The Greek democratic and Roman republic governments each had their own positive and negative aspects making them similar, yet exclusively different. Both have had tremendous influences on governments in our modern world. Rome was a republic where the leaders were chosen through voting, while Greece practiced a more direct democracy in which the citizens participated in the crucial decision-making within the government. This paper will attempt to diagnose the fundamental similarities of each government coupled with the not so obvious differences. Based on the evidence from each type of government, it is clear that each were similar and different in numerous ways, in particular the way each government
As Rome became independent from the Etruscan ruling, its government walked away from having a monarch and transformed into a Republic as a way to avoid the tyranny that many times comes with an absolute autocrat. Rigorous precautions were taken from the start in order to keep the power balanced. Moreover, the structure of the government was meant to be resilient to bad judgment. The structure of the Roman Republic with its government and law provided for a more just system.
Ancient rome is often called the birthplace of democracy and for a good reason most of if not all of our basic ideas and principles related to began their own version of a checks-and-balances government that made sure nobody held to much power held by one person. It also gave people power in the building of government through by voting on the representative for the Senate.
Rome as we know it was not built in a day. It took years for the vastest empire of its time to become what we know it as today. Rome was an impressive military power and was organized in how they handled their affairs. The success of Rome comes down to a few major factors, such as, the strong leadership of Rome, the way they handled conquered lands as well as technological advancement. These factors can be seen as the foundation of the successes of the Roman Empire and were later taken on by successive empires and countries later on. However, out of all of these factors, one of them played a more crucial role in the success of the Roman Empire. The strong leadership of Rome can be said to be the most influential cause of the achievements of
The Archaic government of Ancient Greece and the Democratic government of the modern-day United States are very similar, for democracy originated from the Ancient Greek Archaic government; yet, their differences are quite note-worthy. To begin, we should recognize how the populace of the United States is considerably larger than that of Ancient Greece. Regardless, in Ancient Greece and in the United States, citizens were/are allowed to vote, although in Ancient Greece, but male citizens could vote; while unlike the United States, who lets all citizens over the age of 18 vote. In Ancient Greece the eligible were all treated equally, and had direct participation in government, which meant that their single vote could either serve as deciding a new law, if they should go to war, or any other issue at the time. Furthermore, in Ancient Greece, citizens could act as judges, or even address new laws, freely, without consent. In contrast, the United States' voters all have elected participation in the government, which means that they elect like-minded representatives who decide on matters for them. In the United States' democracy voters cannot decide on issues, they let their elected leaders which comprise of three individual branches to
The Roman Empire led to its fall. Since the area was so huge, barbarian tribes started to invade the borders and slowly the Roman Empire fell.
The Roman Government was a very powerful government that was able to maintain and help the empire grow for around two thousand years. Before being an auspicious Republic, the Roman Empire was ruled by Etruscan kings. However, there were many Romans that weren’t pleased being ruled by a king, so in 509 B.C, the last king was thrown out from his position and this is when the Roman Republic initiated. The government also controlled solid army that helped them maintain the empire. Apart from this, as the empire grew, the government also built an excellent infrastructure for people to live in. The Roman government was a very successful government because of all the time that they were able to maintain an empire and because of all their accomplishments
Some policies and institutions of the Roman Republic were useful to help them succeed in conquering first Italy and then the Mediterranean world. Before of the institution of the republic, the romans were a monarchy since their beginning and they were basically a pastoral people. Rome suffer several changes and improvements under the control of the Etruscan kings. The Etruscan were civilization settled north of Rome in Etruria, and they once had control over almost all the Italic peninsula. The Etruscans influences in Rome were profound, they transformed Rome from a pastoral community to a city (91). The Etruscan built the street and roads that help the development of temples, markets, shops, streets, and houses. They basically brought urbanization to Rome. It is fairly to say that the Rome republic was a fusion between the elements of the Etruscan civilization and the Rome elements. The combination of the different political institutions and policies made the Romans succeed in their conquest territories.
