The Romans had a very distinct past from which to gain insight into their own present and future — the Greeks and their history. The Romans embraced history — its past, present and future. Ovid’s work in my previous post speaks to the historical awareness of the Romans. Ovid knew that his poem would live forever and that “wherever Roman/power reaches, conquered lands, I’ll be read.” In other words, Ovid exhibits a greater sense of historical awareness than did the Greeks, and this is a specifically Roman trait. Ovid knew that Rome triumphed because of who the Romans thought they were. That is, the Romans maintained a positive image of themselves and this meant confidence, optimism and a capacity to act and create the kind of world they wanted to inhabit.
Did the Greeks have this same spirit? Did the Chinese?
mstreicher 
The Romans beside from their great strength were well known for having strong faith in their laws, which is another reason why I think they thought the way they did.
As for the Chinese however they had a strong faith in their people, which was both a good and bad thing. Take the idea of the great powerful central government for example, because of it they were extremely brutal. The Chinese had a large army of which they were proud of, but not as proud as the Romans would have been. The Chinese focused more on their brutal suppression of Scholars, there written works, rituals, and their daily amount of duties. I think because of the way their dynasty worked, Chinese lived more of a brutal lifestyle than the Romans did, so they didn’t quite have the same spirt.
The Greeks main duty as a citizen was to participate in the rituals that were held. The greeks believed in a Public Religion which is why the participation of the citizens was such a big ordeal. Political life was the most distinctive feature of Greek Civilizations. That was not as commonly found in Rome, because they focused more on all aspect of life and their greatness instead of just one.
The Greeks had a huge and powerful army, one of the most brutal army around at the time. They believed in conquering empires. Killing there men, enslaving the women, and teaching the children their ways so that they become like them. So yes in a way the Romans did have this sort of triumphed and confident image to them as they conquer and spread their ways.
As for the Chinese they were similar to the Romans but very different at the same time. The had a very powerful and strong army in which they conquered many empires. However, they would not spread their ways instead they stayed in one central area and became more and more powerful as they conquered more land. The Chinese rituals and ways were very brutal and up tight.
The Chinese had a strong political system, solid social structure, and was a power influence through the spread of civilization. The Chinese had a strong Confucianism and legalism influence as well as division of classes among the rich and poor. Although powerful, the Chinese had a much greater of separation between classes yet still viewed everyone as “equal” under emperor rule.
The Greeks maintained a large powerful military while they conquered many empires. Since the Greeks were so powerful they forcefully taught the young their ways so that they can continue traditions of power.
Both the Greeks and Chinese had strong influences of art and religion during this time. I think that through religion and art it helped each of them in their own places to become closer and more peaceful with themselves and others.
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The position of Greece at the crossroads between Africa, Asia, and Europe has undeniably played a large role in the diverse and often turbulent history of Greece. Protruding from Europe, Greece hangs precariously southward from the end of the Balkan Peninsula, and slices towards the Mediterranean Sea with dramatic peninsulas and thousands of large and small islands. While today’s Greece is confounded within the modern borders, in ancient Hellenic civilization it expanded throughout the Mediterranean. Besides the traditional mainland, the islands, and the coast of Asia Minor, Hellenic colonies existed in Italy, Sicily, France, Spain, Libya, and all around the Black Sea. With the conquests of Alexander the Great Hellenic civilization attained its widest reach. During the Hellenistic era Greek culture expanded to include Asia Minor, the Middle East, Egypt, and the land further East to the Western parts of India, and as far north as today’s Afghanistan.
In China, slave society began around the 21st century B.C. Over the next 1,700 years, agriculture and animal husbandry developed greatly and the skills of silkworm-raising, raw-silk reeling and silk-weaving spread widely. Bronze smelting and casting skills reached a relatively high level, and iron smelting became increasingly sophisticated. The Chinese culture flourished, as a great number of thinkers and philosophers emerged, most famously Confucius.