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Chapter 2: The Western Classical Civilizations
The Law of the Medes and the Persians
Iran has always linked China and India to the Mediterranean Basin and Africa. To the west are the Zagros
Mountains; to the northwest and the north are the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea; to the east
Bactria (or modern Afghanistan) and to the south the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. Just as in India,
Iran is changed by Indo European migration and by 1,000 BCE, Indo Europeans had arrived in large
numbers. The Medes were one of the first of these to organize a powerful state and in the late 7th century;
they also helped to destroy the Assyrian Empire and dominated another related people farther to the south,
the Parsa or the Persians. However, it would be these Persians in the 6th century, who would create a
unique and long lasting empire, which would help lay the foundations of Western and Islamic cultures.
Cyrus the Great (c.590 – 530), came from mountains of southwest Iran. In 558, he became the Persian
king. In 553, he crushed the Medes and by 548 all Iran was under his control. In 546, he conquered Lydia;
in the 540s, he conquered Bactria; in 539, he conquered Babylon and is remembered for allowing the Jews
to return to Jerusalem. Although he died in battle with nomadic raiders, he founded the Achaemenid
Empire that stretched from India to the borders of Egypt. His son, Cambyses, conquered Egypt in 525,
After the death of Cambyses there was a period of confusion, but soon a cousin, Darius the Great, came
to the throne. He pushed the Persian Empire into India as well as into the Caucuses, Thrace and
Macedonia. Darius was a superb administrator and created a highly efficient bureaucracy. He built a
magnificent capital at Persepolis and constructed the Royal Road, which was the centerpiece of a vast
transportation system complete with rest stations and inns. Darius allowed the Jews to rebuild the Temple
of Solomon in Jerusalem, built a canal from the Nile River to the Red Sea and promoted trade both within
and outside his empire. In short, he took the Persian Empire to the pinnacle of its power. His key to
success was his ability to gain the good will of his conquered nations.
Darius’ only failure was with Greece. In 500 BCE Greeks in Asia Minor (under Darius rule) rebelled and
Darius put down the rebellion. But he was infuriated because the mainland Greeks had helped rebels. So,
ten years later, in 490, Darius invaded the Greek mainland determined to punish the mainland Greeks. To
his surprise that of the entire world Darius was defeated near Athens at the Battle of Marathon. Darius
died in 485 and under his son, Xerxes (485-465), decline set in because Xerxes lacked his father’s
diplomacy and toleration of subject nations. He too invaded Greece. In 479, he won the Battle of
Thermopylae (against 300 Spartans) but soon afterwards (after he completely sacked Athens) lost his
fleet to the Athenian Navy at the Battle of Salamis and his army was defeated the following year at the
Battle of Plataea. These failed invasions of Greece marked the end of Persian expansion. For the next 150
years, Persia and Greece would spar with each other until the coming of Alexander the Great.
The genius of the Achaemenid Empire was that the Persians were the first conquerors in World
History to think in terms of a unified empire composed of ethnically diverse peoples. So, they created
laws designed for such an empire, and, wherever a local law did not conflict with Persian Law, the
Persians allowed local law to be left intact. The Persian emperor appointed Satraps or local governors to
oversee the provinces called Satrapies. But even though the satraps were Persians, most of their local
bureaucrats and administrators were local peoples and the Persian emperors devised methods for keeping
an eye on the Satraps. First, each Satrap had a staff of military officers and tax officials who reported to
the emperor and thus served as checks on the Satrap’s power and independence. Second, the emperors
created imperial spies who collected intelligence and conducted surprise audits.
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Thus it is no surprise to learn that the Persians are important because they really worked hard to unify their
empire. They not only standardized coinage, (so it was the same money was used in all parts of the
empire) and then regularized taxes were collected instead of Tribute (which could be anything from gold
to grain to furs). We have seen that the Persians built good roads of which the best was the Royal Road,
which stretched 1,600 miles from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. These roads brought the empire
together in three ways: First, they improved communication; Second, they facilitated trade within the
diverse parts of the empire. And third, the Achaemenid Persians, like the Chinese, used their roads to
organize regular courier services, complete with inns and pack stations for horses and riders, so that a
courier could ride from one end of the empire to the other in less than a week’s time.
The Achaemenid Empire was a vast, multicultural conglomeration of ethnicities united under Persian
authority. In spite of difficulties with their Greek subject states in Asia Minor and their inability to extend
their authority onto the Greek mainland, their empire was effectively administered for a little over 200
years. In 334, however, Alexander of Macedon (better known as Alexander the Great) invaded the
Persian Empire and his smaller (but much more effective) army quickly overcame the Persian armies.
After Alexander’s death in 322 BCE, his general Seleucus and his successors headed a Hellenistic
kingdom, the Seleucid Empire, which flourished for a while, but gradually declined over time and was
extinguished by Parthian annexations in the east and finished off in the west by the Romans in 83 BCE.
The Parthians, who were Persians from North East Iran, wrested control of the Iranian Plateau and
gradually ousted the Hellenized Seleucids. Their greatest conqueror was Mithradates I (d.138 BCE),
who made Parthia a major political power by expanding westward into Mesopotamia. The Parthians
revived Achaemenid administrative practices and built their capital in Ctesiphon. After the demise of the
Seleucids, the Parthians continued to duel with the Romans. In the second century of the Common Era,
they were weakened by internal struggles and the Sassanid Persians in overthrew them in 224. The
Sasanid Persians considered themselves the true successors to Cyrus the Great and the Achaemenid
Persians. Moreover, like their Parthian cousins, they too continued Achaemenid administrative techniques
and dueled with the Romans until the Arabs overwhelmed them in 651 CE.
Since the Persians were Indo-Europeans closely related to the Aryan invaders of India, their religion was
quite similar with its pantheon of gods and a specialized priesthood, which performed sacrificial offerings.
But as Persian culture evolved this old religion (nomadic in its roots) came under attack because it could
not meet the challenges and the moral demands of complex society. The most significant challenge came
from Zoroastrianism, a religion, developed by a priest, Zoroaster or Zarathustra, who lived in the
seventh century BCE. When he was about twenty, Zoroaster left his family and wandered until he had a
series of visions in which a supreme god, Ahura Mazda (the wise lord), told Zoroaster that he had chosen
him to proclaim his message. As with Confucius, Jesus of Nazareth and the Buddha, Zoroaster wrote
nothing, but his priest followers, called Magi, transmitted his teachings orally until they were written
down and collected in a work called the Avesta or the Holy Scriptures of Zoroastrianism.
Zoroastrianism taught that Ahura Mazda was an eternal spirit who created all good things and who was
engaged in a cosmic conflict with another god, Angra Mainyu, who was evil and destructive. Zoroaster
taught that good would ultimately prevail and destroy evil at which time humans would be judged. Honest
and good people would enter a paradise and evil people would be sent to a hellish realm of pain of
suffering. Zoroastrians did not flee from the material world, but embraced it so long as they did so in
moderation and they behaved honestly toward others. Zoroastrians often summarized their teaching in the
simple formula “good words, good thoughts, good deeds”. Although Zoroastrianism has elements of
dualism, it still taught devotion to one supreme god and had a strong moral dimension.
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Thus it is not surprise that many scholars believe that Zoroastrianism had a large influence on Judaism,
and subsequently Christianity and Islam. Perhaps too there is a backward connection with the transitory
monotheism of Akhenaten in Egypt and the parallel emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism in India.
Achaemenid rules were most likely Zoroastrian and we know that some of them proclaimed loyalty to
Ahura Mazda. It is not known whether Seleucid or Parthian rulers were Zoroastrian, but Zoroastrianism
did become the state religion of the Sassanid Empire. After the fall of the Sasanids, many Zoroastrians
fled to India where small communities exist to this day, where they are called Parsi or Parsee meaning
Persian.
Modern Zoroastrians (or Parsi) teach:
1. Equality of all, irrespective of gender, race, or religion.
2. Respect and kindness towards all living things. Condemnation of the oppression of human beings,
cruelty against animals and sacrifice of animals.
3. Nature is central to the practice of Zoroastrianism and many important Zoroastrian annual festivals
are in celebration of nature: New Year on the first day of spring, the water festival in summer, the
autumn festival at the end of the season, and the mid-winter fire festival.
4. Hard work and charity: Laziness and sloth are frowned upon. Zoroastrians are encouraged to part
with a little of what would otherwise be their own.
5. Loyalty and faithfulness to "family, settlement, tribe, and countries."
The Glory that was Greece
Greece did not grow up near a fertile river valley as did Egypt, Mesopotamia, China and the Indus Valley
Civilization, rather Greece grew among the islands and rugged, mountain dominated areas of southeastern Europe. This rugged geography and scattered islands helped to create a civilization dominated by
small, fiercely independent, city-states. The Greek word Πολις (Polis) originally referred to a citadel or
fortified site (called an acropolis if located on a hill) that offered refuge during the Dark Ages. By 800
BCE, these fortified sites began to grow villages followed by urban areas, finally spreading to the
surrounding countryside. These early Greek states, despite their isolation and differences, shared a
common culture and experimented with many forms of government.
