Later, the ideas and beliefs of the Romans were carried far and with great determination forward by Spain and England.
Ancient Greece was, in the words of its most famous historian Herodotus, the 'father of the modern world'. As the heirs to the civilization developed in the ancient Greek city-states, the Roman civilization, which eventually became the Roman Empire, established, advanced, and enforced the ideas and beliefs begun in the city-states. Later, the ideas and beliefs of the Romans were carried far and with great determination forward by Spain and England. Ancient Greece, and the much repressed or obscured lessons of its origins as seen in the development of its city-states, continues to exercise a strong influence on Western civilizations. Theological beliefs helped direct the thoughts of Greek philosophers who launched 'science' upon its way. Further, they, along with Roman jurists, developed into Western beliefs to guide the thoughts and actions of man, and Protestant theology then freed them so that they could be developed into the God-directed changes needed for industrial life at machines' tempo. The form, start position, and operation of capitalistic systems eventually found creative expression there. Finally, ancient Greece saw the development of both the 'rich inclination to possess a harmonious order between man and his environment' and the individuals with 'the ability to go about doing something to make the inclination a reality.'