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CHAPTER 5Classical Civilizations in the Middle East and Mediterranean

Learning Objectives

5.1 Why was the rise of Persia such an important development in the early part of the classical period?

5.2 What changes occurred between the Greek and Hellenistic periods in the eastern Mediterranean?

5.3 What were the causes of Roman expansion?

5.4 What are the main issues in defining the Greek and Roman political legacy?

5.5 What was the relationship between Greek and Roman culture?

5.6 How did the social structures of the classical Mediterranean and classical China compare?

5.7 What were the main legacies of classical Mediterranean societies?

Chapter Outline

I. The Persian Tradition550 B.C.E., Cyrus the Great

The Persian Empire: northern Middle East into northwest IndiaConquered peoples retained culture such as cuneiformAdvanced iron technologyEnormous impact

Political Styles and InnovationsEmphases

Toleration of diversityAuthoritarianism

Little power sharingCentralization of laws, tax collectionUnified infrastructure

Paved roads Connecting Indian border with Mediterranean and EgyptMovement for commerce and troops

Regularly spaced inns, rest and change of horsesPostal service

Growth of new trans-regional tradeCentralized bureaucracy

Control of officials in distant regions of empireOversight of tax collection

ZoroasterianismZoroaster (630–550 B.C.E.)

Revised Sumerian polytheismIntroduced monotheismBanned intoxicants and animal sacrifice

192Copyright © 2015, 2011, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

DoctrinesLife a battle between two divine forces: good and evilIndividual salvation a free choice of God over evilLast judgment

The righteous gain heaven, “House of Song”The evil gain eternal pain

Spread widely among emperors and population alikeEnormous effect on Judaism, Christianity, IslamSmall groups of Zoroastrians survive today

Distinctive painting and architecture, spread beyond bordersDurability

Long period of peace, prosperity in Middle EastConquests included North Africa and Indian River valleyAt height, empire of 14 million peoplePersia proper (present day Iran) 4 million peoplePersian language and culture survived Hellenistic periodPersian states persisted in east

II. Patterns of Greek HistoryA. GreeceRiver valley civilizations spread to Greek islandsGreeks Indo-European peopleBy 2000 B.C.E., Crete showed influence of EgyptBy 1400 B.C.E., Mycenae on Greek peninsulaInfluenced by Crete

Memorialized by Homer, Trojan WarWaves of invadersDestroyed by 800 B.C.E.

Stages of Greek Development800 B.C.E.–600 B.C.E.

Mountainous terrainRapid rise of city-states

Tyranny of oneAristocratic council

Extensive tradeCommon cultural formsCommon written language, derived from Phoenician alphabetShared celebrations

Olympic GamesTwo leading city-states

Sparta: military aristocracy, slave populationAthens: commercial, use of slaves, proud of artistic, intellectual leadership

500 and 449 B.C.E.Sparta, Athens, smaller states together defeated Persian invasion

During and after this period, high point of Greek, especially Athenian, culturePeriod of colonization

Eastern MediterraneanSouthern Italy

5th Century B.C.E.Rule of Pericles in Athens

Aristocrat


Democratic political structureCitizens assemblies

Elected officialsPassed laws

Pericles ruled by negotiation, influenceConstrained further expansionCould not prevent war between Athens and Sparta

431–404 B.C.E.Peloponnesian Wars

338 B.C.E.Philip II of Macedon conquered Greek city-states

Son, Alexander the Great, extended Macedonian EmpireMiddle East, Persia, into India, through EgyptAlexander died at age 33 after 13 years of conquest

Successor states ruled regionallyHellenistic period

Extended, consolidated Greek art and cultureBlended with Middle Eastern formsTrade flourishedScientific centers flourished like at Alexandria

III. Patterns of Roman HistoryRepresents final stage of classical Mediterranean civilization1st century C.E., Rome subjugated Greece and Hellenistic kingdoms

Origin of Roman stateLocal monarchy in central Italy around 800 B.C.E.509 B.C.E., aristocrats drove out monarchyEstablished Roman Republic

RepublicRegional conquestsExpansionPunic Wars 264 to 146 B.C.E.

CarthageHannibalRome seized western Mediterranean, including Greece and Egypt

Political instabilityAmbitious generalsRebellion of the poor

45 B.C.E. Julius Caesar defeated adversaries in civil war, ends Republic27 B.C.E. Augustus Caesar triumphed, instituted structure of Roman Empire200 years of peace, prosperity to Mediterranean world and up into Europe180 C.E. marks beginning of slow fall for next 250 yearsInvaders overturned the government in Rome in 476 C.E.Manifestation of decline

Trade levels fellBirth rate fellGovernment less effective

Two strong emperors: Diocletian and Constantine313 C.E. Constantine tried to unite empire under ChristianityIn west, government local


Empire unable to supply order or justiceArmies filled with non-RomansInability to defend against influx of invadersSimilar timing, experience as Gupta India and Han China

SummaryMediterranean civilization built on earlier culturesTook firm shape in Greek city-statesIntroduced diverse political formsCommercially based economyColoniesDecline of city-statesMacedonian conquest

Formation of Hellenistic world from Middle East to EgyptRoman RepublicDistinguished by political virtue, stability

Embarked on conquestsReplaced Republic with Empire

Empire controlledMediterraneanWestern, southeastern EuropeNorth Africa

200 years of peace, prosperity, glory

IV. Greek and Roman Political InstitutionsPolitics extremely important“Politics” derived from “polis,” the Greek word for city-stateAthenian and Roman concept of “the good life”

