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Ancient greece impact on western civilization
Ancient greece impact on western civilization
Ancient greece impact on western civilization
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Ancient Greece has gone through many changes throughout history. The most notorious age was the Hellenistic Age but had many different ages leading up to it. The Bronze Age (3300-1150 B.C) was a period where the world saw major advances in social, economical, and technology that made Greece the hub of activity in the Mediterranean area. The Archaic Age (700-480 B.C.E) was a period when the Greeks repopulated and became more organized politically. This age was followed by the Classical Age (480-323 B.C.E) a period when Athens and Sparta dominated the Hellenic world with their cultural and historical achievements. The final Greek Age was the Hellenistic Age (323-30 B.C.E). This period was the transformation from localized city-states to an open, exuberant culture that stretched out across the entire Mediterranean, and southwest Asia. Alexander III of Macedon, also known as Alexander the Great, was primarily responsible for the expansion of Greece. Greece’s Hellenistic Age, during and after the death of Alexander the Great, contributed greatly to the expansion of Greek cultures and Greece.
The land of Greece occupied the southern portion of the Balkan Peninsula. It was covered with 75% mountains about 30% cultivatable lands. These mountains were a barrier for a trade and travel, and separated people from one another. Greece lacked raw materials, which made for sea travel. With a lot of sea travel Greeks found other lands and cultures. Greeks learned from Mesopotamia city-states that the most powerful city controlled the towns and villages. The technique of making cast copper came to Greece around 3000 B.C. and by 2500 B.C. the use of bronze became widespread throughout Greece. The Bronze Age marked a turning point in Greek social an...
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...stitution, a massive library. With the expansion and diversification of knowledge found a diversity of religious practices. Preexisting religions remained popular but also had emerging religions. One belief was the Egyptian goddess like Iris that could achieve popularity among Greeks. The Hebrew bible was also passed through Alexandria and had created Hellenized Jews and polytheism grew in Greece.
In conclusion Greece’s Hellenistic Age contributed to the expansion of Greece with Alexander the Great’s help. Alexander spread Greek culture throughout Egypt, eastern Mediterranean, and Asia. Throughout periods in Greek times there have been advances in art, literature, philosophy, architecture, metal and bronze, city-states, religions, and etc. Greek conquest expanded and spread Greek cultures and ways of life therefore making Greece a large empire with great influence.
The ancient Greek civilization has left a rich cultural footprint on modern Western civilization. Especially during the ancient Classical and Hellenistic eras of Greece, ancient Greeks have left behind a plethora of ideas and concepts that have played a crucial role in forming the foundations to Western civilization. Although the Classical era was a time of war and conflict, it was the Golden Age of Greece that was the home to many achievements in art, philosophy, architecture, politics, and literature such as the birth of democracy. The Hellenistic era was a period of social and economic prosperity that was defined by the spread of Greek culture across the entire eastern Mediterranean and Southwest Asia. During this era, countless of advancements
Although the Hellenistic Era started with the death of Alexander the Great in 323BCE it is important to explore its beginnings. Both Greek and Oriental philosophies greatly influenced the formation of the Hellenistic Age. The spread of Hellenistic culture and its substantial scientific contributions produced an impact on civilization that is still evident today. One of the most important aspects of the thought, culture, and religion during the Hellenistic Era was its impact on the Jewish culture and religion.
Greek mythology is thought to be very fascinating to many people; I personally wanted to learn more about it and the Hellenistic period. A new cultural age was led by Alexander the Great when he took over Egypt and the Near East, historians refer to this period as Hellenistic.
The Bronze Age in Greece was a period of time in which their civilization flourished. They were a main power at the time and seemed to have everything they wanted in the palm of their hands. Many other civilizations have a period of time also known as the Bronze Age, however, the bronze age of Greece is widely known to be the most prolific and dominant in history. The Greece Bronze Age is estimated to have lasted from between 8th to 6th century BC to about 146BC. Nobody knows for sure the exact time period in which it began and ended. However, these are the dates that are most widely known to be accurate. No other civilization has been able to remain a dominant world power longer than this time period, which is why this is such an incredible period of history.
