Why did the western civilization in Europe originate from Greece instead of the river basin?

Ancient Greece was much bigger than today's Greek Republic. The geographical scope of ancient Greece centered on the Greek peninsula, including the Aegean Sea in the east and the Ionian Sea in the west, as well as the southwestern coast of Turkey, southern Italy and the eastern coast of Silesia today.

The natural geographical environment of Greece is obviously different from that of the ancient East. Greece is mountainous and has many islands. The desolate hillside divides the plain into small pieces. This land is only suitable for growing grapes, olives, etc. Food cannot be self-sufficient. But the coastline is long, the islands are densely covered, and there are many good ports. Under the condition of difficult land transportation and communication, the ocean became the main transportation line at that time.

The geographical environment of Greece has had a great influence on the development of Greek civilization. Xiaoping became many small Greek city-states, which were located in places with relatively fertile soil or convenient transportation, thus attracting more immigrants and becoming major cities in the region. Many small city-states are formed in this way, isolated from each other, but full of dynamic developers. The lack of land and food in the Greek plain determines that they can only survive and develop through commercial trade, using their own wine and olive oil.

This kind of trade can only be overseas trade, with long coastline, dense islands and many good ports, which provides the most convenient conditions for this kind of industrial and commercial maritime trade. Commercial maritime trade must be based on the principle of equal exchange, and the development of commercial trade needs a free environment and policies that take into account the overall interests of commercial businessmen, which are conducive to the formation of the ancient Greeks' concept of equality and the establishment of democratic politics. These islands are a gift from God to the Greeks. Once the population of a small city-state became unbearable, the Greeks used the winding coast and excellent natural ports to establish colonies overseas. Frequent maritime trade activities have made the Greeks develop their pioneering and curious national character, and this adventurous career has also tempered their spirit of not being afraid of violence. The mobility of their profession makes them well informed and have a stronger demand for freedom.

Roman civilization is a continuation of Greek civilization. Rome is located in the Apennine Peninsula of the Mediterranean, and its agricultural conditions are better than those of Greece. In the course of historical development, the Romans continued to expand their territory. Through a series of conquest and expansion activities, Rome put the whole of Greece under its rule and established an empire including the whole Mediterranean and Britain. As the successor of Greek civilization and the empire around the Mediterranean, Roman civilization basically maintained the characteristics of Greek civilization, with more commodity economy components and more parliamentary politics.

The Greek peninsula is the birthplace of western civilization, Greece is the cradle of western civilization, Rome is the successor of Greek civilization and the ruler of the western world, and Greek and Roman civilizations are isomorphic to ancient western civilization.