Classical Civilization Vs Mediterranean Culture

A period marked with much change, Hellenistic Era began with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. From political structures to individual ideologies, the Hellenistic Period marked a time of progress and prosperity for the Greeks who were at the peak of their power. When comparing the Classical and Hellenistic Periods there are many similarities and key differences which are going to be discussed below.

Greece and The Mayan Empire are two early civilizations that shared many similarities and differences in aspects such as economics, government, and culture. Although the civilizations have some similarities, daily life was very different in each civilization.

Analyze similarities and differences in methods of political control in the following empires in the classical period.

Within china it went the emperor, then local gentry “a term that refers to individuals who have at the rank and status of government officials, but who reside at home and may not have any specific political responsibilities”(course reader 119), then scholars, citizens who were preparing for the exams, next were Peasants, Craftsmen, merchants, and then just people in general. The Feudal japan ranking system went Shoguns at the top, then Daimyo, the landholding military lords, next were samurai, and at the bottom were peasant. Being a peasant one would not usually be able to afford elite education for themselves or for their children. Naturally the more privileged people in the empire’s would get a better education then the peasants children would have. This alone made climbing the social ladder a clear struggle for the people at the bottom.

In western ancient world, there were kings who tried to bring the world come together ideologically, culturally and politically. This caused lots of cultural exchange between people and help them understand and respect each other’s ways of life. On the other hand, politically, it created a lot of major wars. It took a large amount of resources and decades to end these wars. As a result of these wars, most kingdoms suffered from both economical and political problems. Therefore, it is fair to say that Greek/Hellenistic civilization could be characterized as being a period of intellectual and cultural achievement but political failure.

Social inequality was the unfair treatment based on status. During the late 17th century, the three social classes were the royal and the commoners. The commoners were in extreme poverty while King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were living luxurious lives off their taxes. (Doc 1). The idea of two-head monster that only cared for wealthy and ignore the poor was illustrated in document 7.

upper class consisted of wealthy and well educated minor aristocrats they could vote and they held high public office

Social inequality was also applied to the structure of class, caste, and slavery. Gender roles in society for various second-wave civilizations were also very different. From Greece to China, social inequality and gender inequality was always unfair no matter what class or caste an individual is in.

The first Social inequality were slaves, which were individuals “lacking the support of a family”(2). Other reasons were that by becoming a slave to ”paying off debts or as punishment for a crime”(2). Slaves are considered to be the minorities in today 's society which held the least amount of

Trade and contact with other Mediterranean people lead to an exchange of goods but also ideas and knowledge. Mountains divided the land into regions. This lead to the development of separate, independent city-states. As city-states became more powerful they gained colonies to grow products not grown in Greece such as grains. Athens developed a democracy of rich men but most other city-states were dictatorships such as Sparta.

In ancient India and China a social system was developed to separate the society into levels. This social system is called a caste system. Which caste level you belong to was determined by your occupation and family origin. If you were born the son of a king your life was grand. But, if you were born to a farmer you are a farmer for life. Your birth determines where you fall in the caste system, and you live according to the rules. Both ancient India and China had the caste system. Ancient India and China had similarities and differences in the caste system.

In this lesson, you will examine the geographic location of the classical civilizations, their expansion and contraction over time, and how interconnected they were through trade.

The samurai of Tokugawa Japan, the yangban of Choson Korea, and the gentry of Ming China were three very powerful and elite groups of East Asia. These groups consisted of high ranking government officials with judicial power and influence. Although the groups were located in the same region they had their similarities and differences in how they obtained power and how they used their power. Japanese samurai were military nobility who had almost as much power as the emperor, but were not the highest ranking officials whereas the yangban officials of Korea were the highest ranking rulers. The gentry of the Ming period of China were once high ranking rulers; however, the gentry were defined as retired Chinese bureaucrats. Socially, all

When we look back at these two different periods of art sculpture we can see the great difference between the two stylistic choices of art. Behind each hunk of stone reads perfect anatomy and certain expressions. One features a more dazed stone face and one gives life for more emotion made within the stone. The Classical Period and Hellenistic period also look somewhat similar from a glance are very different in feeling and meaning.

During the time of Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou Dynasties (2100 - 771BC), the abdication system was broken up and the hereditary system started, which the throne was continuously passed to sons of the emperor, from generation to generation. At that time, the country governed by “four categories of people”: Emperor, Zhuhou (the nobles), Dafu (the gentlemen bureaucrats), and Shi (the yeomen), and different responsibilities and duties were assigned to each “categories” or class. It is impossible for people who were born into the specific classes to rise by their own efforts, and they can