Q1: Comparison of Ancient Greek and Egyptian Architectural Designs
There are great similarities in the ancient architectural designs of pyramids in the Egyptians Old Kingdom and the Greek temples of Acropolis that were constructed within the age of the Pericles. The ancient Egyptian and Greek Civilizations are home to some of the oldest architectural structures and designs in history* . However, the evolution of architectural designs in these two civilizations has had different and similar aspects, and is also thought to have taken place within the periods of 1150 BC to 146 BC. In addition, the two civilizations existed in different geographical conditions, implying that the architects in these two civilizations were exposed to different circumstances in the social, cultural and political context . In general, the art behind structural designs appears to have been focused on developing megalithic structures in the Egyptian civilization, while that in the Greek civilization being focused on small but literary rich structures and works of art. For instance, the huge sizes of the Egyptian pyramids cannot be compared to the temples of Athena and Zeus in Acropolis and Olympia respectively @ (Talbert 11). The great variations in geographical settings of this civilizations may be seen as the main reason why these architectural differences exist. For instance, the Egyptians had access to huge stones which were absent in the Greek geographical setting.
The different architectural structures and designs in this ancient civilizations may also be seen to reflect their different political climates at such a time. For instance, architectural structures in ancient Egypt were localized in certain areas like Memphis and Gaza, unlike those in ancient Greece that were distributed all over the Acropolis, Athens and Olympia (Freeman 24). These tends to reflect the then political climate in that; the Egyptians had a centralized government that was entirely bureaucratic while the Greek’s was more decentralized. Decentralization of power in ancient Greece therefore allowed individual states to embark on its own temple construction activities independently*. On the other hand, the localized nature of the Egyptian pyramids implies that central authority behind the construction saw the structures erected in places that served the pharaohs alone . For instance, unlike the ancient Greek temples that were constructed as centers of worship for masses, the Egyptian temples were constructed as places of resting the dead @(Freeman 33). The similarity in these structures may therefore be seen in the fact that both had been erected for some religious significance.
There are various aspects of religious significance in the Egyptians ancient pyramids and the ancient Acropolis of Greece. These structures are both gigantic and were used as places of worship and other religious rituals like burials for the prominent members of the society. The ancient Greeks are thought to have borrowed the designs from the Egyptians in their trade relationships. In addition both civilizations may be seen to have had some sense of harmony in the type of buildings and structures they constructed *. The Egyptian pyramids and temples of the acropolis are based on complex mathematical calculations that define their symmetry. The designs were also constructed in a way that accommodated fruit, flower and green gardens. The symmetry and incorporation of green zones amidst the structure is seen by scholars as an effort to bring in some sense of harmony@ (Fagan 51). For instance, in the dwellings that surrounded the great pyramids of Egypt, signs of gardens have been found within the walls that enclosed them, with rows of ornamental plants and fruits appearing to have greatly helped the civilizations achieve harmony in their architectural structures. Similar structures were also present in the ancient Greek civilization’s architectural designs*. For instance, there exists ancient gardens and courtyards in the cities of Athens that are similar in design as those of the ancient Egypt. Both religions in the ancient Greek and Egyptian communities valued gardens and trees, and associated them with the presence of divine beings, and that is why they grew them around temples.
The architectural landscape of ancient Greek and Egypt also reflects differences in values held by the ancient societies. For instance, the ancient Egyptian society had very little tolerance to human rights and therefore adopted a centralized and authoritarian government that enabled it to acquire human labour forcefully from slaves *. This is regarded as the main factor that enabled the Egyptian civilization to construct huge structures. The Greek society on the other hand did not exercise oppression and class systems of governance, and as a result was not able to acquire free labour for the construction of megalithic structures as observed in the ancient Egyptian civilization.
The political systems and images of authority in the three ancient civilizations reflected major differences in the type of authority that was exercised by ruler, and in the roles played by citizens in governance *. In the Greek civilization, democracy was practiced as a major form of governance, this implies that the ancient Greek citizens had been empowered in as far as decision making regarding how they were governed is concerned . This form of political system was different from that of the ancient Egyptian and Roman civilizations. For instance, in the ancient Egyptian civilization, authority was centralized, whereby, the Pharaoh as the title given to the supreme leader had all political and religious authority vested to him or herself, which implies that all roles of decision making and exercise of political power were played by the Pharaoh (Great River Learning 1). In the ancient Roman Empire the political system was different from that of the ancient Greek and Egyptian civilizations in that; all political powers and authority were vested on the Emperor who was the political leader *. Despite the fact that the emperor was elected by the citizens, he still made own decisions on behalf of all the citizens. The political system of the ancient Roman Empire was mainly based on warfare in the sense that governance was military like, the emperor was a militia leader who would lead in wars and in all political functions.
In the ancient Egyptian Civilization, the Pharaoh played the roles of both the political and religious leader who would lead the people at war and in religious events. The political leader in the ancient Egyptian civilization was therefore different from the one in the Roman and Greek civilization, in fact, he was given the title ‘Lord of the two lands’ and also the ‘High priest of every temple’. This implies that the Pharaohs authority was final and rightfully ordained by gods. The ancient Egyptians therefore regarded the Pharaohs authority as divine and ordained by gods*. This allowed the Pharaoh to make all decisions regarding the governance of the Egyptian territories, and all that revolved around spiritual matters . In the Greek civilization, this was different as the citizens had the power to limit the political leader’s authority through elections. The political leader in the ancient Greek civilization was referred to as the Archon, and was the highest political official in the government system. The archon was similar to the latter day prime minister of a democratic government @ (Fagan 51). The only difference is that He was elected annually and played the roles of the executive and judiciary as the supreme leader . This implies that the Archon had all the authority to make decisions that could affect the entire political realm as empowered by his subjects.
