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Impact of Greek civilization on western culture
Impact of Greek civilization on western culture
Impact of Greek civilization on western culture
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Achievements of the Hellenistic World
The Hellenistic world has undeniably had a significant impact on modern western civilizations. Many of the aspects of our culture and civilization that we experience here in America would not exist if not for the Hellenistic world and its spread over 2,000 years ago. I believe that the main achievements of the Hellenistic world are the advancements in philosophy and science as well as the spread of Greek culture through Hellenization that have all had a significant impact throughout history, even upon modern day western civilizations.
A major advancement in the field of philosophy that occurred during the Hellenistic empire was the belief that humans had free will. Hellenistic philosophers helped to popularize
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the belief that the gods played no active role in life or in society. This meant that humans didn’t have to make choices strictly based upon what the gods wanted and demanded from them. Hellenistic philosophy believed that humans had the ability to think, choose, and act for themselves. The idea of human potential being separate from divinity received increased popularity during this time period. The concept of human free will closely relates to the increased belief in humanism that occurred during this time period. Hellenistic philosophers, most notably Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, began to explain natural occurrences through natural and scientific means rather than divine reasoning. During this time period, Hellenistic philosophy was also broken into three branches: logic, ethics, and physics. The logic branch of philosophy was focused on the study of abstract reasoning. The ethics branch was focused on the study of how one should live their life. The physics branch was focused on the study of the natural world around us, and explaining it through natural, not divine, means. In addition to these three branches of philosophy, Hellenistic philosophy also brought about three main groups: epicureanism, stoicism, scepticism, and cynicism. Epicureanism was founded upon the beliefs that the gods played no active role in daily life, that humans have free will, that life and existence come with pain, and that the only way to reduce this pain is to withdraw from social life. Stoicism was founded upon the beliefs that life is harsh and people must accept their fate and simply endure. Stoicism also taught that people had free will. Scepticism wasn’t really founded upon any formal doctrine. Instead, scepticism was focused on questioning what they thought they new and suspending judgement. Cynicism was founded upon the beliefs of not taking things at face value, constant questioning society’s values/norms, and that actions are more important than words. These groups had both different and shared beliefs, but they all helped to advance the field of philosophy during this time. These major advancements in philosophy from human free will, human potential, and humanism all have had a significant impact on western civilizations throughout history, including western civilizations that exist today. Hellenistic philosophy took the field of philosophy that was present before the Hellenistic world began and pushed it forward, bringing about new ideas and thinking into the field. Modern understandings of human potential and human free will would not be where they are if not for Hellenistic philosophers striving to better explain the world around them and the meaning of life over 2,000 years ago. This extraordinary impact that Hellenistic philosophy has had upon other western civilizations throughout history is why I believe that the advancement of philosophy was one of the Hellenistic world’s three greatest achievements. Another major achievement of the Hellenistic world was the advancement of science that occurred during this time period. The studying of science during this time period was a very risky proposition because of the severe backlash that would be received from the Catholic church. The Catholic church seeked to keep explaining the world through divine means and to show that the gods played an active role in the daily lives of humans, whereas science was searching to better understand and explain the world around us through natural means. Scientific advancements occurred in many areas of science during this time period including astronomy, medicine, biology, and fields of mathematics. Hellenistic scientists in the field of astronomy made important breakthroughs that have helped us as humans to better understand the universe that we live in. For instance, Aristarchus discovered that the universe is heliocentric, meaning the sun is at the center of the universe, and that Earth rotates on its own axis. Eratosthenes discovered that Earth is round and also calculated the circumference of the Earth with his circumference calculation only 200 miles off of our modern calculations. The work of these two men led to critical advancements in our scientific knowledge of the universe that have been spread from the Hellenistic world to modern civilizations today. The Hellenistic world also had important advancements in the field of medicine that have had a lasting impact on western civilizations. Hippocrates studied natural causes of diseases, natural cures, clinical medicine, and categorized stages of illness during this time. This was a big advancement from the previous thought that illness had divine causes and stemmed from the gods being angry or displeased with the afflicted person. From Hippocrates also came the Hippocratic Oath, which is still in use today. Other medical advancements that occurred during this time period came from Herophilus, who studied the human body and its organs through an increased focus in dissection. Dissection helped humans to gain a better understanding of our own bodies and resulted in further advancements in the medical field. Erasistratus studied organs and elements of the human body while also studying diet and exercise, resulting in even more advancements in the medical knowledge of human beings. The fields of animal and plant biology were also greatly advanced during this time period due to the studies of the philosopher Aristotle. Finally, the field of mathematics was advanced during this time period as well. Archimedes helped to advance the field through his study of spheres, cylinders, geometry, and pi. Euclid helped to advance the field as well through his studies in the field of geometry, the field which he came to be known as the father of. Overall, many scientific advancements occurred during this time period in a variety of fields that all have had significant impacts on the western civilizations that followed the Hellenistic world. Without these Hellenistic advancements, mankind’s knowledge of the natural world around us, medicine, and math would be far less than it currently is, which is why I believe that Hellenistic scientific advancements are one of the Hellenistic world’s three greatest achievements. A third critical achievement of the Hellenistic world that occurred during this time period was the spread of Greek culture through Hellenization.
