Let's go back to the map and see the geographical locations of Greece and Rome. Greece consists of the continental peninsula and some small islands scattered in the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Surrounded by the sea on three sides, only the north is connected with the land, with many hills and few plains, belonging to a mild maritime climate. It is precisely because of this geographical condition that its agriculture is difficult to develop. In order to survive, the Greeks learned to exchange agricultural products with other regions. And gradually formed a prosperous trade exchange in the Mediterranean region. The environment in Rome is similar to that in Greece. It is located in today's Italian peninsula, which is a hilly and swamp area. So agriculture is not very developed. But Rome did not solve this problem through free trade and barter, as Greece did. It used a bloody way-aggression and expansion. In order to meet the growing demand for food and wealth in the Roman Empire, the Romans chose to keep invading. With its powerful army and weapons, Rome jumped from a humble town on the Tiber River to the center of an empire that ruled 2 million square miles. (4) Every day, hundreds of ships and vehicles arrive at the Rome pier, bringing gold, silver, jewels and grains plundered from all over the world. At the same time, with the continuous expansion of the Roman Empire, the consumption of these materials increased dramatically. In turn, this led to the continuous expansion of the Roman Empire, thus forming a vicious circle, which accompanied the Roman Empire from beginning to end. In contrast, in order to resist the harsh and changeable sea environment, Greece has developed a benign competition model of mutual cooperation. Moreover, the latter has penetrated into the spiritual field of contemporary westerners. In addition, the economic development of Greece mainly depends on overseas and regional trade conducted by businessmen and farming by local farmers. The number of slaves in Greek city-states is much less than that in Rome. After years of war, Rome brought wealth and a large number of slaves, which were widely distributed in most industries, such as mining, metallurgy, navigation, paving roads and building large buildings. It can be said that a large part of the greatness and achievements of ancient Rome were created by slaves.

Generally speaking, the economic development of Greece and Rome has taken a completely different road, which embodies two completely different ideas. These thoughts had a far-reaching impact on the economic development of western countries. Anyone who knows a little about history knows that the western countries have basically experienced these two stages, such as the overseas expansion of the new European Empire to Africa and America and the slave trade, which is just another version of the Roman form, and the trade between countries is also Greek.

Politics and democracy

When it comes to democracy, we will think of the contemporary western "human rights" society, but the word democracy first appeared in Athens, ancient Greece. On the one hand, Greek democratic politics gave democracy to hundreds of people, on the other hand, it deprived tens of thousands of slaves and freemen of their right to participate in politics. The essence of Greek democracy at that time was: majority rule; Everyone is equal before the law; Freedom of personal life. Although democracy at this time has a strong class nature and is only aimed at citizens' democracy, this view has far surpassed its era thousands of years ago. Compared with the democracy of our time, I think their connotations are the same. Although contemporary western political circles keep saying that "everyone is equal and human rights are guaranteed", does this democracy really exist? For example, in the United States, its politics is still in the hands of a few rich and powerful big capitalists, which is reflected in its appearance as the spokesman of "democracy" funded by it-the president of the United States. Middle and lower class citizens are still often played with the illusion of "democracy" by politicians. In this sense, its democracy is completely consistent with that of ancient Greece.

The early political system of ancient Rome was modeled after Greece. Later, from Augustus Caesar, "democracy" ceased to exist, and it became absolute monarchy until its demise. The greatest contribution of the Romans was legislation. In the process of fierce contradictions and struggles between the nobility and the poor, the first written law, the Twelve Copper Tables Act, came into being. Although this law still safeguarded the interests of the nobility and the upper class, it was a great progress of civilization at that time. Subsequent civil law, civil law and civil rights law laid the embryonic form of the western legal system, especially the "inviolability of citizens' private property" stipulated in the civil rights law, which became an eternal theme in later western laws.

Religion and art

The Roman poet Horace once sang: "Greece was captured, and the captured Greece captured a savage winner, and literature and art moved into a lonely place." Indeed, the early Roman culture was almost a pure inheritance and imitation of Greece, which was reflected in myths and religions. For example, the mythical Roman God is almost a copy of Greek mythology. Demeter, the Greek mother god, became celis, the Roman Valley God. Zeus, the king of the gods, became Jupiter; Hera became Juno; Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, became Venus. These things are too numerous to mention. With the continuous expansion of the Roman Empire, foreign religions spread everywhere, among which Christianity, which appeared in Rome around 40 AD, had the greatest influence. Christianity rose rapidly in the whole Roman Empire from the time it appeared. At this time, in order to rule, the imperial emperors urgently needed a kind of spiritual public opinion to restrain the people's thoughts. Therefore, in the era of the last emperor Dycredo, Christianity was designated as the state religion of Rome, which opened the Christian era in Europe. Until today, the vast areas in the west are United with Christianity as the spiritual pillar.

In education, the Romans carried forward the "academy" education of the Greeks and created a series of very sound education systems, including primary education and higher education. This system continues to this day and has become the main body of education in various countries. It is worth mentioning that Roman higher education, which was called "institution of higher learning" at that time, was the predecessor of modern universities. It emphasized moral education and pointed out that "teachers should not only have profound knowledge, but also do things in life."

This idea of teaching and educating people with both ability and political integrity was inherited by later generations.

In the field of art, it is manifested in solidified art such as architecture and sculpture, as well as literature. The architectural styles of ancient Greece and Rome are quite different. Italian architect Bruno Saiwei pointed out in his "On Architectural Space": "Greek style = beautiful times, symbolizing meditation and rest in passion; Romanesque = the age of force and luxury. " If appreciating Greek architecture is like listening to a quiet and beautiful serenade, which inspires your deepest thinking and imagination everywhere, then ancient Roman architecture is more like a magnificent symphony. If the architecture of ancient Greece is exquisite and continuous, then the architecture of ancient Rome is a magnificent gathering. The most representative Greek architecture is the temple. It is generally built with marble and supported by various stone pillars, which is simple and elegant. We can see from the styles of the Parthenon and the Acropolis that these styles have been passed down to later generations. The architecture of ancient Rome developed gradually by inheriting and absorbing the Greek style. At first, Roman buildings mostly used circular arches and domes, and their temple buildings mostly used Corinthian order. For example, the famous Pantheon in Rome is an extremely solemn and magnificent huge building, which was built in the Octavian era in 27 BC. The whole hall is a huge drum-shaped architectural style, with a glittering dome above and a dazzling array of reliefs inside. Ancient Greek and Roman architecture has a far-reaching influence on later western architecture. Especially during the Renaissance, a huge wave of imitating the classical period was set off. At this time, a large number of antique-style buildings appeared, such as the St. Andrei Church in Mantua, which took the Arc de Triomphe in ancient Rome as a sample; Rusella Mansion with classical columns; St Peter's Cathedral with a dome and columns.

In addition, in literature, sculpture, natural science and other aspects, ancient Greek and Roman civilization also provided endless inspiration and vitality for the development of western literature and art in later generations.

The above is only a brief discussion on some aspects of the influence of ancient Greece and Rome on later generations, and I can only knock on the heavy door of western classical period with my vulgar words. But only from these aspects can we see how great and far-reaching the influence of ancient Greece and Rome on the later generations of the West is. Perhaps from this deep thinking, we can learn to reflect on our own culture, find the essence, reposition ourselves reasonably and move forward more forcefully.