What is the greatest civilization that existed on the face of this planet?

[kabunaru]

In opinion, state the civilization and state why do you think that? I would like to see what people say about this and I am interested in this stuff.

[Killyp]

Egyptians.

It's all fair and well saying the Romans are great, simply because they enjoyed massive military success overall, but the same could be said of many countries nowadays. Heck the British Empire was bigger than the Roman Empire in it's day.

IMO the Egyptians are the most amazing. Nobody has ever built anything as outstanding as the Pyramids, and nobody will for a large amount of time.

[OscarTheGrouch]

Aztecs Mayans did some wonderful things also though. Large construction by slaves does not make a great race of people :)

[jsw]

I'd have to go with the Chinese. They were hundreds of years ahead of Western civilization for millennia, and they're still around and thriving.

[Abstract]

I'm going to go with Canadian-born Chinese people. We fought with our parents for like......40 years, as they basically drove their kids towards becoming a doctor, dentist, lawyer, enginneer, and any other profession considered important. :p

They forced you to play 2 or 3 instruments at a young age. We were allowed to play any instrument we wanted, as long as it was piano or violin. We totally destroyed our parents' dream and never learnt to play any of those instruments.

They bought us "useful" presents, or a shirt and tie, to make us look smart when we went out to have dinner with their friends. We wore them down and they started buying us video games instead. And Lego.....ALL the Lego, although they were very happy to see us developing ours skills for our future architecture career. It's good to plan your career so far ahead.

They're against all types of relationships with the opposite sex, and when you become friends with a girl/boy, they're snoopy and spy on you, scaring both you and your friends away from your house. What has changed? Well, not much, but we decided to make friends with boys and girls anyway, calling them secretly from our mobile phones.

You have to be polite and well-mannered when your parents' friends come over to the house, or when you have dinner with their friends. You're forced to call every elder either "Auntie" or "Uncle", even though they're in no way related to you. It confuses you for the first 11-14 years of your life. Oh, and if you don't act perfectly, your parents will "lose face", bringing shame to the family. Every asian parent learns how to say "lose face" in English before moving to Canada. I think we've disappointed our parents so many times, they had no more face left.

The next generation of parents will totally NOT be like our parents, so we must have kicked a lot of ass over the past 20-30 years to make this happen.



Does any of this make sense? :confused:

[Dont Hurt Me]

United States of America is the greatest civilization that ever existed but our own govt is working hard to water it down into a country with no borders, no Constitution and no identity.

[iJohnHenry]

Aztecs Mayans did some wonderful things also though. Large construction by slaves does not make a great race of people :)

Yes, that made me vote for Greeks.

[arkitect]

Yes, that made me vote for Greeks.

Why?
The Greek "civilisation" was built on slavery and as far as Democracy goes… that only applied to land-owning men.

Unless you were being sarcastic, then my apologies for jumping in… ;)

[Hmac]

United States of America is the greatest civilization that ever existed but our own govt is working hard to water it down into a country with no borders, no Constitution and no identity.I wouldn't call the USA a "civilization". More accurately, it's been a very influential sub-culture of Western Civilization, but only pretty recently relative to the history of the the world. As to that history, the USA is a mere drop in the bucket, will be a small footnote compared to the duration of the Roman Empire.

And I think it's pretty clear that the USA is on the downward slope of the bell-shaped influence curve we've been on for the last half-century. We are increasingly being eclipsed as cultural and economic leaders by the European Union. As the EU becomes increasingly unified, and as China and India become more competitive, our days as the dominant player in the world are most definitely numbered.

[iJohnHenry]

Why?
The Greek "civilisation" was built on slavery and as far as Democracy goes… that only applied to land-owning men.

Unless you were being sarcastic, then my apologies for jumping in… ;)

I was not, and your choice please?? :rolleyes:

Now I am being sarcastic.

[arkitect]

I was not, and your choice please?? :rolleyes:

Now I am being sarcastic.

Actually, since you asked…
The Greeks…

[Hmac]

Why?
The Greek "civilisation" was built on slavery and as far as Democracy goes… that only applied to land-owning men.
In the history of the world, of what influential civilization was slavery not an important part?

[arkitect]

Aztecs Mayans did some wonderful things also though. Large construction by slaves does not make a great race of people :)

Yes, that made me vote for Greeks.

Why?
The Greek "civilisation" was built on slavery… etc

In the history of the world, of what influential civilization was slavery not an important part?

