The Greeks made quite a few mistakes. The women had no political or legal rights. They had to take care of the men and children. The men were sent to live at military barracks at the young age of seven. The discipline at these barracks was brutal. The boys had no shoes and very little clothing, even in winter. This was meant to teach them self discipline and to fend for themselves, but it was done in a very harsh fashion. The men were then married when they were twenty, but they still had to stay in military barracks. The women also had to endure very harsh and strict discipline to learn to defend Sparta.
Ostracism was another mistake made by the Greeks. Ostracism was a form of punishment by the Greed government. Cleisthenes tried to extend the power of citizens further. Ostracism was the exile of a citizen from a city. If the citizens thought a person was a threat to Athens then they could vote to see whether the person would be banned from the city. If the person received 6,000 of these votes, then they would be banished from Athens for ten years. The way people voted was by writing the persons name on a piece of pottery.
The Greek civilization is best remembered for different things. One thing it is remembered for is their different philosophers. Philosophers are seekers of wisdom. Socrates was well known for being a philosopher. Another thing the Greeks were remembered for is Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great conquered the largest empire the would had ever seen. Alexander s empire started from Nicaea and went past the Aegean Sea towards Mesadonia.
The Greeks also had a very famous blind poet named Homer. He wrote his poems based on stories that had been passed on by earlier generations. Without Homer s poems, we wouldn t know about the Trojan War. The Greeks have been remembered for many different things. They had a very intelligent civilization.
The Romans, like the Greeks, didn t struggle with very many problems, but they did have a few that needed to be solved. The Romans are remembered for accomplishing great things, as were the Greeks. The two civilizations had a lot in common and they helped our society a lot.
One struggle the Romans had that we still have today is our social conditions. There was a division between the rich and the poor, the poor depended on the government to where the rich were generally born rich and always stayed in the upper class. They also had a problem with inflation, which is where they made too much new money to where after a period of time became worthless, just like the United States did back in the 1800 s.
They also had problems with other civilizations that wanted their land and their trade. Just like today where we have problems with other countries and nations. They also had problems with religion. People would discriminate other people for who or what they believe in. Just like the Israelis and the Palestinians. Religion would cause controversy which could cause a war or a riot to break out. The poor and oppressed found hope in god who loved people regardless of their place in society and their religion. Equality, human dignity, and above all, the promise of eternal life of comforting teachings; and still to this day this holds true.
They used to struggle with government like law reforms and corruption in government which we still have problems with today. Such as: crooked cops, mayors, government agents, and also politicians. They also had economic and social problems caused by wars, riots, and other tragedies. They also had assassinations of important people and figures like emperors and big time merchants and traders. Just like John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., who have all been assassinated here in the United States not that long ago.
The Romans depended on trade and commerce as we now depend on trade. The Roman s navy protected merchants and travelers on the seas and Roman legions protected them on land, just like we have a navy and an army to protect us.
The Romans did not invent many new things or ideas because they copied most of there things off of other civilizations. Though, there were a few new inventions and ideas they came up with.
One new invention is aqueducts, which carried water from the reservoirs that were in the countries, to the cities. These aqueducts were made out of stone and were canal shaped. Aqueducts were tunneled through valleys and mountains. Another invention was a medical encyclopedia which was written by a Greek physician. This encyclopedia was used up until the 1400 s. Also the Romans government had the first republic. A republic means that all citizens voted for elected leaders who would represent the people and rule under there name. The Roman republic lasted almost 500 years.
In this time, Rome went from a city-state to a world power. Although the Romans did not have many inventions and discoveries, the ones that they did have were key to there civilization.
The Romans introduced building materials such as concrete t build elaborate coliseums, bridges supported by arches, and domes built with many arches put together. They built roads, aqueducts, and ect., ect. Aqueducts held and transported water from rivers and lakes to cities and towns where they needed the water most to plant crops, much like the irrigation systems we have now.
The Romans also collected many words which was like an early encyclopedia or dictionary. One of the Romans greatest achievements was law. Under Roman law, when you were tried, you were innocent until proven guilty; much like the system we have today. Judges were supposed to base their decisions on evidence presented in a court; not by if he was a different religion. They also followed standard procedures to guarantee a fair hearing for both the defendant and plaintiff in a dispute. Today you can see the Roman goddess of justice. She is blindfolded and holds a scale in each hand as a symbol of balanced judgment.
The Romans perfected a logical style of writing. Roman writers adapted Greek literary forms such as: lyric poetry and drama, and also the art of persuading an audience. Rome also produced Historians which were people who talked of the past.
From the humble beginnings, Christianity spread for several reasons. Because God loved people regardless of their place in society. As Christianity gained in strength, eventually, Christians developed an efficient church organization. The church also maintained unity among it s members.
This civilization made a few mistakes. One mistake is the political causes. The Roman citizens expected the emperors to look after them but since the empire was so big, they were not very efficient. When the emperors broke up, Rome did not have any capable leaders. A lot of generals wanted the throne, which caused many civil wars in Rome. Unemployment was also a big mistake. Everyone who was unemployed depended on the emperor to provide bread. When there was a shortage of grain, then many riots would break out.
Another mistake this civilization made was having slaves. The slaves worked until they were to old or weak to work for a profit. Using slaves undermined small farmers and then destroyed small businesses because rich people employed slaves rather then free workers. Some people thought that the hard work was fit only for slaves.
The Romans did not have very many soldiers. The soldiers that they did have lacked discipline and patriotism of armies of the Roman Republic. Because of this, the Roman soldiers were no match for the Germans, who were very well trained. As you can see, the Romans had a few problems and they made mistakes.
The Romans were remembered for a number of things. One of the most famous things that the Romans did and are remembered greatly for, is establishing a republic. The first republic was established in 509 BC, when the Romans overthrew the Etruscan king. By 250 BC some wealthy families began to import tutors for their children s education. In other words, they began international education. First, all the children were tutored personally and their father supervised the education. Then, the children of the very rich families began to attend private schools. The schools strongly pushed history, which the children recited out loud. The children also learned practical skills such as: reading, writing, and public speaking.
Rome is also known for it s large empire. Roman armies conquered parts of Spain, Macedonia, and Greece. As the empire grew, Rome subdued many states that Alexander the Great had conquered. By 44 BC, Rome controlled a vast empire of diverse peoples. Rome is known for their great leaders as well. Some of them were Julius Caesar and Gnaws Pampey. Pampey led his legions in a series of successful campaigns in Asia Minor, Syria, and Palestine. Caesar had won victories in Spain and had attracted a large following in Rome.
In conclusion, these civilizations are different in the ways of culture but modified each others new ideas and inventions, which is why we have many of the things we have today. Without these civilizations, we wouldn t have any of the things we have today. A few examples are: the wheel, the alphabet, and several new types of government. We owe a great deal of gratitude to these ancient civilizations.