Ancient Greece Research Paper

The Greeks occupied such a minute space of land compared to the rest of the world, and their existence is a mere flicker in time, yet their influence on civilization today is significant and obvious. So how did they do it? The Ancient Greeks were not perfect by any means; they practiced slavery, sacrificing, forced men to become warriors, confined women to the home, and were sometimes plagued by disease. Despite their pitfalls, the Greeks were still able to rise to become a major influential power due to their feeling of purpose, which was to be the best. It was not religion nor war that propelled them forward, but this feeling of wanting to be the best in everything. Essentially, the Greeks wanted to achieve arete, or excellence of any kind. As a result, the Greeks were excellent philosophers, warriors, artists, architects, actors, and so much more. There are many aspects of Greek life that influence civilization today, and it is all due to the Greek’s belief in achieving arete.

Many things gave the Greek culture some advantages. Like any culture, they obtained goods, traded, and made things to make their life better and further the advance of their culture. Thought the Greeks were not about progress such as the romans, they were still human in that they wanted a decent quality of life. During the period of the 8th century B.C., there were wars going on. The Greeks did not use guns, they did not use bombs, and they did not even use any kind of gas. They used spears, swords, and knives. The kinds of weapons they used were not based on technology or electronics. They were sharp and made for fighting face to face. The exception for this would be bows and arrows. The Greeks had bows and arrows and only those were used for long range. They had armor that was made of metal and not bullet proof vests as society has today. Overall, war was quite different but a battle was still a battle. They fought to kill and conquer, as the goal is

When people wonder about Ancient Greece the first thing that comes to their minds is Greek mythology; gods and goddesses that have helped shape many historical events. “In ancient Greece, stories about gods and goddesses and heroes and monsters were an important part of everyday life.” (“Greek Mythology.”) The civilization showed that numerous characters and stories helped shape Greeks. The beliefs the Greeks had with mythologies was they understood the meaning behind all the characters that are known today. However, to the Greeks, they were not just characters, these were their gods and goddesses who gave them meaning and understanding of the world around them. Worshiping the gods and goddesses helped them with their religious rituals and the temperament of the weather. A famous wine-jar that was made during this time period was “Achilles killing the Amazon Queen Penthesilea, 540-530 BCE, black-figured amphora”. (Khan Academy) The civilization that they lived in grew around their worship and achievements.

The civilians of Ancient Greece had to be resourceful. Most civilizations had rivers to channel, irrigate, and predict. Ancient Greece is a series of islands. This means that the people of Ancient Greece had to learn to live on the ocean. They had to deal with being more vulnerable to land attacks as they were used to battling with ships. And they also had to deal with huge ocean storms. These storms could destroy a new society with no notice. (Acrobatic, 2014)

Ancient Greece is one is one of the most important civilizations in history. Why? Simply because they were the base of many things that we believe in, practice, or build upon today. Some examples are language, architecture, art, science, and much more. Over hundreds and thousands of years technology, agricultural techniques, weapons, and education has advanced and evolved. Many of these ideas not only started within Ancient Greece, but within other ancient civilizations as well. Have you ever wondered what life would have been like if the ideas and inventions that Ancient civilizations had uncovered had not been shared with other societies?

The Greeks had achievements and an enduring legacy, leaving influences of their culture, and new ways of thinking such as using logical reasoning, math, science, and philosophy. They also left a permanent

Communities in greece were isolated by water and mountains which took a big role, because of this settlements did not have much communication with each other. They were isolated from each other also because time over time the population of communities grew and they needed more land. To get more land they fought each other and this caused them to isolate from each other because they hated each other. In greece mainland it was very hard to travel because of the high mountains.They used carts to travel but because of rocks the wooden wheels broke. Only few of the rich people could afford horses. When traveling there were inns beside roads which offered shelter but no food and water. Travelers needed to bring there own things. When walking peoples foot would also get stuck in mud puddles. Greeks used the sea to travel but it was also hard because of the stormy nights and big waves in long journeys. They also had trouble trading because there trading material was narrowed down by a lot.