Read what I wrote in context of the quotes and you will see I was not debating the ethics of slavery, but the odd response of choosing the greeks as opposed to the Aztecs…

:o :D

[floyde]

I think the Mayans and Aztecs should be two different options. They didn't even share a language.

[thechidz]

What about Gaul? Probably the most enlightened empire to ever exist...

[robanga]

I chose Rome, because as a westerner it really was the cradle of so much that we enjoy today. Law, customs, and the spread of the Church. Most of what happened in Rome were great benefits to man.

[skunk]

Without a doubt the Greeks.

[bartelby]

The Greeks. I mean what have the Romans ever done for us?;)

[nick9191]

Not to be a snobby arrogant Brit, but I'd have to say the British Empire. We started the industrial revolution, played a large part in forming what is now the USA, and were the largest empire in history to date.

Then again to compare them to other empires that were around thousands of years before, in many ways we were less civilized, ie. cleanliness, manky teeth, chucking piss out windows etc. ;)

[paddy]

The Greeks. I mean what have the Romans ever done for us?;)


Xerxes: The aqueduct.

Reg: Oh yeah, yeah they gave us that. Yeah. That's true.

Masked Activist: And the sanitation!

Stan: Oh yes... sanitation, Reg, you remember what the city used to be like.

Reg: All right, I'll grant you that the aqueduct and the sanitation are two things that the Romans have done...

Matthias:And the roads...

Reg: Well yes obviously the roads... the roads go without saying. But apart from the aqueduct, the sanitation and the roads...

Another Masked Activist:Irrigation...

Other Masked Voices:Medicine... Education... Health...

Reg:Yes... all right, fair enough...

Activist Near Front:And the wine...

Oh, Monty Python! :p Had to be said. :o

[e.m.]

i find it kinda offensive that Mayans and Aztecs are grouped as one. I understand that maybe you were running out of poll options, but...

[bartelby]

Oh, Monty Python! :p Had to be said. :o

That's what I was hoping for!:D

[cube]

i find it kinda offensive that Mayans and Aztecs are grouped as one. I understand that maybe you were running out of poll options, but...

And where are the Incas??

[localoid]

To quote Freud's "Civilization and Its Discontents":

"Civilization is a frowny face turned upside down and dropped on its head..."

) : )

[Gelfin]

The face of the planet? Fine, no love for the mole men I suppose.

[skunk]

And where are the Incas??Still talking in knots, I expect.

What exactly was the Byzantine civilisation, as opposed to the Roman? :confused:

[lofight]

Egyptians, for me.
But romans and greeks were also very great!

[iJohnHenry]

"Great" is subjective in any event.

What about Suleiman the Magnificent, he was great. And Alexander too.

And all old civilisations were feudal-based.

I picked the Greeks because of their thinking, not their conquests.

[Desertrat]

By and large, the "rights of man" aspects of our more modern Amero-Euro era and the ideals built into our Constitution seem to me to be the "greatest", if human rights have importance over physical accomplishments.

Hard to get excited over kings' tombs and human sacrifice...I'm too egalitarian to have much respect for "power of position" determining whether the peasants live or die.

Of the ancients, however, I'd say that part of the Roman era before they got over-extended as to conquest and colonialism. They had a pretty good system of a rule of law and a stable economy for a long, long time.

'Rat

[kabunaru]

i find it kinda offensive that Mayans and Aztecs are grouped as one. I understand that maybe you were running out of poll options, but...

I ran out of poll options, sorry if its offensive to anyone.

To another poster, The Byzantines:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantines

The Byzantines are just basically Greek-speaking Romans. The reason why the Byzantines is on the list is because they managed to survive and continue the empire for another 1000 years after the Fall of the Rome until the Turks came in 1453 and captured Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul.

Edit: I forgot to add the Turks. They were a great empire too.

[thechidz]

heck yeah, the ottoman empire dude???? haha;)

[robanga]

heck yeah, the ottoman empire dude???? haha;)

The world is fickle, you're an empire one century and a cushioned foot stool the next.

[SMM]

To the OP:

It would have been helpful if you had given the criteria you were looking for to answer your question. 'Greatest' is far too broad a question.

[skunk]

The Byzantines are just basically Greek-speaking Romans. The reason why the Byzantines is on the list is because they managed to survive and continue the empire for another 1000 years after the Fall of the Rome until the Turks came in 1453 and captured Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul.An empire is not necessarily the same as a civilisation.

[EricNau]

It has to be the Egyptians. Their architecture is stunning, especially considering the time period. I can't even begin to imagine what it must have looked like back in the day. Plus, they have mummies too.