Political participationDiscussing affairs of state

Geopolitical influenceCity-states surrounded by several hundred square milesRelatively smallIntense local identification, sense of ownershipConcern for rights and obligationsCivic military duty

Even under EmpireLocal city-states relatively autonomousPride in Roman citizenship

Concept of active citizenship unique to Mediterranean civilizationNo unifying set of political institutions to rival imperial ChinaDiverse political forms, comparatively more similar with IndiaLater societies, reflected on diverse Mediterranean political forms

Monarchy not preferredRule by “tyrants” common

“Tyranny” a Greek termEffective rulersPromoted public worksProtected common people from abusive aristocracyHellenistic kings adopted these attributesRoman generals adopted these attributes


A. GreeceDemocracy (derived from Greek demos, “the people”)

Alternative political form5th century B.C.E. Athens

Rejected aristocratic rule and tyrantsDirect democracy

General assembliesAll citizens membersThose present made all major decisions of stateMet every 10 days

Executive officers, judges Chosen for brief termsSubject to review by assemblyChosen by lot

Women had no political rightsHalf of adult males not citizens

SlavesForeigners

Not like todayDid elicit widespread political participation and devotionEmbodied democratic principles consistent with today

Pericles led Athens during period of highest gloryWeakness of direct democracy apparent during Peloponnesian Wars

Majoritarian politicsPursuit of reckless policy for private ends

Aristocratic assembly the most common political structureDeliberations established guidelines for state policyCheck on executive powerSparta an example

Military aristocracyImposed rigorous military service on elitesPower over large slave population

Pericles in Athens was an aristocrat“Aristocracy” derives from Greek “rule of the best”Belief in class capable of political virtue

B. RomeRoman Republic

Constitutional attempt to reconcile political formsReliance on principle of aristocracyCitizen assemblies

Elect magistratesNo legislative action


MagistratesRepresent interests of common people

SenateLegislative bodyComposed mainly of aristocrats

Executive officesComposed of senatorsTwo Consuls

Shared primary executive powerDictator

Appointed during crisesIdeal of public service

Cultivated in SenateEloquent public speakingInterest in the general good

Classical Mediterranean political theoryAristocratic political culturePolitical participationPolitical ethicsDuties of citizensImportance of incorruptible servicePolitical skills like oratory

Cicero, senator and author of political theoryContrast with Confucianism

Greater emphasis on participation in deliberative bodiesGreater emphasis on analysis of political forms

Roman EmpireRetained strong local autonomy

Outright overthrow of distant rule, exceptionalExample, dissolution of Jewish state in 63 C.E.Response to major local rebellionGeneral tolerance for local customs and religions

Preserved Senate, though more as form than contentStrong, well-organized armyCodified, equitable law

Roman LawGreek precedent

8th century B.C.E. AthensBalance between property rights and needs of the poorAccess to law courts, administered by fellow citizens

Roman precedent450 B.C.E., Twelve TablesRestraint on upper-class arbitrary actionShared legal principles between wealthy and commoners

Roman Law of Roman EmpirePrinciple of rule of law not of individuals

Steadily took over role of fathers, landholders in some instancesPrinciple that law should be flexible to circumstance without varying widelyPrinciple that common sense should prevailPrinciple of law as primary regulator of social life

Expansion of citizenship


Roman-appointed judgesUniform laws

Unified property and commercial lawPrinciple that officials are subject to the lawPrinciple that law should be fair and reasoned

Government functionsConcentration on system of courts and the militarySecuring supplies of grainPublic works

Roads, harbors for military transport and commerceStadiums, public baths

City of RomeOver 1 million inhabitants“Bread and circuses” policy

Gladiators and other entertainmentsCheap food

Colonies of Romans also given theaters, stadiums, baths, etc.Particularly important for Romans stationed far away, such as in England

Official religionReligious festivalsReinforced loyalty to stateOther religions tolerated as long as not in conflict with state loyaltyAttacks on Christians

IrregularResult of Christian refusal to pay respects to state

Chief political legacies of Mediterranean worldLocalismFervent political interestsIntense loyalty to the stateDiversity of political systemsPreference for aristocratic ruleImportance of lawUnusually elaborate and uniform set of legal principlesSheer accomplishment of Roman Empire

Unifying a region never before or since bound togetherThere was attention to careful legal proceduresThere was no clear definition of individual rightsWith the exception of first 200 years of Roman Empire, war not uncommonSometimes, emphasis on duty to state could lead to a totalitarian framework

Sparta such an example

V. Religion and CultureGreeks and Romans did not create world religion

India, Persia, some extent China, didChristianity arose, developed during Roman Empire

Spread eased by Roman infrastructure and peaceReligion itself not a product of Greco-Roman cultureWould become influenced by Greco-Roman worldOf historical importance only after Empire began its decline

Greco-Roman religion


Spirits of nature as gods and goddesses involved in human affairsGreek and Roman pantheons differently named, but much the samePantheon reflected natural phenomena, occupations, literature, historyPolitical importance of ceremonies to the gods

Foretelling futureBringing good harvests, etc.