Over a long course of time the Romans had many different forms of government. From oligarchies to dictatorships Rome had experience with most forms of government. With all of these happening so far in the past many questions are asked today. One of the most talked and quested forms of Roman government is the Roman Republic. The Republic of Rome is normally thought to be a democracy. But an extremely common question still arise. This questions is whether the Roman Republic was truly democratic. In a simple answer the Roman Republic was a democratic government.
Ancient Greece was one of the first democratic societies and has greatly influenced modern day governments. Although the Greek idea of democracy is different from what is practiced today, their ideas formed the basis for modern democratic governments. Prior the invention of democracy, citizens had no rights and there were no guidelines for who was considered a citizen. Democracy gave voting rights and the ability to hold office to citizens – free men born in Greece, usually landowners. Today’s modern democracy is accessible to all people and has a higher degree of organization and hierarchy, it still derives its basic prinicples from Greek democracy.
The Roman Republic is a government that began in 509 BC and ended in 27 BC. First of all the Romans were trying to overthrow their Etruscan king (Tarquin the Proud). Etruscan kings had ruled for 100’s of years. After overthrowing the last king the Roman Republic formed. It’s a government in which citizens and representatives were to rule. The Republic was quite different from a democracy.
The Roman Republic was a “democratic” republic, which allowed first citizens to vote, and to choose their governors in the senate (Hence, their consuls). However, it was a nation ruled by its aristocracy, and, consequently, the entire Republic`s power was concentrated in a few individuals. Furthermore, the Senate was controlled by Patricians, which directed the government by using wealth to buy control and power over the decisions of the senate and the consuls. This situation aroused the inconformity of the people; as result, a civil war took place in the Republic (destroying it), and then the Roman Empire was born.
The Greek society was a direct democracy with people voting on the issues themselves instead of representatives voting on their behalf. Any male citizen over the age of eighteen was allowed to vote. Like the Romans, the Greek government was divided into separate parts. The Greek government consisted of an assembly, council, and courts, with each requiring a different number of voters present. The people all gather and vote on issues by hand, and this is the simplest form of majority rules. The role of the people is extremely important in how the society and state is governed and run. This early form a democracy was detailed by Pericles funeral oration during the Peloponnesian War. Pericles was an eminent Athenian politician who states in regards to the government of Athens, “Its administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy (Pericles, “Funeral Oration”, pp. 2)”. Here, Pericles states that the people have all the power and their opinion is highly valued. Likewise, the Romans valued the people’s opinions so highly that they entrusted with them rewards and punishments, vital aspects that held the society together. Pericles also states, “…nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, here is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition (Pericles, “Funeral Oration”, pp. 2)”. Here is the essence of democracy, every man no
The political system of Classical Rome was the base of the United States’ political system. Even though the founding fathers were also influenced by Classical Greece, Romans’ political system was developed to govern a larger population ("Rome vs. US"). The Romans were the ones to develop a form of government known as republic. In this type of government, officials are elected to govern the state and to represent the voters. Unlike the Greeks, which developed democracy, where citizens were allowed to directly participate in the decision making part of the government ("Power, Politics, and You Enrichment"). This type of government would work perfectly on a small civilization, but not in the US. In the United States, we vote to select our representatives because our population is very large. It would be very chaotic to allow every single citizen to participate; we would never be able to come to an agreement. In the beginning of the Roman Republic,
Democratic values can be seen through many different situations, such as when people had the same rights to engage meaningfully in an open discussion or debate, make free decision without the fear of being arrested, and have the right to participate through voting for the government. In the Ancient Greece, democratic values were important as people believed in “equality before the law”, which explains that they wanted to share their culture, their values and freedom with the same power. Democracy began to rise in the city of Athens, through accomplishing new principles that gave the right to speak, the just and equal order. The people in Greece, whether they had different cultures, still had mutual respect,