How Did Ancient Greek Influence Western Civilization

Ancient Greece is often called the birthplace of Western civilization. The Greeks are considered to have built the foundation for Western science, mathematics, and philosophy, as well as the arts and architecture. This era is referred to as the classical era, a testament to its enduring influence on the world today. In the realms of government, military, mathematical and artistic discovery, the Greeks have especially left their mark on our culture today. Ancient Greece was at the forefront of military technology innovation during its time, and led the rest of the world in military advancements. From the fast and efficient triremes of Athens to the catapults of Sicilian Greeks to the massive siege engines of Alexander the Great, the Greeks were very creative in inventing advanced military technology.1 They did not merely create advanced versions of existing technology; they invented new weapons altogether. There is some debate over the origin of the catapult but most historians agree that it was invented in Greece. 1 Additionally, the triremes of Greece were considered the superlative warships of the age. 1 These super-galleys were products of masterful ancient-world engineering, and even today we are puzzled as to how such large hulls supported ships when they were made entirely of wood with no metal bands. One of these famous

The Greeks made other mathematical discoveries as well, however. Diophantus was the discoverer of fractions, and was an early scholar of algebra. Diphantus’ algebraic problems would become fruitful and inspiring mental exercises for future mathematicians for many centuries to come, like Plato’s Platonic Solids (Plato identified five three-dimensional shapes that were the only possible convex regular polyhedra) did for future mathematicians as well.