Greco-Roman religion had a this-world, human orientationStories like soap operas

Engendered literary tradition Common heritage with India

Gods and goddessesExpression of human passions and foiblesSymbols of inquiry into human natureFocus on manipulating human affairs and meanings

Different from Indian interest in higher planes of spiritualityLack of spirituality divided Greco-Roman population

Ordinary people drawn to mystery religions coming out of Middle EastProvided greater solace in times of difficultySense of contact with the divine

Upper classes dissatisfied with lack of ethical contentEstablished moral philosophies

Moral systems such as Aristotle’s in Greece, Cicero’s in RomeFocus on personal moderation, balance in human behaviorStoics emphasized inner moral independence, discipline, and braveryVarious moral systems were major contributions

Developed independently from religionLater blended with Christianity

Philosophy and ScienceClassical philosophy and political theory

Emphasized powers of human thoughtSocrates in Athens (b. 469 B.C.E.)

Question conventional wisdomChief duty: improvement of the soulAthenian government thought he was undermining loyaltyGave Socrates choice of suicide or exileSocrates chose suicideLegacy: rational inquiry demands skeptical questioning

Greek interest in rationalitySome similarity with ConfucianismGreater emphasis on questioning and abstract speculationsCarry over into inquiry concerning physical natureNo radically new scientific findings from Greece or RomeFocus on rational orderSpeculations concerning universal structure

Mathematical constructsGreek, Hellenistic work in geometry impressiveTheorems of Pythagoras

Hellenistic scientific advancement, especially from Middle East and EgyptAnatomy

Galen on medical treatmentEuclid on geometry


Ptolemy on sun’s rotation around the earthContradicted Middle Eastern knowledgeBecame standard Western belief for extended period

Roman scienceTaught Greek and Hellenistic science at school

Roman engineering unique achievementsRoadsAqueductsArches

Art and literature conveyors of Greco-Roman valuesReligion inspired artHuman-centered qualities themes

Realistic portrayalsBeauty of the human formGods as foils for explorations into human nature

Sappho, female Greek poet, around 600 B.C.E.Dance and music vital to festivals but precise styles not well-preservedDrama central role in culture

Comedies and tragediesEmphasis on tragedies

Human reason, balance precarious virtues Humans easily ensnared in emotion and uncontrollable consequencesSophocles’ Oedipus, term still used as a psychological condition

Epic traditionIliad, Odyssey attributed to Homer in the 8th century B.C.E.Virgil used epic form to link Roman and Greek histories and mythsRome contributed to poetic formDemonstration of richness of Latin language

Dramas performed for thousands of peopleVisual arts

SculptureExample: Phidias in 5th century B.C.E. AthensRomans continued heroic-realist tradition

ArchitectureGreeks invented “classical” architecture

Monumental constructionSquare or rectangularColumned porticosDoric, Ionic, Corinthian columnsFilled with sculptures

Roman engineeringGrander scaleDomes

Uses in Rome:Public everyday spaces: temples, baths, marketplacesPrivate homes: villas around courtyardsStructures for popular entertainments: chariot races, gladiators

Roman style blended with Christianity during the later empireGreeks also pursued ceramicsRomans also pursued painting


VI. Economy and Society in the MediterraneanPolitics and formal culture urban phenomenaMajority of Greeks and Romans were farmers

Local rituals and festivalsTied to concerns like harvest

Concerns for an afterlifeFree farmers owned their land

Substantial population in Greece and RomeConstant tension with large landholders

Attempts to appropriate landForce free farmers into tenancy

Issue of free farmingShaped politics between tyrants and aristocratsShaped politics between democrats and aristocrats

Decline of Roman RepublicResult of too many farmers’ dependency on large landownersLost ability to vote freely

A. Agriculture and TradeGreek and much Italian soil unsuitable for grain though grain necessary

Shifted production to olives and grapesFor cooking and wine

Forced conversion to market economyCapital investment neededAdequate sales needed to purchase life’s necessitiesReason so many farmers went into debtGave advantage to large landholders

Production to scaleGreater access to capital

Commercial agriculture chief reason to establish empireGreeks, especially Athens, established colonies to gain access to grain productionTraded olive oil, wine, manufactured products, silverRome, sought its granary in Sicily and then North Africa

Heavy grain cultivation in North Africa led to soil depletionAccounts for later reduced agricultural fertility

Trade key concernPrivate merchants transported goodsGovernments invested in regulatory practices and infrastructureLuxury items from craftsworkers embellished upper-class lifestylesDesired luxury items from India and ChinaWestern disadvantage as their products were cruder

Exported animal skins, exotic African animals, precious metalsStatus of merchants

Higher than ChinaLess than IndiaIn Greece, merchants usually foreignIn Rome, clearly recognized but not fully accepted as patricians

B. SlaverySlaves key ingredient of classical economy


AthensJustified in Aristotle’s philosophyHouseholdsSilver mines, especially brutal condition

SpartaAgricultural work

RomeHouseholdsTutoring children of elites

Cultured Greeks highly valuedMinesAgricultural workSteady spread from final years of Republic

ThemeSlaves necessarySlaves come from conquered territoriesIncreased need for military expansion

TechnologyGreek improvements

ShipbuildingNavigation

Roman improvementsEngineering urban living, troop movements, etc.

