In this analysis, we will examine some civilizations from the games and compare to them their real-life counterpart. When we do this, we will see examples of how the Civilization series diverge from actual history. These differences stem from a core mechanic of a Civilization game; this mechanic is the top-down control a player has over their civilization.
This top-down control reduces the resistance the political elite faces from the populace and makes a civilization united throughout the game as if it were a nation-state. Comparing Greece will be the first step to see a significant difference.