The Best Civilization

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What was the best civilization in history?

I think it was ancient Athens. The ancient Athenians loved the theatre and used it to act out the mythological tales of the bronze age over and over. I would love to see exactly how they preformed those plays.

The ancient Athenians also were more kind towards homosexuals than any existing society.

Norway. Highest HDI on the planet.

Probably China over 5000 years of success maintaining an empire that has yet to collapse.

The Civilization of Israel in the earlier part of King Solomans reign.

The Greeks and the Romans are top of my list tho IMHO the best is a tie between Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Just for this one reason and legacy of both there civilizations this we still have today, BEER!!

The Swiss. Peace since...1815(?), one of the world's great financial capitals, a second "world capital" to international organizations, a top line transportation and communication system, world-class experts in medicine, leaders from clocks to machine parts, chocolate to pills.

Please state what traits you wish us to use in rendering an opinion.

In Italy under the Borgia they had murder, rape and terror and they produced Renaissance with all its art and music.

In Switzerland they have had 500 years of peace and brotherhood and what what have the Swiss produced? The 21 jewel watch movement and the chocolate bar.

ruveyn

I would have thought a society with mandatory civic defense would appeal to you.

The Borgia(s) did not control all of Italy, they had divided governments that could'nt afford to siege each other, so they adopted soft warfare, and produced the renaissance. The Swiss got tired of fighting each other and decided to go into the mercanary business instead.

I could have picked Venice or the Hansa if both had'nt had such inglorous ends. Advantage of only having a 200 year run is that the end has'nt embarrised you yet.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me0E5jAVFB0[/youtube][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZpJBZM8KuY[/youtube][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usQNxTlThrk[/youtube]The Chinese were well ahead of their time!

In heaven there is communism.

They got part of the Large Hadron Collider that proved the existance of the Higgs particle.

Italy under the rule of the Ostrogoths. There was a period of peace and tolerance when the Romanized King Theoderic, and his so called Gothic barbarians took over Rome from the mercenary Odavacer. The Goths respected Roman civilization, and tried to preserve what was best in it. And the influence of the Goths spread throughout the Germanic world, even as far north as Scandinavia. While there was social segregation, with the Goths forming the military ruling elite, with the Roman laws forbidding mixing between Germanic barbarians and Romans still active, the Romans were still treated well. While Roman power in the west was gone, it was certainly a golden age for the Ostrogoths. Unfortunately, this barbarian golden age was not to last, as the Ostrogoth kings after Theoderic lacked his diplomatic skill, education, and cunning, and fell to the power of the Byzantines, and the predatory Franks from the north, who had left Italy devastated.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

To ruevyn: Hi, even though I must admit that your writing style occasionally makes me uncomfortable, I love your post about Italy and Switzerland. I first came across this quote when doing some research on the Borgias.

To AspieOtaku: Hi, as a Chinese, I'm very flattered that you hold Chinese civilization in high regard, but I'm here to play devil's advocate (a person who takes on a position that he or she might not necessarily agree with). Let me share with you some random reasons why I'm glad that I'm not born in ancient China.

1. Foot binding. The ancient Chinese regarded the feet as the most erotic body part.
2. Lack of women's rights during most dynasties. "A female should obey her father when unmarried, obey her husband when married and obey her son when widowed."
3. Confessions obtained mostly through torture. In ancient China, as far as I know, criminal defense lawyers rarely existed. Even though there were lawyers who gave their clients advice on how to litigate, being a lawyer in ancient China earned hardly any respect from people.
4. In ancient China, depending on the dynasty, if a criminal was sentenced to death. sometimes his whole family would be sentenced to death too.
5. Yellow River's frequent floods. According to Wikipedia, "According to Chinese history, the Yellow River (Huang He) has flooded 1,593 times in last 3,000-4,000 years, while its main course changed 18 times and created some of the highest death tolls in Chinese history."
6. Arts and humanities favored heavily over science and mathematics. China has produced many brilliant scientists and mathematicians throughout its history, but as far as I know, during most dynasties, aspiring officials had to pass exams related to arts and humanities (e.g. Confucian philosophy) but didn't have to study science and mathematics.
7. Invasion (and subsequent colonization) of Korea and Vietnam resulted in needless suffering. Besides, I read somewhere that Emperor Yang's (Sui Dynasty) invasion of Korea drained China's own treasury.

To all: If you are interested, Google Joseph Needham, the scientist/historian who wrote extensively about Chinese inventions.