Classical Western History

In examining the impact that the ancient world has had on modern Western civilization, the two ancient civilizations which are frequently understood as having had the greatest influence are Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. These two civilizations would eventually come to shape much of what would become the modern European culture, politics and society, and by extension, a vast proportion of global culture and society. In examining the trajectory of modern history in an era of globalization of Western ideas and modes of living, the importance of these civilizations in world history is extensive, contributing to cultural, political and social trends which may well dominate the globe in the future.

To begin, one of the major influencing factors of the US Constitution is Ancient Rome. Ancient Rome impacted the US Constitution because it was a republic. A republic is a form of government where leaders receive their power from the people. This practice of republicanism allowed the citizens of Ancient Rome to have the ability to vote for officials and representatives. Like the Roman Republic, the US Constitution is a republican form of government where citizens can also vote for officials like congressmen, senators, and presidents. A republican form of government was implemented in the US Constitution because under British rule, the colonists had very little representation in government. This caused them to become enraged, so when creating the US

Romans were a civilization that originated after the Greek culture. They, like Greeks, saw an extreme significance in the idea of a love for one’s country and loyalty. The Romans, however, were more concerned with public affairs such as education, sanitation, and health. They held a strong connection with their ancestors and wished to imitate what the ancient Romans did. Although Romans rejected the idea of a Rex, or king, they favored the common hero. They wanted a leader who a “regular Joe”, someone who was average and could still led an average life after doing extraordinary things. The Romans also had a very defined government that was broken into consuls, senate, and assembly. There were two consuls who served in place of the king as the leaders of the Roman Empire. Next in succession was the senate, comprised only of patricians who debated and passed legislation. Finally, there was the assembly made for the plebeians to approve laws.

In addition to Politics and Science, Art and Architecture from Greece influenced Western civilization. The Athenians built many important building using long structures called columns, such as in the Parthenon (seen in document seven). These can be seen in many buildings across America, such as the Stock exchange and the Lincoln memorial. Another example of Athenian Art was the Olympics. You can see in document eight that the Greeks valued sports and were very athletic. This contribution still exists today all over the globe. Sports are very important to people of all

Roman government is the origin for all of our current government system. The Romans has three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The executive had two councils that decided on pretty much every affair within the empire. In the legislative branch was a senate, which advised the executive branch. Lastly in the judicial they had a Supreme Court. Also there was a written law consisting of twelve tablets that gave allowed the citizens to know their rights. As one can tell, the Roman system of government is much like the one currently residing in the United States of America.

     The civilization of the Roman Republic and the Empire that followed it was the first of its kind. Earlier civilizations had been based on a more abstract worldview that led humans to be creative for the will of the gods or to preserve the institutions that fostered rational thought. Rome started as a simple, self-reliant nation made up of farmers who lived the best they could to support their families and community. With an intense drive to succeed and its advanced military, Rome became the greatest civilization of its time. The civilization of 21st century America can follow its roots two thousand years back to Rome.

The Ancient Greeks were the first to put the power of a nation in the hands of the average citizen, they created the idea of the democratic government, practiced as a direct democracy. Voting, political assembly, and official citizenship are all concepts that can be traced back to Classical Grecian ideas .The Romans developed the concept of the representative democracy .This was best

When the Framers of the Constitution met in Philadelphia, they came together with one common purpose in mind. They needed to form a fair and solid system of government that would stand the test of time; one that was both fair for the people and would not involve a monarchy. Each of these men had their own ideas on what would constitute this system, however, so many compromises had to be made. Together, the men gathered in Philadelphia created a federal system of government and drafted a constitution outlining this government. They took care in developing three branches of federal government with a system of checks and balances so that no one branch would gain too much power, thus avoiding any

The Greeks where the first democracy in the world. There government was made up of six thousand members all of witch where male citizens. They voted on problems that needed to be solved and if a law was to pass a majority vote was needed. Now in the United States also has a democracy. Instead of having six thousand people voting and making the decisions all the people vote on a representative that makes the decisions in the country.

The United States Constitution was influenced by Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome in multiple ways. These ways included republicanism, Ancient Greece’s direct democracy, and Ancient Rome’s branches of government. Republicanism was the principle that states the fact that the people were allowed to vote. In Ancient Rome, the Senators were elected by the patricians who were aristocrats. Aristocrats were wealthy landowners, and they were citizens of Ancient Rome. So technically, the Senators were chosen by the citizens. Ancient Rome had a republican government, so they elected leaders that made important decisions for them. A republican government is also known as an indirect democracy, which is the form of government that the United States

There have been many amazing and influential empires in the Western Empire. They each had great innovations and a unique culture. Of the western empire the most prevalent is Rome. The Roman civilization did not just flourish overnight; it took twelve hundred years of developing and creation. This empire or civilization owes much of its heritage and culture to the Ancient Greeks, along with dominating civilizations. The Romans took a large amount of social innovations from other empires, and applied the information in a manner that would be beneficial to their society. There are an infinitive amount of pieces that fit into the legacy of the Roman Empire. The founding

In ancient times, the Greek and Roman Empires were the leading figures in their world. In these civilizations, the world saw continuous new inventions of items, thoughts, and ways of living. As ancient Greece and Rome grew, the characteristics of culture grew as well, with cities, arts and architecture, technology and science, social structure, government, religion and philosophy, and writing and literature becoming more diverse and modernized. Though they began nearly 3,000 years ago, the Greek and Roman Empires’ advancements still impact the modern world in all areas of culture, particularly in government, religion and technology.

The ancient Greeks and Romans were perhaps two of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world. These two civilizations thrived in their ancient environments which eventually led to a vast amount of prosperity within these two cultures. It is because of this prosperity that these ancient cultures were able to make a variety of advancements in literature, architecture, art and a variety of other fields. These two civilizations also produced some of the ancient world’s greatest writers, leaders, and philosophers. The cultures of ancient Greece and Rome made a number of contributions to western civilization in the form of advancements in literature, architecture, art, government, and philosophy.

Believe it or not, the democratic principles, like our government, of today is based off of the government established by the Roman Republic. First off, the Romans created a separation of power in the government, as a system of checks and balances. For example, the Executive branch of the Roman Republic had two consuls, who were elected by the assembly and served for one year as chief executives and commander-in-chief of the army. This is much like the Executive branch of the United States, where we have one president who serves a four year term as chief executive and commander-in-chief of the army. Another example of commonality between the United States and the Roman Republic is their Judicial branch.

While both Roman and Greek cultures greatly influenced Western Civilization, Greeks contributed more to the western world than the Romans. The Greeks used their own ideas and thought of new ways to add to their culture, while the Romans mostly mixed and matched ideas from other civilizations and cultures to make their own. The Romans took up the inheritance of the Greeks adapted it to their own language and national traditions. (Grant 2)The Greeks introduced many new ideas and traditions, the most important being democracy - Athenian democracy in particular.