Persian Conquest of Greece. What would have been the real impact on Western Civ?

Started by Darth Wagtaros, January 16, 2012, 08:22:09 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Ideologue

Quote from: Valmy on January 17, 2012, 02:25:20 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on January 17, 2012, 02:22:22 PM
OK, fair enough, but does Macedon rely on those events to become a powerful kingdom and begin to interfere in Greek affairs?

(Not a rhetorical question.  I may be wrong.)

Yes.  Macedon had been defeated by the Persians during the initial phases of Xerxes' invasion.  They would be a satrapy or a client state of some sort if the Greeks had not defeated the Persians.

I was responding to the hypothetical PDH gave, in which the Persians didn't invade Greece at all...

Yeah, if the Persians invaded Greece, and achieved victory, they would have dominated Macedon as well.
Kinemalogue
Current reviews: The 'Burbs (9/10); Gremlins 2: The New Batch (9/10); John Wick: Chapter 2 (9/10); A Cure For Wellness (4/10)

Valmy

Quote from: Ideologue on January 17, 2012, 03:23:46 PM
I was responding to the hypothetical PDH gave, in which the Persians didn't invade Greece at all...

Yeah, if the Persians invaded Greece, and achieved victory, they would have dominated Macedon as well.

Oh....well...again it is really hard to say.  I mean Macedon's success was sort of dependent on the Greeks ripping each other apart and if they had not defeated the Persians would that have even happened?
Quote"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed & unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you'll be bombed."

Zmiinyi defenders: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

PDH

As I said, to my mind the hypothetical of Persia not invading is far more tantalizing than they do more damage in their huge raid.  Given what problems they caused in northern and central Greece, there were plenty of effects from the expedition as it was.

However, remove the impetus for the Athenians to expand, the Greeks as a whole to gain a mythos of "revenge" which the Macedonians later exploited, and indeed the problems caused by the Peloponnesian War in the form it took...the Persians not doing anything is a better problem I believe.
I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.
-Umberto Eco

-------
"I'm pretty sure my level of depression has nothing to do with how much of a fucking asshole you are."

-CdM

Siege

Quote from: Valmy on January 17, 2012, 02:12:18 PM
I mean how different would the world be if the Samnites had run over the Romans?  It would be dramatically different.  But it is almost impossible to imagine how.

This is a more interesting question, I think.
A world without Rome.
Imagine the possibilities.



"All men are created equal, then some become infantry."

"Those who beat their swords into plowshares will plow for those who don't."

"Laissez faire et laissez passer, le monde va de lui même!"


Darth Wagtaros

Quote from: crazy canuck on January 17, 2012, 02:09:35 PM
Quote from: The Brain on January 17, 2012, 11:12:09 AM
Not a huge impact on Western civilization. Rome had a much bigger impact than Greece on Western civilization and Greek culture would still influence Rome pretty much as it did historically. So what if there's a satrap in Greece.

Rome took over what had become a Hellenized east.  Others have already touched on it but it bears repeating that the main issue would be whether you would still have an Alexander and a Hellenization of the East if the Persians won or indeed if they never invaded.


Or an Eastern Empire to carry on when the West collapsed.
PDH!

Razgovory

Quote from: crazy canuck on January 17, 2012, 02:13:55 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 17, 2012, 02:11:11 PM
I don't really consider the Greeks part of Western Civilization.


Given that all the gospels were first written in Greek, there would be less books by Dawkins at the very least. ;)

I don't think of Christianity as uniquely Western.
I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

crazy canuck

Quote from: Razgovory on January 17, 2012, 08:18:12 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on January 17, 2012, 02:13:55 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 17, 2012, 02:11:11 PM
I don't really consider the Greeks part of Western Civilization.


Given that all the gospels were first written in Greek, there would be less books by Dawkins at the very least. ;)

I don't think of Christianity as uniquely Western.

That is exactly the point. 

The Brain

Quote from: crazy canuck on January 17, 2012, 02:09:35 PM
Quote from: The Brain on January 17, 2012, 11:12:09 AM
Not a huge impact on Western civilization. Rome had a much bigger impact than Greece on Western civilization and Greek culture would still influence Rome pretty much as it did historically. So what if there's a satrap in Greece.

Rome took over what had become a Hellenized east.  Others have already touched on it but it bears repeating that the main issue would be whether you would still have an Alexander and a Hellenization of the East if the Persians won or indeed if they never invaded.

The thread is about Western civilization.
Women want me. Men want to be with me.

Siege



"All men are created equal, then some become infantry."

"Those who beat their swords into plowshares will plow for those who don't."

"Laissez faire et laissez passer, le monde va de lui même!"


Valmy

Quote from: Siege on January 19, 2012, 09:07:18 PM
Maybe the Carthaginian Empire would have shaped the West.

We would all be sacrificing babies to Ba'al.
Quote"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed & unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you'll be bombed."

Zmiinyi defenders: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

Razgovory

I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

The Brain

Women want me. Men want to be with me.