Persians and Greek Empires. Compare and Contrast

Aaron Keene

World Civilizations

Professor Bennett

The Persians and the Greeks

        The Persians and the Greeks. Two of the most powerful and influential empires the world has seen. The Persians, a vast collection of cultures and people. The Greeks, a government with such innovative political ideas that it shaped the future of democracy. These two empires, while being very different from each other, would have long lasting impacts on their surrounding world. Analyzing the key aspects of these two empires and examining their differences will allow us to see why these empires were controlled the way they were.

        The Persian empire was one of the largest and most impressive empires ever seen. Boasting a population of 35 million it was a massive empire, its influence reaching into far expanses. The Persian empire’s homeland is today known as Iran, and its ideologies paved the way for that region’s cultures. Persia built an empire based upon previous systems such as the Babylonian and Assyrian empires, but passed all of them in size and greatness. The Persian empire was ruled by a kingship, two of the most influential names recognized from this era is Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great. Cyrus the Great is known best for freeing the Israelites from their captivity in Babylon. In fact, the Israelites revered Cyrus the great so much that he is the only gentile in the Torah to be titled as a messiah. The old testament even has a prophecy naming of this particular event, possibly a self-fulfilled prophecy but it increased the reverence of Cyrus the Great all the same; “That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.” (4). Darius the Great is known best for his military exploits and expansion of power. The most interesting thing about the Persian empire however is not their military might and ability to conquer and dominate regions, their most amazing quality was their ability to conquer while appearing as liberators. The Persian empire let their conquered lands continue their religious practices and ways of life. Furthermore, they improved the quality of life of their subjects by allowing the freedom to choose a profession, the liberation of slaves and overall tolerance. Additionally, the Persians would often adopt the customs of a conquered culture. Herodotus from Book I of his Histories speaks of this interesting fact of the Persian empire, he writes “There is no nation which so readily adopts foreign customs as the Persians”.(3) Even in their time people realized the unusualness of the Persian empire and its tolerance of different cultures.

        The Greeks were one of the civilizations that had the most interaction with the Persian empire. Their interactions together consisted of consistent conflict, and it is easy to see why. The differences between the Persians and the Greeks were insurmountable. Persia; a huge, vesting conquering empire, controlled by a central monarch, the Greeks; a culture controlled my small city states in constant competition with each other. Where the Persians boasted a population of 35 million the Greeks’ city states total population was only about 2 or 3 million. Where the Persians had a very centralized form of government, the Greeks and their city states were extremely independent and constantly in conflict with each other. However, despite these differences they still had a common language and practiced the same religious practices, unlike the Persian empire, whose people had a very diverse religious population. The Greeks maintained their identity of Greek cultural despite this fierce competition with each other, however this conflict between Greek states would be nothing compared to the constant warring between Persia and Greece.

        Conflict between the Greeks and the Persians was inevitable, two hostile cultures bordering each other with extreme differences. This seemingly uneven and unfair conflict would prove surprising however. Despite Persia’s advantage in size and combined manpower, Greece was able to stand their ground and hold off the Persian empire. One such case was a number of Greek settlements known as the Ionia came under control of the Persian empire as it extended its imperial reach. In 499 B.C.E. several of these settlements began revolting and found support from Athens on the Greek mainland. The Persians, upset by this revolt, launched major military expeditions twice in ten years to punish the Greeks and Athens in particular. However, the Greeks, against all odds defeated the Persians on both land and sea. (1) This interaction between the two great civilizations marked a divide between the East and the West. The Greeks saw their victory as a result of freedom. Men who held freedom fought courageously to defend what they valued so highly. This East/West divide has shaped the way people, especially Europeans, have perceived the world even to this day.