Between 750 and 500 BCE, the Greek city-states evolved four basic types of government. The first was
Monarchy, where a heredity or elected king held power. The second was Tyranny (i.e., dictatorship) or
the rule of the state by one man or Tyrannos, who could be benevolent or harsh and cruel. Third was
Oligarchy, the rule of a small class of aristocrats, elites or nobility. Lastly, there was Democracy in
which – to varying degrees – power is in the hand of the people. Nevertheless, the two classical examples
of Greek government were Athens and Sparta.
Sparta
The Spartans (or Lacadaemonians) were Dorians who occupied what is today the Peloponnesian
Peninsula. It makes common sense that the Spartans would be more warlike, when it is remembered that
they were the invaders who came last into Greece and destroyed Mycenaean Greece. Thus, by around 600
BCE, they had emerged as a flourishing military state. Their rigid society (which reminds us of the Caste
System in India) fell into three well-marked divisions: Spartans, Perioeci and Helots.

The Spartans proper were the full citizens who alone were eligible for honors and public offices.
They formed only about 10% of the total population and formed a tight military community.
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
The Perioicoi (dwellers round about the city) occupied an inferior but not servile position. They were
also small in number and probably were probably the aristocratic, artisan and merchant classes, who
were descendants of the older inhabitants. They engaged in commerce, crafts and the arts forbidden to
the Spartans. Their chief military obligation was to serve as hoplites (heavy infantry) in war.

The Helots were the serf population and may have represented the enslaved population before the
arrival of the Spartans. They were brutally mistreated and in war had to serve as light infantry.
Spartan government was headed by two hereditary kings who were a sort of primitive check and balance
system. They were assisted by a council of noble families and an assembly (or Apella) consisting of all
Spartan citizens over 30 years of age. Finally there were the Ephors, elected by the Apella, and who
exercised supervision over the morals and discipline of the state, including the kings and councils.
The Spartans sole aim in education was to fashion soldiers who would be invincible on the
battlefield. Weak children were exposed (left to die on hillside). Boys began their military training at the
age of seven when they were taken from their mothers and lived in barracks. They were taught to endure
every hardship and discipline. For example, they would be given little clothing in the winter cold to make
them tough; they would be denied enough food and encouraged to steal, except that, if caught they were
beaten unmercifully. From 20 to 30, they served in the army. At 30, they became citizens and left the
barracks to marry and set up households, but they were still subject to military and public discipline until
the age of 60.
To catch the spirit of the Spartans, three anecdotes are told about the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE.
As the Persian king Xerxes was advancing into Greece, his army of hundreds of thousands of soldiers was
delayed by a few hundred Spartans holding the narrow pass at Thermopylae. After a hard first day’s
fighting, the frustrated Xerxes demanded that Leonidas, the Spartan king, surrender his soldier’s weapons.
Leonidas replied, “Come and get them”. The second anecdote took place after a traitor had shown the
Persians a way around the pass. So the night before the last battle, Leonidas told his doomed men to eat a
hearty breakfast because that night they would dine with the gods in Hades. Finally, as the battle began,
the Greeks were informed that the Persians were boasting that their arrows would blot out the sun in the
sky. A great fear came upon the soldiers, until one of them, named Dienekes (Διηνέκης), laconically
remarked, "So much the better, we shall fight in the shade.” After the battle, a Greek poet, Simonides,
wrote an epitaph for the fallen of Thermopylae:
Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie
Thus, the Spartans are important in World History because they represent not only an early form of
National Socialism (or a government in which citizens exist to serve the state) but also a classic form
of Oligarchy (or, a government run by and for small powerful elite). Even after marriage, Spartan men
ate in public mess halls eating only simple foods. Spartans were not allowed to use money and all luxury
was prohibited. Marriage existed, but its purpose was to supply the state with necessary soldiers. Girls
underwent similar training to be so physically fit, that they would bear the strongest possible sons. That
Spartan women shared the Spartan Ideology, is illustrated in the exhortation of a Spartan mother to her
son before an impending battle: Come home with your shield or on it. In other words, come home
victorious or dead, but don’t run from battle. (In current English, the adjective Spartan means simple,
frugal, undaunted by danger or pain.) By the 300s BCE, however, Sparta had lost its disciplined character
and enjoyed the pleasures of luxury and wealth, but still kept a strong army to keep the Helots enslaved.
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Athens
Athens was much older than Sparta and its acropolis has been inhabited since Neolithic times. In fact, the
history of Athens is longer than any other city of Europe. Athens was one of the principal Mycenaean
cities, and although Athens shrank in population and power, Athens was never abandoned during the dark
ages brought on by the Dorian Invasions. Moreover, the Athenians always claimed to be descendents of
the Mycenaeans (Ionians, as they called themselves) with no Doric blood. As a result, Athens developed
quite differently than Sparta. Whereas Sparta was a farming and military society; Athens was city state
built of trade and commerce.
Athens reemerged during the 8th century as a city state ruled by a king, who was the head of a powerful
aristocracy called the Eupatridae or well-born. The king’s power was curtailed very early. First, the king
had to share his title with a Polemarch (military commander) and other officers called Archons
(magistrates). By 680, nine archons were the ruling government of Athens. However, they had to answer
to the Council of the Areopagus, which represented the interests of the aristocracy.
As Athens became a rich, maritime trading power, her population grew and her economy expanded, and
Athens became the largest and wealthiest polis on the Greek mainland. But this success caused two
problems: first, it created a large class of people excluded from political life by the nobility or elites.
Secondly, it caused social tensions that were created when the rich used their power to steadily become
richer and make the poor poorer. The result was that Athens was threatened with civil war and class
warfare. At first, harsh measures were enacted and the Council of the Areopagus appointed Draco, a
man whose spirit was akin to the Chinese Legalist School, to take control. Draco issued a famous law
code which was both the first written constitution of Athens and proverbial for its severity. (Draconian)
When Draco failed, the council appointed Solon who was considered one of the Seven Sages or wise men
of Greece. His reputation was forged in 594 by his compromise between the classes, whereby he let the
aristocrats keep their wealth, but - at the same time – canceled the debts of the poor. He also, more
importantly, he laid the groundwork for Athenian Democracy by founding the Ecclesia, a legislative body
of all the citizens wealthy enough to devote their time to public affairs. The result was that poor could
vote, but only the aristocrats could hold public office.
After Solon’s death in 558, Athens wavered for four decades between tyranny, oligarchy and democracy.
Finally in 510, Cleisthenes took charge and established democracy in Athens. He completed the reforms
of Solon and made it possible for all citizens to participate in government. Cleisthenes’ most famous
reform was Ostracism or annual election which resulted in the expulsion of the individual felt to be the
most dangerous to the state for 10 years, but with no loss of property of status. After Cleisthenes, the
Ecclesia ruled Athens; it met about three times a year to debate, vote on laws and conduct the Ostracism
election. Day-to-day affairs were conducted by the Boule or Council of 500 whose members were chosen
by lot from the entire citizenry. Lastly, Athenian courts both enforced and interpreted the laws passed by
the Ecclesia and Boule. (So the verb ostracize in modern English means to shut out or exclude)
In the 5th century, Athens reached a golden age of political power and influence under the leadership of
Pericles (443 – 429), who, by diplomacy and leadership, made Athens not only Greece’s strongest naval
power, but a center for scientists, poets, philosophers, artists and architects. The city became, in Pericles's
words, "The school of Greece ". He made Athens the most prosperous city in Greece and with its riches
hired the finest artisans to rebuild the Athenian Acropolis which Xerxes had destroyed. It was during this
time that the three great temples of the Acropolis were constructed: the Parthenon (Temple of Athena),
the Erectheum and the Temple of Athena Nike or Athena victorious.
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In 431, Pericles delivered his famous “Funeral Oration” for the Athenian dead who had fallen in the first
year of the Peloponnesian War. In it he praised Athenian Democracy as being fundamentally different
from the governments of other states because in Athenian Democracy power rested not in a minority of
people but in the whole of the people. Although the whole of the people did not include women or slaves,
the Athenian councils (Ecclesia and Boule) had laid the groundwork for our modern political ideas of
majority rule, civil debate, impartial juries and rule of law. Therefore, they were the first to lay the
foundation for modern democracy, as we understand it. Athenian Democracy would also last 500 years
until Roman times, a feat (Think about it!) matched by no modern Democracy.
Time Out: Political Definitions
1. Tyranny or Dictatorship: a ruler (benevolent or malevolent) with complete authority.
2. Oligarchy (like Sparta): supreme power is placed in the hands of a small, exclusive class; sometimes
this is called rule of the aristocracy. (In Greek, aristos means best and oligos means few)
3. Monarchy: rule by a king: sometimes absolute (tyranny), but often limited by nobility /constitutions.
4. Democracy: government by the people:
a. Direct Democracy (like Athens): All citizens participate in the running of the government.
However Athens could also be called a Limited Democracy because the right to participate in
the government was limited only to citizens, not women or slaves.
b. Indirect Democracy or Republic: citizens give power to elected representatives like Rome,
the United States and most modern democracies.
Greek Political Innovation
It is important to remember that Athens and Sparta were not the only Greek city-states, just the two most
important. Thus, they, like Thebes, Corinth and many others, were Greek but independent. This led to
cultural unity, but political disunity. As Greek city-states developed and trade increased, the ruling class
(kings and aristocrats) slowly lost power to a new middle class of wealthy merchants, farmers and
artisans. As a result, Greek culture developed an approach to government that involved great
emphasis on political virtue and civic responsibility. Thus, participation in politics was part of the ideal
Greek concept of life. This was even true in the Spartan Dual Monarchy and in other states more
aristocratic than Athens.
