classical mediterranean civilizations greece and rome
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Chapter Summary
• Greece and Rome rivaled India and China– Cultural richness– Effect on world history
• Complication to studying:– Elements of Greek and Roman
politics, social structure and economic institutions similar but also unique
The Persian Tradition
• Greeks/Romans had contact with Persians
• Extremely large empire• Absorbed Mesopotamian
societies• Zoroastrianism started here
– Monotheistic religion– Good v. evil concept
• Eventually overthrown by Alexander the Great
Patterns of Greek/Roman history
• 800 BCE—classical Greece– 5th century BCE=high point– Led by Pericles
• Alexander the Great– United Greece & Persian Empire– “Hellenism”
• Rome rose as Hellenism waned– Grew by dominating lesser
developed cultures and regional powers
Greece (apex=800-600 BCE)• Strong city-states w/ own
governments– Tyranny or aristocratic council,
e.g., Sparta v. Athens
• Sparta=strong military state• Athens=diverse commercial
state & leading in arts and intellect– Dominated (5th c. BCE) by Pericles
• Peloponnesian Wars: Sparta v. Athens
Greece (apex=800-600 BCE)• Conquered by Philip II of
Macedon (then son Alexander the Great)– Created Hellenistic period
• Merging of Greek art and culture with Middle Eastern art and culture
Rome
• Began as local monarchy (800 BCE)
• Drove out monarchy in 509 BCE
• Expanded to cover entire Italian peninsula
• Punic Wars (264-146 BCE)– Fought Carthage (northern
Africa)– Vastly expanded state
Rome
• Republic ended in 45 BCE when Julius Caesar seized power
• Grandnephew Augustus Caesar established Roman Empire in 27 BCE
• Strong for 200 years• “Fall” lasted 250 years• Finally overthrown in 476
CE
Greek/Roman Political Institutions
• Both:– Emphasize aristoctic rule– Elements of democracy– Political view similar to
Confucian values– Variety of forms similar to
India
• Greek=no single form but democracy most famous– Ethics, duties of citizens, and
oratory skills
Greek/Roman Political Institutions
• Supported official religions (state religions) but tolerant to other religions– Exception=Christianity b/c
Christians refused to place the state before their devotion
• Greatest legacies:– Intense loyalty to state– Preference to aristocratic rule– Uniform set of legal principles
Comparative Perspective
• China, India, and Med. similarities:– Developed into empire– Relied on agricultural
economy– Developed in science– Clear social strata (elites
clearly distanced from masses)
Comparative Perspective
• China, India, and Med. differences:– Social mobility
• India most restrictive; Rome most fluid
– Cultural “glue:”• Med.: civic duty• India: reward for good behavior
through reincarnation• China: obedience and self-
restraint a good unto itself resulting in peace and prosperity
Comparative Perspective
• Indian and Chinese social structures survived better than Mediterranean b/c of the introduction of Christianity into Med. civilization
Religion and Culture
• Did not create significant world religion– Complex gods/goddesses
regulated human life– “of-this-world” approach– Illustrated human passions
and foibles but didn’t offer model any ethical behavior
Religion and Culture
• Separate models of moral philosophy developed– Socrates, Plato, Aristotle– Think Confucius
• Socrates– Conventional wisdom by
using rational inquiry
Religion and Culture
• Sciences– Greeks: geometry and
anatomy– Romans: engineering
• Arts/literature– Greeks: sculpture,
architecture, plays– Romans: mimicked Greeks;
rarely surpassed
Economy and society
• Greeks/Romans– Most=self-sustaining farmers– Great deal of commercial
agriculture• Fueled expansion of empires
– Extensive trade– Slavery important social
institution– Men in firm control
Status of Women
• Often active in business• Sometimes controlled
property• Overall, status better than
their counterparts in China
Toward the fall of Rome
• Differed from China and India– No single civilization arose
to take Rome’s place– Several small governments
claimed to be its inheritor– Fragmentary collapse in
west long before the fall in the east
Global Connections
• Greeks– Widespread colonial and trading
networks– Peaking with Alexander but didn’t last
• Rome– Well aware of Asia, Africa, and
Europe– Chinese goods traded in the city of
Rome itself– Traded with China due to desire of
material goods—not because of an interest in Chinese technology or system of government
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