Comparison
The Greeks were set apart not just by their geographical placement but the had cultural and governmental differences. Geography was a major factor because Greece was very mountainous which limited their agriculture while the empire set across hundreds of miles so they could grow multiple varieties of crops to sustain their civilizations. Also, Greece wasn't ruled by Emperors and they had different forms of governments that were never seen before. Athens was the world's first democracy while Sparta was ruled by a king. The city-states of Greece also didn't need to keep large amounts of troops stationed everywhere because they were relatively small and unlike the empires they didn't have to worry about large rebellions within but they did have to worry about the larger invasions by the empires. They also had an advantage when they were attacked because the mountains protected them, they could see the enemy coming for miles, and they could ambush the enemy using passage ways through the mountains.