Differences Between Ancient Greek And Roman Government

The spread of democracy was being seen in governments for the first time when adopted by Athens and Rome. In this essay I will compare the similarities and differences between the Ancient Greece and Roman forms of government. Explain how the structures of the government worked and how the society picked who was fit to hold office. Also in the terms of how the officials were picked, explain who were the people in the society who actually were able to vote. Lastly, this essay will explain what lead to the downfalls of these two great empires and who was responsible for this happening.
The empire of Rome started about 509 B.C. and ended in about c. 500 A.D. The Republican government in Rome lasted from 509-287 B.C. The government was bicameral
In 800 B.C., the empire started off as a monarchy, meaning they were under the authority of a king or queen. The monarchy in Greece lasted nearly 100 years, before they made the switch to oligarchy. In a society ruled by Oligarchy, a few people in the country have power, these people usually have large amounts of wealth. The rise of Oligarchy in Ancient Greece only lasted around 100 years. A new form of government, tyranny, was introduced to the Athenian society in 594 B.C.. In tyranny there is a supreme ruler in the government or as some call them tyrants. The “tyrants” in Greece weren’t the malicious leaders like the future tyrants such as Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler. One of the tyrants during the reign of tyranny was a man named Solon. Solon once said, “Society is well governed when its people obey magistrates, and the magistrates obey the law.” This quote shows that Solon, unlike other tyrants, did not believe that he was above the law. This is extremely essential for a leader to realize he is held at the same standard as his people. It is like a trickle down effect; if those at the top will do right, it will lead into the lower class of them obeying the
Starting with the Roman Republic, the start of things going downward started at the top with poor leadership. Then there was an economic collapse which drove up the cost of living by an incredible 1000% percent. To top things off there was an outbreak of an plague which ended up killing thousands of people. Eventually Rome was taken over by the Germanic tribes who succeeded in invading them and taking over in 476 AD. In terms of Greece it seems they became a little bit greedy of some sort. They wanted to take over every piece of land they could get their hands on. Ultimately they tried to take over the wrong country and were defeated by one of the most prolific militaries in our history from