Comparing Ancient Greece And Rome

The leaders who instigated democracy in Athens, Greece in the 6th and 5th century BCE created a functioning system of government that attempted to benefit its citizens. However, the system of democracy included weaknesses that didn’t support all people to the best of its ability and was overthrown in the end due to war. Several significant leaders were necessary in the commencement of Athenian democracy. These included Solon, Cleisthenes and Pericles. All three had heavy influence in the establishment of democracy, but it was Pericles who truly prospered it. Solon was an aristocratic, not a democratic, but he still believed in supporting the people. Cleisthenes began land reforms which made all of Attica connected as one. Pericles made Athens

The concept of Democracy dates back to the Classic Period, otherwise known as the Golden Age of Greece. Prior to becoming a unified nation, Greece was made up of city-states that were constantly warring with one another. None of these city-states possessed full control over its neighbors. It was during this time and because of these circumstances that there was great advancement in Greek thought encompassing philosophy and politics. These advancements are responsible for the strong Greek

Today, much of the world’s governments have converted to democracies. In the Ancient World, there was only one truly notable example of a democratic society: The City-State of Athens. This is actually the birthplace of democracy, where instead of the rich or powerful ruling, it was the citizens of the city-state that held the power. This advanced way of government was so effective and well structured, it even laid the foundations for the development of our own democracy, right here in the United States, over 2,000 years in the future. Prior to Athens’s collapse during the Peloponnesian War, it truly had an efficient and very organized system of government.

Democracy, the form of government in which there is a rule by the people, is said to have originated and thrived in the classical period of Athens, from 500-350 B.C.. Democracy inherently gave all that were considered citizens power to participate in politics. That being said, it is highly debated as to how much power the people, also known as the demos, exercised in this democracy. Many practices and informal institutions can be said to have limited the power of the demos. The democracy in Athens could be said to have been a democracy in theory yet not in practice, as can be proven through a variety of primary sources recounting Athenian political institutions and practices. Such primary sources that can demonstrate this include Herodotus’ History, Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War, and Demosthenes’ Oration Against Eubulides.

Thesis: The Greek influence of outstanding culture, gods, and their beautiful art to the Romans’ they took this inspiration on to their own creation. Both ancient build devotion to their gods they would bring the most precious things to them temples, however, they would focus on making large empire to rule and to take control of their city-states.

Ancient Greece peoples were, for the most part, farmers, their diet it was mostly grains, or to use the Greek word, sistos. The fertile soil from the hillsides of the mountainous lands, surrounded by water, provided the perfect habitat for olive, fig, and grape trees to grow naturally. In the Island of Siphnos and the Mountains of Thrace, gold and silver were found. Additionally, silver could be found in Laurionin Attica. The mainland and Aegean Islands was the home to the abundance of iron ore. Lavish Greek forest located in the Highlands were regrettably depleted of wood resources quite rapidly. Devastated first by home and wagon production followed by goat and charcoal production. Wood, the most significant resource, soon had to be imported to keep up with the demand for the of building of ships (Roman).

As we have learned that Democracy came from the word ‘demos’ which means people, that makes people the ruling party or majority rule. Ancient Greeks who were experimenting with different kinds of political system and were much interested in which system works best. By far the most radical kind of democracy is a direct democracy which lasted less than two centuries in a Greek city-state of Athens. Citizens of Athens were directly involved in the process and participated in decision making and they were proud of it, they deemed their system to be the best and superior to other systems in other Greek city-states. As Cartwright stated an excerpt from Pericles himself who was one of the greatest supporters of democracy in classic

Evolution of Democracy and the Athenian Constitution Democracy is defined in modern times as government by the people. To put that in perspective and better understand all that democracy entails we must consider its origins. It is surprising indeed that even today tyrannies and dictatorships exist in the world when more than two and a half thousand years ago the ancient Athenians had developed a functional and direct form of democracy. What contributed to this remarkable achievement and how it changed the socio-political scene in Athens is what will be considered in this paper.

If you time travel back to the time of Ancient Greece, you will notice many things that are different from now, including the type of government in their society. If you go to say, the City of Athens around 500 B.C.E you'll find they have a Democracy that's a bit different than the one we have today in the United States. Demokratia or rule of the people was introduced by Cleisthenes a noble Athenian Leader. For about one hundred years Athens was a direct democracy, unlike the United States that has a Representative Democracy. Though, since you can't time travel I’ll explain to you just what I’m talking about.

Greece and Rome had a similar system of citizenship and citizen governance. In Rome, in 507 BCE, members of the senatorial class took down the tyrant of Rome at the time. They then created the Republic of Rome, but it lasted until 31 BCE. Under this republic, all of male citizens of Rome were able to vote, but their votes were worth less than those who were wealthy. In Rome, the citizens practiced democracy, where legislative power was from the citizens and the executive power in a Council of 500.

“History of Democracy” HistoryWorld. 2001. Web. 24 Oct. 2014 < http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ac42> Greek Gateway.

Cleisthenes, an ancient ruler of Athens, introduced demokratia in 507 B.C. Demokratia means “rule by the people”, and it was a system of political reforms known as a direct democracy. Unlike modern representative government, citizens who wish to have a say in government are allowed to participate in it. However, demokratia did not include women, foreigners, and slaves. It also barred between 80 and 90 percent of Greece’s population from political rights. This Athenian democracy only lasted two centuries, although it does serve as a major contribution to the modern world. Democratic and progresses from this time period have influenced politicians

The contemporary United States has been influenced by many ancient civilizations, mainly Classical Rome and Classical Greece. Even though Greece had a tremendous influence over our civilization, out of these two classical civilizations, I believe that Classical Rome has had a bigger impact on many aspects of the contemporary United States. In this essay, I am going to examine the political system, economic system, and the architecture of the Classical Rome Empire, and explain how these influenced the contemporary United States.

Democracy began to emerge in Greece during the archaic (800-500) and classic (500-323) period, and it has expanded through the country over time . Greeks came up with the idea of democracy through discussions among citizens and with the majority voting; this was called direct democracy as everyone could debate and vote in one place to determine new policy for the country. During this period, only men were allowed to vote and give their opinions, others were not allowed to participate in government’s decisions . However, over time, the democratic government in Greece changed to be more open for every citizen. The poor, men and women, had the same rights, and equal share of power.

Modern day civilizations evolved from past civilizations that set themselves apart from the rest. The two civilizations that shaped the foundation for the Unites States were Greece and Rome. Both countries heavily influenced how the US works today. Although both Rome and Greece contributed to the modern day US, Greece was more influential than Rome through their democratic government, their trading based economy, and their love for action and their strong social beliefs. Rome still had a substantial role in influencing modern day America, yet the Greek civilization more closely mirrors the political makeup of the US. The way our government is formatted today with the branches of government corresponds with Rome's. Polybius described the Roman constitution and declared, “It had three elements, each of them possessing sovereign powers: and their respective share of power in the whole state had been regulated with such a scrupulous regard to equality and equilibrium…” (1). Rome had three branches of government similar to The United States. They also created these branches for the same purpose. To not have one power ruling over the other so that all three branches had equilibrium when it came to power. Rome had the issue with one leader controlling all of the land. This form of government was the best way for the empire to rule and share equal power. Besides the three branches of government Greece is much closer to the modern day US government. For one the Greece