Greece is one of the four multicultural empires that occurred around 600 BCE to 600 CE. Ancient Greece had so many different geographical features that helped brand the outcomes of the empire. One of the key features was Greece’s rugged mountains with deep valleys. With the mountains and valleys being rugged, it produced poor rocky soils (Acrobatiq, 2014). Also, there were narrow coastal areas as well. With this being a living environment for the Greeks, the production of food crops was unfortunate because of those factors. The Greeks had to find other ways to gather foods to their city-states because of the low production of food crops. With this being a bittersweet situation, Greeks recognized more about trades. They eventually became more knowledgeable and respectable at it. Greeks would find other places that would trade with them for food crops and other resources. Greeks built colonies that were decent areas for finding foods and resources. Through this time, Greeks expanded with trading and traveling to enhance their empire.

Greek Life is a very complex part of college campuses. While many schools have a strong Greek Life presence, others play a very small part on their campus. The same can be said when it comes to whether or not fraternities and sororities have a positive reputation or a negative reputation on campus and in their local media.

The Greek Empire was a time when people studied arts and mathematics, established democratic government, and built a massive army. The Greek Empire would give to the world many great works of art, philosophy, massive amounts of education in many fields, and influenced many government structures. Although much was gained from the Greek Empire, much darkness came with it. In order to have such great products of the Greek Empire, many suffered because of “progress”. Land was the most valuable item to the Greeks, mainly due to large populations and the need for agriculture. To acquire land, one would have to conquer other territories or “bully” those who occupied the land to willingly be ruled by Greece.

Ancient Greece was one of the most advanced civilization in terms of social, economic, political, religious, philosophy, art and literature. But why were they so ahead compared to earlier civilizations such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, and the Indus Valley? Ancient Greece had the geography, the power along with influence, and the right society to develop into one of the most successful civilization ever. Their geography allowed for them to create multiple city-states and easy agriculture which also a large part of their economy. Greece's government and society allowed them to produce some of the most well known philosopher, mathematicians, and scientist. Greece's government and society was mainly focused on teaching and exploring many areas of knowledge, this lead to many great philosophers and mathematicians.

The Greeks were also located near the Mediterranean Sea. Ancient Greek culture was known for its contributions to the architecture, science, mathematics, theatre and arts, and literature. The Greeks also made the first significant, fundamental steps in science. The Greeks developed specific scientific branches, such as zoology, biology, and anthropology. They were also known for controlling the Persian Empire after the Persian War. King Alexander the Great initiated a war with Persia, conquered and killed the last emperors. When they got ahold of Persians important city, Persepolis, they burned it down. After Alexander, Greek culture spread out throughout Persia and it was known as Hellenistic Era. (Lecture 10).

The Greek people suffered from oppression and inequality under the Ottoman empire for over 400 years before finding bright individuals that would aid them in starting a revolution that would change their lifestyles forever. Why did the Greek wait 400 years to revolt? Although the answer is not clear, the peasants and farmers were too poor and uneducated because the area of Greece was in poverty. The Greeks found three different inspirational people that would help them discover what they valued and why they needed freedom from the Ottomans. What pushed the Greeks to finally revolt in the Greek War of Independence was the increased religious discrimination, the motivation of the prophets of the revolution, and the taxation policy.

Greece is a thriving country, but if it wasn’t for its beautiful islands, seas, and mountains, Greece would not be as strong of a country today. All these factors have helped Greece grow as a country. Throughout history, various mountains such as Mount Olympus and seas such as the Mediterranean have played an important role in the development of Greece history and culture.

Every idea has a start and a history that can be traced back in time. An incredible amount of these ideas and thoughts were started by great ancient civilizations. These ancient civilizations are the base of all modern knowledge. No ancient civilization has contributed more to this base than the civilization of Ancient Greece. The unique ways of ancient Greek agriculture have left a profound influence on the agriculture of today.