...The Influence of Ancient Greece on Western Civilization Of all the cultures that have come and gone throughout human history, it was the achievements of ancient Greece that have left the most indelible imprint on Western civilization. In particular, it was greek achievements in the realms of art, democracy, medicine, philosophy and literature that has influenced the modern world the most. It is interesting to note that the loss of Greek thought after Roman civilization inducted a period popularly characterized as the Dark Ages. During this time human life was, in words popularized by Thomas Hobbes, “nasty, brutish and short.” Superstition, disease and a short life span were the hallmark of the age. It is crucial to understand that the middle “dark” ages finally ended with the re-discovery of greek texts to usher in the re-birth of civilization, ie: the Renaissance. It was the Catholic theologian St. Thomas Aquinas that set Western civilization on its current track by reintroducing Greek thinkers to European intellectuals. The popularizing of Greek philosophers renewed Western interest in Greek achievements, specifically within the realms of art, democracy, medicine, literature, and philosophy. While some of these subjects remained underdeveloped in Greek times, such as the discipline of medicine and democracy, others were so advanced as to set a standard to this day in the realm of art, philosophy, and literature. Discussed herein is a brief exploration of those Greek achievements...
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...there were the ancient Olympics and the modern Olympics. There are many differences between these, even including the histories of the games. The reasons they were held, who was allowed to watch, and even some things that happened during the games. Even if there are the similarities- which there are- if you know the histories behind these games, you can see the differences. These games are ancient themselves. The ancient Olympic games began in 776 B.C., in an attempt to stop discourse between the cities of Greece- they all fought very often. Starting the games didn't assist them for this reason very much at all, but it united the peoples of Greece, through their religion- although women were not allowed to enter. The games were held at Olympia, where the Greek gods were said to have resided- the Olympics were clearly very closely linked to honoring their gods. One hundred oxen were even sacrificed to Zeus, the head of them, and an altar to him was made out of their ashes. In 394 A.D., the emperor Theodius banned...
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...Greek History The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern state of Greece, as well as that of the Greek people and the areas they ruled historically. The scope of Greek habitation and rule has varied much through the ages, and, as a result, the history of Greece is similarly elastic in what it includes. Each era has its own related sphere of interest. The first tribes known later as Mycenaeans are generally thought to have arrived in the Greek mainland between the late 3rd and the first half of the 2nd millennium BC probably between 1900 and 1600 BC. When the Mycenaeans invaded, the area was inhabited by various non Greek speaking, indigenous pre Greek people who practiced agriculture as they had done since the 7th millennium BC. At its geographical peak, Greek civilization spread from Greece to Egypt and to the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan. Since then, Greek minorities have remained in former Greek territories Turkey, Albania, Italy, and Libya, Levant, Armenia, Georgia, and Greek emigrants have assimilated into differing societies across the globe North America, Australia, Northern Europe, South Africa. Now days most Greeks live in the modern state of Greece Independent since 1821 and Cyprus. The Neolithic Revolution reached Europe by way of Greece and the Balkans, beginning in the 10th millennium BC. Some Neolithic communities in southeastern Europe, such as Sesklo in Greece were living in heavily fortified settlements of 3,000–4,000...
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...Our modern world is influence by ancient time The world that we are living in today was influenced mainly through ancient cultures. First of by the Greeks culture second of by the Roman cultures. Without the legacy of the Greeks and the Romans our modern world would have been different. Who would have thought that those legacies would have a big effect on today's modern world. Ancient Greece is the birth place of Western civilization. There are many ways in which western civilization is like the ancient Greek civilization. According to Greco roman Legacy reading "Our democracies and our dictatorships alike go back to Greek exemplars" Greeks were the first to think of the idea of democracy. The way citizens could...
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...years, becoming the leading city of ancient Greece in the first millennium BCE; its cultural achievements during the 5th century BCE laid the foundations of western civilization. During the Middle Ages, the city experienced decline and then recovery under the Byzantine Empire, and was relatively prosperous during the Crusades, as they benefitted from Italian trade. After a long period of decline under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Athens reemerged in the 19th century as the capital of the independent Greek state. Tradition relates that Sparta was founded by its first king, Lacedaemon, son of Zeus and Taygete, who named the city after his wife, the daughter of Eurotas, around 1000 BCE. Some eighty years after the Trojan War, according to the traditional chronology, Dorian migration from the north took place and eventually led to the rise of classical Sparta — famous as a martial power, foe of the Persian Empire, and eventual conqueror of Athens. After conquering many kingdoms and warring with many communities, Sparta spread to a major empire around 400 BCE. This was also the time of Athens' fall, which proclaimed Sparta superior in the constant war of the two empires. In medieval times, the city of Sparta was destroyed by many invasions. Modern day Sparta, which is known as Sparti in Greece, was rebuilt around 1834. History Athens has been continuously inhabited for at least 3,000 years, becoming the leading city of ancient Greece in the first millennium BCE; its cultural achievements...