Little interest in agricultural or manufacture improvementsUpper-class interests in politics and artSlave labor inhibited need for efficiency

Family Tight patriarchal family structureWomen had vital economic functions in farming and agricultural householdsUpper class Roman women influential in householdsIn law and culture, women inferiorFemale infanticide practiced

Potential drain on family economyHusbands had considerable rights over wivesRoman law modified traditional family controls

Many Greek and Roman women active in businessWomen could control urban property, even if only a minority shareGeneralizations

Few can be made, as the classical Mediterranean world was diverseMany people lived as farmers in the manner of their ancestorsTempting to remember only urban achievements

These exerted the greatest influence on later agesOrdinary life had its own influence

Posed own challenge, opportunity for new movements like Christianity


C. Pressing the EnvironmentRome’s economy had serious environmental consequences

Air pollutionGarbageLead poisoningDeforestationOver-grazing and over-farming

VII. Toward the Fall of RomeFall not like Han China

No disruption, revival pattern of civilizationFall not like Gupta India

No central religion to link civilizationsFurther complications

Collapse not uniform across territoryNo single civilization rose to claim mantle of Greco-Roman worldNo across-the-board maintenance of institutions or valuesGreco-Roman world would live on, but selectively

A. A Complex Legacy600 years of Persia, Greece, Hellenistic period600 years of RomeGreek legacy

Political ideasArt and philosophyNot politicsNot religion

Complication in North American appropriation of Greco-Roman worldSelf-conscious roots in U.S. Constitution and theory of framersPublic buildings copied from classical modelsWestern education steeped in Greco-Roman historyHowever, no straight line between worldsGreater direct line with Middle Eastern legacyMany revivals and modifications before Greek science impacted EuropeDemocracy did not spread out of Greece

Complication regarding PersiaHellenistic conquest mutual cultural exchange

Greek forms introduced in PersiaPersian bureaucracy, centralization copied by Hellenistic kingsZoroastrianism gained wider range of influence

Judaism, Christianity, Islam influencedNo tidy homogenization

Later Persian kings reasserted Persian waysMiddle East point of exchange between merchants and cultures


Chapter SummaryThe classical civilizations that sprang up on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea from about 800 B.C.E. until the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 C.E. rivaled their counterparts in India and China in richness and impact. Centered first in the peninsula of Greece, then in Rome, the new Mediterranean culture did not merely constitute a westward push of civilization from its earlier bases in the Middle East and along the Nile. They also represented the formation of new institutions and values that would reverberate in the later history of the Middle East and Europe alike. For most Americans, classical Mediterranean culture constitutes “our own” classical past. We can clearly recognize the connections and our own debt without adhering to the notion that the Mediterranean world somehow dominated the classical period. Greco-Roman history is one of the three major classical civilizations, more dynamic than its Chinese and Indian counterparts in some respects, but noticeably less successful in others. Classical Mediterranean civilization is complicated by the fact that it passed through two centers of influence during its centuries of vigor. Roman interests were not identical to those of Greece, although the Romans carefully preserved most Greek achievements. For several centuries, the Persian Empire far surpassed Greece in significance, certainly in the Middle East but also in the eastern Mediterranean more generally. The Empire established significant traditions still visible in present day Iran and generated one of the significant religions in world history, in Zoroastrianism.

The Persian Tradition. The Persians developed different political and cultural values than the Greeks. They influenced many historical currents, including modern Iran. About 550 B.C.E., Cyrus the Great established a Persian empire as successor to the Mesopotamian states of the past. The Persians allowed traditional cultures to continue, and advanced iron technology. Persian politics featured several emphases. The first was wide tolerance. The Persian Empire embraced a host of languages and cultures, and the early Persian rulers were careful to grant considerable latitude for this diversity. Second, however, was a strong authoritarian streak aimed at centralizing law and tax collection. Third, Persian rulers invested in infrastructure to facilitate communication, commerce, and the movement of troops. They built expansive roads dotted with inns, and established the first postal system. These achievements would help connect the Middle East to trade routes coming from central and eastern Asia, a vital step in the growth of new trans-regional commercial connections. The religious leader Zoroaster introduced a religion emphasizing the importance of choosing between the divine forces of good and evil; a last judgment decided whether one deserved eternal heaven or eternal pain. The religion retained a wide hold for a considerable period of time and its ideas and beliefs strongly affected Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Persian rulers expanded the empire and provided much of the Middle East with a long period of peace and prosperity. Although ultimately conquered by Alexander, Persian language and culture remained influential. After the Hellenistic period, a series of Persian empires arose in the northeastern part of the Middle East, competing with Roman holdings and later states. Persian art would affect not only the region, but also India and the wider Middle East.

Patterns of Greek History. Even as Persia developed, a new civilization took shape to the west, building on a number of earlier precedents. The island of Crete showed the results of Egyptian influence by 2000 B.C.E. An early kingdom in southern Greece, strongly influenced by Crete, developed by 1400 B.C.E. around the city of Mycenae. This was the kingdom later memorialized in Homer’s epics about the Trojan War. Mycenae was then toppled by a subsequent wave of Indo-European invaders, whose incursions destroyed civilization on the peninsula until about 800 B.C.E. The rapid rise of civilization in Greece was based on the creation of strong city-states ruled by either a tyranny of one ruler or an aristocratic council. Trade developed rapidly, as did common cultural forms, shared festivals such as the Olympic Games, and a written language derived from the Phoenician alphabet. Sparta and Athens came to be the two leading city-states. The first represented a strong military aristocracy; the other was a more diverse commercial state, justly proud of its artistic and intellectual leadership. Between 500 and 449


B.C.E., the two states cooperated, along with smaller states, to defeat the huge Persian invasion. It was during and immediately after this period that Greek and particularly Athenian culture reached its highest point. The addition of colonies in the eastern Mediterranean and southern Italy, created a larger zone of Greek civilization. Political decline soon set in, as Athens and Sparta vied for control of Greece during the bitter Peloponnesian Wars (431–404 B.C.E.). Ambitious kings from Macedonia soon conquered the cities. Philip II of Macedon and then his son Alexander extended the Macedonian Empire through the Middle East, across Persia to the border of India, and southward through Egypt. Although Alexander the Great’s empire was short-lived, successor regional kingdoms oversaw the consolidation of Greek civilization over much of the eastern Mediterranean in what became known as the Hellenistic period, named as such because of the influence of the Hellenes, as the Greeks were known.

Patterns of Roman History. The rise of Rome formed the final phase of classical Mediterranean civilization, for by the first century B.C.E. Rome had subjugated Greece and the Hellenistic kingdoms alike. Originating in central Italy around 800 B.C.E., Roman aristocrats drove out the monarchy around 509 B.C.E., and established a republic. Gradually the republic extended its influence. During the three Punic Wars, from 264 to 146 B.C.E., Rome defeated Hannibal and destroyed the Phoenician city of Carthage. The Romans proceeded to seize the entire western Mediterranean along with Greece and Egypt. The politics of the Roman republic grew increasingly unstable. Civil wars between two generals led to a victory by Julius Caesar, in 45 B.C.E., and the effective end of the traditional institutions of the Roman state. Augustus Caesar seized power in 27 B.C.E. and established the basic structures of the Roman Empire. For 200 years, the empire brought peace and prosperity to virtually the entire Mediterranean world. The emperors also moved northward, conquering France and southern Britain and pushing into Germany. Then the empire suffered a slow but decisive fall that lasted over 250 years, until invading peoples from the north finally overturned the government in Rome in 476 C.E. Economic deterioration, population loss, the need for non-Roman troops, less effective emperors, and the inability of the state to provide protection and justice all contributed to Rome’s decline. Some strong later emperors, particularly Diocletian and Constantine, attempted to reverse the tide. Constantine, in 313, adopted Christianity in an attempt to unite the empire in new ways. However, particularly in the west, the most effective government became local. The invasion of nomadic peoples from the north marked the end of the classical period of Mediterranean civilization—a civilization that, like its counterparts in Gupta India and Han China during the same approximate period, could no longer defend itself.

In sum, the Mediterranean civilization was built on earlier cultures along the eastern Mediterranean and within the Greek islands, taking firm shape with the rise of the Greek city-states after 800 B.C.E. These states began as monarchies but then evolved into more complex and diverse political forms. They also developed a more varied commercial economy, moving away from a purely grain-growing agriculture; this spurred the formation of a number of colonial outposts around the eastern Mediterranean and in Italy. The decline of the city-states ushered in the Macedonian conquest and the formation of a wider Hellenistic culture that established deep roots in the Middle East and Egypt. Then Rome, initially a minor regional state distinguished by political virtue and stability, embarked on its great conquests, which would bring it control of the Mediterranean with important extensions into western and southeastern Europe plus the whole of north Africa. Rome’s expansion ultimately overwhelmed its own republic, but the successor empire developed important political institutions of its own and resulted in two centuries of peace and glory.

Greek and Roman Political Institutions. Politics were very important from the Greek city-states through the early part of the Roman Empire. Indeed, our word politics comes from the Greek word for city-state, polis. Mediterranean civilization developed a distinctive concept of active citizenship. Even under the Roman Empire, political engagement remained strong, whether expressed in local city-states or as Roman citizens. While Confucian China shared an intense interest in politics, Greece and Rome did not develop a cohesive set of political institutions like China’s. The great diversity of political forms in Mediterranean civilization is more in keeping with India, where various political forms—including


participation in governing councils—ran strong. Later societies, in reflecting on classical Mediterranean civilization, selected from a number of political precedents. Monarchy was not a preferred form; rule by individual strongmen advocating public benefits was more common. Our word tyranny comes from this experience in classical Greece. Some of the Roman generals who seized power in the later days of the republic had similar characteristics, as did the Hellenistic kings who succeeded Alexander.

Greece. Democracy (the word is derived from the Greek demos, “the people”) was another important political alternative in classical Mediterranean society. Athens took the lead in democratic development, depending upon a popular assembly of citizens as sovereign authority. The assembly met every 10 days and, those who showed up, voted on important matters of state. Most officials were chosen by lot and were responsible to the assembly. Athenian direct democracy was both more extensive and less inclusive by modern standards. Many adults—women, slaves, and foreigners—were excluded from political rights. One drawback to direct democracy became evident during the Peloponnesian Wars: lower-class citizens, eager for government jobs and the spoils of war, often encouraged actions that weakened the state. The most widely preferred political framework centered on the existence of aristocratic assemblies. Even in Athens, aristocrats like Pericles had excessive importance. The word aristocracy, which comes from Greek terms meaning “rule of the best,” suggests where many Greeks—particularly, of course, aristocrats themselves—thought real political virtue lay.

Rome. The constitution of the Roman republic tried to reconcile the various elements suggested by the Greek political experience, with primary reliance on the principle of aristocracy. Citizen assemblies elected magistrates to represent the interests of the common people. Aristocrats held most executive offices and comprised the Senate, Rome’s primary legislative body. Two consuls shared primary executive power; and in times of crisis, the Senate could choose a dictator to hold temporary emergency powers. The Roman Senate came closest to realizing the aristocratic ideal of public service. Classical Mediterranean political theorists examined various political forms as well as public virtues. Some of this political writing resembled Confucianism, although there was less emphasis on hierarchy and obedience or bureaucratic virtues, and more on participation in deliberative bodies that would make laws and judge the actions of executive officers. The Roman Empire developed organizational capacities to scale, including its vast hierarchy of the Roman army. That said, considerable local autonomy of custom, authority, and religion prevailed in many regions. Only in rare cases, such as the forced dissolution of the independent Jewish state in 63 C.E. after a major local rebellion, did the Romans take over distant areas completely. Greek and Roman republican leaders had already developed an understanding of the importance of codified, equitable law, however, the idea of fair and reasoned law, to which officers of the state should themselves be subject, was a key political achievement of the Roman Empire. Greeks and Romans were less innovative in the functions they ascribed to government, concentrating primarily on their law courts and military forces. The Roman Empire also pursued a policy of “bread and circuses” designed to prevent popular disorder. They secured vital supplies of grain and undertook vast public works to make cities livable. Even Roman colonies were given theaters, public baths, and stadiums, providing solace in strange lands like England or Palestine. Rome had an official religion and festivals, but other religious practices were tolerated so long as they did not conflict with loyalty to the state. Even the later Roman emperors only attacked Christianity, and then irregularly, because of the Christians’ refusal to place the state first in their devotion. It is true that the emphasis on duties to the state could, as with Sparta, lead to a totalitarian framework, and that, with the exception of the first 200 years of the Roman Empire, warfare was more the rule than the exception. Neither the Greek nor the Roman concept of citizenship involved a clear definition of individual rights. The chief political legacies of the classical Mediterranean world include: localism, fervent political interests, an intense loyalty to the state, a diversity of political systems, a preference for aristocratic rule, and the importance of law. The sheer accomplishment of the Roman Empire, which united a region never before or since brought together, still stands as one of the great political monuments of world history.


Religion and Culture. The Greeks and Romans did not create a significant, world-class religion; in this they differed from India and Persia and to some extent from China. Christianity, which was to become one of the major world religions, arose during—but was not the product of—the Roman Empire. The characteristic Greco-Roman religion was derived from a belief in the spirits of nature elevated into a complex set of gods and goddesses who were seen as regulating human life. Greeks and Romans had different names for their pantheon, but the objects of worship were essentially the same. Regular ceremonies to the gods had real political importance, and many individuals sought the gods’ aid in foretelling the future or in ensuring a good harvest or good health.The classical Mediterranean religion of human-like gods engendered an important literary tradition, as was the case in India. Tales of the gods’ foibles and passions provoked a serious inquiry into human nature. Unlike the Indians, the Greeks and Romans were less interested in how their gods could elevate them toward higher planes of spirituality. Lacking spiritual passion, the dominant religion failed to satisfy many ordinary workers and peasants, who gravitated to “mystery” religions, often imported from the Middle East. The lack of ethical content in the Greco-Roman religion left many upper-class people dissatisfied, too. Thinkers, such as Aristotle and Cicero, developed independent moral philosophies stressing moderation and balance in human behavior. Other ethical systems were devised, particularly during the Hellenistic period. Stoics emphasized an inner moral independence. These ethical systems were major contributions in their own right; they would also be blended with later religious thought, under Christianity.Mediterranean philosophy emphasized the powers of human thought. In Athens, Socrates (born in 469 B.C.E.) encouraged his pupils to question conventional wisdom; the Athenian government, thinking that he was undermining political loyalty, gave him the choice of suicide or exile; Socrates chose the former. The Socratic principle of rational inquiry by means of skeptical questioning became a recurrent strand in classical Greek thinking and in its heritage to later societies. The Greeks were not outstanding empirical scientists, but their interest in rationality carried over to an inquiry into the underlying order of physical nature. Pythagoras and Euclid contributed major achievements to geometry, while Galen’s contributions to anatomy were a standard for centuries. Less fortunately, Ptolemy, contradicting much earlier Middle Eastern astronomy, produced an elaborate theory of the sun’s motion around a stationary earth that was long taken as fixed wisdom in Western thought. Roman intellectuals added little to Greek and Hellenistic science, preferring to preserve it as school curriculum. The Romans expressed their genius in their engineering achievements such as great roads, harbors, aqueducts, and elaborate arches.

The gods and goddesses of Greece and Rome inspired all manner of artistic expression, but drama had a central role in Greek culture. The Greek division of drama into comedy and tragedy remains a Western tradition. The Athenian dramatist Sophocles used tragedy to demonstrate the fragility of human virtues. Greek literature included a strong epic tradition, beginning with the Iliad and the Odyssey, attributed to Homer. Roman authors, particularly the poet Virgil, also worked in the epic form, seeking to link Roman history and mythology with the Greek forerunner. Roman definitions of the poetic form would long be used in Western literature. In the visual arts, the emphasis of classical Mediterranean civilization was sculpture and architecture. The Greeks also excelled at ceramics, whereas the Romans were skilled painters. Greek sculptors like Phidias developed unprecedented skill rendering simultaneously realistic yet beautiful images of the human form; Roman sculptors continued the Greek heroic-realistic tradition. Greek and Roman architects emphasized monumental construction of public buildings—temples, baths, marketplaces, theaters—in three building styles devised by the Greeks: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Roman engineering allowed greater size, as well as new forms such as the free-standing stadium. Under the empire, the Romans learned how to add domes. All art was public: temples and markets were for daily use; dramas were public rituals for all citizens; Romans enjoyed monumental athletic performances such as chariot races. The elements of classical art—the great monuments if nothing more—were part of daily urban life and the pursuit of pleasure. Roman styles were also blended with Christianity during the later empire, providing another lasting expression.

Economy and Society in the Mediterranean. Politics and formal culture in Greece and Rome


were mainly affairs of the cities—meaning that they were of intense concern only to a minority of the population. Most people were farmers, tied to the soil and often to local rituals and festivals that were different from urban forms. Political tensions between tyrants and aristocrats or democrats and aristocrats in Greece were largely due to the conflicts between large estate holders and debt-ridden small free farmers trying to maintain their independence. The Roman republic declined, in part, because too many farmers became dependent on the protection of large landlords, and so no longer could vote freely.

Agriculture and Trade. Both Greece and Rome suffered from the fact that their soil was poor for grain cultivation. The turn to commercial farming of olives and grapes led to a substantial market basis and territorial expansion. Both developments exacerbated the tensions at home between landowners and small farmers. The estate holders were better equipped to invest the capital needed for production and distribution to grain-growing areas. In both cases, empire became the obvious answer to feeding a growing population. Roman heavy cultivation of grain in north Africa resulted in a soil depletion that helps account for the region’s reduced agricultural fertility in later centuries. Extensive trade developed, with the state supervising grain trade. There was some trade also beyond the borders of Mediterranean civilization itself, for goods from India and China. In this trade, the Mediterranean peoples found themselves at some disadvantage as they did not produce goods of equal value. Merchants remained in an ambiguous position; their status was higher than in Confucian China, but less firm than in India.

Slavery. Slavery was of major importance. Aristotle justified it; Greeks depended on it in their silver mines, commercial operations, and households. Spartans used slave labor for agricultural production. The need for slaves was intimately connected with imperial pursuits, as slaves were among the spoils of war. The spread of slavery in the Roman Empire contributed to the decline of free farmers and to Roman militarism. Commercialized agriculture required the influx of labor, and independent farmers could not compete with free labor. For both Greece and Rome, the dominance of slavery led to stagnant technology in manufacturing and agriculture. Upper-class intellectual and political pursuits further dissuaded attention to technology. The Greeks did, however, advance shipbuilding and navigation, and the Romans were consummate engineers.

Tight patriarchal families were the norm in both cultures. However, women had a vital function in farming and artisan economies and, among the upper classes in Rome, women could command considerable authority in their households. Legally, women were held inferior. This was mitigated somewhat by the developments of Roman law under the Empire. If divorced because of adultery, a Roman woman lost a third of her property and had to wear a special garment that set her apart like a prostitute. On the other hand, the oppression of women was probably less severe in this civilization than in China. Many Greek and Roman women were active in business and controlled a portion, even if only the minority, of all urban property.

Most people in Greece and Rome continued to work largely as their ancestors had done, untouched by the doings of the great or the bustle of the cities, except when wars engulfed their lands. We are tempted to remember the urban achievements exclusively, for they exerted the greatest influence on later ages that recalled the glories of Greece and Rome. However, the habits and attitudes of ordinary farmers and artisans developed during the great days of the Greek and Roman empires should not be overlooked; their separation from much of the official culture posed both a challenge and opportunity for new cultural movements such as Christianity.

Pressing the Environment. Rome’s economy had serious environmental consequences. Pollution, garbage, and toxic materials made the city of Rome an unhealthy place. The push for ever greater agricultural production led to deforestation. Deforestation, in turn, led to erosion and the loss of topsoil, developments that greatly reduced the productivity of Roman land.

Toward the Fall of Rome. The fragmentary collapse of Rome left its own impact on world civilization. Unlike China, classical civilization in the Mediterranean region was not simply disrupted only to revive.


Unlike India, there was no central religion to serve as a link between the classical period and what followed. The fall of Rome was not uniform and no single civilization ultimately rose to claim the mantle of Greece and Rome. At the same time, there was no across-the-board maintenance of the classical Mediterranean institutions and values in any of the civilizations that later claimed a relationship to the Greek and Roman past. Greece and Rome would live on, in more than idle memory, but their heritage was unquestionably more complex and more selective than proved to be the case for India or China.

A Complex Legacy. The classical Greek and Hellenistic political legacy was in the form of ideas; unlike the Chinese, they did not develop enduring political institutions, although Rome copied some Greek structures. The most enduring legacy came in art and philosophy. Partly because they did not generate a major religion, Greek and Roman contributions to a durable popular culture were more limited than was true in China or India. Although the Western educational tradition long focused on the legacy of Greco-Roman civilization, they were inferior to China and India in many political and scientific achievements. Their legacy is not only a result of their achievement, but also because the West consciously adopted many of its features. Moreover, Alexander’s conquest of Persia brought a complex mixture of reciprocal influences, blurring the line between Greek and Middle Eastern culture. Hellenistic kings imitated Persian centralization and bureaucracy. Cultural exchange also gave Zoroastrian influences a wider range. This furthered the influence these religious ideas would have on Mediterranean religions, including Judaism, and later, Christianity and Islam. Later, more purely Persian kingdoms arose as the Hellenistic states declined. Under Hellenism and Persia alike, the Middle East enhanced its role as a point of exchange among many different merchants and cultures.

KEY TERMS

Cyrus the Great: (c. 576 or 590–529 B.C.E.); founded Persian Empire by 550 B.C.E.; successor state to Mesopotamian empires.

