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Roy Lara
HIS 120-31
James Jeffers
04/30/2015
Greek and Roman Civilizations
Greece is often referred to as the birthplace of the modern city and state whereas Rome,
on the other hand, is most often referred to as one of the greatest civilizations in history. Both of
the civilizations came to rise around the same era. The era of the classical Greek polis began in
800 B.C.E (pg. 208) and the founding of Rome, according to tradition, was in 753 B.C.E. With
them being founded around the same time one can imagine that they would have some
similarities in the structure of their civilizations. Although the foundation of the societies was
near the same exact time there are also some differences in their comings to a civilization, their
economy, and their family.
Before modern times, it was popular to have a plethora of colonies under your name
rather than a single region with states. The Greeks came to power by having a lot of colonies
over a large spread of land. The Greeks started their colonization in the central Mediterranean in
the eighth-century B.C.E. Their most popular colonies, or polis (city states), were found in and
around the region of Sicily and southern Italy, particularly around the region of Naples (pg. 194).
To contrast the Greek way of conquering many territories, the Romans established a monarchy in
753 B.C.E under king Romulus, which, too, spread across the Mediterranean (pg. 212). The
Greeks had succumbed to the Romans, after Alexander the Greats death, in the third century
B.C.E. therefore further expanding the Roman Empire. Although the Greeks submitted to the
Romans they were a successful civilization that has shaped a lot of aspects in the world today.

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As one can see, there is no specific way to rule and conquer more land, the Greeks and the
Romans both had sophisticated methods of doing both but yet they together failed in due time.
Besides the actual comings of a civilization, there has to be some sort of economic rule in
the society to keep the civilization thriving. Both societies relied heavily on trade; even though
their economic output was different they both relied on similar ways of trade. Since the Greeks
had their polis in the Balkan region it was extremely difficult for them to trade by land. Due to
their regional setback the Greeks relied heavily on maritime trade (pg. 201). Because the terrain
that the Greeks lived on was unsuitable for mass production of agriculture they had to rely on
other sources of production to create revenue. Their main staple was olives and olive oil (pg.
201), which they would trade for the sought after grains and other necessary items. The Romans
who, similarly, traded by the sea because of their naval power were able to reach nations all the
way to the coast of the red sea because of their excellent protection (pg. 221). Although the
Greeks and Romans traded different items to keep their economy going, they both had the same
idea that because of their regional deficits they had to utilize the sea to their best ability in order
to trade amongst the masses.
While colonization and trade might be key factors in the preservation of a civilization, a
lot of it can boil down the to family and how the family is ran. Before the 20th century, most
civilizations had patriarchies; families and government systems ran strictly by the men of the
household. In Greece, the patriarichal society was very strict in that even the sons of the
household could preside over their mother, and the father was able to choose whether or not they
wanted to keep infants born to their wives (pg. 203). They did not have the right to kill the baby,
but they did have the right to abandon them in the countryside or mountains where they would
die of exposure to the elements (pg. 203). In the Roman society, they too had a patriarchal

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society, but it was given the name paterfamilias, father of the family (pg. 223). Although it is
similar to the Greeks, in that a male is in charge of the household, it is slightly different from
them because it is the oldest male that presides over the entire household. One household could
comprise of servants, free slaves, and any close relatives who lived with them (pg. 223). It is
easy to see that both of these civilizations had a vision of how their households should be
administered, which can also reflect their government as well. Being that these two societies are
from the same era it was fairly easy to understand why they would both exercise a patriarchal
society.
Both of these civilizations had their similarities and their differences, whether it is their
way of conquering land, their economic system, or their way in which the households were
governed. As one can see, both of these civilizations thrived in their time and even with their
contrasting features they were able to thrive for centuries for centuries after their coming to
power, as well as influencing civilizations all the way up until present time.

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Works Cited
Bentley, Jerry H., and Herbert F. Ziegler. Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the
past. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2000. Print.