A brief discussion of ancient Greek civilization and ancient Roman civilization

1. Greece - one of the five birthplaces of human civilization

2. The main achievements of ancient Greek culture

What we call ancient Greece Now Greece is larger. It includes Greece, many islands in the Aegean and Ionian seas, Asia Minor and certain areas along the Black Sea coast. In fact, unlike the four ancient civilizations, ancient Greece never formed a unified country. It was composed of more than 200 city-states. These city-states were generally centered on a city and included surrounding areas. Because Greece is mountainous with some plains in the middle, it was difficult to form a unified country under the conditions at that time. But they have the same language, religious beliefs and the same way of life. Among the many city-states, the city-states of Athens and Sparta were the most powerful and prestigious, especially Athens. Before the 1870s, the Greek culture known to Europeans was the culture after the 11th century BC, that is, the culture after the Homeric era, especially the culture of the classical period (5th-4th century BC). After the 1870s, German scholar Schliemann conducted archaeological excavations in Asia Minor and Southern Greece based on the legends about the Trojan War, and achieved amazing results. Later, the British archaeologist Dr. Evans bought some small stones in Athens, and these small stones were worn by Greek women as amulets. He was curious about some symbols carved on the stones. He came to Crete and collected more similar stones. He concluded that they were ancient Greek writings. He then organized more than 150 people to dig continuously for nine weeks, and finally unearthed the richest treasure in modern historical research - the legendary Minoan Palace . Thousands of diagrams and clay tablets were discovered in its ruins, and the words engraved on them were exactly the same as the words on the small stones (similar to the discovery of Chinese oracle bone inscriptions, which we will talk about when we have time). This is what people call the line. Type A text. After that, many scholars successively went to Greece to conduct fruitful excavations and discovered another ancient Greek script - Linear B type, which was successfully interpreted by the British architect Ventry in 1952. These achievements have greatly enriched the content of ancient Greek culture and made Greece one of the five birthplaces of world civilization. The time can be traced back to 2000 BC, which is roughly equivalent to the establishment of the Xia Dynasty, the first slave country in my country. What are the cultural achievements of the ancient Greeks? It can be said to be broad, profound and vast. I can only talk about the essentials here.

<> is the first monument in the history of European literature. It is said to have been written by the blind poet Homer, including the <> and the <>. <> tells the story of the final stage of the Trojan War. <> tells the story of the various hardships the hero Odysseus experienced when he returned to his hometown after the Trojan War. Homer's epic has a wide influence in Europe to this day. Marx often read Homer's epic to his children. Its story is also said to be a household name in Europe, and every child knows it. The language of the epic is not only picturesque and beautiful, but also has shocking power and profound and timeless philosophy. What is even more valuable is that the series of characters it depicts sparkle with the spirit of humanism. The epic affirms human dignity, strength and value, affirms the positive significance of human life, struggle and activities, and affirms human freedom, equal relationships and fighting spirit. The content of the epic has also become the source of creation for many writers and artists in the future. <> is said to have been created by the Greek slave Aesop. Aesop was appreciated by his master for his intelligence, and gained freedom in life. He was allowed to experience everywhere. His extensive knowledge and rich talents enabled Aesop to create wonderful and thought-provoking stories. Many stories such as "The Tortoise and the Hare", "The Farmer and the Snake", "The Fox and the Grapes", "The Crow and the Fox", etc., use anthropomorphic techniques to give various animals, plants and inanimate creatures their own meanings. Human thoughts, character and language constitute a living world.

Some denounced the unreasonable phenomenon of people oppressing others in society, some praised the wisdom of working people, and some expressed their views on nature and society. The story has simple language and profound meaning. It laid a solid foundation for later European allegory creation. The fable creations of La Fontaine of France in the 17th century and Chloreff of Russia in the early 19th century were deeply influenced and inspired by Aesop's Fables. <> are familiar to people all over the world. Ancient Greek drama was very developed, and modern world drama developed from ancient Greek drama. The original theatrical performance had only one actor and a chorus, and this actor also played multiple roles. Later, the number of actors increased to two and there were props and background design. Later, the number of actors gradually increased and there were scenes for paintings. At that time, the government provided subsidies to theatergoers and selected a dramatist laureate every year. Aeschylus's "Oresteia", Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex", and Euripides' "Medea" are the stars that will always shine in the sky of world literature. The achievements of ancient Greek architecture are very outstanding, and their construction shapes, artistic styles, and artistic principles have influenced the architectural history of Europe for more than 2,000 years. They are good at using colonnades, building bases, columns, eaves and other parts. The combination of each part has a certain format called column style. There were three types of columns in ancient Greece: Doric, Shoonic and Corinthian. The Dorian style is strong and powerful; the Ionian style is graceful and elegant; the Corinthian style is delicate and gorgeous. The Acropolis of Athens, built in the 5th century BC, is the concrete embodiment of the highest achievements of ancient Greece, which is solemn, harmonious, refined and hearty.