Greek language, art, architecture, literature, religion, and science were all spread throughout the Hellenistic world by Alexander the Great. Schools and libraries were established in cities in the Hellenistic world that helped to facilitate this spreading of Greek culture to foreign peoples. Art throughout the Hellenistic world began to depict human beings in a more lifelike manner, showing an increased emphasis on humanism in artwork. Hellenistic art focused more on varying facial expressions as well as depicting people in everyday places, such as streets and markets. Hellenistic architecture took Greek architecture and added some of its own architectural elements to morph Hellenistic architecture towards a more Baroque style. Greek language and religion were spread throughout the empire through Hellenization, but the Hellenistic empire was also tolerant of other religions and cultures. Greek culture combined with elements of the cultures from the various lands of the Hellenistic empire are what made Hellenistic culture unique. The Hellenistic empire was vital for spreading Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean region, and the Hellenistic empire helped to spread the principles of western civilization to many different peoples. Overall, western civilization would not be what it is today without Hellenization and the spread of Greek culture, art, literature, architecture, science, and math, which is why I believe that Hellenization is one of the three greatest achievements of the Hellenistic
world. The Hellenistic world was vital to laying the foundation for future western civilizations. Through the Hellenistic world’s sheer magnitude and size, it was able to spread Greek culture to massive numbers of people, helping these places to be introduced to core concepts and principles of western civilization. Overall, I believe that the Hellenistic world’s three main achievements were advancements in philosophy, advancements in science, and the spreading of Greek culture through Hellenization because all three of these components shaped western civilization for thousands of years to come, and are still having a significant impact on people today. In my opinion, the Hellenistic world’s legacy is derived from these three components, which is why I believe they are the empire’s greatest achievements.
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.
Throughout the course of their existence, Greece made many advancements that were much before its time. The Greek’s style of inventions and ideas was so advanced that they could not be found anywhere relatively close to the time period. Their style came back around and is now the foundation of what we believe as a western civilization. Greek philosophy, architecture, science, and art has helped to sculpt the western culture.
Greek life in most people’s eyes is considered to be joining a sisterhood or brotherhood such as a sorority or a fraternity. Greek life is an extremely large part in numerous universities. More than half of the students are actually members of a Greek organization. Some may say that Greek life is not for them, but they truly do not know all of the advantages that come from being a member of a Greek organization. Do they realize how several of our nation’s leaders were members of Greek life probably not, since most of them were? One should join Greek life, not only for abundant friendships gained, but because of advantages, for example leadership skills and along with the countless networking
Therefore, the Greeks contributed to Western Civilization in many ways. They contributed with great minds like Archimedes and Euclid with math and physics. They also influenced the United States’s government and Western Civilization’s architecture. Thirdly, they were the beginning of philosophy. The Greeks did unimaginable things and influenced many common things such as theater. They even started one of the biggest events known world-wide, the Olympic
At the final point, the classical period of Greek had leave many amazing things that showed the powerful independent civilization and the unique styles of art, architecture, and the philosophy. In the short time, the Greek artists explored a succession of new ideas to produce a body of work in every medium from pottery and painting to sculpture and architecture that exhibits a clear stylistic and technical direction toward representing the visual world as we see it. About the philosophy, the Greek gave many philosophy that modern people still use it as the Democracy in the United State. I think this civilization been very wealthy and intelligent. They are ancestor of people that created so many imposing and intellectual things.
