Greece.— In the Heroic Age, Greece was divided into, several states or tribes, each ruled by a chief or king. It was about the time of the first Olympiad — 776 s.c.,--772 a.c.— that the people began to aspire to political independence, and.they gradually deposed the kings, setting up chosen rulers in place thereof. At first the new governments were oligarchal, but in the course of, time all of them, except that of Sparta, be came democratic. The states were only loosely bound to each other and national unity was altogether lacking. Athens became foremost in the time of Thucydides and exercised a sort of sovereignty over the entire country. But after a while Sparta imposed her oligarchic system upon the other states and then again Thebes had the ascendancy. Greek civilization, Greek laws, Greek art, Greek literature, Greek patriot ism, became forces that have never ceased to dominate the world. But the passion for wealth and display, 'peal political strife and particu larly jealousy between the different states and cities led to dissension and disunion. Greece came under the influence of the Persian mon archs, then was ruled by the Macedonian kings, Philip and Alexander, and finally, when in 146 a.c. the Roman legions conquered Macedonia, the last Grecian league, the Achaean, and then Athens, were completely vanquished. Succes sively under the domination of Roman Empire of the East, the Byzantine Empire and Turkey, Greece, finally reunited, became an independent kingdom, under a coastitutional monarchy in 1832.
Carthage.— Carthage had its beginning be. fore history had its records. Five centuries before Christ it flourished under rulers who were not hereditary, but who were elected bY the people. The commonwealth of Carthage was a centralized republic, unlike that of Greece and similar to that of Rome. In the Great Council of the State and in the Council of the Elders there was something of aristocracy, but on the whole the people were in control. There was a liberal administration in the interest of all citizens alike, courts of justice, banking in stitutions, public libraries and schools of litera ture and art. Carthage acquired great wealth and a high degree of civilization. Her territory was wide, extended and rich, and the' city; Carthage, capital of the country, was the most superb of that day, being to the republic what Paris is to France. The prosperity of the com monwealth begat its downfall. Political feuds developed and its citizens became divided into factions. Rome, grown in power, saw the op portunity for revenge for earlier defeats and humiliations. Her legions swept over the coun try. Carthage, the splendid city, was blotted from the face of the earth, never to reappear, and with her went every vestige of the republic of which she was the metropolis.
Rome.— Like Israel and Greece, Rome had its political beginning in peoples who were organized in families, clans and tribes. In the early Roman state a king was the ruler, partly an hereditary chief and partly an elected magis trate. Naturally the kingly office grew in im portance and power until, in the time of the Tarquins, it was well-nigh supreme. Still even during this regal period the people retained much power. The inhabitants were divided into two classes, patricians and clients, and the franchise and right of office-holding were pos sessed only by the former. A similar condition
existed under the Etruscan kings, Who ruled from the 7th century before Christ. With the deposition of Tarquin, the Proud, at the close of the 6th century before Christ the Roman republic began and lasted until 27 a.c., nearly five centuries. Of the early years of the re public little is positively known. Romance and tradition make up a large part of the story. In order to curb the growing power of the execu tive office, administrative authority was vested in two elected consuls, with limited tenure of office; but as had always been, the franchise still remained in the patrician class to the ex clusion of the plebeians. No sooner was the republic fully established than a struggle for power began between the two classes and lasted for several centuries. The patricians endeavored to establish an exclusive aristocratic govern ment on the ruins of the monarchy, and the plebeians demanded a large participation in com mon civic privileges. Slowly but surely the plebeians gained. Gradually the social and political barriers between the classes were broken down and by the 3d century before Christ practically all distinctions in regard to the franchise and office holding had disap peared. In 200 years the Romans emancipated themselves, first from kingly and then from oligarchal domination. .During these and the ensuing centuries constitutional changes were frequent, but until toward the end, generally to the enlargement of the powers of the people.
Under this republican government Rome arose to a civic distinction unparalleled at that time. The story of the city and state fills the most brilliant pages of ancient history. Her law is to-day largely the basis of law throughout the civilized world. She made herself mistress of the peninsula of Italy and then conquered the world. Her power became colossal and then her conquests proved her undoing. War made her a military nation and agrkulture was neglected. The spoils of victory brought to her enormous wealth and created great fortunes for her soldiers. Inordinate extravagances followed resultantly the condition of the poorer classes 'became more and more distressing. Reverence for law 'disappeared, many attempts were made by the aristocracy to control the power of the masses and the state became an arena on which men were merely contending for power, wealth and influence. The civil war in which Marius and Sulla were the leaders was the final struggle between the aristocratic and democratic elements. Constitutional gov ernment had been long forgotten and, in the general distress, all classes of citizens felt that a change of government with a strong man at the head was the only thing that could save the state. So Sulla was proclaimed dictator in 81 a.c. In form the republic endured for 50 years more under the consulships of Pompey, Caesar, Crassus and Cicero, but it was little more than form. The dictatorship of Caesar in 48 B.C. was another step toward the end, and Rome was ready for the empire when Octavius Augustus came to the head of the state and was pro claimed imperator in 33 a.c. Republican insti tutions more and more faded into the back ground during the life of Augustus and in all but name he was an absolute monarch. When Tiberius succeeded to the throne, Rome was an empire in reality.