In terms of science, the ancient Greeks absorbed the legacy of scientific civilizations such as ancient Egypt and ancient Babylon, carried them forward, and created brilliant scientific and technological achievements. In terms of mathematics, Thales, known as the first philosopher and the first scientist in Western history, proposed the principles that the circumference of a circle is equally divided by diameter, that the two base angles of an isosceles triangle are equal, and that the diagonal vertex angles of two straight lines are equal when they intersect; Pythagoras discovered the Pythagoras theorem, which is also known as the Pythagorean theorem in my country. He and his students discovered and proved that the sum of the interior angles of a triangle is equal to 180 degrees. In particular, it should be pointed out that the mathematician Euclid systematically organized and summarized the mathematical results of his predecessors, and formed a rigorous system of elementary geometry knowledge based on some axioms with rigorous deductive logic, which was written as <>, this book was translated into various languages ​​after the invention of printing, and had a huge influence on great scientists such as Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton. Even Einstein marveled at his rigorous system. Most of the plane geometry knowledge we learn now comes from this book (how to spread it to China can be expanded). Archimedes, who is well known in physics, discovered the buoyancy theorem and used the relationship between the density, volume and weight of matter to identify the purity of the crown's gold. He also perfected the principle of levers and invented many combat machines. His famous saying "Give me a fulcrum and I can move the earth" is full of human confidence and power. When the Roman soldiers invaded Greece and broke into his home, he was obsessed with the calculation of a mathematical problem. He asked the Roman soldiers to give him a few more minutes to solve the problem, but he was not allowed and was killed on the spot. His dedication to science, regardless of life and death, has always been admired by future generations. In terms of medicine, Hippocrates is known as the "Father of Western Medicine". His greatest contribution was to free medicine from the control of witchcraft, treat life with a rational attitude, and adopt scientific methods to treat diseases. Starting from clinical practice, he founded the theory of humors. He believed that there are four body humors in the human body, namely blood, mucus, yellow bile, and black bile, which together maintain human life and coordinate with each other. In a balanced state, The human body is healthy; if the balance is disrupted, the person becomes sick. This theory became the theoretical basis of Western medicine. He not only has superb medical skills, but also has noble medical ethics. Now doctors in Western countries must take the Hippocratic Oath before practicing. The oath requires doctors to swear to consider patients at all times and make greater efforts for their sacred mission. In terms of astronomy and geography, they proposed the concept that the earth is a sphere, constructed a model of the universe (Pythagoreans), and used the term "geography" for the first time; based on the principle that the tides of the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean are similar, they proposed The theory that the two oceans are connected, and advocated the theory of a round earth (Eratosthenes).

A scientist (Aristarchus) first proposed the heliocentric theory. He pointed out that if the sun is regarded as the center of the planetary system and the planets revolve around the sun, then the movements of all celestial bodies will be easy to understand. This is the foresight of genius, the source of Copernican thought.

Finally, it is worth mentioning the philosophical achievements of ancient Greece. The word "philosophy" comes from ancient Greece, and its original meaning is "the study of wisdom", because at that time, various disciplines had not been completely separated from philosophy. Thales once said a famous philosophical saying: "Water is the origin of all things." This sentence not only traces the common origin of all things, but also attempts to explain nature from nature itself without resorting to things beyond nature. Heraclitus believed that the origin of all things is fire. He believed that the past, present and future are always an eternal living fire, burning and extinguishing according to rules. The old fire is extinguished and the new fire is burned, so all things are endless. "One cannot step into the same river twice" is a dialectical saying that has a profound and far-reaching influence. Democritus is the master of ancient Greek atomism, advocating that the world is unified and natural phenomena can be explained in a unified way - everything in the world is composed of atoms, and atoms are the unique basis of the world. Due to the inconsistency of atoms in shape, size, and quantity, various and colorful things in the world are formed. The recognition of the atom as the basic unit of matter may be relevant to the observer of phenomena such as volatilization, odor, and evaporation, whereby there is an invisible movement of particles of matter in these phenomena. In distant times, under simple conditions, they relied on their own rationality to conceive the atomic world behind the perceptual material world. These ideas provided inspiration for the birth of modern atomic theory. The cultural achievements of scientific and academic giants such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle further marked the unprecedented prosperity of ancient Greek civilization.

