Persia (550 BCE-330 BCE) and Greece (480 BCE-323 BCE) were two strong and prosperous empires. For over two centuries, persia and Greece have been waging war on one another. Although Persia and Greece gave men more power than women, both empires developed different social structures and unalike religious beliefs.
Persia and Greece both have dissimilar social structures that consist of certain individuals. In early western Iran, the society was categorized into three social classes. The classes consisted of warriors, priests, and peasants. Warriors had the privilege in gardening, hunting, and fighting. The priest was in charge of supervising sacrifices. And the peasants or common people were farmers and shepherds. The Persian King had his groups of people as well. There were the son of Persian aristocrats, noblemen, the central administration, the king’s bodyguard, and many servants/slaves. On the other hand, the Greeks had two societies: Athens and Sparta. Athens was divided into four classes. The top classes were allowed to hold state office while the lower class could not. Sparta was separated into three classes: Spartiate, perioeci, and helots. The Spartiate could participate in politics, serve the military, and run Sparta. The perioeci could own land, serve in the military, and they were in charge of Sparta’s communication and trade. Last but not least, the helots were at the bottom and the most disliked. They were slaves and they were only allowed to serve in the
Greece government and the United States government is very different from each based on the fact that Greece is a Parliamentary Republic and the United States is a constitutional federal republic (The World Factbook). In Greece’s government there is a president, a prime minister, a parliament,and a Courts of Law (Government and Politics). In the United State’s government there is a president, House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Supreme Court. The United States only has a few parties that are well known such the Republican party, the Democratic party, and Green party. In Greece there are many parties such as New Democracy, Independent Greeks, Popular Orthodox Rally, and Coalition of the Radical Left (Country vs. Country).
Politically these areas share hardly anything in common from the way each ran their governments: Athens that which ran a Democracy, Sparta ran an Oligarchy and The Persians ran a Monarchy. Economically Persia sought more wealth and power through the threats of other areas that includes both Athens and Sparta who refused in the end to submit. Both Sparta and Athens treated their women differently as Sparta exercised and trained, keeping their breasts in shape, unlike the Athenians. During this time all had their own city-states or polis in their control, some will create walls and others will make ports. In the day to day life of Athenians, Spartans or Persians, they hold festivals or contests for their people.
Persia and Greece were beautiful and prosperous empires and where the most influential of their time. In this essay I will talk about the two main empires’ political structures and their economy and I will also state similarities and differences between the two empires. The two empires’ political structures might have varied greatly but their economies were very similar. Even though they had differences and had major battles they were still the ideal empires of their time.
The Persian war was a series fought by both Greece
Around the fifth century B.C.E, the Persians created a large and powerful empire influenced by other empires. To maintain their government, they distributed power to the people, specifically, their sons. According to Document 1, the Persians provided power to the men who had the most sons because they believed that number was strength. The sons were trained to speak the truth, and they held great power in the empire. Greece, specifically Athens, also distributed power to its people. In Document 2, Pericles, the Greek political leader and general of Athens and the Delian League, describes how the laws in Athens provided an equal chance for all to be included in public service as a reward of merit. This is a bit similar to the Persian Empire because both distributed power to their citizens. On the other hand, Pericles point of view may not be trustworthy because outside evidence shows that only free males in Athens were allowed to participate in public service, and Pericles made it seem as though all were allowed to participate, including women and non-Greek people. Additionally, the Persian Empire and the Roman Empire interacted with other empires and supported different cultures. For instance, Document 1 says how the Persians adopted foreign customs and how they changed certain customs to make it their own. In the Roman Empire, the cities were trade centers; people from all over the continent
lives, as if it was a part of them. Ancient Egyptians had many different kinds of gods and goddesses throughout their history. There were nearly 2000 different gods in ancient Egyptian history. There was only a short time of monotheism during Akhenaten's (1380 BC 1334
In the period known as classical Greece in the years 800-323 BCE, Greece comprised of small city states (poleis) which were considered and operated as independent small countries. Amongst those city states Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and considered in Greek history as the most influential states to western civilisation. These two city states shared some common characteristics whilst in some instances they were very different from each other. Sparta and Athens had differences and similarities in the way they governed their city states, in how they established their military forces, how they treated women, their marriage customs and social gatherings
Greece on the other hand was much smaller with a fraction of the Persian population with around 2-3 million people. Greece was made up of hundreds of small city-states and small settlements while Persia was one absolute monarchy. One way Persia became so powerful was with their rich agriculture while Greece destroyed all of their own rich farmland by causing deforestation and soil erosion. One of the biggest differences between these two states and the one I believe is the most significant was their approach to politics. Persia was controlled by the king and said king was in charge of all politics. Greece was one of the first places to use a system of government where the people managed the affairs and what went on in politics. I believe that this is significant because they both took a completely different approach to
Persia and Rome were epicenters for trade, military power, and agricultural prowess. The social and economic structure of Persia and Rome, during their rise and falls, placed a heavy emphasis on warrior status, the agricultural community, religion, and established trade routes. Both societies were very unique in how they did business with their people and other empires. During Rome’s rise their social structure was based on military merit and/or the wealth of their farm land. During Persia’s rise their social structure was based largely upon military status and their role in religious affairs. If one was a priest in the Persian empire then they were higher than a soldier. However, the social and economic structures of both empires were very different during the rise and fall.
In a relatively resource-poor region, a society rose from the access of foreign sources of raw materials and markets abroad. This society came to be known as one of the largest nations in Eurasia. The rise and fall of this great nation has to do with war-fare and the conflict between city-states. Their division led to the widespread of language and culture. This is the great story of Ancient Greece and how individualism changed the view Greece had on certain issues. (Bulliet 99) From 1000 B.C.E to 30 B.C.E, Ancient Greece’s view on individualism changed the political system Greece had, over time changed the way individuals thought and made important Intellectual changes, and gradually changed the Economic system such as bartering.
Both Greece and Persia had ups and downs like all ancient and even modern civilizations. Politically they had multiple similarities and differences within each other. Persia had a no slavery law unlike Greece, who made slaves do all the work to create ‘a perfect life’. Persia also had religious freedom so you weren’t forced to worship a certain god or king, even if you were captured in Persia you could worship your own god as long as you said the pledge and paid small taxes. Greece had taxes as well, but you had to worship the Greek gods on the upside Greece was led by democracy. These two very different civilizations had a similar social structure with a ruler/king on top and the field workers on the bottom. (Slaves for Greece and peasants
together can be a bad action taken by the government. The reason I say this is because, in economic terms, reduction in government spending and increasing tax collection at the same time is like hitting someone with two hammers together. This will only lead to a shift to the left of aggregate demand and is it impossible for the people to pay taxes when the living standards is low. (Figure 2)
Although they bear some superficial similarities, the differences between Greeks and Persians during the years 1000-30 B.C.E are clear. The thought that the Greek empires are better than the Persian empires is one that I believe in.
The Athenian people had a very modernized and an opened outlook towards life. In contrast to Sparta, in Athens, males were not obliged to join the armed forces they had the opportunity to pursue a good education and distinct varieties of arts and sciences courses. The people of Sparta were not open to other forms of education they only focused on military obedience and power. They didn’t also associate with people outside their territories. Family ties in Athens however, were much stronger. Women were officially dependents of their spouses or their fathers. Women in Athens had no right to own an asset apart from their family. In Sparta, women enjoyed more privileges than women in the other Greek countries did. Women in Sparta were stronger and they formed close relations with their men as they chose. Women could also possess their own assets. In the Athenian region females worked on house chores such as cooking or weaving but in Sparta, the females were free of all of such chores. (Differ,
The civilizations that I decided to elaborate on are Greece, Rome, and Persian. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast the similarities and differences of these civilizations. These civilizations will be analyzed in the area of their cultural, social, political, economic, diplomatic and military collating. Greece, Rome, and Persian are very distinctive and fascinating civilization. From the information I have learned through the semester will help me sharply juxtapose the cultures.