Ancient Greece: Preserving Local Culture

“Alexander, Caroline.” Greece Gods, and the Great Beyond.” National Geographic 230.1 (Jul 2016): 102-121. EbscoHost. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.

Ancient Greek cultures and traditions have set many precedents in the world. Even now in the twenty-first century, the presence of ancient Greek culture can be found in our mathematical and scientific formulas and theories, philosophy, and art. While some parts of the Greek culture have receded throughout the progression of history, like the belief in the pantheon of the gods, others have stayed, but changed. For example, the Hippocratic Oath, an oath sworn by medical professionals to the gods has changed throughout the years, but still remains a part of current medical practice. The Hippocratic Oath, although changed with time, offers important insight to the principles and beliefs that the ancient Greeks thought as important.

Erudition, innovation, sophistication, every word and thousands more are associated with the name Greece. Steeped in complex lore, mythology, and history, it stands as a turning point in European culture. Its ideas and inventions are responsible for shaping many future events and turning the tide in science, art, and philosophy. At one time a group of city states, Greece was dominated by two centers a cultural one, Athens, and a military one, Sparta. Athens is probably best known for its playwrights, its philosophers, and the Acropolis. Sparta on the other hand is remembered as a military marvel where courage was the highest virtue. Legend tells that it had no walls for its best and only defense was its citizens’ valor

ATHENS IS THE PLACE TO BE!! Athens is an independent city state in ancient greece that has many cultural values. Athens was formed of the Mycenaeans. The citystate of Athens is independent because seas and mountains separate it from the other city states in ancient greece. Athens is a well rounded city state that supports educations, military involvement, and government. . To begin with, Athens education was extremely important. Only boy citizens attended private schools and would learn about poetry, literature, math, and science from ages 6-17.This was needed in order to become a citizen and carry out duties. As stated “the ability to read and write was important to all Athenian people-, reading and writing was needed in order to be a citizen, and carry out their duty..” (Document A). This quote explains that the citystate of Athens felt that it was essential for men to be educated in order to be an important citizen within their culture. Also, as part as the Athenian boys took part in sports. Athenians believed that it was important to not only study subjects but also to have physical activity in order to have men with strong minds and bodies. Additionally girls did not receive the formal education that the boys got, they were educated at home by their mothers. Because women were not apart of the government in Athens, they were simply taught household duties. Only if they were part of a wealthy family they learned to read and write.

When considering influences on our modern lives, Hellenic Greece offers plenty. A few examples include medicine. As the ancient world did not fare well in curing disease, medicine was an essential element of discovery. Ancient Greece initially believed that diseases were the result of God's punishment and that all potential remedies were surrounded by superstition (Adhikari, 2015). Once Hippocrates of Cos began collecting data and conducting experiments showing disease to be that of a natural process, caused by natural reactions of the body, medicine was introduced (Adhikari, 2015). Ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates was also very famous for his supposed contributions in the Hippocratic Oath that is still utilized today regarding ethical

The astonishing cultural legacy of ancient Athens can leave the impression that ordinary Athenians during the Golden Age spent their leisure-filled lives contemplating the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. This refreshing look at Greeks at play corrects that idea. By examining the pleasures of eating, drinking, and sex, Davidson is able to draw broader conclusions about the distinctiveness of Athenian culture as a whole. For instance, the author makes much of the Athenians’ obsessive predilection for fish: unlike beef or mutton, fish was not a sacrificial or religious food and could be enjoyed for its own qualities, and fish consumption became a hallmark of urban sophistication, if not decadence. Wine, he shows, was central to Athenian merry-making,

This shallow drinking cup is called a kylix. On this side there are men ploughing with oxen and sowing seed, and on the other, people dance before an altar. Demeter is the goddess associated with agriculture and fertility. Agricultural work such as ploughing was sometimes called 'the work of Demeter.' From this pot, we can learn that the people of Greece farmed and used animals to assist with labors like farming and trade.

Greece is a country in southeastern Europe, known in Greek as Hellas or Ellada, and consisting of a mainland and an archipelago of islands. Philosophy (Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle), literature (Homer and Hesiod), mathematics (Pythagoras and Euclid), history (Herodotus), drama (Sophocles, Euripedes, and Aristophanes), these are the birthplace of Greece. And the Latin alphabet also comes from Greece.