This Greek political ideal has often been compared with the values emphasized in Confucianism. But in
spite of the civic responsibility and public service stressed in both, the Greeks created a far greater system
of political participation - most likely because they NEVER achieved anywhere near the centralized
authority as did Qin or Han China (as we will see in Chapter 3). The Greeks also placed more
importance on the neutral principals of law, as opposed to the Confucian hierarchy of obedience. To
the Greeks, the individual was more important than bureaucratic codes. Rome would copy and expand
upon Greek political innovation and carry it into its enormous empire.
Greek Colonization, Politics and Wars:
The Greeks were always more fertile than their rugged lands. The result was population pressure. To ease
this pressure, the Greeks literally colonized the entire Mediterranean and Black Sea Basins. Unlike the
nomadic migrations we have seen in World History so far (including the Mycenaean and Dorian), these
migrations were not nomadic people looking for settled lands and the better life, but rather were settled
peoples looking for new and empty lands to exploit for their agricultural and mineralogical resources.
Most of the Greeks colonists settled in Southern Italy (or Magna Graecia) and Sicily, but they also
established settlements along the coasts of France and Italy, Cyrene and especially southern Russia.
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These colonies created a ready-made trading network in which Greek manufactured goods were traded for
furs, fish, timber, amber, wax and honey, gold and grain. Moreover, the migrant Greeks carried their
culture with them and thus spread Greek culture from Spain to Russia. This expansion also brought
conflict, as with the many Greeks who settled along shores of Western Anatolia and became Persian
subjects. We have seen how they revolted and for a short time drove out the Persians and how Darius
reestablished Persian authority, determined to punish the mainland Greeks. And we saw in 490, Darius
was defeated at the Battle of Marathon and in 479, how his son Xerxes was defeated in the naval Battle
of Salamis, and the land Battle of Plataea. And we saw the uneasy peace that followed.
However after the Persian Wars, many Greeks formed an alliance called the Delian League. Athens
became the unquestioned leader of the alliance, which included most of the Greeks city-states with the
major exception of Sparta. Athens not only supplied the leadership but also the soldiers and ships;
everyone else supplied money. In effect, it became an Athenian Empire and as time passed, it seemed that
only the Athenians benefitted from the alliance (i.e., the rebuilding of the Athenian Acropolis was greatly
funded by Delian Treasury monies). Tensions built and eventually resulted in a bitter Greek civil war, the
Peloponnesian War, which lasted from 431 to 404. The bitter and protracted war was led by Athenians
on one side and the Spartans on the other. When it was over Sparta won and Athenian power was broken.
More importantly, Greece was weakened and fell into steady decline.
The Macedonian Era:
As the Greek states declined, Macedonia, a frontier state north of Greece, began to rise. The Macedonians
ethnically related to the Greeks; they were late migrants who were still partly nomadic in the seventh and
sixth centuries. However, by the middle of the fourth century, Macedonia was transformed by a dynamic
leader, Philip II (359 – 336). Philip built a powerful army and though diplomacy and conquest – and the
divided nature of the Greek city-states – he slowly dominated most of Greece, except Sparta. When Philip
was assassinated, his twenty year old son Alexander came to the throne. Alexander had been trained by
Aristotle and had already commanded the right wing of his father’s army. (A legend said that Alexander
was given the choice of a long, uneventful reign or a short, brilliant one - and he chose the latter) In 334,
Alexander gathered his Macedonian army with along with his Greek “allies” to invade Persia. The
Macedonian army was built around a unit called the Phalanx, which was a formation of lines of infantry
held together by huge interlocking shields and using long spears to crush all before it.
Alexander crossed the Hellespont and defeated a Persian army at the Battle of Granicus. Alexander
pushed on through Asia Minor and there is a legend told that when Alexander passed through the city of
Gordium, he came upon a famous Ox Cart (some say chariot), on which there was a knot that could not be
untied. It was said that anyone who could untie this Gordian Knot, would rule Asia. When Alexander
failed to untie the knot, he drew his sword and hacked it off. The next year in eastern Anatolia, he met the
Persian king Darius III at the Battle of Issus, and with his smaller but more effective army routed the
Persian army. Then Alexander detoured south along the east coast of the Mediterranean. He besieged the
Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon and then captured Egypt, where he founded the city of Alexandria.
He also went far out into the Sahara desert and visited the shrine of Zeus-Amon where he was told by the
priests there that he was the son of Zeus-Ammon, inferring that he was divine or semi-divine.
In 331, he turned northeast and at Gaugamela, he shattered an even larger Persian army and captured all
of Mesopotamia. He invaded Persia and captured Perscepolis. Darius fled and was murdered by his
followers who were in turn executed by Alexander, who gave Darius honorable burial. Alexander fought
all the way to India culminating in a terrible battle and narrow victory over the Indian raja Porus. His
army – exhausted after the battle in which Porus had used war elephants - then rebelled and refused to go
any further. Alexander returned to Babylon where he died in 323 at the age of 32, probably of typhoid.
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Over the course of his twelve years of conquest, Alexander gradually came to dream of a world in which
the east and the west might be fused into one culture. He himself married Roxanna, the daughter of
Darius, and encouraged his soldiers to take Persian wives. However, he died before the fusion could even
begin. Nonetheless, Alexander is important in world history because conquests and his vision linked much
of the civilized world together for the first time. As a result, Greek culture blended with Persian, Egyptian
and Indian cultures to create what we call Hellenistic culture.
The Hellenistic Synthesis
Legend has it that on his deathbed Alexander was asked to whom he left his empire. His answer was, “to
the strongest.” His empire did break up and after the chaos subsided three of his generals established
regional empires of their own which ushered in a new era in history called the Hellenistic Synthesis or
Hellenistic Age, a period from 323 BCE to 30 BCE. The defining feature of the Hellenistic Age was
Hellenizing or the spreading and mixing of Greek culture WITH the non-Greek peoples that were
conquered by Alexander the Great. These new, smaller empires, especially the latter two, were a partial
fusion of Alexander’s dream; of Greek and non Greek cultures.
1. The first was the Antigonid Empire established by Antigonus, the general who had stayed behind
in Greece. It was compact but had to pacify the independent minded Greek city-states who resisted
Macedonian hegemony. Commercial cities like Athens flourished in Hellenistic times; Sparta
remained independent. The Antigonid state lasted until 149 BCE when they conquered by Rome.
2. The second was the Seleucid Empire founded by Seleucus and formed from the Old Persian
Empire, minus Egypt. Many Greeks and Macedonians migrated to new cities, which became
commercial centers of the empire. The Seleucids (like the later Parthians and Sassanids)
considered themselves heirs of Cyrus the Great, but in reality they created a new, Mediterranean
style urban society from the eastern Mediterranean to Bactria. As we have seen, they flourished for
while and their power was eroded by Parthians and Romans.
3. The third was the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt, founded by Ptolemy. This empire became the
cultural center of the Hellenistic world; especially the magnificent city of Alexandria with its
major harbor and urban area filled with Greeks, Macedonians, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Jews,
Arabs and Babylonians. Its Library was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and it
contained at least 700,000 works. Of the three empires, it last the longest, falling to the Romans
with the death of Cleopatra in 31 BCE.
Greek Economy and Society:
Greece could grow little grain, but the olive and the grape flourished. This created commercial markets
that crisscrossed the Mediterranean. Manufacturing was developed and hundreds of people were often
employed in a single factory. All this led to the development of partnerships and large commercial
ventures, in which many people shared risk of investment and the rewards of the profits. So it is important
to understand that the Greeks foreshadowed the Joint Stock Company, which would shape early modern
Europe and transform the early modern world.
These economic links also spread Greek culture and gave the Greeks a sense of community whether they
lived in Athens or Sparta or Sicily or Southern Russia. Greeks would gather from all over for festivals,
like county fairs, athletic competition and theater production. Most famous were the Olympic Games
(stated in 776 BCE). Winners received only a laurel wreath, and only for 1st place.
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Status of Women: the social structure of Greece has its roots in Achaean times. Achaean Greece was
Patriarchal, but in literature we see that men often had outspoken wives and women enjoyed many
freedoms. This echoes even more strongly the position of women in Egypt and is comparable to the
relatively high social status enjoyed by women in Celtic and Germanic cultures, which we shall see in
Chapter four. However, after the Dorian invasions and the establishment of city-states, stricter patriarchal
rule was established and women increasingly came under the male authority of fathers, husbands or sons.
Women could not own property and had to wear veils in public (except in Sparta). Indeed in Sparta
woman the greatest freedom in the Greek city states. The only public opportunity for women was that
some women could be the priestesses of certain goddesses.
This having been said, we need to remember that upper class women had it better, but in lower class
families, (even though life was harder) the division of labor necessary for survival indicates that a
husband-wife partnership was often the rule. Indeed in artisan families, both males and females often
worked in family business. This lowering of women’s status with the passage of time is thought by many
scholars to reflect a Southwest Asian attitude imported from contact with the Persian Empire.
Nevertheless, Greek women generally had much higher status than Asian women did.