Ancient Roman Civilization Section 1: Rome’s Conquest of the Mediterranean Region

The political history of Rome takes Rome’s conquest of Italy and even the entire Mediterranean region as one of its leading clues. In this process of external expansion

Rome developed from a city-state to an empire, and its political system evolved from an aristocratic republic to an absolute monarchy. Rome

There were corresponding changes in the country's laws and administration.

The geographical environment of the Mediterranean region and Italy. Rome is located in the Tiber Valley in the middle of the Italian peninsula, and Italy is located in the center of the surrounding areas of the Mediterranean.

This geographical location was very favorable for Rome's later expansion.

The climate and vegetation in various areas of the Mediterranean basin are not much different. The surrounding three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa are connected by sea routes; the trade winds in summer are strong but not crazy, making it convenient for ships. Navigation, while the islands along the coast are good navigational signs. The Mediterranean Sea was called "our sea" by the Romans

and was an important transportation route for the Roman Empire. Abundant sunshine and dry summers are conducive to the growth of olives, figs and grapes, the three main local fruit trees; olive oil is an important food and daily necessities. The relatively barren soil has led to an agriculture that pays more attention to intensive farming. However, animal power, water power and wind power are not well utilized, and farming basically relies on manpower.

Italy is a part of the Mediterranean region with a relatively superior natural environment. The summer here is cooler and wetter than other places

; the Apennine Mountains run through the entire peninsula, and the valleys and volcanic ash-covered areas are fertile; the mountain pastures are rich and the livestock industry is developed

. Compared with France and the United Kingdom in the northern regions of Western Europe, Italy has a smaller proportion of arable land in its total land area. Copper

Copper and iron are the main mineral resources, meeting the needs of tool and weapon manufacturing. The mountainous terrain hindered land transportation, and also forced the Romans to pay attention to building roads later. There are many passes in the northern Alps through which migrating peoples can enter. However, large-scale foreign invasion did not occur until the late Roman Empire. There were no deep-water harbors in ancient Italy, but its long coastline

, its location in the middle of the Mediterranean, and its status as the political center of the Roman Empire still made it a hub for maritime transportation

Before the rise of Rome The history of Italy before the rise of Rome can only be roughly understood through archaeological excavations.

Human footprints appeared here 200,000 years ago. In 5000 BC, Neolithic farmers began to settle here.

After experiencing the bronze and bronze cultures, Italy entered the Iron Age after 1000 BC. At that time, the Indo-European people from the north had entered the central Latium region. In the first half of the 7th century BC, about 40 city-states gradually appeared in Latium. These city-states took the patriarchal family as the basic unit. In addition to the king, there were also councils of elders and citizens' assemblies composed of family heads. There are alliances and common religious celebrations between city-states. The Roman city located on the banks of the Tiber River

The state later gradually became the leader of the Latium city-states.

To a large extent, Rome's growth was due to the influence of the Etruscan culture to the north of Latium. The Edararians

origins are unknown. There has been debate since Herodotus as to whether they were indigenous or came from Asia Minor. Some modern scholars speculate that the rulers among the Etruscans may have been warriors from Asia in the late 7th century BC, with high culture and Management level, mixed with the local Indo-European Velanowe people and intermarried, forming a new civilization. Ida

Laria is roughly equivalent to today's Tuscany, with many forests and swamps; many settlements isolated by natural barriers later developed into independent city-states

, the tendency of political unification is weak.

The religious ceremony of Idararia is basically a kind of divination, and it also has content similar to Chinese Feng Shui; there are many gods believed in

Semi-dark and cruel, and bright and bright like Greece and Rome The gods of pleasure are very different. Living people were often used as sacrifices to the gods, and they were allowed to kill each other in duels. This was the origin of the custom of watching gladiator performances in Rome later. The monarchy of each city-state was replaced by an aristocratic oligarchy in the 6th and 5th centuries, and the status of the middle class also increased. The city-states of Edalaria all have self-government rights, but they have a loose alliance with each other. The Etruscan text has so far remained undeciphered, and it is difficult to obtain a detailed understanding of the socio-economic relations at that time based solely on archaeological materials. The nobles obviously made some lower-class people work for them and lived a luxurious life, but we do not know the details of the production relations. Hydraulic engineering, copper and iron smelting, and metal utensil manufacturing were the Edararians' expertise. They also maintained active trade with Greece and Asia.

