In modern times, the word pirate has a glorified image due to Disney and a negative connotation, but piracy has not always been looked down upon. Piracy is defined as “the attack on ships at sea without legal authority to do so” (Lesson 8/21). Piracy affects almost every country in the world that has explored the oceans for thousands of years. Throughout Antiquity and the Middle Ages, "piracy" had different definitions depending on each civilization that approached the concept; The Greek and Roman Empires did not initially view piracy as a bad thing until it hurt their financial interests and led to the end of the Roman Empire and the Viking takeover. Piracy was a common practice in Greece. In the Middle Ages, the term piracy was not yet defined, but there were "activities similar to those of pirates, such as coastal raids" (Lesson 9/6). The first great Greek pirates were the Dorian pirates. The Dorians were the first organized acts of piracy. The Dorians captured children and women to sell them in the markets. In Greece, piracy is also found in Homer's poems. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In Homer's writings, it was often difficult to distinguish between war and pirates. The definition of piracy is a gray area and difficult to define. Piracy was not looked down upon and was viewed much the same as theft in Greek culture. Piracy contributed a lot to Greece's independent wealth instead of government money. Piracy was practical and “the common unofficial form of well-being” (Lesson 9/18). The Mediterranean Sea was notorious for piracy. It was only around the 4th century that piracy began to oppose piracy. Piracy began to lead to naval warfare and eventually the two Peloponnesian Wars. There was a huge gray area between warfare and piracy towards the end of the classical era in Greece and it was very difficult to distinguish between the two. Piracy remained present in Greece, but it was a confusing cloud between war and piracy. The Romans used piracy as a pretext to expand their empire and conquer other civilizations. They despised piracy, but they used pirate-like tactics for their own gain. When comparing the Roman perspective of piracy with the Greek view, clear distinctions emerge. For the Greeks, maritime piracy was primarily another form of labor that was not substantially different from any other form of theft or commerce. In Rome, piracy became clearly distinct from land banditry. As maritime pirates became the only remaining threat to Rome's trade, pirates were classified and treated as enemies. Pirates, particularly Cicilian pirates, posed a clear threat to Rome's expanding interests. Rome attacked and recaptured civilizations in order to expand its empire. Many Romans campaigned against certain “enemies presented as suppressing piracy because it met contemporary political needs” of the time (de Souza 2). The Romans attacked pirates in hopes of dominating the sea. Piracy was a way for the Roman government to justify its tactics. De Souza writes that "the key point is to look beyond the familiar images conjured by the terms 'pirate' and 'piracy' to see the pejorative labels applied by politicians and historical writers to..