Finally, literacy was common among upper class Greek women, and a few women wrote. Sappho, from
the island of Lesbos, was most famous and important. She established a female literary society. Her poetry
was addressed to both sexes and she was accused of homosexual activity and fell under a moral cloud.
After the establishment of Christianity, most of her poetry was destroyed.
Slavery was prominent. Slaves were usually captured in war or came from those who fell into debt. Slaves
were property and could be bought and sold like any property. They had no civil rights. However, the
better educated a slave was, the better was his/her fate.
Science: the Greeks avidly pursued the sciences and learned astronomy, science, mathematics (especially
geometry), medicine and magic from the Babylonians and the Egyptians. They build sophisticated
mechanical devices including clocks and host of inventions that rival the early modern world.
Greek Philosophy
The Greeks were the first people to challenge the belief that the gods were responsible for what
happened to human beings. They began to use observation and reason (which we take for granted) to
search for meaning in the world and in human existence. Philosophy means the love of wisdom and
although much of ancient Greek philosophy dealt with natural science (math, biology, medicine, physics,
etc.) world history takes a special look at those philosophers who investigated the issues of morals and
ethics, which came to also include political science and government. The Greeks had a tradition of the
Seven Sages (or wise men) who came from all walks of life, but were famed for their pithy and wise
sayings. The usual seven are: Solon of Athens - "Nothing in excess"; Chilon of Sparta - "Know thyself";
Thales of Miletus - "To bring surety brings ruin"; Bias of Priene - "Too many workers spoil the work";
Cleobulus of Lindos - "Moderation is impeccable"; Pittacus of Mytilene - "Know thine opportunity";
and Periander of Corinth - "Forethought in all things.”
The Sophists were the earliest social philosophers who were a group of wandering intellectuals who used
logic and argument (or rhetoric) to teach the art of persuasion. The Sophists questioned accepted ideas
and considered moral and ethical truths to be just opinions. They took money and were famous for turning
right into wrong, simple into complex and justice into injustice. They were famous for instituting unjust
lawsuits. So it is today that a Sophism or Sophistry means a confusing or illogical argument used for
deceiving someone.
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Socrates, who lived from 470 to 399, is credited with being the most important of the founders of modern
philosophy. Socrates was an outspoken critics of the Sophists and was driven by powerful urge to
understand human beings and human affairs in detail. He was famous for constantly asking, “What was
the greatest good?” Socrates did not write, but his disciple Plato describes his teachings, which were
almost always accomplished by questioning, so that today, instruction by questioning has come to be
called the Socratic Method. Socrates was stonecutter by training, but spent most of his time wandering
though Athens engaging people in conversations. And in these conversations, he gave himself entirely to
ethical philosophy. He was an individualist and not a “yes’ man; he spoke his mind and insisted on
personal integrity, honorable behavior, and working towards a just society. He made it clear that honor
and honesty were far more important than money or fame or political power.
Although he took no money, as the Sophists did, he nevertheless offended the powerful elite who accused
him of “corrupting the youth of Athens” (which really meant that he taught them to think; and even worse,
to think ethically). So he was tried by rigged jury and condemned to death by drinking hemlock. Since
Socrates was a citizen of Athens and a defender in the democratic system, he willingly submitted to even
this unjust penalty because he maintained the duties of a citizen included obeying the laws of the state. His
most famous quote was “the unexamined life is not worth living.”
Plato: Socrates’ most important disciple was Plato who lived from 430 to 347. He had a deep distrust of
democracy because of the execution of Socrates. So he left Athens for ten years but returned and opened a
school called the Academy where he taught and wrote about his and Socrates’ ideas. His most famous
works were the Dialogues and the Republic. The early Dialogues were conversations between Socrates
and various people which reflected Socrates’ teachings and Socrates probing important moral questions
such as what is justice or right or liberty. Later Dialogues dealt more with metaphysics or science (meta,
after, φυσις nature), which dealt with first principles and sought to know: the nature of being
(ontology), the origin and structure of the world (cosmology) and the theory of knowledge
(epistemology). In the Republic, Plato seeks to discover the nature of Justice and describes an ideal state.
In order to understand Plato, we must understand the idea of his Theory of Forms. Plato believed that the
world we live in is not the only world, because our world is a pale and imperfect reflection of a perfect
world, which he called the World of Forms or Ideas. In that world, the perfect everything could be found
and men were obligated to find (or at least struggle to find) that perfection. Obviously that quest for
perfection is not easy.
Plato uses the Allegory of the Cave or Plato’s Cave to explain the Theory of Forms. Imagine prisoners,
who have been chained deep inside a dark cave; their limbs are immobilized by chains; their heads are
chained in one direction, so that their gaze can only be fixed on a wall. Behind the prisoners is an
enormous fire, and between the fire and the prisoners is a raised walkway, along which statues of various
animals, plants, and other objects are carried by people. The statues cast shadows on the wall, and the
prisoners watch these shadows. When one of the statue-carriers speaks, an echo against the wall causes the
prisoners to believe that the words come from the shadows. According to Plato, that is how we see the
world, but we through philosophy we are able to come closer and closer to seeing objects as they really
are then begin to creating those perfect objects, whether it be the perfect temple, the perfect statue, the
perfect painting, the perfect essay, the perfect poem, the perfect body, etc.
Thus, Plato believed that the secrets of the World of Forms could only be found by philosophers and so
Plato divided the ideal society into three classes: workers who produced that which was necessary to
maintain society, soldiers who defended the state and philosopher kings who would be specially trained to
rule with skill and justice.
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Aristotle, who lived from 384 to 322, studied under Plato and was the tutor of Alexander the Great. He
too founded a school in Athens, which was called peripatetic (from his walking up and down while he
lectured). While Plato was a discursive philosopher (i.e., proceeding coherently from topic to topic),
Aristotle on the other hand was a scientist and a systematic philosopher (i.e., separating things into
component parts or constituent elements). Aristotle distrusted Plato’s Theory of Forms, which he
considered unnecessary to understanding the world. Aristotle believed that the senses could provide
accurate information about the world and its mysteries.
Aristotle’s most important contribution were his metaphysical (or scientific) works, in which devised
rigorous rules of logic in his efforts to construct powerful arguments. He wrote about Physics, Biology,
Practical Philosophy (politics) and Literature. Using observation, logic and reason, Aristotle developed his
own ideas about government and concluded that government by the many was better than government by
the few.
---------------------------------------------------------------
In his book, Politics, Aristotle taught that the rule of law is better than the rule of a few or an individual.
He was also concerned with ethics or the way people lived and he defined the Golden Mean as a
moderate course between two extremes. In Book 3, Chapters 6-7, Aristotle establishes his famous
classification of six types of government - divided between those that are good and those that are corrupt.
The good types of government were monarchy, aristocracy and polity (i.e., mature Athenian democracy),
while the corrupt types included tyranny, oligarchy and democracy a (i.e., 'mob rule' or the immature, out
of control democracy, such as killed Socrates).
For Aristotle, good government rules in the common interest of all while corrupt government rules
in the interest of those who rule.
It is very important to understand that Plato and Aristotle were suspicious of the democracy, which
Socrates supported, because both of them felt that democracy contained the seeds of mob rule, which led
to instability and injustice. Plato’s solution was to favor Philosopher Kings; Aristotle favored
constitutional government in which the rule of law limited popular sentiment. Aristotle called this form of
government Polity. Plato and Aristotle would also deeply influence Christian and Islamic philosophers
until the 17th Century and both provided the intellectual framework that Christian theologians would use
to present Christian doctrine to the world.
Hellenistic Philosophies
The Hellenistic world also produced philosophical thought that affects in the modern world. It is
important to note that Hellenistic philosophies appear as Greek political life was in decline and that of
Rome was rising. Nevertheless the intellectual life of the Greeks continued to flourish and their
philosophers continued the work of the philosophers who preceded them in new schools of thought.
The first was Epicureanism that maintained that pleasure was the greatest good. Its founder, Epicurus,
emphasized minimizing harm and maximizing happiness not only for oneself but for others, and by that
he meant that people should seek to find a state of quiet satisfaction and freedom from the emotional
turmoil and the pressures of the (Hellenistic) world. Epicureanism was not hedonism (love of pleasure
itself), but a quiet state of satisfaction. (Today, Epicureanism refers to the love of good food.)
The Roman lyric poet Horace was an Epicurean. He captured the Epicurean principle of Let us eat drink
and be merry, for tomorrow we die in his well known Carpe Diem poem he says, While we talk, greedy
time flees away: Seize the day and trust as little as possible in the future.
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Thomas Jefferson referred to himself as an Epicurean which can be clearly seen in the preamble to the
Declaration of Independence in which Jefferson wrote, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
A second group were the Skeptics, who refused to take a strong position on any political, social or moral
issue. In fact, they were not even sure that there was such a thing as fact or truth. Their goal was to find
equanimity by which they meant evenness of mind, a calm temper and complete composure under the
pressures of the (Hellenistic) world. Timon of Philius (320-230) was a classic Skeptic philosopher. He
wrote poetry, tragedies, satiric dramas, and comedies. Most of his works are lost, but one of his most
famous quotations, a barb against philosophers, has survived, Philosophers are excessively cunning
murderers of many wise saws"
A third Hellenistic school of philosophy was Cynicism. The Cynics taught that the purpose of life was to
live a life of Virtue in agreement with Nature and they rejected of all conventional desires for wealth,
power, health, and fame, and by living a simple life free from all possessions. The most famous Cynic
Philosopher was Diogenes of Sinope, who lived in a tub on the streets of Athens. He took Cynicism to its
logical extremes, and came to be seen as the archetypal Cynic philosopher. For example, he taught
complete freedom of speech and practiced it to the point of rudeness and was remembered for carrying
around a lantern – even during the day – because he was “looking” for a wise man. The story is told that
Alexander the Great approached Diogenes and asked if there way anything he could do for him. Diogenes’
reply was, Yes, stand out of my sunlight. Alexander then declared, If I were not Alexander, then I should
wish to be Diogenes.
