Classical Mediterranean Civilizations

Greece and Rome

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

The End