Poll: Which Ancient Civilisation would yo liked to have lived in?

[El Dwarfio]

As the title says, for the sake of hypotheticals we'll say that you don't have to worry about disease (I know I wouldn't have survived in any ancient civilisation :L) or anything like that.

Just pick the one most appealing to you

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I'd go with Greek all the way.

I hear that the buildings and statues were actually in color, I demand to know how crazy they were. Also, I just love Ancient Greece, so I don't need much of a reason to be there.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Even with diseases taken out of the equation, most ancient civilisations were pretty shitty places to live, both figuratively and literally. Might be fun to visit, the way third world countries get tourism, but not to stay.

Though, most people don't even mention the diseases when they come up with these things, so points for that.

 

[BathorysGraveland]

I picked "Gaul/Germanic/Briton" not because they are the most interesting of people, but because they had such a sense of brotherhood and loyalty to one another. The 'filthy barbarians', at least to my knowledge, weren't the kind of people to stab you in the back for coin or a political position. Vercingetorix is a good example, a true hero and one that should be a symbol of freedom and revolution today.

Also, ancient tribes in Briton were the first to invent soap. So much for unwashed savages, eh?

 

[El Dwarfio]

Even with diseases taken out of the equation, most ancient civilisations were pretty shitty places to live, both figuratively and literally. Might be fun to visit, the way third world countries get tourism, but not to stay.

Hence the hypotheticalness of this question, I wasn't suggesting you actually do it

I picked "Gaul/Germanic/Briton" not because they are the most interesting of people, but because they had such a sense of brotherhood and loyalty to one another. The 'filthy barbarians', at least to my knowledge, weren't the kind of people to stab you in the back for coin or a political position. Vercingetorix is a good example, a true hero and one that should be a symbol of freedom and revolution today.

Also, ancient tribes in Briton were the first to invent soap. So much for unwashed savages, eh?

The Ancient Britons had a brilliantly complex social structure, were accomplished architectures and miners, reintroduced Chariots to the world long after the Greek knowledge of them was lost (Chariots were virtually non-existent from the fall of Alexander until the rise of the Roman Empire) and were the most accomplished people at smelting and forging tin, leading the few Greeks who knew of their existence to call them "Tin Men."

Barbarian (at least in the modern sense) is a subjective term

 

[Thaluikhain]

The Ancient Britons had a brilliantly complex social structure, were accomplished architectures and miners, reintroduced Chariots to the world long after the Greek knowledge of them was lost (Chariots were virtually non-existent from the fall of Alexander until the rise of the Roman Empire) and were the most accomplished people at smelting and forging tin, leading the few Greeks who knew of their existence to call them "Tin Men."

Was that not, at least in part, because they had tin deposits in Britain, while it was fiarly rare elsewhere?

IIRC, it got traded all the way down to Egypt, because there wasn't any sources closer.

 

[Cabisco]

I think the rape and pillaging the vikings got up to could be a laugh, too many people seem to frown on that sort of activity nowadays no matter how much I try to tell them it's respecting heritage and tradition :/

 

[Cabisco]

No rights. No modern technology. Short brutal lives. Why would anyone want to live in any of those times/places?

All those old jokes that no one ever finds funny would work again? That and you get to carry around a sword.

 

[Goofguy]

I had to go with Ancient Greece. Sure, none of those options are amazing when comparing standard of living and quality of life to nowadays but I've always been interested in Ancient Greece (particularly their mythology) so why not?

 

[El Dwarfio]

Was that not, at least in part, because they had tin deposits in Britain, while it was fiarly rare elsewhere?

Don't now bout it being rare elsewhere, but it was certainly abundant in SE England, the Britons would trade with the Carthaginians who would in turn trade with the Greeks and from Greece it went pretty much everywhere else.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I had to go with Ancient Greece. Sure, none of those options are amazing when comparing standard of living and quality of life to nowadays but I've always been interested in Ancient Greece (particularly their mythology) so why not?

The Ancient Greeks, when they were their own thing, weren't keen on foreigners, mind, even Greeks from the next city state over weren't generally looked upon well.

Big empires like Rome or Persia sorta had to be much more cosmopolitan, though.

