Preview

Ancient Rome Vs Athens

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
906 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ancient Rome Vs Athens
Without strive and motivation towards progress, a civilization cannot get anywhere. Ancient Rome and Greece are excellent examples of this fact. Ancient Rome was a global superpower that believed with enough determination and motivation, they could go anywhere. Let a successful civilization be defined be defined as equal, reformed, and similar to modern societies today. Ancient Greece and Rome were similar in terms of military values and feats between the Greek city-state Sparta and the Roman Empire, however, in terms of government structure, the city-state Athens was more successful in establishing a more stable government structure, whereas in terms of social classes, the Roman Republic was more successful in creating equality for both classes; …show more content…
During the Roman Republic, there were three classes; the patricians (the upper, wealthy class), the plebeians (the lower, working class), and slaves. In Ancient Athens, there were four classes; citizens, metics, women, and slaves. One major difference between Athenian women and women of the Roman Republic was that they were treated much differently. For example, women in Athens were considered second classes and tended to be kept in the “private sphere”. In contrast to this fact, women in the Roman Republic weren’t considered a class of another sort and were given more rights. Another major difference between Athens and the Roman Republic is that there was more of a separation between the classes. For example, in Roman government, plebeians weren’t allowed to much power and could only participate in certain branches of government (they weren’t allowed to become consul, the ultimate power, or veto laws). However, because of this inequality, the plebeians went on strike. After a few years, the patricians recognized this and decided to reform their government in order to meet plebeian needs. For example, they created the 12 Tables, a set of rules that reflected plebeian values. In contrast to this, Athenians never called for class reform. Therefore, The Roman Republic was more successful in terms of social classes …show more content…
Sparta was the most feared city-state in all of Greece, and the Roman Empire was a global superpower. One of Sparta’s values is that a warrior never backs down in battle. For example, during the Persian War, when Sparta and Athens were allied, Persia went for Sparta first. The Spartans lost, however, they didn’t go without an extremely intense fight. With three hundred Spartans, King Leonidas faced an entire Persian army in efforts to allow the other Greeks a chance to recover. Every single soldier sacrificed his life in an effort to save Greece. Herodotus, a Greek historian, recalls the battle of Thermopylae; “Here they defended themselves to the last, such as still had swords using them, and the others resisting with their hands and teeth,” It was a loss in battle, but it was a win for the Greeks. The Roman Empire was similar to this determination in an example concerning the Gallic War. The Germanics thought they had the upper hand due to the fact that there was a river separating Gaul from Rome, however, that never stopped the Romans. Julius Caesar, Ancient Rome’s most famous dictator, ordered for his soldiers to construct a wooden bridge to cross the Rhine River. In a mere few days, Caesar’s army would cross the river, demonstrating that the Roman Empire could go anywhere. Therefore,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Roman and Greece empires governments were similar in ways but differed in others. While both Romans and Greeks started as mere city states they went off in different directions with there civilizations politically. They also both had democracies but in different forms. They each had there own way of government and had different military styles, largely because of their location, which is also why Rome was more centralized and Greece was more dispersed. However, geography did not stop both Rome and Greece from being patriarchal, and thriving.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sparta vs Athens Dbq

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Greek city states were both similar and different Sparta and Athens were an example of this. Athens was known for its laws and government while Sparta was known for its farming and army. The Spartans and Athenians were 2 very different groups of people. The Spartans were militaristic people who valued strength and simplicity. They ran an oligarchy government and were a military super power. The Spartans relied on farming and conquering foreign land. The Athenians believed in arts and culture, they relied on trade. The two city-states were great civilizations and just imagine what they could’ve accomplished together!…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Athens and Sparta, were the strongest cities , Athens and Sparta competed with the supreme political influence of Greece . Athens and Sparta's men always trained to be ready for war. Sparta's main strength lay in its ground troops, while Athens's powerful navy controlled the seas. The tide was turned in the Persian Wars when the legendary 300 Spartans led by King Leonidas slowed Xerxes' advance at Thermopylae. The Persians were later ultimately defeated at the Battle of Salamis by the superior strategy of…

    • 141 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Athens and Sparta in the ancient Greece world are both revered by many modern civilizations as being foundry influences on modern democracy. The two city states, however, were polar opposites in how they viewed democracy and ran their government. Sparta was known for its military prowess and power, while Athens has always been famed for its progress in the arts and sciences. While both being developmentally different and butting heads sometimes, they both were integral voices on how similar democratic societies ran their governments up until today. The defining differences between the two is that Athens was a heavily class based Democracy, compared to Sparta which was more definable as being an Oligarchy.…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The senate was old and stable but still did a great job taking care of countries.…