The Greeks began to immigrate to southern Italy on a large scale at the end of the 8th century BC. They brought olive trees and

grapes. The Greek alphabet is the prototype of the Latin alphabet. Greek bronzes, pottery, architectural styles and sculptures were all loved and imitated by the ancient Italians. Greek military strategy and city-building techniques also spread to Italy. The Greek city-states fought fiercely with each other, and their colonies in Italy did not form a strong political and military force. The Etruscans had a great cultural and political influence in Latium in the first half of the 7th century BC, but they lacked a unified political system, so

A form of rule that could be called an empire could not be established there. The Etruscans' attack on the Greek colony Cume in 524 BC was frustrated, and the city-states of Latium took the opportunity to revolt. The rise of Rome ended Etruscan supremacy in Latium.

The origin and growth of Rome. The Roman city was located on the east bank of the Tiber River, near the junction of Latium and Edaralia; the surrounding land was fertile enough to support more population. The Tiber River leads to the sea, which facilitates trade with foreign countries; Rome is located at the crossing of the river, so it also controls the hub of land transportation in central Italy.

There are many legends about the origin of Rome, and the true story can only be understood by relying on archaeological evidence. According to local folklore, the name "Rome" comes from Romulus. He and his twin brother Remus are related to Mars, the god of war.

Because he was an illegitimate child, Romulus was thrown into the Tiber River. The gods rescued him and let a she-wolf feed him with milk. After growing up, Romulus founded the city of Rome. This legend existed as early as the 4th century BC at the latest.

The Greek writer Horanicus of the 5th century BC provided another account of the origin of Rome, believing that the Trojan prince Aeneas was the founder of Rome. . In the 3rd century AD, the Romans also accepted the Trojans' view of building the city and combined the two legends of Romulus and Aeneas. According to this Romanized Greek legend, Aeneas wandered to Italy after the fall of Troy, where he was entertained by the local king Latinus and married his daughter Lavinia. Their son Ascanias

After that, there were 12 kings. The two grandsons of the last king, Numitor, were Romulus and Remus. Modern archaeological excavations have proven that it was not until the Iron Age (after 1000 BC) that there were stable and relatively dense farming and pastoral settlements in the area where Rome was located. Dalalian culture had become dominant in the area by the first half of the 7th century BC. According to legend, Tarquin, the first Edaralian king who ruled Rome, was also said to have obtained the title during this period. throne. Rome in the mid-1st century BC

The Roman writer Varro estimated that the city of Rome was founded in 753 BC. This date is generally accepted by the Romans. The Romans believed they

they were ruled by 7 kings in the early days of their country, the last 3 of whom were Etruscans. The second period of the royal period

The reforms implemented by King Servi Tullius of Dalaria (mid-6th century BC) are considered to have had a decisive influence on the subsequent Roman government

Government and social structure are of great significance. His reforms began with the reorganization of the Roman army.

The earliest Roman army consisted of three tribes (Tribes) each providing one thousand-man infantry; each thousand-man commander had one team of cavalry under his command

, 100 people each. Each centurion consisted of 10 centurions, corresponding to the 10 curia of each tribe.

Each Curia consists of 10 clans. At that time, there were many outsiders engaged in commerce and handicrafts in Rome. They had no citizenship rights and no obligation to perform military service. Sevi abolished three old tribes and established 21 new tribes on a regional basis, including those foreign residents. By 241 BC, there were 35 Tribes in Roman cities and villages, and subsequently newly conquered territories were added to the existing Tribes. Tribe replaced Curia as the administrative unit. Around this period

The infantry also changed from using square shields and throwing spears to using round shields and short swords, and were also equipped with helmets and breastplates. The reformed Roman army

had 193 centurions. Citizens are divided into 5 classes according to their property. The wealthy first level offers 80 centurions. Above the first level are the 18 centuries of the knight level. A new kind of citizens' assembly was organized in units of centurions: each centurion first

came up with its own majority opinion, and then voted in the assembly, with each team having one vote. The Knights and the First Class had 98 votes, accounting for a majority of the 193 total

votes. The wealthy enjoyed political privileges but did bear heavy military obligations. Not all of the above-mentioned reforms were completed during the reign of Servi, but he may have done the main work.

In 510 BC, the last king, Tarquin the Arrogant, was expelled by the Roman people. The monarchy of the city-state ended and was replaced by a peaceful country. The reasons and details of this social shift are less clear. What is certain is that the status of kings in the monarchy era was originally relatively weak, and the monarchy itself was primitive and underdeveloped. The Roman Republic was established by the nobles, and its political system served them to a large extent. The 50 noble clans account for only one-tenth of the free people, but their members are economically powerful, have close marriage and political relationships with each other, and control the country's main power institutions. The political system of the early Han Dynasty was relatively simple, and those who really held the real power were the consuls and the Senate. The two consuls served for one year, inherited the power of the original king

, sat on ivory chairs, had purple trim on their official uniforms, served as commanders in the war like the original king, and maintained< /p>

The "fascist" symbol of its coercive authority was retained. It turned out that the king's advisory council became the Senate of the Republic of China.

