How Did Greece Contribute To Western Civilization

The Greek, Roman, and medieval periods have contributed significantly to the foundation of Western civilization. The Greek had their leadership in different fields such as art, architecture, literature, and philosophy. Along with that, despite borrowing and adapting many of the Greek’s cultures, the Roman were also strong in literature, government, and philosophy. These periods has contributed significantly to the modern idea of “Western civilization,” while also having some aspects that were discontinued and have been discarded. While discussing some of the important contributions such as literature, philosophy, government, and sports, I will also be discussing some of the aspects that were left behind. By understanding what these periods

As Burger had mentioned in his book, one of the clearest and earliest kind of agon is athletic contests, through “wrestling, boxing, running, archery, etc…” (Burger 40). As earliest as the eighth century BC, as explained by Burger, the Greeks had established a festival, in which we famously known as the Olympics. We can definitely see their legacy exemplified in the modern-day Olympics. Unfortunately, the Olympic during the time of the Greeks were events where only men from all over the Greek world could compete. The Olympics that is held today is inclusive, in which it is open to both men and women from all around the world who is qualified to compete. In addition, the current Olympics has a variety of competitions, which encourages a high participation rate of competitors. The Greek’s emphasis on the importance of admiring successful athletes is also an aspect that is still prevalent today. In today’s society, we especially praise those who are skilled and talented, and we spend hundreds of millions to host these athletic games/events. Not only that, people are willing to pay large amount of money to watch people compete and to represent their countries. Burger had also mentioned that the Greeks held little attraction to team sports, which is opposite from today’s society. I believe that team sports and being a “team player” is a strong aspect

During the emergence of Graeco-Roman civilization, the Roman interaction with the Greeks accelerated, which influenced them to start writing much more of history, epic, and lyric poetry. As said by Burger, “like those earlier historians (Herodotus and Thucydides), Roman historians took as their primary subjects war and politics, which further set the mold for history writing in the West for centuries” (Burger 104). Through literature, although the Roman found inspirations in the many works of the Greeks, they also pushed their own themes and ideas. For example, one of the Roman greatest poet was Vergil. Burger mentioned that Vergil’s reputation lasted for centuries and even before one of his greatest work called the Aeneid was completed, the work was expected to be an epic with the same standing among the Romans that Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey had among the Greeks. The Aeneid is Vergil's longest poem, which took him 11 years to write. The epic poem was about Aeneas, a Trojan hero; a warrior who will lead his people to safety, found a new Trojan state, and establish order in his and his countrymen's lives. Throughout history, we can see the influence and signs of similar literature in which writers would create their own narratives about heroic figures. Although the emergence of epics