Greek and Roman civilizations

Introduction Throughout history there have been many great empires, but none have made a greater impact than the Greek and Roman empires. These empires began as small city-states, and grew to become the powerful empires we know today. The Greek and Roman empires were not always enemies, considering the Romans were greatly influenced by the Greek culture. The two civilizations shared many similarities, but had different opinions on government operations. There are three different periods that span the history of the Greek and Roman empires; the Hellenic, Hellenistic, and Roman civilization. I will thoroughly examine the differences in religion, philosophy, societal struggles, territory expansion, trade, commerce and the decline of each time period of these civilizations.
Hellenic Period
The Hellenic period is often referred to as the Age of Classic Greece. The Age of Classic Greece started in 507 B.C.E. and lasted until the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.E. This was a time of war, conflict, and evolution. The conflict started when the Persians attempted to take Greece. The Persians intended on expanding their empire and they turned their eyes onto Athens. After several battles the Athenians and the Spartans worked together to defeat the Persians, ending the war in 449 B.C.E. After the war the Athenians began to focus on their politics, economy, and culture. In 507 B.C.E an Athenian nobleman named Cleisthenes created a new system of citizen self-governance called demokratia. In this early democratic system, every male citizen that was older than 18 was able to join the elkkesia, or assembly. Elkkesia was the governing portions of Athens. Other legislators were chosen at random, not by election. During the Persian war, Athens was also able to protect their distant Greek territories from Persian influence by creating an alliance names the Delian League. After the war the Delian League helped push Athens into the great imperial powerhouse they are known