The Romans would be a close second however, followed by either the Greeks or Mayans.

[cycocelica]

I have gone to Roman and see the amazing things the people built back in the day. Who knows what it looked like back then. Plus the success of them, makes them pretty fascinating.

[Badandy]

I can't decide between Rome and Greece.


I'll go with Rome for the military power.

[solvs]

We can't do "Native American Indians" in general I guess, but wanted to share this:

Indian Chief, 'Two Eagles,' was asked by a white government
official, 'You have observed the white man for 90 years.
You've seen his wars and his technological advances.
You've seen his progress, and the damage he's done.'

The Chief nodded in agreement.
The official continued, 'Considering all these events, in your opinion,
where did the white man go wrong?'
The Chief stared at the government official for over a minute
and then calmly replied. 'When white man find land, Indians
running it. No taxes, No debt, Plenty buffalo, plenty beaver,
Clean Water; women did all the work, Medicine man free. Indian man spend
all day hunting and fishing, all night having sex.'
Then the chief leaned back and smiled. 'Only white man dumb enough to
think he can improve system like that.'
Wondering why no love for the Babylonians though. Their ideas on math, philosophy, science, medicine, ethics, art, travel, technology, weapons, sex. Basis for how we still count time. Babylon kids. Yeah.

[takao]

for influence you are right Babylon is totally overlooked

on the other side if i have to choose an civilization it's totally Byzanz

1. they start out as the roman empire so you get that for free
2. they speak greek so you get that as well
3. they stayed around longer which means had more time to enjoy their decadence which means plus points with me
4. they used Vikings with big axes as royal guard


if the question was "Empires" it's without a doubt Genghis Khan's empire

partly because of this song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_esCf2GSTI
best lyrics of all time

[PlaceofDis]

all past civilizations are romanticized a bit, making them seem better than they really were.

but to answer your questions, we need to know what would make a civilization great. is it power? influence? length? all of those?

the romans had military might. babylon had amazing scholars. egypt had amazing monuments. etc.

[iSaint]

"Great" is subjective in any event.



True...especially when you take into account all the killing in the name of their god/nation/freedom/leadership that has gone on since The Beginning.

[Queso]

I've voted Rome, although I consider it the latter part of the Greco-Roman civilisation since pretty much all the civilising they did was down to Greek influence.

[iBlue]

Without more clear definitions of "greatest" I chose Greek but it was a tough choice.

[Virgil-TB2]

In opinion, state the civilization and state why do you think that? I would like to see what people say about this and I am interested in this stuff.My choice would be the Minoans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoan_civilization) for reasons of culture and decency (as opposed to the usual nods to world domination, destruction, etc).

You don't have an option for it so I chose "Atlantis." :rolleyes:

[aLoC]

What makes a civilization great? I personally think it's not size or power, but how much freedom and individual rights it gives it's people. So on that basis I would say the Anglo-American civilization is the greatest. But other people may have different criteria.

[imac/cheese]

What makes a civilization great? I personally think it's not size or power, but how much freedom and individual rights it gives it's people. So on that basis I would say the Anglo-American civilization is the greatest. But other people may have different criteria.

I would have to agree. Nowhere has there been such freedom, equailty, opportunity, tolerance, acceptance, and liberty as modern day western civilization.

My choice would be the Minoans (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoan_civilization) for reasons of culture and decency (as opposed to the usual nods to world domination, destruction, etc).

You don't have an option for it so I chose "Atlantis." :rolleyes:

I don't think strange genetic experiments bewteen bulls and humans would be considered decent, and sending prisoners into those labyrinths to be constantly hunted down as they stumble about looking for an exit from their prison of confusion borders on torture. :eek:

[ucfgrad93]

I chose Roman.

[kabunaru]

To the OP:

It would have been helpful if you had given the criteria you were looking for to answer your question. 'Greatest' is far too broad a question.

Ok, I am looking for is which civilization do you think influenced our world the most/ biggest impact on modern times and which civilization/empire (empire if you want to call it that way) do you think was the most technologically advanced.

[skunk]

Ok, I am looking for is which civilization do you think influenced our world the most/ biggest impact on modern times and which civilization/empire (empire if you want to call it that way) do you think was the most technologically advanced.Those are two different criteria.

[Virgil-TB2]

I would have to agree. Nowhere has there been such freedom, equailty, opportunity, tolerance, acceptance, and liberty as modern day western civilization.You're making a whole bunch of assumptions here based on pretty much nothing at all.

