How Did Greece Make A Comparison Of Classical Civilization

Reviewing all the different classical civilizations of Greece, Rome, Persia, India, and China between the time periods 500 BCE AND 500 C.E proved to be very interesting. Each civilization has some differences and similarities between each other based on certain factors like geographical location and culture, among other things. Starting with Greece for government, they adopted a more Democratic type view called Athenian Democracy because of its origination of Athens. Interestingly enough, the Athenian democracy was one of the first known democracies ever created (1). In terms of economy, all of Greece’s city states traded among each other consisting of items such as olive oil, crafts, and manufactured goods. Additionally, agriculture was highly important, and slaves were heavily utilized. Greece worshipped their own gods (think Zeus) and had many religious rituals such as sacrificing animals (2). The social classes for Greece were the “Aristoi” meaning “Best People” which was made up of wealthy people, followed by the middle class, and then the poorer citizen class, and
lastly slaves. “As the economy in Greece evolved and became more commercialized, the social hierarchy in Greece became more and more unequal (3).” After gaining their freedom, Romans started a republic style government where people elected representatives, which later on evolved into the Senate (not sure if anyone else has watched HBO’s show Rome, but it’s an excellent depiction of Roman society including Caesar and the Senate).
For economy, Rome traded large items via the sea such as metal, lumber, and building supplies. Just like Greece, they also relied on agriculture. Fun fact, Rome had one of the most developed coinage systems (4). Just like Greece, Rome also worshipped their own gods to explain the universe such as Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva. The social classes of Rome were similar to Greece (men were dominant) and consisted of Patricians, equestrians, plebeians, and lastly slaves. Women’s status was determined by the status of their father, and they were punished more than men for breaking the
law. India was a very interesting civilization in regards to government around this time because there were a total of 16 primary states, some monarchs, some republics. Their economy, like many others, was primary based around agriculture. Additionally, they produced and traded textiles and cotton cloth, as well as calico and cashmere. The two dominant religions in India were Buddhism and Hinduism, which were considerably different from Rome and Greece because they focused around less gods and more praying. The class system in India consisted of Brahmins, warriors, the Jati, and the untouchables. Persia had a purely monarch government system, where people believed the king was the “king of kings”. Their economy was revolution through silver and gold coinage, and just like everyone else, they relied heavily on agriculture for their economy as well as trade. The prominent religion was Zoroastrianism, which said there was one true god with lesser gods below it (first monarch religion ever recorded in history (5)). Their class system was composed of the King, priests, aristocrats, military, traders, craftsmen, peasants, and lastly slaves. In China, each political system was different depending on the dynasty. Some dynasties were more like monarchies, while some were a little more lenient. Chinas economy was heavily based on silk, jewelry, leather goods, and furniture (much more unique than other civilizations). The dominant religions were Confucianism and Daoism, which were more similar to India’s religion than anyone else’s. Their social system consisted of three groups, aristocrats and bureaucrats, followed by peasants and artisans, and lastly unskilled labor.