Greece is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, with rituals and ceremonies dating back to ancient times. The same wedding dances still occur at modern day Greek weddings that started centuries ago. Greece is a non-unilineal culture, which means that they trace their ancestry through both their mother and father. Greece is a peninsula located in the Mediterranean Sea, just south of Albania, Macedonia, and Bulgaria. Greece is a nation of islands with 227 inhabited, and 6,000 total temperate islands (“Visit Greece/Islands”). Greece’s population has increased from 1960 to 2012, but has recently been declining in recent years. The majority of the Greek population practices Eastern Orthodox Christianity, or Greek Orthodox so the majority of modern day weddings take place in an Orthodox Church.

When exploring each of the specific elements that make up the Greek culture, one can see that their history of religion is vast. To understand the religious practices of the Ancient Greeks, we must first begin to examine the cultural practices. I will be describing Greek religion as it was practiced in the Archaic and Classical Period, which ranged around 800 B.C. to 323 B.C. When discussing the Classical Period we enter the realm of polytheism which has no attachment to church or body of dogma. Although the Greeks believed in multiple gods, there was no denying that the conduct of the gods was not all acceptable to Greek thought. The Greeks kept mythological stories of the gods at heart, but relied on having the ability to think rationally, or have ‘human reason.’ This was the Greek way and it was their idea of rational thinking. When it came to living, the primary aim of Greek life is health and goodness. In order to gain this, they had to have religious sacrifices. I would like to discuss these religious practices of Ancient Greek worship, sacrifice, holidays and burials because it is important to learn about and from one of the greatest cultures in history.

The Classic Age of Greece started in 500 B.C.E to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.E during this time Greek city states united to go against the Persian Empire and because of that they defeated the Persians. After the war was over and they no longer needed each other, Greek city-states began fighting against one another. When the Greeks weren’t fighting off Persians they were fighting against each other. The two main city-states against each other were Athens and Sparta. The Athenians hated the Spartans so much they asked foreigners for help before even approaching the fellow Greeks. Political change heavily occurred when Athenian citizens made their city state government completely democratic, using the navy force to establish power over other Greeks. Meanwhile in 509 B.C.E the Roman Republic was founded. Rome’s greatest expansion was not during the empire but during the republic. It began with the legend of their first king Romulus. Romulus was known for commanding his men to kidnap and impregnate the Sabine women to create a larger population. Sabine men charged back attacking Rome to rescue their women. In the end they made peace and merged their population with that of Rome. This action displays an intermingling of cultures and peoples. Unlike Greek city-states, Rome expanded by venturing outside of their territory and intermingling with others whether peacefully or violently thus Rome’s relentless effort in expansion is what made them differ to the Greeks

In examining the impact that the ancient world has had on modern Western civilization, the two ancient civilizations which are frequently understood as having had the greatest influence are Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. These two civilizations would eventually come to shape much of what would become the modern European culture, politics and society, and by extension, a vast proportion of global culture and society. In examining the trajectory of modern history in an era of globalization of Western ideas and modes of living, the importance of these civilizations in world history is extensive, contributing to cultural, political and social trends which may well dominate the globe in the future.

The city-states of ancient Greece were at constant strife with each other. They utterly detested each other and were solely independent. However, many factors unified the Greeks, loosely, at all times, and they even brought the Greeks together at times. These factors came to be because of their similarities of traditions and beliefs. Language, religion, and athletics were all results of these factors. Language unified because everyone would understand what was being said by anyone, and athletics would gather the people to one place, allowing for discussion and chances of treaties being made. Also, Religion unified because the Greeks all believed and feared common gods and goddesses.

The Greek people had many things they were proud of for evolving as their era began to pick up steam. The things they were well known for were their religious beliefs and their philosophies. Though both were pivotal for the Greek people, these two areas were very different.

Ancient civilizations are an important part of the world timeline. Some of these ancient civilizations exist today, but most are aware that these civilizations are rare and disguised. There are multiple different factors regarding the fall of societies including: war, capital, natural disasters, over population and even diseases. Although some civilizations collapsed more rapidly than others, each society ended because of internal and/or external factors. Ancient Greece was one of the most dominant and powerful civilizations during its time.