The consul

is responsible for appointing members of the Senate, calling them into meetings, and presenting issues to them. Due to the short term of the consuls, the Senate

gradually transformed from an advisory body to a supervisory body, stipulating the scope of the consuls' powers and influencing their choice of successors. The nobility

had a monopoly on the consulship and the Senate. In theory, the two consuls could veto each other's decisions, but in fact, because they both represented the interests of the nobility, their relationship was very harmonious and conflicts were rare.

Commoners outside the aristocratic class were unwilling to tolerate being excluded from ruling power. Rome in the 5th and 4th centuries BC experienced turmoil between nobles and common people fighting for power. Regarding the process of the formation of the two major groups of nobles and civilians in Roman society, no reliable records have been handed down. Like the nobles, plebeians participated in citizen assemblies and performed military service in time of war. Their conflicts with the aristocrats

involved both economic interests and political power. On the economic front, state-owned land and creditor's rights law are the two issues over which civilians have the most grievances. State-owned land during the monarchy was sometimes distributed to citizens free of charge, sometimes sold to them, and sometimes used by them at will. The country controlled by the nobles no longer distributes land to common people, and they have no money to buy it. State-owned land obtained through conquest is generally far away from the city, and civilians do not have the financial resources and manpower to occupy and use it. The nobles not only enjoyed the use rights of a large amount of state-owned land, but also rarely paid the already insignificant land rent, which actually turned these lands into their hereditary property. Commoners were obliged to perform military service, and the lands they and the nobles shed their blood to conquer could only be enjoyed by the latter. The burden of military service

often put civilians in debt; and according to Roman debt law, debtor civilians could be killed by their creditors or sold into slavery by their creditors

. In terms of politics, the positions of consuls and temple priests are monopolized by nobles; resolutions passed by the common people's own assemblies have no legal effect; marriages between common people and nobles are considered legally invalid , children born to civilian women and noble men can only have civilian status. Commoners could not join aristocratic groups through marriage.

A considerable part of the history of the conflict between commoners and nobles has long become legends and myths. The results of the common people's struggle for their own rights were consolidated into legal and political systems and thus became known to future generations. Civilian political activities should be carried out in a peaceful and orderly manner. They first elected 5 tribunes (later increased to 10) as spokespersons, and successfully asked the Senate and the Consul to recognize the inviolable status of the tribunes and veto the consul's legislation. Power to propose. The tribunes therefore

not only protected the common people, but also exerted influence on legislative activities. The Law of the Twelve Tables (finally compiled in 450 BC) was an earlier political victory for the common people. This written code placed limits on the lawless and tyrannical behavior of the nobles.

The Canurea Act of 449 B.C. allowed commoners and nobles to enter into legal marriages. Licinius in 367 BC - The Sykes Act restricted large estates and allowed debtors to count the interest paid as principal to repay debts, but it still did not abolish the law of creditor's rights. This act also stipulated that one of the consuls must be a commoner, and that some of the priests must also be civilians. The ancient and ruthless law of debt was not abolished until 40 years later. According to the Hortensia Act of 287 BC, resolutions passed by the popular assembly were as valid as those of the general assembly. In fact, before 339 BC, the resolutions of the civilian assembly may have had such a nature. Due to the above-mentioned various bills, the upper class of the common people achieved a status equivalent to that of the nobility, and the two gradually merged into the new nobility.

The victory of the common people expanded the social foundation of the Roman Republic, strengthened the military strength of Rome, and helped this city-state establish a strong foundation in Italy and the Mediterranean through war

Dominance.

Rome established its dominance in Italy and the Mediterranean. The first stage of the Roman Republic’s foreign expansion history was the conquest of Italy.

The second stage was the conquest of the western Mediterranean and the Mediterranean. Conquest of the Eastern Region.

In the second half of the 4th century BC, the Celts from Gaul and northern Italy went south to attack Rome and left after destroying the city and demanding ransom. After this disaster, the Romans began to gradually establish their dominance in the Italian peninsula through force or negotiation. They first controlled the Latin cities on the south bank of the Tiber River. It conquered the Samnites in the center, and then expanded its power to the Edararian cities in the north and the Greek cities in the south. By the middle of the 3rd century BC, Rome had unified Italy south of the Po River in the form of annexations or alliances, and established Roman colonies in various places to consolidate its control over the vast area.