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

Athenian triremes is described as being one hundred and thirty feet long, or in other woods only half the length of the Titanic. 1 Considering the technology of the age, and the fact that such a ship had a crew of four hundred men, this was an astounding achievement. The size of these ships did not significantly impair their speed and agility either; the Greeks constructed them out of a lightweight wood from the fir tree, lending them a speed that could not even be matched by cedar-built Roman ships. 1 Some of these Greek galleys carried large catapults, another innovative military strategy that set them apart. Others were nothing but floating palaces for princes and kings. Nowadays it is normal for us to imagine the modern navy using colossal carrier ships that are like cities at sea, but in the ancient world, the Greek triremes were considered the equivalent of the air-carrier navy vessels in operation today: the biggest and most impressive vessels at sea. It was the inventions of the Greek military that brought innovative technologies to the rest of the western world – and even east, to Persia and beyond – that indirectly led to the world that we have today.
All that military invention would not have been possible without mathematical prowess, and in this too the ancient Greeks laid the foundation for the world’s mathematical discoveries. They invented their own numeral system, which the Romans would later adopt and which was similar to the Egyptian numeral system. 2 It was a logical and well thought out system, although laborious when dealing with large numbers, and very intuitive and easy to understand. The Greeks also made significant discoveries in geometry. 2 Geometry may have been the basis of Greek mathematical knowledge at the time. 2 The original inventor of geometrical principles is considered to be Thales, who came up with theorem about the ratio of the line segments that are created when two intersecting lines are intercepted by two parallels lines, as well as other geometric theorems. 2 The three classical problems of ancient Greek geometry – squaring the circle, doubling the cube, and trisecting the angle – were important foundational problems as well. 2 When Euclid came up with the basic rules and terms of geometry, he had the mathematicians of the three classical problems to thank for providing the foundational knowledge for his later work. 2 And the famous Pythagoras built upon this, coming up with a way to combine geometric principles with numbers, and created an equation for the right angle of a triangle, laid the foundation of number theory, discovered that harmonious musical notes have intervals in whole number ratios, and discovered the value of pi to find the circumference of a circle. 3 Pythagoras did not realize it at the time, but his discovery (that the square of the hypotenuse – or longest side – of the triangle is equal to the sum of the square of the triangle’s other two sides in any right-angle triangle) led to an even more important mathematical truth: Pythagoras’ equation worked in any shape, not just right-angle triangles, even irregular shapes. 3 The Greeks also understood that a concept such as infinity could exist in mathematics.
Geometry was not the only area in which mathematics progressed in Greece, although it was certainly a large part and, in Plato’s mind, the foundation of not only mathematics but the universe.

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.

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All of this mathematical knowledge influenced the course of education and innovation in the western world in several ways. First, it provided the essential foundation for later mathematical discoveries, which would have been impossible without the discoveries made by the ancient Greeks. All the later mathematical and physics-related theorems, such as the theories of Isaac Newton or Einstein’s theory of relativity, all indirectly stem from the discoveries in geometry being made in classical Greece. The practical applications of our mathematical and scientific prowess are also attributed to these early mathematician, albeit indirectly. Furthermore, these early mathematicians were also the first philosophers. Their inquisitive minds, studying logic and nature and world around them, naturally turned to the subject of philosophy, for philosophy was mathematics, it was a way in which to understand reality. Great Greek mathematicians such as Plato and Aristotle are also considered the forefathers of western philosophy.
Greek philosophy left a large imprint on western civilization. In Greek philosophy, for the first time the world, the human species and the universe were being rationally analyzed by the rules of logic, and interpreted and explained in a way that did not rely on religion or gods. Instead, the interpretations of Greek philosophers relied entirely on reason. This was the foundation of the spirit of scientific inquiry, which is the basis of western thought in the modern age. The writings of Plato and Aristotle, along with Socrates, would also leave lasting ideas about mankind, ethics and the notion of freedom. Greeks were unique in the ancient world as they considered the idea of citizenship, that persons in a kingdom were citizens, who had political liberty and a sense of individual self-worth. These were alien concepts in the ancient world. All of these ideas would find their expression in the governments of European countries and later the Constitution of the United States. The Socratic dialogue is a key part of higher education in American universities, especially in law schools.
Greek philosophy also influenced the art and architecture of classical Greece. 4 Philosophy was mathematics, after all, and Greek art was heavily concerned with the beauty of mathematical proportions. 4 It was also art that focused on humanity and the accomplishments of human beings, rather than pondering heavily on mythology, spirituality, and the gods. 4 This was rare in classical art of the time. The focus on beauty in the human form would influence Roman sculpture and would later have great influence on later European art movements, such neo-classicism in the eighteen century Age of Enlightenment in Europe. 4
Greek architecture influenced the modern world in many ways. Amphitheaters, for example, are descended from ancient Greek amphitheaters. 5 These ancient outdoor theaters were circular in shape, with the stage or performance space in the center. Many outdoor American theaters are modeled after Greek amphitheater architecture. We also have Greece to thank for the architectural element known as the arch, which was first built in ancient Greece. 5 The idea of a curved structure connecting two pillars or walls, and possibly supporting additional weight itself, comes from ancient Greece. 5 The Greeks used them mainly underground, for passageways and vaults. The Romans took this architectural element and brought it up above ground for the first time, and it is through Roman architecture that the Greek arch permeated the western world. 5
The most famous Greek contribution to architecture must be the three kinds of columns, however, which are even now associated with austere, classical elegance. The Doric column was plain, the Ionic column decorated with scroll-like curls at the top, and Corinthian column crowned with leaves at the top. 5 The Doric column has no base, and connects directly to the floor. 5 Ionic columns are somewhat thinner than the other two, and have more flutes than the Doric columns. 5 Ionic columns also have a small base to stand on. Corinthian columns, while less popular in Greece itself, became very popular in the Roman Empire and from there found their influence on the western world. 5 These columns had much fancier and more elaborate bases than Ionic columns and were overall more decorative. 5 The lasting architectural influence of these column types can be seen all over the western world today and even in Asia, especially where colonization has taken place such as India. Most notably, the White House in America has columns in the classical Greek style. The Justice Hall in New York City has Doric columns, and Ionic columns can be seen in residential architecture and garden architecture around the country. And Corinthian columns are a staple of academic institutions, such New York University, and museums, and state buildings such as the Capital Building in Washington D.C.
From these analyses of the various elements of Greek influence on the advancements of western civilization, it is clear that Greece is truly the cultural foundation and birthplace of the western world. Without Greek innovations in mathematics, philosophy, science, military technology, art and architecture, we would not have the world we have today.