Compare and contrast the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome

Ralone Wilson

R . Chris Davis

Humanities 1301

26-May-2007

Ancient Civilization of Greece and Rome

Introduction

The term `ancient civilization ' refers to a society that existed long ago . It is often used to describe societies that developed around the Mediterranean Sea starting around 3000 B .C . and ending in A .D . 476 with the fall of the Roman Empire

Ancient Greek civilization can be traced back to the Minoan (muh-noh-uhn ) civilization that developed about 3000 B .C . on the island of Crete . Crete is located south of modern-day Greece in

Aegean Sea . The civilization is named for king Minos , the legendry ruler of Greece . By about 1600 B .C . small villages were established on the Greek mainland by the people from the north . By about 1450 B .C . these villages had grown into larger towns built around palaces . [O 'Donnell 9 1-22]

The civilizations of Greece and Rome were 2 of many civilizations that flourished around Mediterranean Sea region during this period . Ancient Greece reached its peak about 2 ,500 years ago and is often called the `birth place of Western civilization . Many of our modern ideas about science , philosophy , government and art are based on the work of ancient Greek . Ancient Rome reached its peak over 1 ,900 years ago . Rome borrowed its culture heavily from ancient Greek culture . Because the Roman Empire grew so large and lasted for many centuries , it also had a great influence on Western Civilization . Greek Roman Philosophical traditions and their Characteristics

The Hellenistic philosophy is hard to study partly on account of its success . The teachings of the major schools , beginning in the late fourth century B .C .E . at Athens , had a continuous history of dissemination and elaboration until the early centuries C .E . at Rome Where some of the most valuable writings in these traditions are produced and where philosophy exerts an enormous influence on the literary and the political culture . The major works of Greek Hellenistic philosophers such as Epicurus , Zeno , and Chrysippus survived one might decide to limit such a study to the Greek beginnings of the Schools thus to a single culture and period . But the evidence does not permit this . From the vast output if these enormously prolific philosophers only fragments and reports survive for the Stoics and , for Epicurus only fragments and reports plus three brief letters summarizing his major teachings , and to collections of maxims . There is , of course ample latter evidence about the Greek source there are also whole original works of Epicurean and Stoic and Skeptic thought from a latter period (above all from Rome . The lack of coincidence between early date and textual wholeness makes the task of selection difficult

But when one turns to later sources , especially to Roman sources , it does not seem sufficient simply to raid them for evidence toward the reconstruction of the Greek sources , as is frequently done . One must face the fact that these Roman philosophical works- such as the De Rerum Natura of Lucretius and dialogues...