Compare And Contrast Greek And Assyrians

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Although living in different times, the Assyrians and the Archaic and Classical Age Greeks were both successful empires, so to speak. They both had a strong military background, working political structures, developed cultures and trade, and more importantly, were able to expand. However, the way in which their politics, military, and economics worked varied throughout their time periods. Both the Assyrian and the Greeks of the Archaic and Classical age were one of the greatest warriors of their time. The Assyrians represented the highest of military power and bureaucratic organization of any civilization before them. The Greeks later proved to be a stronger elite that went on to conquer many lands throughout history. Furthermore, these two…show more content…
The Assyrians were the first empire in world history to systematically conquer almost all of their neighbors using a powerful army and go on to control that conquered territory for hundreds of years (Lecture, The Bronze and Iron Ages). The army expanded by enlisting the male populations of the conquered territories in its ranks, so by the time of the late Assyrian Empire, the majority of the army was not even of Assyrian blood; a fact that contributed to the eventual downfall. Furthermore, the Assyrians came from the fact that their region in northern Mesopotamia had no natural borders, so they needed a strong military to survive. Over the next century, the Assyrians became the mightiest empire yet seen in the Middle East. They outfitted their armies with well-made iron weapons and also invented an early “pony express” to help communicate across their empire. The Assyrians also introduced two innovations in military technology and organization that were very important, which were a permanent cavalry and a large standing army of trained infantry. On the other hand, Greek poleis of the Archaic Age introduced the phalanx and each soldier in a phalanx was was called a hoplite. The phalanx is a unit of spearmen standing in a dense formation using their shield to protect the man to his left. Their form of organization provided a solution to the problem of having highly-trained and motivated…show more content…
During the Archaic Age, all Greeks shared the belief that the world was divided between Greeks and barbarians. The Greek language was shared and so was the worship of the Greek gods (Lecture, The Archaic Age of the Greeks). The poleis came up with institutions that would unite the cities, including the PanHellenic games. The most famous of these games was the Olympics, which were held every four years, then and now. As the dark age came to an end, it led to a massive emigration which forced people to move elsewhere which resulted in the Greek colonies stretching across the Mediterranean. The Greeks set up trading posts where they settled and eagerly traded with everyone from the Celts of Spain to the Mesopotamians. Another major development during this period was currency, or coinage, which started being used in about 650 BCE. Continuing on, even then Greek society itself was profoundly divided and unequal. Women could not be citizens, let alone hold public office, own property, or defend themselves independently in court. With that being said, Greece was also a slave society. Slaves in Greece were in legal positions just as bad as any in history. They could be killed, raped, or maimed by their masters if they saw fit. During the classical age, Greeks arrived at some of their great intellectual and cultural achievements. The importance of Greek thought,or humanism, was reflected in art,
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