The last Hellenistic school of philosophy was Stoicism, which was founded by Zeno of Citium. Stoicism
taught that self-control, fortitude and detachment from distracting emotions (sometimes even indifference
to pleasure or pain) allowed one to become a clear thinker, level-headed and unbiased. Stoics considered
all human beings members of a single, universal family. The Stoics taught virtue for the sake of virtue
and, unlike the Epicureans and Skeptics, they did not seek to withdraw from the pressures of the world,
but taught that individuals had a duty to help others lead virtuous lives. This altruistic escape from the
pressures of the (Hellenistic) world was accomplished by emphasizing inner moral independence and
tranquility brought about by strict discipline of body and mind. They argued that a person’s chief business
in this life is to do his duty.
Greek Art and Architecture
Greek art and architecture (as a general rule) followed the principle of Plato’s Theory of Forms
(constantly striving to find perfection and realism) and was an enormous influence on Roman art and
subsequent Western Civilization. Early Greek sculpture was stiff, made from a single model and rigid, but
by the Golden Age had become lifelike and realistic. This realism would later be “re-discovered” in the
Renaissance of Western Europe.
In Architecture, the Greek temple became the standard for almost all Classical Architecture and was
usually either a cube or a rectangle carved and built from limestone. The finest example is considered the
Parthenon, the ruins of which still stand on the Acropolis in Athens. There were three main styles (or
"orders") for the columns of Greek architecture: first was the Doric, which was plain and austere like the
Spartans, whose top was like a cup; then there was the Ionic which had scrolls at the top and was
considered more relaxed and graceful; and finally the Corinthian with its flowing Acanthus Leaves which
made it the most majestic and ornate.
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Greek Religion and Literature
Greek religion was Indo-European and closely paralleled Celtic, Germanic, Roman and Indian religion
and mythologies. Its gods were anthropomorphic; and their origins, lives and exploits (moral and
immoral) explained natural phenomena and the story of creation. But as Greek society became more
sophisticated and complex, the gods and goddesses with all their fantastic mythology seemed more and
more remote from daily human life. And so, like other Indo-European religions, the stories of lecherous
and violent gods, the foolishness of divination (like predicting the future from flights of birds), and the
disgusting blood and animal sacrifices created a sense a moral bankruptcy left many Greeks cynical.
People wanted answers to the existential question (why am I here? who am I? What is the meaning of
life?). So cults began to evolve. Some demanded high moral standards; others were ecstatic and celebrated
life, fertility and the harvest. The most powerful was the Mysteries of Eleusis, which became part of the
Athenian state religion. We have already seen that there were fairs which in addition to athletic, musical
and dramatic contests also featured religious festivals. In fact, the fairs were the origin of both the
Olympic Games and Greek drama.
The dramatic tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides and the comedian Aristophanes, who
dominated the golden age of Athenian Literature, competed for prizes at these games. Like Socrates in
Plato’s Dialogues, their plays asked probing questions about good and evil, human responsibility, justice
and mercy, proper and improper behavior.
In the Hellenistic period the questions of mortality and immortality tugged more and more at the Greeks
and so they began to adopt Salvation Religions. Again, we see the challenge to the old and ineffective
Indo European religion, which failed to answer the problems of human existence and morality. The
Hellenistic cult was that of the Cult of Isis, which was immensely popular, because instead of some vague
shadowy existence, it promised salvation (a happy life after death) to all who led honorable lives.
The Principles of Greek Culture
1. Humanism: the Greeks were the first true Humanists. They placed great confidence in the power of
the human mind and adopted the idea that man was the measure of all things. As a result, Greek art,
literature and sculpture glorified human achievement and the human form. The Greeks were fascinated
with human energy and how humans try win even when the odds are against them. This stands in
strong contrast to Chinese restraint and Buddhist moderation, and is more in keeping with the Hindu
notion of enjoyment of life and the accumulation of wealth.
2. History: the Greeks also undertook Historia (which in Greek means investigations). Herodotus (485
to 425) was called the Father of History because he was the first to try to research and verify the facts
which he presented in his History of the Persian Wars. A generation later, Thucydides (460 to 400),
wrote a History of the Peloponnesian War which was even more objective and accurate and was
praised for its direct, graphic and condensed style.
3. Political Science: the Greeks were passionate about political theory and did not hesitate to debate the
merits of different (governmental) constitutional models. They naturally assumed that men could plan
governmental models and ideals such as justice and rule by law. This heritage was adopted by the
Romans and passed into Western political thought through the Renaissance.
4. Philosophy and Logic: the Greeks used philosophical and scientific inquiry to create the effective use
of logic in understanding the natural world. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle all developed new ideas
about truth, reason, justice and government.
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The Grandeur that was Rome
After the death of Alexander the Great and the rise of the Hellenistic empires, Greek society fell into
decline as a new superpower gradually arose in central Italy on the banks of the Tiber River. Like the
Greeks, Persians and Aryans, the Romans were Indo-Europeans and (with other related tribes) began to
arrive and settle in central Italy around 2000 BCE. Much early Roman History is legendary, driven by a
desire (a half a millennium later) for a suitable pedigree. These legends tell of a Trojan hero, Aeneas,
who, having escaped from the destruction of Troy with a band of followers, underwent many adventures
(as told in the Roman poet Vergil’s Aeneid), and finally founded a colony in Italy. Later his descendents,
twin boys, Romulus and Remus, founded the city of Rome in 753 BCE. Rome’s history is easily divided
into three periods: first, the Kingdom from 753 to 509; second, the Republic from 509 to 27 (some
scholars say 31); and finally the Empire from 27 (31) to 476 CE.
The period of Roman kings is obscure and semi-mythological. Scholars are sure there must have been a
Romulus, but he is at best semi legendary. Legend says Numa Pompelius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus
Martius, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus followed him.
What is known is that during the latter half of this kingly period, Rome was dominated by the Etruscans
who dominated much of north and central Italy from the 8th to 5th centuries BCE.
The Etruscans were non Indo-Europeans, who called themselves Rasenna and, according to Herodotus,
came from Lydia in Anatolia (central Asia Minor). Even though we have opened their graves and have
samples of their writing, we know little about them. What we do know is that they had widespread trading
contacts, were skilled artisans and gave to the Romans much of their superior technology, such as stone
arches, paved streets, aqueducts and sewers. Culturally they gave the Romans funeral games fought by
gladiators in a public arena.
In 509 BCE, the Romans were strong enough to drive out the last Etruscan king, Lucius Tarquinius
Superbus and found a republic. Much more is known about this period than that of the kings because now
legend gradually becomes history. Although Rome occupied a strategic location with easy access to the
sea and opportunities for trading, Rome became an agricultural society: conservative and patriarchal. The
citizen-farmer-soldier was the Roman ideal and, during these early years, most Romans were selfsufficient, independent farmers. However, as happens in most agricultural societies where land is the basis
of wealth, a small number of families become a ruling elite and acquire larger and larger tracts of land.
These mostly-wealthy aristocrats were called Patricians. The non-elite Romans were called Plebeians.
Sometimes Plebeians became rich over time, but most were poor – and rank came by birth, not money.
After 509, the Romans hated even the word king (Rex; compare to Raja), so in their republic they
entrusted two Consuls with executive power (both civil and military). Patrician (and later plebeian)
Roman youths were trained from boyhood in both legal and military skills. They knew that their careers
would be made on the battlefield, in the law courts and in holding public offices. Advancement meant
following along a series of offices, called the Cursus Honorum (running of honors): Aedile (city
administrators), Quaestor (treasurers in the army, the city of Rome or in the provinces), Praetor
(assistant consuls, army commanders, judges, governors), and Consul (co-head of state, army
commanders). Retired consuls often became provincial governors (pro-consuls) and members of the
Senate, who advised the consuls, ratified treaties and controlled public affairs. In a crisis, a Dictator
(appointed by the Senate) had absolute power for a year, after which he had to give up his powers.
During the 5th century (the Golden Age of Athens and Greece), the Patricians so dominated the Roman
government that the Plebeians threatened to secede and won the right to elect officials known as Tribunes
who represented the Plebeians in the government, and included the right of Veto. (Note: that Tribune also
refers to mid ranking army officers).
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It is very important to understand that as the Roman Republic expanded and began to dominate the
Mediterranean Basin, social tensions centering around money and political power, continued to
plague the Roman governmental system and, by the mid 100s BCE, would destroy the republic and
usher in one man rule under the Emperor Augustus.
Rome began as a tiny almost insignificant city-state and yet grew to be a huge empire whose glory and
power would be envied and imitated until the twentieth century. Scholars have debated how this could
have happened. Some say greed and aggressiveness, others that the Romans loved war. However, the best
answer seems to be that the naturally conservative Roman mind always feared attack from its neighbors.
