The Ancient Greek and Roman Empires began their histories as city-states. The early empires cultures were very much similar, yet unique. Both had an influence on the Western world. Rome conquered many areas around the Mediterranean Sea. It grew into a huge empire because of how it dealt with the cities they conquered. Unlike most, when a city is defeated they are extracted from the land but Rome offered the defeated people citizenship. Often when the people became citizens, they actually joined the Roman army. Greece was conquered in 146 B.C. They became united with Rome by force. Their culture and philosophy were more advanced and taught the Greeks many things. The Romans soon discovered that the Greeks had much to offer such as knowledge, art, architecture and traditions. The Romans built upon and adopted some of these traditions. In many ways, these two empires were similar. Each of these relied on an agricultural economy. Greece relied on the cultivation of olives and grapes and traded these with foreigners for abundant supplies of grain and supplies needed to survive. The Romans cultivated wheat and grain and other food. They also indulged in trade mostly with neighbors while the Greeks traveled abroad. In both Roman and Greek cultures, the women were responsible for the home and family but their freedoms were different. They also believed that women should not have the same political rights as men (Christian Standard and A Brief Peek at Ancient Greece and Egypt). In

Greece the women had few rights and in Rome they had more freedom to go shopping, visit temples and other privileges. The children were also expected to be submissive to their parents. The father was the head of the household and was to be obeyed by the wife and children. There were different forms of Government between these two empires. The only similarity is that only men