Running head: ANCIENT GREECE VS.

ANCIENT EGYPT 1

Ancient Greece vs. Ancient Egypt

Laura Mauck

Baker College
ANCIENT GREECE VS. ANCIENT EGPYT 2

Ancient Greece and ancient Egypt have both had large impacts on society as we know

today. The government and administration of these two time periods have some similarities but

have drastic differences as well. It is in Greece that we see the first true democracy even though

it is only in Athens. Egypt showcases beginnings of large empires. Through the comparing and

contrasting of these two civilizations we can showcase how each had their flaws and were

destined to fail.

The first Egyptian Empire and unification of Egypt came around 3150 B.C.E under the

Pharaoh Menes, also known as Narmer. (Kohout, 2013) His power initially came from his

building of a damn that protected his capital city. (Emmert, 2006) Divine kingship was a pivotal

aspect of Egyptian pharaohs and initially the pharaoh was seen as a descendent from the sun-god

Ra. Pharaohs ensured the annual flooding of the Nile, cared for all of his people, and preserved

maat. (Kishlansky, 2010) The first of these pharaohs to be deified was Djoser and he also built

the first step pyramid from stone. These pyramids used slaves but not in the sense of slavery we

think of today. The slaves were given food, beer and tax breaks. Ten thousand men built Djosers

step pyramid that ended up standing 20 stories tall. (Emmert, 2006) The pharaoh Snefru was the

first to have a true pyramid built. Though it was not until his third attempt that he fully achieved

the pyramid form. The Red Pyramid was this third pyramid he commissioned to be built which

essentially bled the empire dry of its money. His son would go on to commission the great

pyramid of Giza. It was through drought, famine, and chaos that ended the reigns of these

pyramid building pharaohs. (Emmert, 2006) The grandeur of these buildings are comparable to

the amazing architecture that we see in Ancient Greece. The Athenian general Pericles helped to

led Athens during the height of its glory. With Athens being the leader of the Delian league it

became to be seen as an Athenian empire. Pericles would use the money earned through the
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Delian league to help build Athens to its heights. The most expensive of these projects was the

Parthenon. In todays value it would have cost billions of dollars. The Parthenon also housed a

huge statue of Athena that cost as much if not more than the building itself, as it was decorated in

ivory and gold. Another downside was that many Athenians did not like the building including

the philosopher Plato. Overcrowding in Athens would lead to widespread disease and plague

and they would eventually lose to Sparta in the Peloponnesian war. (Fields, 2006) Though both

the pyramids of Egypt and the Parthenon of Athens are marvelous structures to behold these

large scale building projects put strains on the economy and are likely a large factor into the

demise of these civilizations.

Ancient Egypt had many pharaohs which brought the empire together and helped to

spread the culture into further territories. Sesostris the 3rd was a great pharaoh and cared deeply

for his people. He was also an amazing commander as he took ahold of Nubia as he saw how

important it was for trade. He burned his enemies crop fields, poisoned their wells, and enslaved

their women. He also built super forts which could be comparable to European fortresses of

the Middle Ages. They had layers of defense with a moat with a wall outside the moat and two

more walls after the moat before you would get to the interior. The pharaoh Seti the 1st also

conquered lands well into Phoenician territory. Yet the greatest conquer of Ancient Egypt as

Ramesses the 2nd, Egypts golden boy. He excelled in war and fought with the Hittites in the

kingdom of Syria. His armies included chariots and double-bows. Though the battle he fought

would end in a bloody stalemate he returned home and was worshipped as a god. In his temple at

Abu Simbel there are depictions of Ramesses the pharaoh worshipping Ramesses the god.

Though after Ramesses there were few good leaders and the empire of Egypt would eventually

fall due to weak leadership and economic woes. (Emmert, 2006) This need for expansion can be
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comparable to Ancient Greece if we look at Alexander the Great. His father Phillip the 2nd had

taken over the Greece with his defeat of Athens and Thebes. Yet he let them continue their

culture because he enjoyed the Hellenistic culture. After Phillip the 2nd was killed, Alexander

took charge and would eventually take over the Persian Empire. He initially took out the Persian

naval bases then went into Egypt where he was crowned as pharaoh and declared a god. He

spread Greek culture wherever he went through accommodation and assimilation. As soon as

Alexander died though his empire began to fall apart. (Fields, 2006) This showcases that both

civilizations were weak when they did not have a strong leader and would eventually fall into

chaos.

