Despite the existence of many cultures in the ancient world, the Greeks and the Romans had the most influence on American and European civilization. Quite often the living of these two people is lumped together in our minds to an extent that you might think they are exactly the same or as if the Greek culture just suddenly became the Roman culture without changing. This is however not the case. The Greek and the Roman culture were so different in many ways.
Alexander the Great created the Greek empire in 336 B.C. In 13 years, he succeeded to subjugate the whole earlier kingdom of the Medes and Persians and even acquired more territory. In the long run, his empire reached from grease in the West and India in the East. His kingdom was later divided among the four generals after he died. These were Greece, Syria, Egypt and the present day turkey part of Asia Minor. Despite the division, the Greek culture continued to dominate the world for in a substantial way for the 300 years that followed. The Bible represents the Greek empire by a leopard with four heads and four wings.
The Roman Empire which later ruled the whole of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East began as a farming community in Italy. It developed a civilization that became powerful in the whole world. Romans adopted many elements of Greek and Etruscan. For instance the chariot racing was an Etruscan origin. Despite the persistence, Romans resented this dominance in 509 BC.
The Greek were very democratic. They did not have a single but instead the people chose a group of men that governed them. On the other hand the Romans were semi democratic. Yes they were governed by the senate but this senate composed of only the rich upper class and a single emperor possessed all the political power.
It should be noted that both cultures were great builders. Today many tourists admire the ruins in Athens and Rome and flock in thousands to visit unearthed towns from the primordial world like Pergamum and...