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...the Great and homoeroticism The concept of homosexuality in ancient Greece was non-existent, the concept of homoeroticism on the other hand did exist. In ancient Greece an educational system was based off homoeroticism. Homoeroticism was practiced between men and youth, it was a rite of passage into manhood as seen through the practices of pederasty. With this concept in mind the questions that scholars have often asked regarding whether or not Alexander the Great was homosexual have been in query since the idea of this modern construct has been established and it has faced its share of historical revisionism by scholars time and time again. Although Alexander the Great engaged in homoerotic behavior this was not unusual...
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...The ideas and creations that continue to be used in modern society demonstrate how inspiring the Ancient Greeks were. Greece is a series of islands, known as an archipelago that contained a number of city- states, such as Athens and Sparta, and were ruled by Ephors. Greece has a very mountainous terrain, with only 20% of arable land. Greece also has irregular coastlines that enhance their ability to trade. The contributions of classical Greece benefit Western civilization greatly because of the creation of democracy, which provides citizens with a voice, and the philosophies taught by Socrates and Aristotle, which have shaped educational practices. Also, Euclid and other Greek mathematicians advanced dramatically in geometry, allowing for improvements...
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...The preparation of the ancient Olympics varies in many ways to that of the modern Olympics. What we have to understand is that nowadays-modern athletes are considered professional and this is their job. Whereas during the ancient era athletes would use athletics as a chance to gain respect and to be fit for war which was ongoing in all of ancient Greece. A modern athlete would find strange that the ancient games where held for Greeks only and that no person outside of Greece was allowed to compete. Athletics were a key part of education in ancient Greece. Many Greeks believed that developing the body was equally important as improving the mind for overall health. Also, regular exercise was important in a society where men were always needed for military service. Javelins would be used in warfare as well, so for many men the use of the javelin would provide experience for use when it comes to war. The modern athletes would see that when using the javelin they would use a leather thong that they would tie around their hand, to what they believed to propel the javelin even further. Ancient athletes were required to arrive at Olympia at least a month before the games were due to start in order to train in front of the hellanodikai who were local judges and they would judge the competitors fitness during that month. During this month athletes would compete in heats, against other competitors from Greece. We know that athletes would compete in heats from the accounts of Diagoras...
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...clocks, the Olympics, and modern medicine are all greek inventions that many still use today. Ancient Greek is one of the world's’ earliest civilizations. Greece is very well known for its culture, geography, history, and tourism. Greece is famous for its culture. Most of Greece is part of the Greek Orthodox, but many other religions are present in Greece. Ancient Greeks practiced polytheism where they believed in more than one god. There were twelve Olympian Gods: Aphrodite, Zeus, Dionysus, Artemis, Athena, Ares, Hades, Poseidon, Apollo, Demeter, Hermes, and Hera. In ancient times, many believe that the gods caused diseases, but Hippocrates did not believe that. Hippocrates is the Father of Modern Medicine and is responsible for of medical ethnic codes today. Greece is full of many different races and cultures. Macedonians, Turks, Romans, Albanians, Bulgarians, Palestinians, and many more live in Greece. (“Greece” 2). Greek music has been around since ancient times and was influenced by Turkish music (3). Since ancient times Greeks have respected their elders. They believe if they did not the gods would bring them misfortune. While the religious perspective is out, greeks today respect the elderly. The oldest in the family is served first at family meals and...
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...Importance to the civilization. Sports were important to the ancient Greeks because there were many ways they used sports to help them. Physical fitness was important in ancient Greece too. Sports gave something for everybody to do. Men trained and trained which helped them become fit to compete. Men went out to public gyms, for fun or for training. Some children trained as early as the age of 7! Most women took care of the house, but some women were able to go to gyms and train like men. The training of sports for women was also the same purpose of training men. Some of the prizes for winning events were fame, drachmas (money), statues or paintings of themselves. So some athletes became famous and rich just by being able to play. Impact on the civilization. One of the impact sports had on ancient Greece was warfare. Training and training for sports gave them strength, speed, stamina, and everything that would help them in warfare. Having this advantage, they gained more and more land. That built their civilization even larger. The ancient Greeks gained more land by destroying nearby countries with their advantage of being more athletic than their opponents. They even had games when you had to race in armor to be prepared to carry all that weight like you would in a war. Some sports such as running, javelin, and chariot races used armor or weapons that they would use in war. The running helped them cover more ground in less time, javelin would help then throw spears...
