Defining the Term Classical

The societies termed “classical” in antiquity left a great impact on history and the world around them. They did not simply exist, but forced their presence onto the world stage. However, one must first understand what exactly a classical society is.

Ancient Greek sculpture meant to show the
beauty of the human body. The statue itself is supposed
to be of a man in the midst of throwing a discuss.

The term “classical societies” is used to describe the ancient civilizations and peoples that rose to prominence, developing works in all types of fields. These fields include literature, art, architecture, mathematics, philosophy, science, government, and even military, along with so many other subjects. Peoples such as the Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Chinese who made such wondrous advances in these fields with things such as roads, aquafers, sculptures, mythology, and so much more. China, India, and Greece especially (and especially in this time) were hot spots for cultural and societal advancement. Much of this, from what the book says, has to do with the ideas being floated around in these societies at the time.

In Greece, for example, democracy was invented within the walls of Athens. Athens itself was a hub of new ideas, sprouting up philosophy regarding subjects such as government and life. This included, as mentioned before, democracy (the idea that the people rule themselves), stoicism (a philosophy that taught that self control and fortitude were used to overcome destructive emotions), along with many other philosophical ideas. Meanwhile, in ancient China, Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism were springing up. Confucianism was a life philosophy developed by Confucius. Confucianism is mostly based off of the idea of revitalizing the past by living a ritualized life. Daoism on the other hand was a life philosophy that dictated that everyone had a dictated destiny and thus a believer should live their life carefree. In simple terms, if a Daoist were to take a driving test and fail, they would think to themselves “Oh well. I am simply not meant to drive.” Finally, Legalism was the belief that humans must follow the laws dictated to them by their governments and that laws should be created with humanities true nature in mind; this true nature being selfishness and greed. Finally, in India, Buddhism was created. Buddhism was a religion all about freeing the mind and, in a region where the caste system reigned, it gave a degree of equality to its followers. Buddhism differed from other religions such as Judaism and Islam in that it was also a life philosophy and was focused more on a state of mind than the worship of a strict god figure.

These new religions and philosophies helped shape these areas of the world. They arose because of favorable conditions created by the people of these regions. Scholars and high thinkers in these regions spent their lives researching and philosophizing and religions like these were what came about because of them.

While these philosophies and religions sprang up in these regions, empires did aswell. In the west, Rome established itself in Italy and spread throughout the Mediterranean, from Britain all the way to North Africa. In China, the Han ruled, being almost the exact Roman counterpart in the east. In India, two prominent empires rose: the Mauryan and the Gupta. These empires could rise because of this classical period. Because of the change in culture and advances in the arts and sciences, these empires could gain advantages over their neighbors never truly seen before. These were cultural advances, mathematic advances, scientific advances, and military advances. The Romans, for example, showed these advancements when the tore through Gaul (modern day France) and decimated the tribal people in the region. Using things such as new siege weapons and advanced handheld weapons and armor, they were able to, quite literally, cut their way to victory and prominence in the ancient world stage. However, not all these empires were equal. While some became grand empires that lasted for generations, others would pop up quickly and phase out almost as fast.

Map of Rome's territorial extent.

The greatest example of a long lasting empire has to be the Romans. When Rome rose to prominence, it was an empire that lasted for almost a thousand years. They went from a small city state on the Italian Peninsula to being the masters of the Mediterranean within a few hundred years. Rome built itself on its advancements; the Romans were marvelous engineers and architects and could create great buildings such as the Coliseum or the Temple of Jupiter. Along with this, Rome’s growth was slow and steady, allowing the empire much time to look inward on itself and to establish firm control on a region once they gained control of it. On the opposite end of this spectrum is the Macedonian empire forged by Alexander the Great. Alexander’s kingdom stretched far and wide, from Greece all the way to modern day Afghanistan, and was conquered in a remarkably short amount of time. However, this worked against the empire. Once Alexander died in the city of Babylon, his empire quickly crumbled as the Diadochi (the various generals that served under Alexander who all claimed to be his heirs as he had no children) broke the empire into pieces and fought among each other. The empire could not stand because it was built off of Alexander and so when he was gone, there was nothing to hold it together.

Over all, this classical period gave the common, everyday person in these civilizations a better, more enriched life. Suddenly, life was not just doom, gloom, and struggle but was filled with so much new knowledge and art. Life was not just about survival anymore, it could be spent in pursuit of an art or science. This led to so much advancement in these fields and an even better society for the people who live in it. This classical period gave the world a new richness that civilizations afterward would always look back on in awe. It speaks volumes that after the fall of Rome, so many great societies have tried to claim they were the true descendants of Rome or how even in modern China, many people will identify as being Han descended. These empires have left a legacy that had stuck with our world for generations, and will stick with it for generations to come.