Comparison Between Egyptian and Greek Civilizations






Criteria Egyptian Civilization Greek Civilization
Images photo of the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Sphink photo of a classical Greek temple
government
  • Centralized government dominated by the Pharaoh
  • Many independent city-states with a lot of different kinds of governments
Timeline
  • The History of Dynastic Egypt extend through a period of 4000 years, compared to 2000 years of the entire Western civilization, from the Roman Empire till present day
  • The pace of development was far less acute than the achievements of the 500 years Greek civilization
  • Ancient Greek civilization lasted from 750 BC (the archaic period) to 146 BC (the Roman conquest) - only 500 years
Influence
  • Since Egypt was relatively a closed society, it had limited lasting influence over the rest of the ancient world
  • Few achievements in science, and technology were carried to other civilizations
  • It is generally considered to be the culture which provided the foundation of Western Civilization.
  • Roman Empire - Greek culture had a powerful influence on Rome, which carried it to all Europe.
  • Renaissance in Western Europe - influential on the language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, science, and arts
Society
  • A hierarchical society with power residing in the Pharaoh
  • No one wanted anything different, no one asked to be original. On the contrary individuality and creativity were considered as a destructive refusal to accept the established authority, religion and laws.
  • This cultural heritage stunted the Egyptian Civilization, which was virtually unchanged for more than 2500 years
  • Individuality was the basis of their society.
  • They believed that individuals should excel in any direction.
  • This strive for excellence was the method from which the Greek civilization achieved phenomenal accomplishments that stand with us to this day.

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