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...Beginning with Phillip II’s campaign Greece became a very successful and large territory. Following Greece, Rome became an even larger empire created by Julius Caesar. There were various changes between Greece and Rome rule regarding governmental structure, land ruled, language used, and social structure. Although a there was much change between the empires, there were many continuities as well such as religious views, social class relations, philosophies, and social activities. One of the major changes between Greece rule and Roman rule was the territory that was controlled. The Greek Empire stretched from Macedonia to Punjab. It could have been expanded further, but Alexander the Greats troops did not wish to push farther into India after...
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...Egyptian, Archaic Greek, Aegean Civilization and Classical Greek periods. The writer will determine how the theme is reflected in the cultural and world developments from these time periods. The writer will also compare and contrast the development of the theme of the different time periods to modern day time. Artistic Themes Artistic themes of Prehistoric, Mesopotamian, Ancient Egyptian, Archaic Greek/Aegean Civilization, and Classical Greek Periods The time periods of Prehistoric, Mesopotamian, Ancient Egyptian, Archaic Greek, Aegean Civilization, and Classical Greek are different from the modern day period. Each time period had its own way of doing certain things. For example, each time period had its own idea of work. Work from each of these time periods was performed in different ways. The writer will explore work as it relates to the time periods of Prehistoric, Mesopotamian, Ancient Egyptian, Archaic Greek, Aegean Civilization, and Classical Greek. The writer will determine how work is reflected in the cultural and world developments from the time periods also compare and contrast the development of work within the historic time periods while relating past attitudes to modern attitudes. Prehistoric There are no written records from prehistoric times. Information from prehistoric time is only reported from certain fields of study such as geology, astronomy, and archaeology (Chisholm, 1983). Prehistoric animals such as dinosaurs and cavemen were the only form of life...
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...Ancient Olympic Vs. Modern Day Olympic Ever since the first Olympic games in 1896, it has become a worldwide phenomenon that occurs every four years. Many young athletes from all over the world have both trained and strived to participate in the Olympics hoping to change history and make their dreams come true. Although the games are widely known, not many people know of its origin. Technically, the very first Olympic games dated back to the Ancient Greeks around the time period 776 B.C. Although the modern day Olympic games originated from the Ancient Greek’s Olympic game; after 1,500 years, it has drastically changed from the traditional games. For starters, back in 776 B.C. only the Greeks and their descendants were allowed to participate....
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...of the First Olympic Games It was Pierre de Coubertin of France who dreamt up this ambitious project, although others before him had tried to revive these Games during the 19th century, without having Couperin’s success. Drawing inspiration from the ancient Olympic Games, he decided to create the modern Olympic Games. With this purpose, he founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894 in Paris. The new committee set itself the objective of organizing the first Olympic Games of modern times. In 1896, more than 1,500 years after the ancient Games were banned; the first modern Olympic Games featured many references to this legacy of Greek Antiquity. The IOC’s decision to hold them in Athens (Greece) was a reminder that the Olympic Games originated in Greece. The majority of the competitions took place in the ancient stadium (the Panathenaic Stadium), which was restored for the occasion. Most of the sports on the programme of the ancient Olympic Games were echoed in the modern Games. The organizers even went as far as inventing a new race, inspired by a legendary event: the marathon race. In ancient times, the Games were held first on one day and finally over five days. The 245 participants in Athens in 1896 came from 14 different countries and participated in forty three different events. As at the ancient Games, the Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 were an exclusively male preserve. When women made their Olympic debut four years later at the 1900 Games in Paris (France)...
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...Sports in ancient Rome have changed dramatically over the years, but have also impacted modern day America and our sports today significantly. There are some sports that ancient Rome didn’t have but modern America has such as basketball, football, soccer, tennis, and hockey. Also back in ancient Rome there were lots of rules that America didn't have. One of the rules were women could not take part in these activities. Ancient Rome was strict about who was allowed to play in typical sports. Some people hated to play sports because of the rules. One of the most popular sports in ancient Rome was boxing. Boxing gloves were made of raw ox-hide. In America, boxing gloves are made of soft leather straps. In ancient Rome, you used your right hand to fight and your left hand to defend. Today, America uses both of your hands to fight...
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