Introduction
History gives us the chance to make a journey into the past and have a glimpse at the kind of life that people in ancient civilizations led. Through access to this historical information, we are able to compare what used to be with what is in terms of human life. The phrase human life as used in this essay encompasses all elements of life such as the system of government, the type of architecture, the religion of the people, and the recreation activities practiced by a group of people. In this essay, the similarities that exist between ancient civilizations such as Rome, Persia, and Greece and modern urban settings and governments will be examined. A comparison will also be given on the effect of war on ancient cities and modern establishments. What are the similarities that exist between modern cities and governments and ancient cities or civilizations?
Main text
To start with, the system of architecture that is used in modern cities is similar to the system of architecture that was employed in most ancient cities (Crawford 1993,pp.19-20).The striking resemblance between modern city buildings and the buildings found in ancient cities is a testimony that these two settings are not different. What is the reason for this similarity? The possible explanation for the similarity is that most of the architectural ideas that are being used today came into existence during the early civilizations such as Rome and Greece. If there are any differences between the buildings, they are extremely minor and therefore hard to notice easily.
Apart from architecture, the system of government that existed in ancient city states such as Rome and Greece is closely related to the systems of government in many parts of the world today. For example the presence of senators in Rome is similar to the presence of senators in countries such as the United States and France. Other structures of administration that the ancient cities had are courts and these ones are in the modern systems of government too. Therefore there is a recognizable resemblance in terms of governments between the ancient establishments and modern nation-states. The most likely reason for this sis that the philosophy that the ancient philosophers developed in politics and government is what is being utilized in matters of government today. Therefore it is not possible to come up with something that is completely different from what used to exist in these ancient civilizations.
In addition to the above, culture in ancient cities included strong spirituality as shown by the deification of kings and emperors as well as the construction of magnificent temples for the gods. In modern days, people are equally spiritual and in some churches such as the Roman Catholic Church people who are perceived as doers of good deeds are canonized or made saints after their death. What did war do to ancient cities and how does it compare to what war is doing to modern establishments?
In ancient cities, war was a source of great destruction. People lost lives and property got destroyed. This is another similarity with modern life because war destroys property and lives are lost too. Julius Caesar’s war campaigns in Asia minor and Egypt were not without causalities (Potter 2009,pp.32-33).In modern times, the first world war and the second world war resulted in millions of deaths (Grosshans 1983,pp.21-22).
Conclusion
In conclusion, ancient civilizations such as Rome and Greece had so much in common with modern establishments in terms of architecture, culture, and government. The impact of war on ancient cities is also the same as the impact of war in modern cities.
References
Crawford, M. (1993). The Roman Republic (2nd ed.).New York: Harvard University Press.
Grosshans, H. (1983). Hitler and the Artists. New York: Holmes & Meyer.
Potter, D. (2009). Ancient Rome: A New History. New York: Thames and Hudson.