    • 225 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Omar Medina

    • 279 Words
    • 1 Page

    In a social aspect Rome let women have citizenship. Which led to woman being happier because they could own land. In Rome being a citizen was something to be honored about. But not everyone could be one. Athenians were more stingy with their citizenship. The Romans more freely gave it away. But they gave it away in measured amounts.…

    • 279 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The two rivalries of ancient Greece that made the most racket and created many of the traditions were Athens and Sparta. These two were so close to each other on the map, yet they were so far apart in the way they valued and approached life. These two city-states had few similarities but were contrasted in many, many ways. The biggest matter in both of these city-states were politics, economics, and their social statuses, however, they had their own ideas when it came down to these 3 ideas.…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Write a short essay that compares and contrasts your selected civilization on that topic of…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Athens vs Sparta

    • 1337 Words
    • 6 Pages

    If you had the choice between living in ancient Athens or ancient Sparta which, would you choose? While one stands for democracy, the other stands for war. Surely having been raised in America, one is more likely to side immediately with the most democratic one. However, not everyone was equal in Athens. Also, although Sparta was almost entirely focused on war, one half of the population was not completely alienated by the other. Athens and Sparta had completely opposite ways of living.…

    • 1337 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Athens and Sparta had lots of things in common, but Athens had and did stuff better than Sparta. Like Athens geography, they were able to develop a strong naval fleet because they were close to the Aegean sea, and geographic features helped influence the development of society. Also, it was easier for Athens to trade because they were close to the Aegean sea. They also had better cultural achievements. Athens had the Olympic games when people come and watch people fight and do tons of activities.…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    How Did Rome Become Good?

    • 1907 Words
    • 8 Pages

    This resulted in a hybrid system, where if you consider the livelihood of the state, and the happiness of its citizens to be the benchmark of what is good, than Rome would be the best state. Polybius considered it the best state because “the strength which is developed by the State is so extraordinary, that everything required is unfailingly carried out by the eager rivalry shown by all classes to devote their whole minds to the need of the hour, and to secure that any determination come to should not fail for want of promptitude;” (Polybius, 1889) The qualities that he describes as good, come down to the drive and confidence of the Roman citizens. As a result of drive and confidence you get successful men that achieve happiness through the acquisition of material wealth. To the Roman man, they strive all their life to achieve happiness which commonly comes through material wealth. This is somewhat common to Athens, but nowhere near the same qualities as Sparta. Although there are differences between the Roman idea of success and the Athenians’. The Athenians, although they used money would not judge each other on the basis of monetary wealth. So in the Athenians eye, the Romans were more likely to get corrupted by monetary wealth. On the contrast because of the government infrastructure, in Rome the state was less likely to get corrupted by sophists, whereas…

    • 1907 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Ancient Greece, the two most essential cities were Sparta and Athens. The two cities had a diversity of cultures, lifestyle, and values, even though they lived in the same region. Sparta was established around 900 BCE. It is located in the Eurotoas valley of Laconia, southeast of Peloponnese (Sparta, Ancient History Encyclopedia). Ancient Sparta has a population of about 100,000 citizens. Spartans dedicate approximately all their time to military training, hunting, war tactics, and even war policies. These activities are what makes Sparta admire war and what makes other cities fear them. Athens has been around for about 3,000 years. Athens is the capital of Greece and it is also the largest city. It is also the intellectual center of Greece. Athens originated from as early as 5000 BCE. Athens began as a small, Mycenaean community and grew to become a city (Athens, Ancient History Encyclopedia). The Athenian King, who ruled the land, sought to name the city after a Greek God because he wanted the name to be divine. Athena was selected, hence, the name Athens. Athens was a city that exemplifies ancient Greece. Society, politics, and economy are what make cities diverse, but they can have a…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By the middle of the 5th century B.C. Athens and Sparta, the two most powerful Greek city-states, found themselves on the brink of a full-scale war. According to Thucydides, at the beginning of the war both Athens and Sparta were at the pick of their might and flourishing and could trade and cooperate to each other’s benefit; instead, they got involved into an armed confrontation, in which the rest of the Greek cities participated, on one side or on the other.…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Roman society allowed people to live their own lives to their preference without the worry of breaking the law or being thrown out of society. At the same time, they also consisted of an organized Roman Senate that was already inherited making their decisions consistent, but at the same time the citizens were allowed to express opinions through a voting system. Social standings allowed citizens to build up from poverty and become wealthy, rather than not having the freedom of being as powerful as you can. Overall, the Roman system is better than the Athenian system when it comes to citizenship, republican system, and social standings because Roman citizens were provided with more freedom and had fewer…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Compare and contrast the development of institutions and traditions such as political, social, economic, or intellectual in any of the two classical civilizations: China, India, Greece, Rome, Mesoamerica, Andes.…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays