Geographical , cultural, and political potential of Ancient Greece and Roman Empire

A1. Ancient Greece has many geographic factors, some of these factors are; mountains, valleys, islands, poor soil, but one of the most important geographic factors was the Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean Sea brought new channels for trading. Greece was never reliant on staple crops because they had very poor rocky soil. But they flourished from the trading on the sea, which showed their dominance in what became the most contested waterway. Some of the things that were traded in the Mediterranean Sea are; food, raw materials, gold, copper, ivory manufactured goods like wine, olives, and pottery. (Acrobatiq, 2018)

Ancient Rome has many geographic factors, some of these factors are; agriculture and fertile soil, but one of the most important geographic factors was the Tiber River which granted access to the Mediterranean Sea. The Tiber River was a great location for their villages because they had seven hills that worked as a natural barrier and flatland on the other side of the river that they used for farming, the soil was good, so their crops were grown easily. The Tiber River had fresh water for drinking and bathing, a long with a waterway for trade, and food for them to eat. (Donn, 2007)

B1. One unique cultural characteristic in Ancient Greece is their theatre, which is very important to the Greek society. The Theatre began in the sixth century BCE in Athens when they would perform tragedy plays at religious festivals, they eventually turned into comedy plays. As plays seemed like dialogue it was always a part of literature. In addition to written forms of literature and theater, oral traditions were important, particularly in early Greek history. (Khan Academy, 2018)

Another unique cultural characteristic in Ancient Greece is their art. Sculptures and architecture was very influential on the societies. Sculptures from 800 to 300 BCE was inspired from Egyptian art and evolved into the Greek art form. Greek sculptors focused mainly on proportions, poise, and the idea of the perfect human body, they would sculpt these figures in stone and bronze. The statues were formed and devoted to the Greek gods and goddesses. Greek architects would design some of the best and most distinctive buildings in the Ancient World such as; temples, theaters, government buildings, gymnasiums, libraries, and stadia’s. (Acrobatiq, 2018)

A unique cultural characteristic in Ancient Rome is their education. Their homes were usually their learning centers and the Roman children were taught many different things, some of the things that they were taught were different customs, the Roman law, and trainings to help the boys bodies to prepare and grow as Roman citizens so that they might recruit into the army. the girls were usually taught by their mothers and would learn many different things, some of the things that the girls would learn are; weaving, spinning, and sewing. In Rome education began at the early age of six and the children needed to learn the essentials such as reading, writing, and counting. When the children would turn twelve they learned more advanced things such as Latin, Greek, grammar, and literature, and would usually be trained in public speaking. (Cartwright, 2016)

Another unique cultural characteristic in Ancient Rome is their sports or entertainment. Campus Martius was a place for Roman soldiers to train. Campus Martius was eventually turned into a track and field playground for Rome. The Romans would gather here to play different things like wrestling, racing, and boxing. Some of their favorite physical activities were things like riding, throwing, and swimming. Some of their bored games that would help pass the time would include things like Dice, Roman Chess, Roman Checkers, and Tic-tac-toe. (Fife, 2012)

C1. In Greece there were many leaders who were great, two of the great leaders were Alexander the Great and Solon. Alexander the Great was the leader of a big kingdom that stretched beyond the Greek peninsula. After Alexanders father passed away he was selected to be king of Greece and Macedonia. In the spring time of 334 BCE, Alexander gathered an army of 37,000 and conquered the Persian governor in the battle of Granicus. Darius III, the king of Persia, learned the news of this invasion too late. Alexander was ready to fight King Darius III along with his army. The Persian army was eventually defeated which led Alexander the Great to keep marching over to Egypt and eventually crowned himself a Pharaoh. Trying to avoid more conflict with Alexander the Great, King Darius III offered all of his territory that was west of the Euphrates River as well as offering his oldest daughter for marriage, but Alexander refused this offer. The most important thing that Alexander the Great did was conquer the Persian army. (Acrobatiq, 2018)

Solon was the leader of Athens authorized as an aristocrat, who created different policies that were made to ease the suffering of the poor people along with preserving the position of the aristocrats. The people of Athians gave Solon the powers that were supposedly autocratic, but they thought only one man could prevent potential disaster. In the end Solon made some set laws that ensured the equality of all classes of citizens. These laws gave the right to vote in assembly to the poor and the judicial court was then formed from the citizens. Solons laws had different procedures that were designed to help bring economic reform and also would encourage fathers to find their sons a job so that they could become economically secure and able to take care of their parents when they became too old. Even though these reforms made the middle class and poor citizens happy, Solons greatest achievement in their eyes was the economic power of the aristocracy when they would cancel the mortgage land contracts and would stop the exercise of debtors collecting people’s sons for collateral loan. Solon commanded the release of any Athenian who had become a slave because of their family’s debts. (Acrobatiq, 2018)

C2. The main methods that the Greeks used to make their powers grow were trading and conquering. Stockrooms were built so that they could put their food in them in case of a natural disaster and help hold their food until it was time to trade. An important part of this civilization was agriculture, the Greeks would plant food so that their civilization would grow and would give them something to trade. The Greeks started to see signs of a unique writing system that was very difficult to learn, but eventually new signs and sounds were added that would help make their system a little easier to learn as well as to teach. The Greeks were a society that was built up because of conquest, they would conquer other civilizations and take them over to help their powers grow. (Acrobatiq, 2018)

C3. Some of the earliest settlements in Ancient Greece developed a monarchy that was supported by the bureaucracy political system. In this monarchy they had kings that would live in a palace. They had developed a palace-complex which is where various activities took place such as, political, economic, and religious ceremonies. The Mycenaeans eventually conquered the Minoans which made the political system turn into a monarchy with city states. City states are urban which means that they are closely populated areas that had big walls surrounding it and they were ruled by kings. Once the Mycenaeans came to an end, we came to a time in Greek history called the Dark Ages. During the Dark Ages, the political system had turned into a council for the local chiefs. In this political system they had a supreme chief who was thought of equal to a king. After the Dark Ages leaders had given their powers to Solon who was an aristocrat. Solons political system was changed into a set of laws that wanted to encourage equality in the social classes of citizens. Solon started the path that would later turn into a democracy. A democracy is a government system that lets citizens hold political power directly though themselves or through a elected representative. (Acrobatiq, 2018)