Each of these civilizations may have been based around a religion that had multiple gods

but religion played a far higher role in the government of Egypt. The pharaoh Hatshepsut would

be the only female ruler of her time. This was unheard of during her time because a man was the

only one who was seen as fit to lead. Initially ruling as a regent for her son-in-law, she would

dress as a man and ensure her body was shaped like a man. She also had a temple and obelisks

built to show that she was chosen by the gods to rule. Her son-in-law would eventually take

power and work towards wiping her from the official history of Egypt. (Emmert, 2006) The

pharaoh Amenhotep the 4th showcase the first struggle of church vs. state. He brought a once

minor god, Aten, up towards the status of a major god. He would even change his name to

Akhenaten, which means living spirit of Aten. Akhenaten would also move the capital of Egypt

to a new city he wanted built immediately, which would be named Akhetaten, Horizon of

Aten. Within 2 years of the city being built 20, 000 people lived there. He would then begin to

take religion very seriously and wanted his people to focus on only the god Aten. This focus led
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to the borders of Egypt to shrink. After Akhenatens death, the capital was moved back and

many statues and other depictions of Akhenaten were destroyed. (Emmert, 2006)

The development of government in Ancient Greece was very different from that of

Ancient Egypt. The first great civilization to develop in the Greek mainland was the Mycenaean

civilization. The Mycenaean were similar to the Egyptians in that they did build tombs for their

deceased leaders. (Fields, 2006) Yet they were different as they allowed women to have more of

an identity in their society then Egypt or that of later Greece as well. (Kishlansky, 2010) They

eventually fell likely to barbarian tribes. Between the years 750 BC and 500 BC there was large

changes throughout Greece. Increases in population led to more villages and towns, great

divisions of labor, and an overwrought agricultural system. This would lead to vital changes in

Greeces political systems. (Kohout, 2013) More than 100 city-states would develop often being

led by tyrants. (Fields, 2006) Two of the most well-known and powerful city-states were Athens

and Sparta. These two city-states were governed very differently from each other and each in

turn was different from the government of ancient Egypt. Sparta was a very military centered

city-state. They were ran by two hereditary kings as well as a council of elders. Spartans were

placed under direct supervision and service of the state from the time they were born until they

died. Sparta babies were examined upon birth and determined if they were to be allowed to live.

A boys military training would begin at age seven. Very few lived up to the challenge and in

turn this meant the equality of being a Sparta was a right that only a small minority enjoyed.

(Kishlansky, 2010) Athens was a very different and was the birthplace of democracy. The

government was a direct democracy as well as every man had their say in every law or policy

that the city would adopt. (Johnson, n.d.) There were public officials but they were chosen at

random. Any citizen who wanted to serve in an office would put their name and then the winner
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would be chosen in a fashion similar to lottery numbers. (Johnson, n.d.) Each of these types of

governments had their flaws. Spartas government left many out of government and Athens was

often led by amateurs.

The governments of ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt were destined to fail. Though

each of them have left marks on todays society from both of their great architecture, these aided

in their downfall. Empires that would be held together by only a single leader easily fell when

they had successive weak leaders or no order for succession. Egypts divine nature of pharaohs

did not allow for the people to truly challenge their leaders. Spartas military government could

not keep the people together. Athenss democracy allowed too many amateurs to hold power.

All of these elements showcase how these governments were bound to fail.
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References

Emmert, A. (Writer), & Cassel, C. (Director). (2006) Egypt: Engineering an Empire [Television

Broadcast] In Cassel, C. (Producer). United States: The History Channel

Fields, E., (Writer), & Poole, T. (Director). (2006) Greece: Engineering an Empire [Television

Broadcast] In Martin, R. (Producer). United States: The History Channel

Johnson, David M. (n.d) Athenian Democracy. Retrieved from

http://languages.siu.edu/classics/Johnson/HTML/L10.html

Kishlansky, M., Geary, P. & OBrien, P. (2010) Civilization in the West. Upper Saddle River,

New Jersey: Longman

Kohout, N. (2013) HIS 321 Week 1 Outline. Unpublished Outline. Baker College

Kohout, N. (2013) HIS 321 Week 3 Outline. Unpublished Outline. Baker College

Sherman, D. A., Grunfeld, T., Markowitz, G., Rosner, D. & Heywood, L. eds. (2006) World

Civilizations: Sources, Images, and Interpretations, Volume I. 4th ed. New York:

Mcgraw-Hill