Comparing The Political System In Ancient Greece And Rome

States, empires, and civilizations are all important in order to understand human history. They shaped the world during their reign, but they also helped shape the future. The states of ancient Greece, the Chinese Empire, the Roman Empire, and the Indian Empire all contained their own political structures. These political structures enabled the possibility to create and establish rulers who led their nations with different political systems. In Athens Greece, a popular form of political system emerged. This system is commonly referred to as democracy. This began with a man named Pericles. He was a well known Athenian leader who is commonly referred to as the “first citizen” of Athens. Pericles believed that he was the man of the people. He initiated the construction of building projects and also led the battles against Sparta. During the end of the first Peloponnesian War, Pericles gave a speech at a public funeral service for the Athenian citizens who died in battle. At the funeral oration, he states, “It is true that we are called a democracy, for the administration is in the hands of many and not the few” (Pericles Funeral Oration, 147). The political system in Athens was different compared to other second wave civilizations. It allowed citizens to decide …show more content…
This was the Chinese Empire, which was ruled by a single Emperor who was also a Sage. The emperor was considered the mediator between heaven and earth. Unlike the Roman empire, the Chinese Empire was coercive. That meant that this empire ruled with force. One of the main reasons this empire was coercive was because of Han Fei’s legalist thinking. It is simply described as brutal. Han Fei described his thinking in one of his writings, “If those would uphold the law are strong, the state will be strong…” (The Writings of Han Fei, 151). He valued the importance of the laws, which needed to be enforced. This idea would later be picked up by the succeeding