The ancient Greek and the ancient Rome appeared to be the birthplace of modern Western civilization. While the Spartans has a strange government mixed between aristocracy/ oligarchy and monarchy, the Athenians created “Democracy” — the anterior of a philosophy that the country should be ruled by the people. Finally, the people of Rome learned from the successes and the error of Greek cities to create a new form of government, Republic.
Four reasons that Athens could not be grown as Rome.
Athenians had a false democratic society. When all the people could raise their opinion, the community might be led by Demagogues — who use words to persuade the people but not necessarily his capability. While the Roman had developed their society into a complex but completed model. Indeed, Rome had time to look for many places and learned most of the best thing from Athens, at the same time, they also study the mistake of the Athenians’ democratic to build their Republic government.
Athens had strong adversaries. The Spartans and the Persians, who had slightly similar military power, were in the same geographic region which put Athens into many wars including the cold war with other Greek cities. That uncertainty might had limited the economic growth, and the development of the society.
The Greek is considered trade degrading. While “Greeks ideally lived on small self-sufficient wheat-producing farms, but bad agricultural practices made many households incapable of feeding themselves”[1], Rome was more active in trading, and developed themselves into an urban center so that their people could be more flexible in developing the wealth regarding their philosophy and their economy.
The exclusive foreign policies of Athens limited its growth. While Athens wanted other city to continue to be independent and pay money to then, the Romans had an inclusive policy which made the other Latin people Citizens of Rome so that the can have all right and privilege like normal Romans except for the right to vote. Thus, the people of Greek saw no interest in serving and protecting Athens, on the other hand, by making people Roman, Rome had more soldiers and their citizen could see the benefit of serving Rome that made Rome stronger.
[1] Comparing & Contrasting Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome — N. S. Gill, 2017