Zoroastrianism: Persian religion that saw material existence as a battle between the forces of good and evil; stressed the importance of moral choice; a last judgment decided the eternal fate of each person.

Olympic Games: one of the pan-Hellenic rituals observed by all Greek city-states; involved athletic competitions and ritual celebrations.

Pericles: Athenian political leader during 5th century B.C.E.; guided development of Athenian Empire.

Peloponnesian War: war from 431 to 404 B.C.E. between Athens and Sparta for domination in Greece; the Spartans won but failed to achieve political unification in Greece.

Philip of Macedonia: ruled Macedon from 359 to 336 B.C.E.; founder of centralized kingdom; conquered Greece.

Hellenistic: culture associated with the spread of Greek influence and intermixture with other cultures as a result of Macedonian conquests.

Roman Republic: the balanced political system of Rome from circa 510 to 47 B.C.E.; featured an aristocratic senate, a panel of magistrates, and popular assemblies.

Punic Wars: three wars (264–146 B.C.E.) between Rome and the Carthaginians; saw the transformation of Rome from a land to a sea power.


Carthage: founded by the Phoenicians in Tunisia; became a major empire in the western Mediterranean; fought the Punic wars with Rome for Mediterranean dominance; defeated and destroyed by the Romans.

Hannibal: Carthaginian general during the second Punic War; invaded Italy but failed to conquer Rome.

Julius Caesar: general responsible for the conquest of Gaul; brought army back to Rome and overthrew republic; assassinated in B.C.E. by conservative senators.

Caesar Augustus: (63 B.C.E.–14 C.E.) name given to Octavian following his defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra; first emperor of Rome.

Diocletian: Roman emperor from 284 to 305 C.E.; restored later empire by improved administration and tax collection.

Constantine: Roman emperor from 312 to 337 C.E.; established second capital at Constantinople; attempted to use religious force of Christianity to unify empire spiritually.

Polis: city-state form of government typical of Greek political organization from 800 to 400 B.C.E.

Direct democracy: literally, rule of the people—in Athens, it meant all free male citizens; all decisions emanated from the popular assembly without intermediation of elected representatives.

Senate: assembly of Roman aristocrats; advised on policy within the republic; one of the early elements of the Roman constitution.

Consuls: two chief executives of the Roman republic; elected annually by the assembly dominated by the aristocracy.

Aristotle: Greek philosopher; teacher of Alexander; taught that knowledge was based upon observation of phenomena in material world.

Cicero: conservative senator and Stoic philosopher; one of the great orators of his day.

Stoics: Hellenistic philosophers; they emphasized inner moral independence cultivated by strict discipline of the body and personal bravery.

Socrates: Athenian philosopher of later 5th century B.C.E.; tutor of Plato; urged rational reflection in moral decisions; condemned to death for corrupting minds of Athenian young.

Sophocles: Greek writer of tragedies; author of Oedipus Rex.

Iliad and Odyssey: Greek epic poems attributed to Homer; defined relations of gods and humans that shaped Greek mythology.

Doric, Ionic, Corinthian: three distinct styles of Hellenic architecture; listed in order of increasing ornate quality.

LECTURE SUGGESTIONS


1. Discuss the differences in political organization between Greece and China. Greece was less politically united and hierarchic; it lacked imperial unity, except briefly under Alexander; it did not have a formal bureaucracy. Both China and Greece developed formal theories of government. In social structure, both held merchants and women in low social esteem, although women were marginally better off in Greek culture. The Greeks did not have a scholar-gentry class and they depended more on slavery than the Chinese. In philosophy, both developed major systems: the Chinese with Confucius emphasized social and political order, and with Laozi, stress on unity with nature; the Greeks stressed the rational basis for the political order and the natural world. Greek philosophy tended to be more dependent on general theories based on rational explanation of phenomena than the Chinese.

2. Discuss the reasons for political and social fragmentation in classical Greece and republican Rome. Greek and Roman geography and agricultural practices fostered political separatism. The Greek form of political organization, received from Mycenaen civilization, was the city-state, not the empire. The city-states retained their separate identities until the Hellenistic period and existed in some form thereafter under Roman rule. In social affairs, there was always a gulf between the aristocratic elite and the lower classes. They had separate religious practices; philosophy did not appeal to the lower classes. The market basis for the economy and dependence on slavery exacerbated the cultural gulf between social groups in Greece and Rome than in many other civilizations.

3. Discuss whether Rome was simply a continuation of Greek civilization or an innovator in the Mediterranean world. Rome served primarily to maintain the cultural accomplishments of the Greeks, especially in science, art, literature, and philosophy. The Romans developed significant innovations in engineering. In politics, the Roman republic began in the Greek tradition with a balanced constitution typical of a city-state. The Roman Empire was something new in Mediterranean civilization; its most innovative aspect was the formation of a universal legal code. The empire provided for considerable local autonomy and religious and cultural tolerance. It presided over the development of Christianity, a major world religion.

CLASS DISCUSSION SUGGESTIONS

1. Compare Greek and Roman political structures.

2. Evaluate the significance of the Hellenistic period in Asian and African history.

3. Compare the main political, social, and economic features of the Roman Empire and Han China.

4. Assess how and why the Indians developed long-lasting polytheistic religions but the Greeks did not.

5. Compare the scientific achievements and approaches of classical India, China, and the Mediterranean.

6. Compare the political philosophghts of the Greeks and the Chinese.


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