Outline Notes Classical Civilizations: Greece and Rome Greek and Roman Political Institutions A.

Introduction Politics crucial polis Greek city-state Good life for upper-class included political service, military Did not try to administer local regions by empire Diverse forms of government Monarchy not preferred tried to abolish Individual strongman tyranny quite common some effective Greece Politics General assemblies all vote, met every 10 days direct democracy all citizens can participate Executive officers chosen by lot similar to jury duty Half of adult males were not citizens, no women or slaves Peloponnesian Wars Lower class brought out the drawbacks of democracies, they wanted power Aristocratic assemblies, aristocracy ruled of the best, not tyranny nor democracy Rome Constitution lead to establishment of empire Principles of aristocracy Senate two consuls shared power public speaking Senate chose a dictator during rash times Cicero- active senator political ethics in oratory Duties of citizens

key political skills oratory Local autonomy 63 CE tolerance local customs, religion Strong military organization Well-crafted laws Twelve Tables 450 BCE restrain upper class Rules, not personal ideas, should govern people regulated property + commerce similar to Chinese bureaucratic structure Focused on law courts, military force Roads, harbors served as military transport, commerce Public baths, stadiums Supported official religion civic festivals, but not imposed Religions tolerated as long as didnt conflict with state Law Codes Localism Political diversity of systems, Aristocracy instability showed system was flawed because lack of individual rights Religion and Culture Greek and Roman Religion Christianity spread, not because of the Christian + Roman Culture Greco-Roman religion more importance of nature than gods and goddesses Different names in each culture Nature + human activities god stories used to illustrate human passions/foibles literature no spiritual passion Upper class didnt allow for method systematic inquiry

Many thinkers/philosophers searched for explanations/model for ethical behavior Aristotle Golden Mean balance Stoics moral independence discipline/personal bravery Socrates question accused of undermining poison Plato understand three forms True, Good, Beautiful Importance human ability to think, not human spirituality Similar to Confucianism, but more skeptical and focused on abstract questions