Therefore, the Romans would attack first (or at least force a fight), but each new conquest brought the old
problem of new and potentially dangerous neighbors. This latter theory explains Rome’s problem in the
early day with the surrounding city-states of central Italy.
Throughout the 4th century (as Greece is declining and Macedonia growing), Rome fought a series of
wars with her neighbors. In 390 the century began with a great setback when Gauls (Celts who had settled
in the Po River Valley) sacked and burnt the city. But the Romans bounced back slowly absorbed the
nearby city-states, most notably the Sabines. Then Rome fought the Greek city-states of Southern Italy,
which ended with the defeat of King Pyrrhus. Thus by 268, the Romans controlled Italy through a
network of alliances, conquered or dependent states, colonies, and strategic garrisons. But Rome didn’t
feel secure and started to look outwards from Italy to Sicily and a potential threat in North Africa. That
threat was the great trading city of Carthage, which lay just across the Mediterranean. Carthage
controlled a vast trading empire in the western Mediterranean as well as in Spain and Sicily. They had the
best navy since the Athenian navy, but a relatively mediocre army. Between 264 and 146, Rome fought
three wars with Carthage, called the Punic Wars, and Rome won all three.
In the First Punic War Rome seized Sicily. In order to win at sea, Rome built a navy but adopted an
astonishing tactic. The Romans would fill their ships with soldiers, then rush at the enemy’s ships, grab
them with a hook, and send their soldiers over the hook to kill the enemy crew. In the Second Punic War,
the Carthaginian general Hannibal (with a much stronger army) crossed the Alps from Spain and invaded
Italy. He ravaged Italy for almost a decade defeating one Roman army after another, but was unable to
take Rome. Finally, the Romans, under Scipio Africanus, took the war to Africa, and Hannibal was
forced to return home. This war ended in a Roman victory at the Battle of Zama in 202. The Romans
stripped Carthage of its empire and leaving Carthage only a city-state. Nevertheless, the Carthaginians
were resilient and – over time – again grew wealthy. Rome grew suspicious and in 146, provoked the
Third Punic War and completely destroyed the city.
The Romans also became involved in the Eastern Mediterranean. Between 215 and 146, they conquered
the Antgonid Empire as the more mobile Roman Legions outmaneuvered and crushed the Macedonian
Phalanx. The Romans absorbed Greece because Greece had been unable to rule itself, and Rome cleared
the seas of pirates which hindered commerce. Thus by 146, the Romans had annexed all of Macedonia,
Greece, Syria, most of Anatolia and Spain, all of Italy, Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, and Carthaginian Africa.
But in spite of these successes, Rome had a terrible problem. Conquest MAY HAVE brought immense
wealth to Rome; but the unequal distribution of that wealth created social tensions as wealthy patricians
turned captured land into Latifundia (large estates run by slave labor). Moreover, the wealthy dominated
and swallowed up small landowners to increase their holdings. Rome’s early economy had been based on
small, citizen-farmers, who grew wheat to make bread, the staple food of the people. However, the
Latifundia owners preferred to raise cattle or cash crops like grapes for wine, which made enormous
profits but drove up the price of grain (because it now had to be imported) and drove the peasants off their
land into the cities, especially Rome, where they had no means of making a living.
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This unequal distribution of resources slowly tore apart the Roman Republic. The government that
had worked so well for a small city-state, now crumbled under the social pressure of an increasing
and angry struggle between the haves and the have-nots, even as Rome’s empire was expanding.
Round one in that struggle came in 133, when Tiberius Gracchus, a Tribune of the Plebeians, proposed
a law, which would limit the amount of conquered land any individual could hold. This was a direct attack
on the slave-operated Latifundia. The aristocrats (called Optimates were the old patrician families who
opposed giving any power to the lower classes) fought back. Civil disorders and riots followed - and
Tiberius Gracchus was assassinated the next year.
Round two came ten years later when Tiberius’ younger brother, Gaius Gracchus, tried again to promote
land reform and make cheap grain available for the poor. He also proposed to extend Roman citizenship to
the peoples of Northern Italy. The Optimates, threatened once again, struck back with mob violence and
Gaius was murdered in 122. For ten years, uneasy Roman politicians jockeyed for power.
Round Three was ignited by Gaius Marius who was a general that had risen to high command despite
humble birth. During the last decade of the second century, he gained power by recruiting a private army
from landless peasants and promising to give them farms when their service was over. This created
soldiers who were more loyal to Marius than to Rome and helped Marius to become consul an amazing
seven (illegal) times. The Optimates and the Senate were unable to stop him and chaffed over their loss of
influence. Finally, they found a leader in Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who also formed an army loyal to him.
The stage was set for a civil war, which began when Marius seized Rome in 87. Marius genuinely tried to
help the poor, but also infuriated and embittered the Optimates by hunting down his enemies.
Unfortunately for his followers, Marius died suddenly the next year and Sulla, after a three-year civil war,
seized Rome and took a terrible revenge by inventing the Proscription List. (Any Roman whose name
was published the list was stripped of his citizenship and lost all protection under the law. Moreover,
reward money was given to any informer who gave information leading to the death of a proscribed man
and any person who killed a proscribed man was entitled to keep part of his estate.) A five-year reign of
terror and bloodshed followed until Sulla died in 78. Round Three ended and an exhausted Rome rested.
During the decade of the 60s, Marius’ nephew, Gaius Julius Caesar, began to climb the Cursus
Honorum. He gained fame and votes by sponsoring splendid public games – and went heavily into debt. In
59, he formed a Triumvirate (three-man dictatorship) with Gnaeus Pompey and Marcus Licinius
Crassus. Pompey got Spain and west; Crassus went off to fight Parthians (where he was captured and
killed) and Caesar led a Roman army into Gaul, which he conquered and brought into the Roman world.
His conquests paid his political debts and made him wealthy and powerful to the horror of his enemies.
Round Four began when Caesar had grown too powerful for his enemies who were led by Pompey. In
49, the Senate ordered him to give up his power (which would have sealed his death warrant), Caesar took
action. He crossed the River Rubicon (Alea iacta est), seized Rome, defeated Pompey in a short,
lightening war and was proclaimed dictator for life. Although he was from the line of the Clan Julii who
could trace their ancestry back to the kings (even claiming descent from Aeneas), Caesar was a social
liberal, who opposed the Optimates and pressed for social reforms including large-scale building projects
to employ the poor. He angered the Optimates even more by extending citizenship to people in the
provinces and even appointing Gauls to the Senate. A conspiracy of the elite murdered Caesar on the Ides
of March 44 BCE, but this only led to Round Five (the last round) and the fall of the republic.
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A new Triumvirate was formed between Octavian, Julius Caesar’s nephew, Mark Anthony, married to
Octavian’s sister, and a general named Lepidus. Lepidus was quickly edged out and Octavian took control
of Rome and the west, while Anthony took control of the east and made an alliance with Cleopatra (who
had already been his uncle Julius Caesar’s darling) and Egypt. Civil War soon again broke out and
Octavian defeated Anthony and Cleopatra at the great sea battle of Actium in 31. Both Anthony and
Cleopatra committed suicide, Egypt (and its huge quantities of grain) became a Roman province and an
exhausted Roman world accepted Octavian as their leader.
Octavian became the virtual dictator of Rome. Nevertheless, he was too wise to take the formal title of
king or dictator for life. He spent the next four decades keeping up the show or facade of Republican
government, while he became princeps (or first citizen), and both quietly and fundamentally restructured
the form of Roman government. He centralized power and carefully ruled from behind the scenes.
It is important to understand that in reality, Augustus was a dictator by persuasion, using a
combination of status, ruthlessness, patience and diplomacy to maintain his absolute power. His was
a monarchy disguised as a republic.
In 27 BCE, he allowed the Senate to confer upon him the title of Augustus (meaning the exalted one),
which implied that he was of semi-divine nature. Although he left the Senate and Republican
governmental institutions intact, he created a new bureaucracy loyal to him. And he found loyal
bureaucrats in Equites, or the wealthy merchants and landowners, who provided him with a core of civil
servants that would administer the Roman Empire until it the west fell in 476 C.E. and the Byzantine
Empire for a millennium more. Augustus ruled for an astonishing 45 years and when he died in 14 C. E.,
there was almost no one still living who could remember the old republic. So popular was Augustus, that
four members of his family succeeded him. However, it is important to remember that the emperorship
was never seen as hereditary. The theory was always that the Senate affirmed the emperor, but in reality, it
was the army who chose the emperor.
The Roman Empire can be divided into three phases:
1. The early empire lasting until the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 C.E.;
2. The crisis of the third century when the empire totters
3. A temporary revival before the fall of the west and survival of the Byzantine Eastern Empire.
The Julio-Claudian Dynasty began with the rule of Augustus which lasted from 27BCE to 14AD. He
never took the title of emperor, but is still considered the first emperor.
Tiberius succeeded Augustus and ruled from 14 to 37. He was the son of Livia, Augustus’ second wife,
adopted by Augustus and a great general in his own right. He was competent but became increasingly
corrupt and depraved - and finally finished his rein as a recluse on the island of Capri.
