundations of modern society through art, architecture, religion, government, and commerce. This time period allowed great empires, such as the Persian, Greek, and Roman, to rise and eventually fall. Each vast empire would not have been possible; however, without the contributions of powerful emperors, such as Cyrus the Great and King Ashoka. Both rulers proved to be very successful in their political, cultures, social, and religious policies, while also providing institutions unique to their own empire’s needs.
Sparta vs. Athens To begin with, Athens and Sparta were both famous in antiquity for their legend, cultures and the character of the people. On the one hand, the two poleis share certain obvious affinities, such as language, geographical scope, a common Greek ancestry etc. On the other hand, they were polar opposites in many aspects, from social spheres, political structures, to military might, which I believe there are some hidden depths in these city-states. Hence, let’s look at how did their people obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community, and who held public office first.
The transition of governments in ancient Greece originated with a monarchy, to an oligarchy, then into a tyrannical government to finally end up in a democracy. But before democracy was somewhat established, the Greek civilization went through a state of turbulence and disorder. The upheaval did not stop its citizens from speaking out and learning from the mistakes of its tyrannical leaders. A city-state movement was emerging, otherwise known as Polis. Depending on the community modality, it had either a monarchy or oligarchy yet there was always a city-state or Polis was a small group of leaders that was considered to be self-governing.
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.
The ancient Romans and Greeks both began their legacy as a city-state; both of them are Mediterranean cities. Ancient Rome and ancient Greece both played a huge role in historic dynasty yet they are both different. Ancient Greece came to light after researches were made. The empire of Athens only lasted 5 years, where Rome 's empire lasted 500 years. Sculptures, paintings and architecture differ in each civilization.
Sparta seemed intent on consolidating power amongst its aristocratic families, while Athens moved in a different direction, attempting to keep power from gathering around any specific group, How were the two city-states similar in their governmental structures, and how did they differ? Both societies had a public assembly in which every citizen could make themselves heard. Both had relatively short terms of public office, (excluding the Gerousia) and both believed in reaching a consensus before enacting policy. Athens had a much larger group of citizens who had a much greater influence on matters of policy, and Sparta was a much more streamlined machine, geared toward making war, and maintaining military readiness.