Western Civilization Dbq

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.

The ancient Greeks have made contributions in two major areas, art and architecture. U.S. and Greek creations resemble that of each other because of the use of the mathematical concept, Golden Ratio. The Parthenon, a temple built in honor of the goddess of wisdom, bears much similarity to the Lincoln Memorial (Doc.8). The columns at the front of both

buildings are one of Greek architecture’s many trademarks . Another contribution is the famous sculpture known as the Discobolus or the Discus Thrower (Doc.6). The sculptor was the first to use very detailed lines to show the natural movements of the body. Today artists use this same technique of very detailed lines to represent natural body movements in sculptures of people in historical landmarks.
Discovery of the unknown was an idea that was highly encouraged in ancient Greece by proof of Socrates quote, “The unexamined life is not worth living” (Doc.1). This meant that mathematics, science, and philosophy were thoroughly explored. Pythagoras discovered the theorem that we use in musical instruments and other things that is even taught in schools, the Pythagorean Theorem, “If two straight lines cut one another, the vertical, or opposite, angles, shall be equal.” (Doc.5). Hippocrates dared to push the boundaries of the governmental confinements with the hippocratic oath in order to provide patients with the best care, “I will follow that [treatment] which, according to my ability and judgment, I will consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is [harmful]. I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such [advice]…”(Doc.4). This oath is a mandatory oath doctors must take in the U.S. Lastly, Aristotle gave the people of Greece as well as the people of today something very big to swallow. He believed that human reason is the center of our universe and all things correspond to it, this is a philosophy used by many to un-justify religion in western civilization,“Since human reason is the most godlike part of human nature, a life guided by human reason is superior to any other….For man, this is the life of reason, since the faculty of reason is the distinguishing characteristic of human beings.”(Doc.2).
At the heart of every well oiled machine is its engine, and in a large civilization it is it’s government.

Greece was the very first place where there was evidence of a democracy. During that time monarchies, aristocracies, and oligarchies were much more common because the governed people were not educated enough to make decisions. In Greece citizens were able to make educated decisions about the government. Most western civilizations work under the same key principle, rule by the people. Other important principles that we value today are touched upon in the speech of Pericles concerning the government, “Our plan of government favors the many instead if the few: that is why it is called democracy….As for social standing, advancement is open to everyone, according to ability. While every citizen has an equal opportunity to serve the public, we reward our most distinguished citizens by asked them to make our political decisions. Nor do we discriminate against the poor. A man may serve his country no matter how low his position on the social scale”(Doc.3). Of course the U.S made some tweaks to the system that are necessary to fit the needs of their country, but the core values remained the

same.
Without the outside-the-box thinkers and creative minds of Greece would western civilization be the same? There is no way to know for sure but without them we would most likely lack the beauty in architecture and the structure in government. It’s hard to imagine a world without these things that make life so wonderful and easy, but one thing is for certain, western civilization is forever in debt for the contributions made to its culture.