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The Similarities And Differences Of Greek Empires And Han China

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Ancient civilizations possessed a variety of cultures and unique belief systems within their particular societies. The Greek city-states and Han China were separated by thousands of miles and located on different continents. These exceptional communities of power are polar opposites to each other, but in fact share a common sense of structure. Within this paper, themes and ideas derived from both civilizations will be crossed examined. Accordingly, similarities and differences will be brought to the light, especially pertaining to the religious aspects of these societies.
As stated in the lectures, hundreds of Greek polis were spread across the region in the eighth century B.C. These individual towns and cities did not unify, but were connected by two major components, language and religion. Polytheism, the practice of worshipping many gods, was a staple between these polis. Along with religious beliefs, a sense of political involvement, accompanied with the importance of citizenship, directly contributed to the similarities between these polis. Consequently, as a result of not becoming a single state, major cities such as Athens, Sparta, and Corinth would consistently be at war with one another (Strayer, p.112) A unified form of Greece eventually pieced itself together after the conquests of Alexander the Great, resulting in the immense spread of Greek culture, but this did not occur until centuries later. Ultimately, Rome would conquer much of the Mediterranean, including

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