How I Believe Geography Impacted The Development Of Civilizations During The Ancient And Classical Periods? Geography had great influence on the development of civilization during the Ancient and Classical Periods. For example, geography of Greece can help explain the rise and development of the Greek city-state. First of all, the low lying mountains separated Greece into individual communities (so-called Polis), which were almost isolated from each other as there were no navigable river between these territories. In its turn, it resulted in a government that led to the formation of democracy. The poor quality of soil and the small size of Greek lands also didnt allow the states to support large populations. In its turn, it was conductive to the massive wave of colonization.
Also as far as the climate was almost the same, the colonists had no difficulties in adapting themselves to new conditions, thus resulting in the rise and spread of Hellenistic culture, instilling a strong feeling of humanism and individualism that led to the rise of democracy. Unlike Greece, Italian land was poor in mineral resources; however, it wealthy in fertile land and in precipitation. Due to this fact, Italians were agrarian people and Roman culture, in contrast to Greek culture, identified its ideals and values as agrarian. Yet, as far as the Italy was easily accessible from the Europe to the north (whereas the Greeks lived behind a mountain range), they developed a military society. The Etruscans and Greeks have great impact on early Roman history. Firstly, the Romans were in close contact with the Etruscan religion, ideas, language and civilization because the Romans were the only villagers during the rise of the Etruscan civilization, which has taken a lot from Greeks (the Greek alphabet, sculptural and painting tradition, etc.) Finally, the relatively late conversions of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain and the Frisians and Saxons east of the Rhine River can be explained by the geographic isolation of the territories (Spielvogel 123).
The Essay on Ancient Greek and Roman Similarities.
The ancient Greek and Roman civilizations of Europe began to progress toward a more civilized order of society. As there were no previous establishment to base their ideals on, it was understandable that there were some difficulties in their progression as a society. Although the ancient Greek and Roman governments fell, both had similar paths of creation, conquest, and destruction. Greek society ...
Works Cited Spielvogel, J. Western Civilization: A Brief History. Wadsworth Publishing, 2004..
