Greatest civilization?

Greatest ancient civilization

  • Greco-Roman civilization

    Votes: 29 74.4%
  • Hebrew civilization

    Votes: 1 2.6%
  • Chinese civilization

    Votes: 2 5.1%
  • Mesopotamian civilization

    Votes: 2 5.1%
  • Egyptian civilization

    Votes: 2 5.1%
  • Persian civilization

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Indian civilization

    Votes: 3 7.7%
  • Maya civilization

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    39
When you say Chinese civilisation, do you mean ancient Chinese only ? It would make more sense as the other are all ancient and you didn't choose medieval civilisations like the Arabs, Aztecs or Incas. But what about ancient India ?

I would consider Greece and Rome as the same civilisation, given their proximity, almost identical religion and numerous exchanges (upper-class Romans used to study in Greece and speak Greek as well as Latin).
 
I have modified that. Shall I merge Greeks with Romans to make Greco-Roman civilisation ?
 
And my vote goes to the Greco-Roman civilisation. :)
 
It isn't ancient, but I vote for the modern global civilization. It is hard to compare meso American to Egyptian, Greco-Roman to Indus River Valley, Mesopotamian to Chinese... What gets points and what criterion are we using? I like the aesthetics of Japanese culture, but much of it is not all that ancient. On the other hand great civilizations in the Americas and Africa... kind of died out and left only ruins behind. (What legacy does the ancient Zimbabwe or Maya culture leave to us...) And simply because an ancient society never left great philosophy or literature, or never had technology... does that score them lower?

Right here, right now- there is no other place I'd rather be.
Right here, right now- watching the world wake up from history.
 
Greco-Roman Here.

I am very impressed with them. Not to say that I'm not with the others, but more so with the Greco-Roman.
 
sabro said:
It isn't ancient, but I vote for the modern global civilization. It is hard to compare meso American to Egyptian, Greco-Roman to Indus River Valley, Mesopotamian to Chinese...
I don't think that was the point of the poll to choose "modern global civilization" when it's clearly about specific ancient cvilisations. Therefore I removed the option "other", as there are no real other ancient civilisations that we know of (btw, "ancient" means until about the 5th or 6th century CE). Even Japanese civilisation start in medieaval times, like the Maya.
 
I'm not certain where your definition of "ancient" comes from. Most scholars (according to my extensive "Google" scholarship :) ) seem to include the now extinct new world civilizations and the Ainu and older Japanese civilization. And there are dozens of other ancient civilizations apart from the ones you listed. I would include the Anasazi, Maya, Inca, Aztec, Olmec, Toltec, Miami, Red Paint, Clovis, (and 50 other new world civilizations) Mali, Songhai, Sudan, Kush, Axumite, (and a few other African Civilizations) Assyria, Sumerian, Mitani, Uratha, Babylonia, Persia, Mede (as all separate entities), There is a list at the bottom of this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_history

And although I don't mind leaving the criterion open, but the discussion of how you determine or measure "greatest" is definitely intriguing.
 
Well, as an amateur historian who almost became a professional historian, Ancient Times finish at the same time everywhere and that corresponds roughly to the fall of the Roman Empire in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the fall of the Gupta Empire in India. In other words "Medieval Times" by Western standard (mine) corresponds to the rise of Islam, the beginning of the Sui and Tang dynasties in China, the Yamato and Nara periods in Japan, of the decline of the Classic Maya period.

Sorry, I mistook when I said Maya above, so I have added it. There is little need including the smaller American and Middle Eastern civilisation in a poll for the greatest one... Anyway, I think it is better to avoid confusion by adding to many small civs or an option "Other", as people like you might think of later civilisations .
 
What about Teotihuacan civilization? It was one of the largest Mezo-American civilizations.

As for my pic, I can't really say. Probably a tie between Chinese, Greco-Roman, and Indian civilization.
 
Silverbackman said:
What about Teotihuacan civilization? It was one of the largest Mezo-American civilizations.

Teotihuacan is a city. It belonged to the Maya-Mixtec-Aztec civilisation. So you could vote for Maya if you want to vote for them.
 
The reconstruction of the Roman Empire was roughly the size of today's European Union. I wonder if they would be willing to accept Canada into the EU if we wanted to. I want to have Canada in.
 
What about "other"?

How about the communities set up during the Spanish Civil War?
Ha!
Actually, I know little about that time/place, except that like all other
attempts at similar situations this too had been smashed by the outside and not been able to exist or fall on its own merits.
 
Chinese civilization were greatest.

Would you care to explain why you think so ? That would be more interesting for the discussion. :giggle:
 
I also voted for Greco-Roman civilization for many of the reasons stated here; when I think of western civilization almost all of it stems from the Greeks.
 
I`ll say the egyptien one
not because I`m egyptien but cause it was the first cilivization ever and other cilivizations imitated it
 

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