The Greek civilization is often considered to be one with one culture and political system, but in fact, this widespread belief is erroneous. Greece became united only in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, but only in a cultural sense (Periferakis and Paresoglou 1). The concept of a single Greek civilization arose during the time of the Romans, who called all the tribes in the west of the Balkan Peninsula Greeks; The Greeks themselves called their country Hellas and themselves Hellenes.
Ancient Greece did not have a single centralized political system and cultural values throughout its existence. Although attempts were made to establish a community, a significant unification of the then-dominant policies occurred during the wars with Persia (Rhodes 230). Athens and Sparta’s two most powerful policies were at the head of the now large but ununified Greek civilization. As a result of the mergers, two centers emerged, each unique and developed along a separate path. According to historical data, the Athenian part of the state was primarily responsible for developing and forming a democratic society (Rhodes 240). On the other hand, the Spartan part of civilization was based on the concept of brutal militarism and was considered an extremely conservative state (Rhodes 269). The rivalry between these two policies led to many years of civil wars.
Although, in the end, the democratic structure of civilization prevailed and gave Greece independence and some unity, the return to the old order of things was only superficial. Thus, none of the cultures can develop in isolation; there is an interchange between cultural communities and cultural layers. Together with the whole world, the modern state adopts traditions from different civilizations to varying degrees, so one cannot speak of unity.
Works Cited
Periferakis, Argyrios, and Nikolaos Paresoglou. “Lavrion from Ancient Greece to the Present Day: A Study of How an Ore Deposit Shaped History.” 15th International Congress of the Geological Society of Greece, 2019, Web.
Rhodes, P. J., editor. Athenian Democracy: Edinburgh Readings on the Ancient World. Edinburgh University Press, 2019.