This is indeed what we tell ourselves about the current state of affairs, but that doesn't make it actually true. It's worth noting that all those older, supposedly intolerant, dirty, warlike civilisations of the past pretty much convinced themselves of the same thing when they were on top. ;)

The Minoans (generalising over many thousands of years of their history here), were amazingly tolerant and peaceful in general and were (originally) a matriarchal, non-warring society. They were a "mixed" society containing members and traditions from all around the Mediterranean as opposed to the mono-theistic societies that surrounded them. They were tolerant of nudism and homosexuality as well as almost any other kind of sexuality. They were the first civilisation to have indoor plumbing and sewers and they were at peace with all their neighbours for almost the entire time the civilisation existed.

I'll take sitting in the sun naked eating grapes, knowing I haven't a single enemy in the world as evidence of a "great" civilisation any day. :)

This phrase here:
I don't think strange genetic experiments bewteen bulls and humans would be considered decent, and sending prisoners into those labyrinths to be constantly hunted down as they stumble about looking for an exit from their prison of confusion borders on torture. :eek:Let's me know that you have only a minimal understanding of what the Minoans were, so I won't bother with too much more. Your references are both inaccurate (genetic experiments??? :rolleyes: ), and more properly refer to a very late period when they were in decline, as well as some propaganda developed by the eventual conquerers of the place.

[blackfox]

The inclusion of the Assyrians is an interesting choice here. Although they were a distinct community for several millenium - and played a dominant role in their area for centuries - the abrupt and complete destruction of everything Assyrian - from culture, to language (akkadian), to the remembrance of their very existence.

Assyria was one of the most advanced military machines of the times, and produced some of the first megalomaniacal rulers - but their culture was brittle and underdeveloped. When their war machine fell - so did everything (perhaps a lesson to be learned in there...).

As such, I would probably rate civilizations on their (lasting) contributions to the future and/or their relevance to current culture.

As such, it is hard to choose. I will tentatively go towards Roman - for their technological advances in multiple areas of expertise, their example of relatively peaceful assimiliation of local cultures into their culture-at-large, the lessons given in the management and governance of a large multiethnic empire, the lessons given by the addition of Christianity into their Culture - and of course, the fact of their slow - but easily traceable - fall. In short, they seem the most relevant to someone in my area of the world now...

Off the top, and I admittedly have a western bias - I am sure there are compelling counter-arguments.

[psychofreak]

I would have to agree. Nowhere has there been such freedom, equailty, opportunity, tolerance, acceptance, and liberty as modern day western civilization.


Freedom, Justice, Guantánamo bay.

[Badandy]

Freedom, Justice, Guantánamo bay.

CCTV's, monarchy, established religion.


See, I can play your game too!

[blackfox]

I would have to agree. Nowhere has there been such freedom, equailty, opportunity, tolerance, acceptance, and liberty as modern day western civilization.
:
Well, one could make the case that many pre-literate early societies were at least as good as modern day western civilization in those fields. Of course, it was a simpler exercise.

[Everythingisnt]

Adding Atlantis onto the list pretty much disqualifies everyone else. If Antlantis did exist, than who could compete with them?? The antlantians were said to have had an incredible mastery of engineering, architecture, mathematics..

[solvs]

If Antlantis did exist
It does!:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Interplay-UK-WS906-Wild-Science/dp/B000GUQP4O

[Queso]

CCTV's, monarchy, established religion.


See, I can play your game too!
You can also prove his point by the look of things....

[imac/cheese]

This phrase here:

Let's me know that you have only a minimal understanding of what the Minoans were, so I won't bother with too much more. Your references are both inaccurate (genetic experiments??? :rolleyes: ), and more properly refer to a very late period when they were in decline, as well as some propaganda developed by the eventual conquerers of the place.

My quote about minotaurs and labyrinths was in jest. I guess I should have used a winking smiley instead or the "eek" smiley.

I really know very little about the Minoans and I wasn't trying to actually argue your point.

[kabunaru]

I cannot decide between Romans, Greeks and Egyptians as my favorite/best civilizations.:( I like all the civilizations but Greeks, Romans and Egyptians the most. ;)

[dogtanian]

Adding Atlantis onto the list pretty much disqualifies everyone else. If Antlantis did exist, than who could compete with them?? The antlantians were said to have had an incredible mastery of engineering, architecture, mathematics..

Adding Atlantis to the list pretty much discredits the OP's orginal post! Atlantis is a mythical imaginary land... you do realise that right... :p

I voted for the persian empire based on my view of them from my favourite childhood comic, Asterix :o

[skunk]

I wasn't aware that the Persian Empire even existed in the Astérix comics.