Mind you, you could say "Rome" and then move to Greece when they conquered it during the Republic and held it during the Empire. Or stay in Rome and talk to Greeks living there. Or just put up with saying "Hercules" instead of "Heracles".

 

[Lucem712]

Ancient Rome, of course. Women had way more freedom than their Grecian counterparts (Well, wealthy women at least); you get to actually leave your house without your husband/guardian, get to sit with your husband and guests during meals, and during the Empire, you never actually belonged to your husband.

Plus awesome entertainment, chariot races, plays, gladiatorial bouts, o' my! (It can be argued that Greeks all of this too, but C'mon, Romans took it to the max!) that and running water in the city and in some of the very wealthy villas. Honestly, all they were missing were pants.


Edit: Also, you get all the Greek mythology (although with a sprinkling of roman minor myths/deities) with different names.

 

[frostay]

Polynesia before the european contact. Sailing by the stars, living in the tropics.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Ancient Rome, of course. Women had way more freedom than their Grecian counterparts (Well, wealthy women at least); you get to actually leave your house without your husband/guardian, get to sit with your husband and guests during meals, and during the Empire, you never actually belonged to your husband.

That varied. Spartan women, for example, were much better off than Athenian women, and the Republic, Principiate and Empire lasted a long time, rights fluctuated quite a bit during that time.

 

[Lucem712]

Ancient Rome, of course. Women had way more freedom than their Grecian counterparts (Well, wealthy women at least); you get to actually leave your house without your husband/guardian, get to sit with your husband and guests during meals, and during the Empire, you never actually belonged to your husband.

That varied. Spartan women, for example, were much better off than Athenian women, and the Republic, Principiate and Empire lasted a long time, rights fluctuated quite a bit during that time.

That's true, but I'm not quite sure I'd want to live in Sparta. The poll didn't specify but I'd choose the Empire any time from Trajan to Marcus Aurelius (Since after Commodus, everything really started crumbling haha)

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

My knowledge is limited but I think living in rome would be the closest you could get to having the modern luxuries we take for granted. So there.

 

[SckizoBoy]

I hear that the buildings and statues were actually in color, I demand to know how crazy they were. Also, I just love Ancient Greece, so I don't need much of a reason to be there.

By most accounts, not particularly, they were just very bright. And, IIRC the Aphrodite tes Melou had arms, dark red lips, brown eyes, her chiton was blue and skin was sliiiiiiiiiightly off-white, not sure about her hair colour... think it was black...

Even with diseases taken out of the equation, most ancient civilisations were pretty shitty places to live, both figuratively and literally.

Well, that's why they had shit-collecters... guys who went around collecting shit and selling it to farmers to complement the animal shit they used. Not sure how lucrative that would've been but hey...

I think the rape and pillaging the vikings got up to could be a laugh, too many people seem to frown on that sort of activity nowadays no matter how much I try to tell them it's respecting heritage and tradition :/

Hardly unique to the Vikings, and if anything, the Vikings were a tad more civilised in their pillaging (go in, steal, burn, leave... comparatively little raping). The Greeks did more raping than them (particularly in Asia Minor). As a Viking you would've been quite the explorer. Varangian Guards, anyone?

That varied. Spartan women, for example, were much better off than Athenian women, and the Republic, Principiate and Empire lasted a long time, rights fluctuated quite a bit during that time.

It was weird... Spartan women had land-ownership rights while Spartan men did not, and had a hell of a lot more 'freedoms' than men. I think Sparta was the the only city that allowed its women/girls to participate in Games as well.

Can't be bothered to quote you a third time, but from 200BC onwards being a Greek in the Roman world was pretty much the same considering Greek was more the equestrian language than Latin... *shrug*

OT: They all have their pros and cons, but based on my love of the era, approx AUC540 early-Republic Roman and I'll try to ignore the smell, hope I'm not one of the unlucky bastards to get a spear through the chest and be close enough to *****-slap Cato.

Which is strange since I'm a sucker for phalanx warfare, boring though it may be.

 

[wooty]

Ancient China, mainly for the food, the cool architecture, the food, the culture and most importantly the food.

 

[Blunderboy]

Gonna go with Rome. I've always loved Roman history and if you have to back anyone, back the top dog.
Also, I might get to hang out with this guy.