1. Classical Civilization in the Mediterranean: Greece and Rome
APCIV | Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies c. 600 BCE - c. 600 CE

2. Greece and Rome would build upon previous civilizations
They would become their own identity and label it as such “bar bar bar”
Cyrus the Great c. 550 BCE established a massive empire in the M-E
Allowed for tolerance of local traditions and autonomy
Zoroastrianism: monotheistic – Ahura Mazda and dualism
The Persian Wars and Alexander the Great’s toppling of Persia
Continued cultural influence: the Sassanid “Persians” and subsequent “Persia’s”
The Persian Tradition

3. Patterns of Greek and Roman History
The Minoans of Crete c BCE under Egyptian influence
Would influence mainland Greeks, continuing massive architectural culture
Greeks were Indo-Europeans who came to the peninsula c BCE
Mycenae c BCE: the Greeks of the Trojan War c BCE
Conquered by Indo-European raiders and destroyed
Greece c BCE rose rapidly in the form of local city-states
Geography divided the Greeks and solidified them in local political units
Unified by culture, divided by social/political ideas: Olympic Games as unifier
Competition and cooperation: the Persian Wars and subsequent Peloponnesian Wars
Pericles c. 5th century BCE solidified democratic principles in Athens
Phillip II of Macedon f. 338 BCE conquered the weakened Greek city-states
Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Empire; dies in Babylon 323 BCE
Married generals to Persian elite: the Hellenistic Age: Alexandria formed
Rome as final classical civilization: under Greek influence c. 800 BCE
The Roman Republic 509 BCE and the Roman Confederation of states
The Punic Wars BCE and Carthage: eventual annexation of Mediterranean
Triumvirates and Julius Caesar: dictatorship and death 44 BCE – Augustus 27 BCE
The Roman Empire 27 BCE – 476 CE: the Pax Romana and decline
Christianization; division and decay (Diocletian to Theodosius); and foreign invasions
Patterns of Greek and Roman History

4. Greek and Roman Political Institutions
Politics comes from polis, which suggests its importance in thought
“Good life” was active participation in politics in both Greece and Rome
Citizens felt the state was theirs: participation in military increased this belief
Active citizenship in politics: similarities and differences with Confucius
Greece/Rome never developed a political unit as cohesive as China
However, laws were established to help poorer classes: Twelve Tables
Flexible law codes to evolve with change
Greece: oligarchies, tyrannies, and direct democracy (limitations)
Issues with democracy and mob rule: political philosophy and the aristocracy
Rome: a constitutional republic and prominent aristocracy
The Senate, consuls, and the Tribune
Cicero’s writings resembled Confucius in terms of duty, but less emphasis on obedience and bureaucratic virtues
The Empire differed, allowing for increasing autonomy in regions
Exceptions include the dissolution of the Jewish state in 63 CE after a rebellion
Roman law was seen as a regulator of social life for all, and for fairness
Citizenship as access to these privileges and protections: military as vehicle to spread this
State-sponsorship to maintain public order: “bread and circuses”
State-sponsored religion (paganism) and tolerance as long as it was not a public threat
Persecution of Christians because their refusal to place state first in their devotion
Greek and Roman Political Institutions

5. Day 2
Classical Civilization in the Mediterranean: Greece and Rome

6. Greece/Rome produced stunning political culture, not religious
Christianity was neither’s production, but took root as Rome began to decline
Greece/Rome’s religion was animistic paganism, with human characteristics
Made for great story-telling as well as political celebration, but lacked spiritual mystery
“Mystery” cults emerged in the M-E during the empire, one of which was Christianity
Greek philosophy provided explanations for human nature and moral behavior
Aristotle, Cicero, and Stoics all promoted moral thought without spiritual devotion
Socrates/Plato’s focus on the human rational mind and skeptical thought
These would all be blended into the growing Christian theology
Hellenistic inventions were impressive on all fronts
Pythagoras and math, Eratosthenes and Earth’s circumference, Galen and medicine, Ptolemy and geography, Roman engineering (baths, roads, etc), Greek drama
Oedipus Rex, the Iliad, Odyssey (Roman literature was less impressive)
Architecture: Greek columns and massive temples continue to this day
Roman copies of Greek form and Hellenistic sculptures
Religion and Culture

7. Economy and Society in the Mediterranean
Most of the political debate occurred in cities, with a minority
Most people in Greece/Rome were farmers interested in the preservation of their land and rights: debt matters common
Over time, many small farmers were bought out by the aristocracy
The formation of the Roman “mob” and dependency upon aristocratic ownership
Soil in Greece/Italy was not good for wheat: olives and grapes as staples
This developed a market on commodities for grain (north Africa/Egypt)
Olives and grapes required a lot of capital and time before fruition: debt issues
Commercial agriculture gave rise to empire in Rome: and merchant class
Soil depletion in north Africa as a result of feeding Rome
Slave economies were larger than in Asia due to the need for labor
Markets grew out of a high demand: variations of slavery in the classical world
Innovations in agriculture were limited due to an aristocratic apathy towards it
Oppression of women was common, but not to the extent in Asia
Much of the advancement of Mediterranean civilization was concentrated
Not on all people, but on a minority, and many people lived as they had for years
Economy and Society in the Mediterranean

8. Classical Mediterranean society fragmented unlike Asian civilizations
No central religion derived from the civilization, as in India
The fall was not uniform: pieces fell (Western Roman Empire)
Led to a lack of maintenance for classical civilization
Led to an unclear successor to classical civilization
Greece/Rome would live on as a memory
Greece, Rome, and the World
The Greeks, like the Chinese, believed in their superiority
But the Greeks were more curious of foreigners (Herodotus and Strabo)
Alexander the Great questioned Greek superiority: open mixing with Persians
The Romans were aware of political competition, and exploited it
Used war to diffuse internal issues of inequality
Traded far and wide (with China) via nomads
Toward the Fall of Rome