Hopf's ratio ergodic theorem has an inherent symmetry which we exploit to provide a simplification of standard proofs of Hopf's and Birkhoff's ergodic theorems. We also present a ratio ergodic theorem for conservative transformations on a $σ$-finite measure space, generalizing Kingman's ergodic theorem for subadditive sequences and generalizing previous results by Akcoglu and Sucheston.