Attitudes of War in Ancient Civilizations - 1039 Words

Chapter Eight War and Society reveals the attitudes about war in both ancient Rome and China. These attitudes prove that in these cases perhaps it is safe to say that wars are not inevitable or natural but were caused by warlike societies and social situations. After reading bits and pieces of both the ancient Roman and Chinese history, one can only gain a greater perspective on how these attitudes derived. In 391 nomads called the Gauls defeated a small army of Roman aristocrats and burnt down the town of Rome. After this attack, Rome rebuilt its town and changed it into an empire, which spread its laws, culture, and peace from the North. Rome was convinced that after this first invasion, it was necessary to change their military.†¦show more content†¦People forgot how to harvest and grow crops, because they became practically military machines unable to do much of anything else except fight in battle. Just as in Rome as their empires grew, the need for an increased n umber of soldiers and weaponry was necessary. This caused taxes to increase, which caused a burden on those who then were unable to retain their farms. I believe that hardly anything was gained from these wars, perhaps at the time a stronger military was formed, but that fell. You could say that large empires were formed too, but they also became non-existent. It s quite sad, that with the amount of wars that were fought, nothing was gained, but so much was lost in the end. I believe that this closely relates to the early context of Is the Glory of War a Boy Thing? Because I believe one can easily glorify both the rise of the empires as a courageous and powerful movement, rather then closely looking at the true outcome of these wars. A Pericles type of funeral oration would have possibly been effective in ancient Rome or China, because at the time both were such powerful empires, people would have easily been convinced to believe practically anything. How can one find it jus t, to kill practically a whole society because they pose as a possible threat to economy because they too, are growing grapes? Pericles states in his oration that the people under his society are the best, and that it wasShow MoreRelatedEssay about Attitudes of War in Ancient Civilizations1034 Words   |  5 Pages Chapter Eight War and Society reveals the attitudes about war in both ancient Rome and China. These attitudes prove that in these cases perhaps it is safe to say that wars are not inevitable or natural but were caused by warlike societies and social situations. After reading bits and pieces of both the ancient Roman and Chinese history, one can only gain a greater perspective on how these attitudes derived. 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