Download Politics of Greece and Rome

Which of the following political practices remained
continuous from the period of the Republic into the period
of the Roman Empire?
a) Strict rules separating military service and political
leadership
b) Dominant involvement of the plebian classes in state
affairs
c) Imperial military assistance for slave uprisings
d) Recruitment of local elites in recently conquered
areas to represent the interests of the imperial center
D: this practice never changed, A was discontinued and B and
C never happened in any way that survives in the historical
records
Today: 9/23 & 9/24
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Practice
Question
Reading Quiz
Lecture
Hand out
discussion
question for
next class
Objective:
You will understand the
extent of how Greece
and Roman political
traditions relates to the
rest of the known world
(Theme 3 & 4)
Chapter 4
Classical Civilizations: The
Mediterranean
What to do about Persia???
Persians
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What do you already know about Persia???
Religion:
• Zoroastrianism:
• Good vs. Evil
• Monotheistic
Social:
• Women worked in
manufacturing
• Slaves
Political:
• Founded by Cyrus the
Great and continued by
Darius I
• complex civilization
Economic:
• Coined Money
• Traded from Greece all
the way to India
Sassanid Empire
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Rises to take
the place for
the fallen
Persian
Empire
You will see
the Sassanid
Empire
referenced
later on
Greece
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Began around 800 BCE
Greece
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City-States (polis): offered safety and wealth
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No political unification
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Politics
Most used aristocratic assemblies
Guidelines for state policy
Some had aristocratic leaders  Pericles
Athens: Direct Democracy
What is the difference between a Direct
Democracy and an Indirect Democracy???
Famous Philosophers
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Socrates: one of the founders
of Western Philosophy, virtue,
justice, and piety. Question
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Plato: student of Socrates,
Teacher of Alexander the
Great, founded the first higher
learning institution in the
western world. Understand
true, good and beauty. The
Republic
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Aristotle: student of Plato,
wrote about many subjects
such as politics, logic, music,
biology, ethics etc.
Alexander
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Defeated the Persians and gain control of much of the
known world
Wanted to spread Greek culture throughout: Hellenism
After his death, the empire was unable to hold together
and was split between three strong military generals
Expansion of the Roman
Republic
Roman Republic
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Indirect Democracy
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Consuls
Senate (patricians)
Tribunes (plebeians)
Twelve Tables: created a standardized system
of laws and established rights for defendants
When defeating others in battle: assimilated
conquered people
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Meant that many forms of political institutions
Roman empire
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Augustus: First Emperor
NOT a dynasty: succession often
depended upon military strength
Kept the Senate but it was basically
useless.
Roman law- Rules became more
objective
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Laws as a regulator of social life
The Fall of Rome 476 CE
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Rome will grow weak
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Army lacked a feeling of patriotism
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Too far away
Mercenaries
The empire will split into east and west
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secession of weak leaders
Eastern Rome became the Byzantine Empire and was
able to survive the fall
Western Rome would be overrun by invading
nomadic tribes and will not survive
This will signify the end of the classical
Mediterranean society.
Politics of Greece and Rome
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This is the beginning of much of the Political
thought from here on out
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In G & R having the good life meant being involved
in politics
Citizens felt the state was theirs
 How
is this different from what we have
seen so far in China and India???
 One
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of the keys is how it is held together
& G Laws and patriotism held the empire
together along with taxation and good
administration
 India  Religion
 China  Confucianism
Economics of Greece and
Rome
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Merchants and trading were considered
to be important
Slaves were agricultural and often treated
badly. They usually were made up of
conquered people
Estate Agriculture
Religion in Greece and Rome
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Both were polytheistic
Gods used to explain nature and human
action
Rome borrowed from the Greeks
Christianity is going to develop during the
Roman Empire
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Christians would not put the emperor before
God
Didn’t create a Formal/Significant World
Religion
Women
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Both: Patriarchal Societies
Sparta: women had more power than other
places
Greece: Marriages were often arranged
Greece: during the Hellenistic period
Women’s position improved somewhat
Rome: Women were not allowed to be
citizens but were better off than in Greece or
China
Rome: Upper class women were given power
within the household
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Shang Dynasty 1766 BCE - 1027 BCE
Zhou Dynasty 1122 BCE -256 BCE
 5 C B.C.E. - Greek Golden Age - philosophers.
 323 B.C.E. - Alexander the Great
Qin Dynasty 221 BCE - 206 BCE
Han Dynasty 206 BCE - 220
 32 C.E. - Beginnings of Christianity
 180 C.E. - end of Pax Romana
Interim period 220 - 589
 333 - Roman capital moved to Constantinople
 4 C - Beginning of Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
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476 - Fall of Rome
527 - Justinian rule of Byzantine Empire