Ancient Greece and Rome were both very influential civilizations both of them were alike in many ways such as geography and art yet they were different in the role of women in families and forms of government. Ancient Greece was a civilization lasted from the Archaic period (The period just after the dark ages) to the end of the classical era. After this period was the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. In Ancient Greece, there was the period of Classical Greece, which was during the 5th-4th centuries BC. Classical Greece began with the invasion by Athenian leadership. Because of conquests by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, the Hellenistic period flourished from Central Asia to the western part of the Mediterranean Sea. Ancient Greece
In approximately 650 B.C., Sparta was formed in the Peloponnese peninsula in Laconia by several smaller city-states that merged together. Located near the fertile farmlands of the Eurotas River, the Peloponnese peninsula was an ideal area to establish a new civilization (Sekunda 3). Sparta, meaning “to sow,” was appropriately named because of its positioning in one of the few fertile valleys in Greece. After conquering its western neighbor Messenia, Sparta gained even more fertile land as well as the Taygetus mountain ranges. These mountains provided essential raw materials including timber and an abundance of wildlife. As a result of the Taygetus range, Sparta was rather isolated from the rest of Greece (Michell 4). This provides insight into the reason Spartan livelihood differed so greatly among other Greek city-states.
During the Archaic Age of Ancient Greece, circa 776-500 B.C.E., the population growth in Ancient Greece called a need for more food supplies, and this demand was met by trade, establishing colonies, and by warfare to seize more land (Making Europe 71). According to Kidner, the Archaic Age “brought a revival of culture, the economy, and political significance to Greece” (71). As Greece began to overpopulate, methods for dealing with the overpopulation had to be found, once of these methods was to import food, which caused an expansion of Greek commerce and production of trade goods (Making Europe 71). Another solution to the overpopulation of Greece was to find new land somewhere else, and during the colonization that lasted from 750-550 B.C.E., Greeks colonized coastal cities because they wanted access to trade routes across the sea (Making Europe 71). The revival of Greek trade also brought Near Eastern culture into Greece, including new styles or art. According to Kidner, “Greek sculpture assumed a very Egyptian look, and Greek pottery depicted many eastern designs…and Greek potters and sculptors soon used designs from their own myths and legents”
In Ancient Greece they use many of their geography to help them be the civilization that they wanted to be. The mountains help them be isolated and separate from other city-state making them more independent. They use the Mediterranean Sea to provide farming to provide additional crops, but they became master sailors and developed a large trading network to be able to trade with others. The climate was always hot and dry, which sometimes affected the growth of the crops for that season.
Ancient Greek culture first emerged around 1600 B.C. in Mycenae. This developed a powerful military and participated in a wide trading network. Over the next thousand years, Greek society organized itself into city-states. The most famous ones were Athens and Sparta. They served as centers of political, religious, and cultural life.
The Greeks built temples, where they worshipped the gods. Each city had several temples, because each temple was used to worship one god. In each temple, there was a statue of a god that they worshipped. They had an extra big temple, and statue for the god that guarded their city.
The Ancient Greek Culture was inspired mostly on every standard in the modern western world. It was contributed to our daily standards in many of the western nations, or the countries that follow an Americanized path of the life. Things like such as the marketplaces, writing and the literature, toilets, social conduct, government, hygiene, and most of all the common manners and feelings.
The Classical Greece era dates back to 500-323 BCE and was considered to be the period of maturity, discovery and achievement. During this era Athens was governed by a democratic government, there came a more rational approach to exploring and explaining the world and the Greeks took art to a more realistic and humanistic approach for the first time. (Sakoulas, 2002) During the Classical era the culture was based on a blend of their old culture and the new. The old is based upon religious beliefs while the new happens largely in part due to trade routes.
The older of the two, Ancient Greece was a civilization for three centuries, from 800 B.C. to 500 B.C. Ancient Greece advanced in art, poetry, and technology. More importantly, Ancient Greece was the age where the polis, or city-state, was invented. The polis was a defining feature in Greek political life for a few hundred years (Ancient Greece).
The Prosperous Greek Golden Age Throughout the history of the Greek civilization, the Greek people have endured many hardships, as well as peace and triumphs. However, one Greek time period stands out the most for being both peaceful and aggressive, the Golden Age. During the Golden Age, Greece and its surrounding colonies flourished with wealth and power, was influenced by several key players, and participated in wars and battles, as well. The Greek Golden Age was one of the highest points of Greek society, and impacted it years later. In the year approximately 500 B.C., the Greek civilization came upon a time of peace.
The Ancient Greek civilization was located on today’s Greek land, Ionian Islands, Asia Minor, South Italy, and Sicily. It is surrounded by mountains and in the north by water. The Ionian and the Aegean seas, together with natural islands and bays, gave the Greeks the opportunety to develop their maritime commerce and their rich culture. The mountains, which surrounded Greece, gave us the picture of its political character.