[niwell]

Ancient Rome (and Greece) did have a form of street lighting - though it was primarily individual oil lamps outside of private dwellings. The wealthy also had dedicated slaves with lamps and security to guide them to their destination in the off chance they were out at night. While records aren't great with specifics, by all accounts it was considered to be very dangerous outside after dark - for the most part you locked yourself inside at sunset. City gates were closed off and the majority of commerce stopped.

I can't speak to the situation in other large ancient cities - it may have been different in Asia or Central America. The start of modern, municipally mandated street lighting began in Paris in the 1600s, IIRC.