Greece is a country well known by its great interests and diverse cultures. It is located between the East and the West in the continent of Europe, which is known as a great location in the continent. “It covers about 130, 647 square kilometers of land and 1,310 square kilometers of water, making it the 97th largest nation in the world with a total area of 131,957 square kilometers. Greece became an independent state in 1829, after gaining its sovereignty from Turkey. The population of Greece is 10,767,827 (2012) and the nation has a density of 82 people per square kilometer. The currency of Greece is the Euro (EUR). As well, the people of Greece are referred to as Greek. Greece shares land borders with four countries; Macedonia, Albania,
The Romans adoption of the Greek culture allowed for them to improve upon their own beliefs and make the Greek culture more profitable for the Roman Empire. This cultural exchange, then helped the Romans advance in their community to become one of the greatest empires of that time. We know the Romans for their beautiful art, their outstanding architecture, even for their form of government but none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for the adaptation of the Greek culture, because their art and their architecture was an establishment from the Greeks that the Romans took. If it wasn’t for the Romans taking up the culture from the Greeks then there would not have been a possibility for the Roman Empire to have even expand and spread to the point where other cultures would have also adopted to the customs of the Romans, or make the Roman empire well known. Because of this, Romans were now open to new ideas that expanded their way of thinking and allowed their empire to expand with great power. From the structure of their government, education, and even industrialization this cultural exchange with the Greeks allowed the Romans to create a successful development of their Empire.
...should examine their life and be able to question the world also, give people freedom. On the other hand is Aristotle, he showed the Political Theory in human that human reason and resources are their guides and yet, it is others life style. Furthermore, Plato, he used the Allegory of the Cave to show how Philosopher see the Absolute Truth and due to the fact how people perceive the truth and how people view of reality can be bound. Also, the Greeks contribution in Art, they used the Discuss Thrower, the Greeks Columns, and The Parthenon to show people how Greeks are good in sculpturing and to show the 3D-dimensional perspective. Lastly, is Democracy where people are the ruler also the Council of 500 of Cleisthenes because of this our civilization today has a direct democracy, without further do, Democracy, Art, and Philosophy has influenced our society astonishingly.
"When in Rome, live as the Romans do; when elsewhere, live as they live elsewhere." Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a Roman or Greek? Well, Ancient Greece and Rome have influenced American society throughout the Roman Republic, Greek architecture, and Greek Olympics. There are many interesting facts you should know about Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome! Did you know that the first Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C. at the Greek city of Olympia? Or that the Colosseum received millions of visitors every year, and is the most famous tourist attraction of Rome? You can learn many things about how American society has been influenced by the Ancient Romans and Greeks.
...eir lives. Not only did the Greek gods and goddesses hold a major impact on the lives of the Greek people, but so did the spreading of the religion through architecture, poets and writings. Greek philosophers also comprised many ideologies that helped shape Greek thinking and the way people throughout ancient Greece would treat each other and their situations in life. All these religious beliefs and ideologies helped form the culture of the Greek people and explain things that wouldn't be able to be explained. The religion brought people together and helped spread tradition throughout the world. In ancient Greece, religion and ideologies were everything. They shaped culture, tradition, lifestyles, behavior, and decisions that people made in their daily lives. The religions helped for Greece to become unified and prosper throught their age of civilization.
“The Greeks molded the mind of Western Civilization, if not the body and the culture” (PowerPoint #6). The Greeks had a very powerful impact on the entire world, making them a huge influence to Western culture. The Greeks showed their power over the world by their great intellect. Through their accomplishments in art, architecture, government, philosophy, education, and science they helped shape Western Civilization. They built strong and intricate buildings, allowing others to see throughout history the plan of the architecture used. The Greek government was one of the first to have a Democracy. Their ac...
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 Greek culture has had a huge impact on the history of the world. There is something Greek in almost everything, especially in the world’s architecture. Greece no longer had one king, so they focused on building temples for their gods. Architecture began small and plain but evolved into impressive pieces of art. As time passed from the Archaic period to the Hellenistic period, the people of Greece developed a type of formula for their buildings and their pieces of art.