Caligula succeeded Tiberius and ruled from 37 to 41, and was an extravagant and sadistic grandson of
Augustus, whose excesses caused his own guard to assassinate him. He even appointed his favorite horse,
Incitatus, to a seat in the senate.
Claudius succeeded Caligula and ruled from 41 to 54. Claudius was the awkward and had a terrible
stutter but was competent emperor and able administrator who sponsored great public works projects.
Claudius also conquered Britain and was probably poisoned by Nero,
Nero succeeded Claudius and ruled from 54 to 68. Nero was another vicious grandson of Augustus and
most likely persecuted the emerging Christians for a great fire in Rome. Some scholars say he was
misunderstood and point out that his biographies were written by his enemies. At his suicide he is reported
to have said, “What an artist dies in me” ("Qualis artifex pereo,")
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Then, after a year’s chaos in 69 C.E. (often called the Year of the Four Emperors), Vespasian
(following the short reigned war-lord generals Galba, Otho, and Vitellius) restored order and founded the
short lived but effective Flavian Dynasty. Vespasian, who ruled from 69 to 79, was a good soldier and
emperor who was best known for his financial reforms and building projects including the Coliseum. On
his deathbed, is said to have quipped, “O my, I must be turning into a god!”
Vespasian was followed by his son Titus who had destroyed Jerusalem in 70 C.E. He reigned from 79 to
81 and was a good emperor who also initiated large building programs to provide employment and
beautify Rome. It was during his reign the Mt. Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii. Titus was probably murdered
by his brother Domitian, who ruled from 81 to 96, and like Caligula and Nero, was a sadistic monster
who was murdered by his own guard.
Then there followed the Era of the Five Good Emperors. Under these benevolent dictators, Rome
reached the pinnacle of its influence and power. Moreover the first four of these good emperors were able
to choose their successors by adopting worthy men sons rather than depending on hereditary sons. The
first was Nerva (96 to 98) whose short reign ended Domitian’s reign of terror and restored order. His
adopted was Trajan, who ruled from 98 to 117. He was a soldier general under whom the Roman Empire
reached its greatest extent. Unlike many great rulers of pre-Christian Rome, Trajan’s reputation remained
untarnished into modern times. There is a medieval legend (purely fiction) that Pope Gregory I resurrected
Trajan from the dead and baptized him into the Christian faith.
Trajan was succeeded by Hadrian who ruled from 117 to 138. Hadrian too was a competent general and
administrator who beautified Rome. A defensive barrier between Britain and the wild Picts of Scotland,
called Hadrians’s Wall, was named for him. Hadrian was followed by Antoninus Pius, who ruled from
138 to161, and was a gentleman-emperor who sent ambassadors to China. The last of the Good Emperors
was Marcus Aurelius, who ruled from 161 to180. He had to fight wars with the Germans and the
Parthians, but is best known as a stoic philosopher. His Meditations were not only a source for his own
guidance, but a sourcebook for stoic philosophy. His is most famous quote is probably "At dawn of day,
when you dislike being called, have this thought in mind: 'I am called to human labor; why then do I
make a difficulty if I am going out to do what I was born to do and what I was brought into the world to
do?'” Marcus Aurelius was unable to choose a worthy successor and so he was succeeded by his unstable
son, Commodus, whose reign is considered the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire.
Commodus’ instability is depicted the movie Gladiator. We will return to Roman history in Chapter.
Roman Culture and Society
Familia: the basic unit of Roman society was the family, which was headed by the eldest male, called the
Paterfamilias. In theory, he had absolute power or manus (hand), in Latin. Roman society was
hierarchical, that is where individuals are bound together by a complex series of obligations to people
above and below one’s own station in life. In Rome, this hierarchy was seen in the patron/client system
where people sought the patronage or help of stronger men. The stronger the patron was; the weaker, the
client generally was. The patron supported his clients with everything from legal advice to financial loans;
the client followed his patron in politics, labor on his land or even into battle.
Empire: like the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the Roman Empire brought together diverse peoples under
one political authority. Also like the Persians, the Romans governed their conquered peoples in an
enlightened manner. Citizenship was not free, but could be easily earned. The Empire was multicultural
where old cultures and their economies were linked to and interacted with new and forming cultures,
especially in Gaul, Spain, Germany and Britain.
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In the Western Empire, local elites allied themselves with Roman officials and like the old Roman
patricians began to use their power to mine natural resources, build latifundia and establish towns and
cities. During the Roman Empire Paris, London, Cologne, Mainz, Toledo and Segovia all became cities.
Latin mixed with the local languages and the proto-Romance languages began to appear, especially in
the lower classes - even in the streets of Rome.
Roman Peace: Augustus’ work laid the foundation for 200 years of peace throughout the Empire, which
came to be called the Pax Romana. The Republic and its institutions (even though the fiction was
maintained) were actually replaced by Imperial institutions, so that Romans in Italy and everywhere forgot
the republic and identified with the empire. During the Pax Romana, trade flourished and commercial
agriculture stimulated economic specialization. Well-built Roman roads (some still in use) linked the
empire and facilitated trade and communication from Mesopotamia to the Atlantic. Roman roads also
carried soldiers to keep the peace and support a postal system. Sea-lanes linked ports of the Mediterranean
as the Roman navy kept the seas largely free of pirates and the Mediterranean became a Roman lake,
which the Romans called Mare Nostrum, our sea.
Law: The development of a sophisticated legal system was one of Rome's most remarkable contributions
to European and later world civilization. Roman law dated back to 450 BCE to a law code called the
Twelve Tables. Roman law reached its peak during the Pax Romana when economic and political
conditions allowed Roman jurists (judges) to establish a body of law that applied to all the peoples of the
empire. Roman law established some principles that we take for granted such as defendants being
considered innocent until proven guilty or defendants having the right to confront their challengers in
court. Roman law also permitted judges the discretion to set aside laws that were clearly unfair.
After the Pax Romana Roman jurisprudence declined until the great Byzantine Emperor Justinian
collected, edited and codified all Roman law in his Digest or Body of Civil Law (Corpus Juris Civilis).
Architecture: during the last years of the Republic and during the empire, unbelievable wealth poured
into Rome. Augustus and his successors used that wealth to turn Rome into the most splendid city in the
world, as they built colossal statues, public baths (which were gymnasiums and libraries as well),
fountains fed by aqueducts for beauty and fresh water, triumphal arches, theatres, marble temples,
hippodromes (circuses or race tracks) and Coliseums where gladiatorial, animal and other public shows
were held. Augustus himself boasted that he had found Rome as city of brick, but left it a city of marble.
There were Fora or marketplaces where merchandise was bought and sold and Basilicas or large indoor
fora where business and legal matters were undertaken. VITU: provincial cities all tried to be as much like
Rome as possible.
Two structures of particular note are the Coliseum or Flavian Amphitheatre and the Pantheon. The
Coliseum was an enormous, elliptical stadium capable of holding 50,000 people. It was build between 72
and 80 by Vespasian and Titus and still stands today. The Coliseum hosted spectacular games that
included animal fights, the killing of prisoners by animals and other executions, naval battles, and combats
between gladiators. Roman engineers even filled it with water and naval battles were fought for the
amusement of the crowds. Scholars think that about 500,000 people died in the Coliseum. When one looks
at the Coliseum today, the question is naturally asked, “why is it in such bad shape?” The answer is the
same as the Pyramids in Egypt. Just as the Mamlukes in Medieval times removed the limestone exterior
layer of the pyramids to build their palaces in Cairo, so in Medieval Roman the wealthy used the Flavian
Amphitheatre as a public quarry to build their lavish houses and estates.
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The Pantheon was a temple to all the gods of the Roman state religion, but has been a Christian church
since the 7th century AD. As a result, it is the only Greco-Roman building which is completely intact and
been in use throughout its history. The original building was destroyed by a fire in 80 CE and completely
rebuilt by the Emperor Hadrian. The façade was rebuilt from the ancient building but the circular temple
behind it is a marvel of poured concrete. The lowest portion of the walls used sand mixed with mortar to
make regular concrete, but as the wall rose higher more pumice stone which was lighter than sand was
mixed with the mortar so that the walls on the top portion of the Pantheon are significantly lighter than
those at the bottom.
Technology: Roman conservatism seems to have resulted in technological pragmatism. Romans were
great preservers and transmitters, but many of their engineering skills seem to have been borrowed from
the Etruscans. The Romans were superb city planners. In their daily lives, they had glass windows, metal
pipes (indoor plumbing), flush toilets and sewers. Their aqueducts showed a skilled use of hydraulics and
many are still standing today. Eleven aqueducts supplied Rome with thousands of gallons of water a day.
The Pont du Gard in France (built around the year 19 CE) is perhaps the best preserved above ground
aqueduct. The city of Pompeii was buried in an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE and was buried by
volcanic ash. Its uncovering has provided an incredible glimpse of Roman daily life.
Status of Women: Although Roman society remained strongly patriarchal (especially in the early
Republic), women – over time - gained many rights in and outside the home. Women generally supervised
the home and were more partners than inferiors to their husbands. This tendency for women to gain
influence was stronger in the western half of the empire and stands in strong contrast to the cultures of
Southwest Asia, India and China. As the Empire grew, many women even gained considerable financial
power and owned large estates.
