[chrisseaton]

> it's unquestionably a part of the western world

'Western' means west of... Greece. So Rome, which is west of Greece, was when civilisation moved west and when western civilisation began.

[jhgb]

Sure, within Europe, and especially from the perspective of the Great Schism, Greece is eastern. From the global perspective, not so much. I have yet to meet a person who'd argue that the region with Greco-Roman cultural heritage somehow excludes Greece, of all places.