[Everythingisnt]

It does!:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Interplay-UK-WS906-Wild-Science/dp/B000GUQP4O

You just blew my mind... :eek:

[CalBoy]

Hmmm...interesting thread that I managed to miss thanks to finals. :o

I haven't voted in the poll because none of the choices was a clear winner to me.

If we go off of the four basic components of civilization (art, language, agriculture, and law), then I think in absolute terms, one could make a case for Britain, the United States, Spain, Japan, and the many Native American tribes.

If we go off of the first criterion, Art, I think there's a tough call to be made. Certainly the US is out of the running in this category. Jazz and cartoons, while great, are not up to par with Shakespeare, Spanish poetry, or other art forms (especially Greek drama or Native American craft work). In this category, I would be tempted to crown either the Greeks, the Romans, or the Persians for their various contributions to the arts. It's a tough call, but I think ultimately I'd have to go for the Greeks.

For language, choosing a winner can become very complex. Does one choose the civilization that had the most efficient language? The most adaptable? The one which did it first? The one that extended its usage? It's a tough call, but I think a strong case can be made for the Mesopotamians for doing it first, and for the Romans, whose contributions to language continue to be felt in academia, law, medicine, and religion across the globe. However, I think my choice in this category would be the British Empire. What the Empire did for language is unlike what any civilization before it had done. It lined the world with telegraph and telephone lines and created the most prominent lingua franca in history. English is the language of shipping, of international mail, of the science, and of so many things that for once the world can be said to have a dominant language.

For agriculture, I think there is a fairly obvious choice, although I'm sure it will draw criticism. Considering the wondrous abilities of the US to produce vast amounts of food at low cost, and considering the ability of American farmers to consistently produce high yields year after year, I think we can award the US this one. Certainly it was not the first, nor the last, to engage in agriculture, but it has arguably done it the best.

For law, I think there is a strong case to be made for Britain, the United States, and the Greeks. While the Greeks certainly were the first to openly experiment with representational government, their very narrow and specific constraints on citizenship make them a questionable candidate. For the British, the fact that they were the first modern people to exist for an extended period without a monarch is indicative of remarkable progression, even if the monarchy was eventually restored. The additional fact that the Westminster style of government is the most successful and by far the most used method of representational democracy in the world today means that the British certainly have a claim to have contributed to civilization in a very important way.

However, there is an important aspect of law which the US has brought to the table as well. In terms of constitutional stability, no modern nation can compare to the US. While it isn't always able to guarantee rights to every person at every moment in time, the US Constitution has shown remarkable resilience for a document that has survived a Civil War, two World Wars, and the emergence of the modern welfare state. While not always read correctly (as in Lochner v New York 1905) by those in charge of reading it, the Constitution represents the ideal framework of modern representative democracy, with certain rights protected no matter what (despite what the current administration would have us believe) and protections for those most vulnerable in society (even if we don't always recognize them as such).

However, in the end, I think the winner of the Law category is undoubtedly Britain. Its contributions to democracy and modern political science outstrip those of any other civilization.

So I guess my answer is that I have no single "greatest" civilization vote. If we broaden the categories to include other factors that are important to civilization, many others will enter the fold. I suppose I view a civilization's greatness based on what it gave to the modern world, and in that light, nearly every great civilization is worthy of recognition. I don't think we can pick a "best of show" from such a wide field of strong contenders.

(yes, I wrote all of that to simply say "I don't know" :p)

[Badandy]

Great post. I agree with everything you had there.

I'd be a little more resolute, personally, in saying Latin would be the leader of language. It's a beautiful language, descriptive, and is still widely used in its derivatives and terms.

[Peterkro]

Adding Atlantis to the list pretty much discredits the OP's orginal post! Atlantis is a mythical imaginary land... you do realise that right... :p

I voted for the persian empire based on my view of them from my favourite childhood comic, Asterix :o

I think some people voted Atlantis (I did ) to point out the stupidity of trying to rate civilisations as if it was some sort of sports competition.

[kabunaru]

I think some people voted Atlantis (I did ) to point out the stupidity of trying to rate civilisations as if it was some sort of sports competition.

What is so stupid about my poll? Why do you care if it's rated in a sports competition way? I had nothing like that in mind. I just made a poll about what people think is the greatest civilization and I wasn't even thinking about a sports competition way. I don't know where you got that? Have I missed something?