The Urban Poor: however increasing wealth, latifundia and huge numbers of slaves to do manual and
even administrative tasks created large numbers of citizens without jobs. These Latifundia forced farmers
off their lands. They swarmed into the cities and swelled the ranks of the urban poor. From the time of
Marius and Sulla, Roman authorities subsidized the poor with free grain and free public entertainment or
“bread and circuses.”
Slavery drove the Roman economy. Roman slavery was not based on skin color, but usually captivity – in
war, by pirates or from birth. Forms of slavery varied. Usually the more educated a slave, the better was
their lot. Uneducated slaves worked under terrible conditions as rowers in warships or mine-workers or
farm laborers. Educated slaves were often teachers or administrators and sometimes could even buy their
freedom. The most famous Roman slave rebellion took place in 73 BCE when a slave named Spartacus
terrorized central Italy for almost a year before eight Roman legions finally suppressed the rebellion.
Roman Philosophy and Religion
Roman religion was Indo European in origin, but the Romans constantly adopted new gods to their
pantheon. Like China, ancient Romans worshipped their ancestors, or their household gods called the
Lares and Penates. Their early pantheon was agricultural (like Pomona, the goddess of orchards), but
they eagerly adopted the Greek Olympian pantheon after their conquest of Greece. In fact, it was said that
the “conquered” Greeks conquered their “barbarian” (= Roman) conquerors. Thus Jupiter (= Zeus), Juno
(= Hera), Minerva (= Athena), Mars (= Ares), Vesta (= Hestia), Saturn (= Kronos), Vulcan (=
Hephaistos), Cupid (= Eros), and Neptune (= Poseidon) and Dionysus (=Bacchus).
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Nevertheless, these gods with their adulteries and sagas were as bankrupt morally as the Indo European
gods in India and Greece, so the Romans turned to other forms of religious and philosophical thought to
make sense of the meaning of life. Stoicism appealed to Roman intellectuals, especially orator and
republican senator Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43), the slave turned stoic Epictitus (55-125), and the
emperor Marcus Aurelius. Seek not that things, which happen, should happen as you wish; but wish
the things, which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life. (Epictetus,
Enchiridion)
Mithraism dated to Babylonian times. Mithras was a Zoroastrian god closely identified with the sun and
light. Mithraism taught a heaven and hell, a strong moral code with a last judgment and resurrection of the
dead. Mithraism was popular in both Rome and Persia and was a cult that appealed to soldiers because it
promised ecstatic and mysterious union with Mithras himself.
The Cult of Cybele represented the Greek earth/mother goddess Rhea. (Its roots date to Sumeria and
Egypt). Cybele was the goddess of nature and fertility. Because Cybele presided over mountains and
fortresses, her crown was in the form of a city wall. Eunuch priests called Corybantes, who led the
faithful in orgiastic rites accompanied by wild cries and the frenzied music of flutes, drums, and cymbals,
directed the cult of Cybele. Her annual spring festival celebrated the death and resurrection of her beloved
Attis. Thus, this cult of life, death and rebirth promised immortality.
The Cult of Isis was the most popular cult in Rome. Isis had brought back to life her husband Osiris. In
Hellenistic and Roman times, she was a central figure in the mystery religions. She represented divine
motherhood and her cult held the promise of immortality. It competed vigorously with Christianity.
D The Judeo-Christian Tradition
Judeo–Christian refers to a body of concepts and values held in common by Judaism and Christianity. In
world history, this shared tradition took root and grew in the Roman Empire and finally became the
fundamental basis for Western legal codes and morality, including ideas like honesty, pursuit of truth,
loyalty, fairness, concern for one’s neighbor and keeping one’s word.
The Hebrews/Israelites/Jews
We have seen that the ancient Hebrews were a shepherding people whose roots go back to the patriarch
Abraham. Abraham lived in Mesopotamia and around 2000 BCE he was told by his God to migrate
westward to a land called Canaan (today Palestine). His descendents were driven by famine into Egypt
where they were first welcomed, but later enslaved. Then the defining moment in Jewish history occurred
when a charismatic figure, Moses, came among them. He claimed to have talked to God, called Yahweh
or Jehovah, and with his help, freed the Hebrews and led them through the desert of Sinai back into
Canaan or the Promised Land.
The Hebrews reconquered Canaan and by 1000 BCE had set up a kingdom under David and Solomon.
David was noted for his love of Yahweh and Solomon for his wisdom, the great temple he built and the
power of his empire. After Solomon’s death his empire split into a northern kingdom called Israel and a
southern kingdom called Judah. Gradual decline set in and in 722 BCE, the Assyrians destroyed Israel. In
586, the Babylonians destroyed Judah and carried off much of the population to Babylon in the so-called
Babylonian Captivity. In 539, Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem in the relative
freedom of benign Persian rule. After Alexander, the Seleucids and then the Romans, ruled them.
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Finally, in 66 CE, the Zealots started a rebellion and Rome. The Roman general (later emperor), Titus,
destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE, destroying the rebuilt Temple of Solomon and scattering the Jews around
the Mediterranean Basin and Southwest Asia, often called the diaspora. Judaism never seriously
competed with the cult religions in the Roman Empire because the afterlife was not a doctrine believed by
all Jews and the religion itself was ethnically oriented and looked inwards not trying to make converts.
To understand the central core of Judaism it is necessary to understand that to the Jews history and
religion were interconnected. In other words, their religion was inseparable their social, economic and
political lives. As the years went by they wrote down the stories handed down to them from oral tradition
which became the Hebrew Bible. The central core of their religion was belief in a single (monotheistic)
God to whom they owed complete obedience and is found in the first five books of their Bible: Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, or as they called it, the Torah. These books they
considered to be Yahweh’s covenant with his people.
The Jews were the first people in the world to believe that freedom meant the responsibility to make
correct moral choices. They believed that disobedience to Yahweh’s laws brought consequences and
linked political disasters with widespread disobedience to the laws of the Mosaic Covenant. It is important
to understand that the Jews believed that men and women were made in God’s image and this produced a
strong sense of societal ethics in which the rich and strong were expected to help and protect the poor and
the weak. This morality eventually became the basis of the Western idea of equality before the law, which
was foreshadowed by Aristotle’s and the Roman’s notion of the rule of law or the idea that those in charge
of government are obliged to run government on behalf of the many and not for just the few.
The New Covenant: Christianity
Jesus of Nazareth, arguably the most influential person ever to have lived, was born about four BCE. He
was unknown until about the age of 30. He became charismatic preacher and many believed that he
worked miracles. Moreover, even though he taught devotion to God and love of his fellow men, he
offended many Jewish leaders because He claimed to be the Son of God. His enemies turned him over to
the Romans who crucified him abound 30 A.D. His followers claimed that he rose from the dead three
days later ascended to a place called heaven. His followers called him Christ (Cristo~ or “Anointed
One”), and taught that he promised eternal life to any person who followed him. At first only Jews
followed his teachings; but later non-Jews began to convert. His followers were soon called Christians.
Paul of Tarsus, both a Greek Jew and a Roman citizen, was an early convert to Christianity. Paul was a
well educated man and in his younger years persecuted the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, now called
Christians. Then he had a conversion experience in which he had a vision of Jesus. He converted and
joined the Christian party. He did not split from Jewish Christians, but began to travel and used the Roman
roads and shipping land to carrying Jesus of Nazareth’s message to non-Jews. He founded many Christian
Communities from Asia Minor to Rome itself. He also wrote extensively and explained Christian
teachings. Most Jewish Christians died out, but Paul’s conversion of the gentiles (Jewish word for nonJews) began a religious revolution. Paul’s unique contribution was that in his thirteen letters or Epistles,
he synthesized (combined or made compatible) Platonic, Aristotelian, and Stoic thought with the teachings
of Jesus of Nazareth.
Growth of Christianity: For a time, Christianity remained a Jewish sect but slowly differences
profoundly split the two groups. Like the Jews, Christians were ethical monotheists and accepted the
Jewish scriptures, but they added their own scriptures and modified Judaism so that a new religion, albeit
based on the old, emerged. Moreover, the Christians refused to worship the Roman state gods and were
selectively but on occasion brutally persecuted. (Paul of Tarsus was beheaded during the reign of Nero.)
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Nevertheless, in spite of persecution, Christianity grew rapidly during the Pax Romana. Its Law of Love
appealed strongly to the lower classes, urban populations and women. Christianity became the most
influential religion in the Mediterranean world by the end of the third century because it (1) accorded
honor and dignity to lower standing individuals, (2) gave spiritual meaning to every act of life, (3) taught
equality of the sexes and (4) promised eternal life for true believers.
As the Christian Church grew and organized, it adopted a hierarchical form of administration. The basic
unit was the Diocese governed by a Bishop assisted by priests or presbyters and deacons. All bishops
traced their lineage (who consecrated them) back to the apostles and they in turn ordained all priests and
deacons. These were the clergy who were authorized to perform religious ceremonies, especially the Mass
(or Holy Communion, Lord’s Supper or Divine Liturgy), which commemorated the Last Supper.
Gradually the bishops of larger cities gained authority of bishops in nearby cities and became archbishops,
metropolitans, patriarchs and in Rome, Papa or the Pope. By the end of the Roman Empire there were five
of these Patriarchates: Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria. In Chapter 4, we shall
see how the emperor Constantine in 313 legalized and supported Christianity and then in 380 the emperor
Theodosius made Christianity the State Religion.
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