Political authority in the ancient Greek and Egyptian civilizations had similarities in that; the archon played religious roles similar to those of the modern priest in the Greek civilization. Both Pharaohs and Archons would lead the army in war and also preside over religious functions as religious leaders in their own domain *. Citizens in the two civilizations had some similarity in that; those from poor background did not participate in political activities, and would either be treated as slaves or free citizens depending on their economic output of family background . When compared with citizens in the ancient Roman civilization, citizens in the ancient Greek and Egyptian civilizations were less empowered. This is because; the free citizens in the Roman Empire would participate in annual elections to determine the next political authority . This implies that the roman citizens had more say in the type of governance they were exposed to, and which is different from the Greek and Egyptian civilizations.
The political systems in the ancient Roman Empire are also different from those of the ancient Greek civilizations in that, the former had some element of autocracy or dictatorial rule. For instance, during times of natural catastrophe or civil war, the Romans would elect a political dictator to make all political decisions for a limited period of time, and within which, the dictator would command the armies and control all aspects of the social life during his reign. Citizens in the Greek civilization exercised their political rights as encompassed in a democracy, and therefore played a lead role in determining how they would be governed *. Citizens in the ancient Egyptian civilization on the other hand had varied influence on the type of governance they were exposed to, this is because; only the free citizens, families of soldiers and those of religious leaders had the power to participate in their governance . The rest were slaves or simple citizens who worked for the political leaders and worked to towards achieving the political ideologies of their superiors.
Q4: Archaeology as a Source of Historical Knowledge about the Ancient Persian, Mesopotamian and Neolithic Civilizations
Archaeology as a secondary source was the most reliable source of historical knowledge about these civilizations in the 19th Century, this is because it provided scholars with evidence from material remains that could help trace the cultures of the ancient civilizations *. Archaeological evidences from the ancient Persian, Mesopotamian and Neolithic civilizations helped history scholars in the 19th century build a unique perspective of the social phenomena of these societies, in that; the evidences provide proof of the location, time and human cultures that existed in the ancient times, and thus enabling scholars understand and build a wider picture about how the civilizations have evolved through time to their current state and characteristics. For example archaeological evidences of the ancient Persian civilization that formed the latter day Iran helps understand the political, economic and social aspect of these ancient Islamic civilization that existed from around 600 B.C. to 600 A.D *. The artifacts such as ancient Islamic scripts collected by scholars can be used to draw a picture of the economic and technological advancement of a people in the past. For example, the architectural designs and drawings that were discovered in the late 18th and early 19th century comprising of complex symmetry and mathematical applications in the Islamic mosques and dwellings are proof of the existence of a strong religious civilization that highly valued literacy *. Archaeological evidences do not only help history scholars understand about the ways of life in the ancient civilizations of these societies, but also that of their neighbors, which helps create a broader understanding of the entire social and cultural climate of the early human beings.
Archaeology was also a major contributor of historical knowledge for scholars in the 19th and 20th centuries. Much of the information regarding the ancient civilization has been evidenced and recorded through artifacts, scripts and different forms of material remains that provide details about the ways of life in those early times *. A lot of material remains that date back to the Neolithic periods have been discovered by archaeologists, and as a result, there are more historical records about the social cultural setting of the early Mesopotamian civilization as compared to many others that existed in the Neolithic period in history . The historical context of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization has inspired the greatest developments in man’s history as seen in advancements in disciplines such as agriculture, mathematics and astronomy. It is through archaeology that scholars in the 19th and 20th century got to understand how these developments took place in the ancient civilization, and how they impacted the immediate social cultural environment @ (Talbert 41). The ancient Mesopotamian civilization is also one of the most affected by civil strife and blood shed, which is due to the hostile and unstable social-political landscape it experienced in the Neolithic periods*. Details about these events have been evidenced through archeological evidences in which weapons, curving, literature scripts and artefacts among other works of art have been discovered as traces that give clear details about the way of life in the ancient civilization.
It is also through archaeology that historians are able to learn about the Neolithic period which is commonly referred to as the New Stone Age period *. Which covers the broad period between 7000BCE and 900BCE in the south eastern parts of the latter day Europe and eastern parts of Asia respectively *. The civilizations that existed at the time made extensive used of stone tools and stone as the main material for architectural, as a results, the material remains of these structures and tools provide useful sources of information about the human beings ways of life at the particular time, and are mainly obtained through archaeology. Examples of these archaeological evidences are the megalithic structures of ancient Europe and Egypt that include; the great pyramids of Gaza and the Stone Henge respectively*. Those found in the Near East included weapons such as arrow heads and axe heads and not forgetting the great walls of Jericho, and all of which give an indication to historians that the period saw great warfare as men were intensely engaged in civil wars *. Once again, it is through archaeology that this knowledge was mainly discovered.
Work Cited
"Great River Learning." WebCOM™ 2.0. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 July 2016.
Fagan, Brian. Ancient Lives: An Introduction to Archaeology and Prehistory. Routledge, 2016: 35-177.
Freeman, Charles. Egypt, Greece, and Rome: civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean. Oxford University Press, 2014: 13-109.
Talbert, Richard JA, ed. Ancient perspectives: maps and their place in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. University of Chicago Press, 2014: 7- 67.
