Western Civilization

Rome And Athens In Comparison

In to survive , a nation must have a powerful and strong infrastructure to keep the two main issues that can collapse an empire from occurring : threats at home and abroad and economic depression Internally , Rome 's political system provided an advanced political /societal structure where laws existed to maintain . These laws where enforced by the power and weight of Rome 's military . Rome 's military was the strongest in the world and was able to repel invaders and conquer foreign lands in invasions of imperial conquest p

Rome was also safe from any economic collapse as the empire had a burgeoning and robust economy that was supported by strong trade with other nations . The Empire was always seeking to greatly expand its trade routes and did so with quite frequency

The search for grain to feed her armies and the need for the raw materials of war , such as metals and animal hides prompted Roman traders to look to inland Europe for these materials : A Phocaean Greek colony had existed at Massilia (mod . Marseilles ) since the eighth century B .C It was a relatively simple matter for Rome to tap these markets especially since treaty relations had existed between Rome and Massilia for some time (McKeon

Such early forms of economic globalization provided significant longevity to the Roman Empire , but benign expansion was not Rome 's forte Imperial conquests also contributed to the wealth of the Empire and Rome 's use of slaves who provided labor services to the empire at no cost save the cost of the lives of the slaves . In a pre-industrial economy , land and labor are two primary ingredients of wealth , the larger the Roman Empire became , the more people it subjugated , the more taxes it collected (Hopkins ) Once again , Rome 's greatest asset was its military . As long as the military could expand the Empire , protect it , and open the gateway for economic expansion , Rome would prosper

Unlike Rome , Athens would not endure longevity . Despite the fact that Athens developed one of the most advanced civilizations of its time whose contributions to the arts , politics and mathematics are still impact cultures to this day , it was a civilization that did not have the durability of the Roman Empire . Athens simply did not have the ability to protect and preserve its infrastructure the way that Rome did Without an ability to protect the city 's infrastructure from threats in a part of the world known for imperialist invasions , Athens was doomed to fall

Prior to its fall , Athens was involved in a 27 year period of protracted war and the lack of a military supremacy eroded the civilization During this period , Athens faced a series of adversaries the most enduring opponents were the Persians . The Persian army inflicted irreparable damage to Athens and contributed greatly to the weakening of the government

Then , a new adversary struck the city of Athens in a manner for which there was no defense . A...