According to comprehensive reports from Worldway: Greece is the cradle of Western civilization, having created a brilliant ancient culture and achieved tremendous accomplishments in music, mathematics, philosophy, literature, architecture, and sculpture.
Ancient Greek culture profoundly influenced Ancient Roman civilization, which subsequently carried it forward and spread it throughout the entire Western world. Ancient Greece was a region of many city-states; therefore, many different political systems were practiced and developed there. Some ancient Greek city-states, such as Sparta, practiced a monarchy, concentrating ruling power in the hands of a king; others, like Athens, practiced a democratic system; still others were ruled by aristocrats or by councils controlled by a minority.
Although the territory of Ancient Greece was small, its political systems underwent rich and varied development over a wide span of time. In terms of government alone, Ancient Greece experienced the evolution of aristocracy, democracy, oligarchy, and tyranny. In particular, the democratic political system of Ancient Greece was one of the earliest attempts at a direct democracy by ancient humanity, and it has had a profound influence on later generations.
