Fifth century Athens made a big influence on modern day government and laws. When Pericles ruled, 460 B.C. – 429 B.C., he took democracy to new heights. He set up a direct democracy where male citizens would debate over laws. Pericles set up the idea of having juries to determine facts and provide a decision of whether or not a person is guilty of a crime based on those facts. He also came up with the idea of “innocent until proven guilty.” On the other hand, the Gupta Dynasty did not advance much in terms of government; they had a simple central government.
The Gupta Dynasty did, however, advance very much in mathematics. They came up with the concept of zero and the decimal system. Arabic numerals were also created by the Gupta people. Athens also advanced in mathematics in a more complex way. Hellenistic thinkers came up with the Pythagoras which is used to calculate the relationship between the sides of a right triangle. Euclid wrote a book called The Elements that deals with different math equations and formulas.
Another field in which Athens highly advanced in was medicine. Hippocrates, a Greek physician, studied many causes for illnesses and searched for many different cures. He also came up with the Hippocratic Oath. This oath basically explains what a doctor is required to do and a promise to be dedicated to his or her work. The Gupta Dynasty went as far as repairing facial injuries with plastic surgery. About 1,000 years before the Europeans did The Guptas vaccinated people against small pox.