History : The Ancient World

In examining the impact that the ancient world has had on modern Western civilization, the two ancient civilizations which are frequently understood as having had the greatest influence are Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. These two civilizations would eventually come to shape much of what would become the modern European culture, politics and society, and by extension, a vast proportion of global culture and society. In examining the trajectory of modern history in an era of globalization of Western ideas and modes of living, the importance of these civilizations in world history is extensive, contributing to cultural, political and social trends which may well dominate the globe in the future.

To what extent was Themistocles’ contribution the key factor in bringing about a Greek victory in the Persian Wars, 480-479 BC?

Over the course of human history, humans and our ancestors have made tremendous strides. From Homo habilis making the first stone tools to the Egyptians building The Pyramids of Giza, human history is nothing short of intriguing. If it wouldn’t have been for each stride made by our ancestors we probably wouldn’t live in the world that we live in today. When the Neolithic Era began in 9600 BCE, human civilizations gradually started to spring up all over the world. Humans set up civilizations from Mesopotamia in the Middle East, to China in East Asia, and all the way to Caral-Supe in South America. Although these ancient civilizations were separated by thousands of miles, they all share common patterns and

As can be seen, the Roman Empire was great for its time in more ways that one, with its undefeatable strength and size . It was greater than the empires before it

Greece was a very high-class civilization, where the government was based on city-states. Perhaps their greatest invention of all was the form of government they came up with, which we still use today-democracy. However these Greek democracies are nothing like our democracy today. The probably most well known ruler of Greece was Alexander the Great. He was the leader of Macedonia, the city-state that took control over Greece, and he eventually gained control over Greece as a whole. Alexander the Great was probably the best leader of all time in Greece. He conquered new lands, but he was the first person to adopt the new land's customs, instead of forcing his customs on the new territory. This is why many of the civilizations he conquered actually were glad he took them over. He also encouraged his soldiers to marry the women from the new territories to show cultural involvement.

During the time of the ancient Greeks we read about their remarkable achievements; whether it be social, political, or cultural, we would not understand their accomplishments if it weren’t for their precise interpretation of text and the development of a lasting language. When looking at our lives today, the lack of credit which goes to our ancient descendants is beyond decent; for the lives in which they established for themselves, only furthered our capability and our potential of exceeding what was never imagined. A civilization where individuals look to the text, the mathematical equations, and the records from that of the ancient Greeks and learn from it. Between their development of the written word, the idea of the recorded time, as

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

An interesting question to ask oneself about ancient civilizations is “How did the various governments keep their respective populations under control?” By taking a look at some of the literature and forms of art, one can get an idea of the crafty techniques used by leaders to control the populace. The concept of social control has been around as long as civilizations have been. This can be seen in the Roman stoic ideals portrayed in the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, the Four Noble Truth’s teachings in India, and the emphasis on harmony in China with the Chinese Bronze Bell. It’s interesting to see the ways works of art and even religious texts were used to control the common people.

Why did Christianity take hold in the ancient world? Around the time of CE, a lot of people were against being christian, until people spread the word and other people realized how devoted they were. So, why did Christianity take hold in the ancient world?

Because Greek city-states were largely independent of each other, multiple forms of power were able to

Most people believe that all ancient civilizations were the same: they all lived with a steadfast loyalty to their one and only king that ruled all of the lands, civilizations only achievements were monumental buildings, and they vacuously attacked neighboring societies to gain more land for millennia. While some of this knowledge is true to an extent, civilizations accomplished an abundance more than some realize. Some fail to register that early civilizations are unique from each other. Egypt and Mesopotamia were two distinct civilizations. Despite similarities such as both being river civilizations, Egypt and Mesopotamia contrasted with each other in the areas of, type of ruling, religion, and

The Greece and the Roman empires are considered to be amongst the most powerful empires in history as their impact is still felt some 2000 years after they were conquered. The Greece Empire is said to have lasted for approximately 350 years while the Roman Empire is said to have lasted for between 500 and 1500 years based on how one interprets the rule of the Romans (Ahbel-Rappe 530). Over time, there has been a debate on which of the two empires was strong than the other based on the impacts to the ancient world. From the debates, it has been noted that some individuals hold on to the fact that the Romans managed to develop a world that the Greeks only dreamed about while others have maintained that the Greeks had built a better world than the Romans (Roisman 410). Based on my knowledge of the two empires, I think the Romans were better than the Greeks thus making the Greeks to dream of building a world similar to that of Romans. As such, this paper will give points for and against my claim.

The foundations of an ancient empire are shaped by many characteristics originating in a civilization’s social, philosophical, and theological values. Collectively these will bring about an empire that has aspects which will classify them in distinctive ways. The aspects that will be compared between Persia and Rome are the motives for expansion, methods of expansion, the administration, the impact on those conquered and the original empire, and the reasons for the decline of each empire. When combined, these aspects predispose the individual overall shape of ancient Rome and Persia. Both empires began with conquering larger rulers and creating vast empires which had never been seen

Political- The Greeks had no centralized government and instead had separate city-states that were formed around a polis, a fortified sites that were the center of villages and cities. Due to this, forms of governance were different in each city state along with culture. Henceforth, Greek city-states had very distinct political structures and strengths. Among these city states, the most influential ones were Athens, Thebes, Corinth, Delphi, and Sparta, with Athens of Attica and Sparta of Laconia being considered the most powerful of them all.

There are seven most remarkable structures of ancient times and I’m going to write about four out of the seven. The statue of Zeus, which was created in 432 B.C., by Phidius, the lighthouse Of Alexandria that was created by Sostratus in 290 B.C. and took 20 years to complete. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus that was first created in 800 B.C. by Croesus and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus that was built around 353 and 350 B.C. These are only four out of the seven wonders I will be writing about who commissioned and created each one of them. How they were built, where they were located, when was it constructed, why they were considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and what happened to them.