Being a citizen is belonging to a political community and participating in it. The state of being a citizen is gained by meeting stated requirements by either a local government, state, or national government. A nation protects its citizens and grants them specific rights and privileges. How a nation values its citizens varies from one nation to another (Schumacher). For instance, citizens have a right to vote in some countries and are entitled to unemployment insurance, while such rights are not exercised in other countries. Living in a particular country does not also mean you are a citizen of that certain country. If a citizen of a different country moves to live in a different country, they are referred to as aliens. Their rights are dictated by the laws governing the country of stay.
Greeks and Romans share common ground when it comes to citizenship. Ancient Greeks and Romans gave their citizens rights that were not granted to slaves, outsiders, and other people who were considered not to possess the country’s right of belonging. Such a foundation shaped the Greek and Roman citizenship state (Schumacher). Citizenship has changed over time. Greeks tended to restrict citizenship to children born to citizens’ parents, while the Romans were willing to extend citizenship to others who were considered outsiders, such as slaves. In Greece, citizenship means sharing national duties in city-state and polis. The citizens were expected to fight in defense of the polis and participate in the city politics by voting. To encourage individuals to participate as citizens, they were promised land to exercise citizenship duties and hold a political office. Greek citizens were allowed to control the land and wealth of the polis, which was a privilege enjoyed only by citizenship. Since this was a sensitive and a great privilege to be a citizen, Greece’s authority regulated individuals who could obtain the right to be a citizen. In general, only free residents who could trace their ancestry to the city’s founders were considered citizens. Polis only guaranteed citizenship to those outsiders who had valuable skills and wealth.
Romans, on the other, shared the Greek belief that citizenships involve specified privileges and responsibilities. In ancient Rome, citizens were allowed to vote; they had the right to get married by signing a legal marriage contract. To be allowed to exercise these rights as a citizen, they were required to pay special taxes and serve in the military. Citizenship differed from one individual to another, as some inhabitants of Italy were given partial citizenship, allowing them to exercise citizenship rights apart from voting and holding an office (Schumacher). The wealthy residents had privileges granted by the law compared to poor citizens. For a person to become a roman citizen, there are several ways, most commonly through a legally married citizen father. Unlike the Greeks, the Romans did put in place strict rules to guide granting of citizenship to foreigners, a policy that helped them secure the Rome empire. An Italian could become a Roman citizen by moving to Rome.
Greek is more similar to the United States citizenship system from both Greek and Roman citizenship view. According to history, Greeks were credited for engineering democratic governance that led to the United States democratic leadership structure. For an individual to be granted citizenship, one has to go through thorough scrutiny and process just like the Greeks way. The government is regulating immigration with rules that guide the process of obtaining citizenship. From the different states and cities in America, it shows an exact reflection of the community structure of an ancient Greek polis or city-state. A polis was composed of a city and the land that surrounds it.
Works Cited
“Comparing Ancient to Modern: How Ancient Greece and Rome Provide Insight for Citizenship and Immigration in the 21st Century.”Institutional Repository at Xavier University – Cincinnati, Ohio, 2019.