Greeks: ‘We have Plato.’ Romans: ‘We have plans for your empire.

    by alyssaaenticing

    5 Comments

    1. Arguably the Romans were far more democratic than Greeks, and they even imposed democracy on Greek kingdoms they defeated.  

      For example, after destroying the Macedonian Kingdom, in defence of Greek allies that Macedonians had attacked, they did not annex Macedonia, instead they divided it in four republics under a Macedonian League (Republic of Heraclea Pelagonia, Republic of Thessalonica, Republic of Pella, Republic of Amphipolis), existing as a client-state. 

      Another example is the Kingdom of Pergamum, which in 133 BC King Attalus III bequathed to the Roman Republic, but initially Romans were uninterested and just told Pergamene envoys that the Pergamenes should rule themselves as a republuc, only reconsidering when another envoy requested for aid against a Pergamene pro-monarchist movement. So the Romans intervened and established the Asian League, which had its own Asian Senate that elected their own leaders and laws, under Roman protection and part of the Roman Commonwealth.

    2. TheMadTargaryen on

      Most Greek city-states were monarchies while in “democracies” like Athens only rich, free men could vote. Women, foreigners, slaves and the poor, so like 95% of population, were powerless.

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