The Mediterranean Society of the Greeks and Romans

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Recommended: Contributions of ancient civilizations to the modern world

If Europe is mentioned today, most minds think of the beautiful countryside, tourist attractions and the artwork displays. While Europe is well-known for these traits, it is also known for the rich history and political backgrounds, two of which are Greece and Rome. These two influential societies have made impacts that can be seen throughout the world today. The Greeks, with their golden age and the Romans, with their great Empire and Republic have instilled cultural benefits both in the ancient times as well as in today’s Western civilization.

Before The Greeks became so influential, they had to learn from their mistakes and like many societies, simply trial and error. Around the third millennium B.C.E. (Bentley, et al., 2008) the early inhabitants of Greece lived on the Greek peninsula. They were influenced by the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Phoenicians, and various other societies in the area (Bentley, et al., 2008). Around this time period, the city-state emerged known as a Polis which was lacking a central government or empire.

Many poleis were emerging at this time however; the two that had the greatest impact on Greece were Sparta and Athens. Sparta focused on the military and the government. A strict order of discipline as well as requiring men and women alike to undergo physical training was held by Sparta. The sons in all families were required to live and serve in the military.

The city of Athens was later developed into a democratic state mainly because of the rising deficit between the poor and the rich. Although the Greek established many city-states throughout Europe, they never relied upon a centralized city. Instead they relied on communication and trade with their surrounding cities. Within thi...

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...dings are still being utilized in today’s worlds. The religion developed by Rome, Christianity has spread throughout the Western civilization as well as the world. The artwork, literature, writing and numerical system developed by the Greek and Romans are still in use today throughout societies. The Greeks, with their golden age and the Romans, with their great Empire and Republic have instilled cultural benefits both in the ancient times as well as in today’s Western civilization.

Works Cited

Bentley, J.H., Ziegler, H.F., & Streets, H.E. (2008). Traditions and encounters, a brief

global history, Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill Education

Stearns, P.N. (n.d.) Classical civilization in the Mediterranean. In world history in brief

(B. Rome, 1. Julius Caesar). Retrieved from

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_stearns_worldhstbr_4/0,,45641-,00.html

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