Ancient Greek Anthropology

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.

Ancient Greece has been a religion- centered culture since the earliest period of habitation in Greece, the Pre-Mycenaean/Mycenaean period. Also through to the Dark Ages to the Classical period. It is a religiously centered civilization, and did have significant changes in the how it was incorporated into people’s daily lives. Religion is important to know about the Ancient Greeks because through it we are able to understand how they lived their lives.

Towering mountains. Bright blue seas. Glittering white temples dedicated to the gods. Though Ancient Greece was made up of many different regions and colonies, these 3 things were almost always in view. The ancient Greeks worshiped many different gods and goddesses that each controlled something in the mortal world. What was different about their gods and goddesses was that they were very human like. They looked like mortals, had thoughts like mortals, and they even quarreled with each other like we do. Ancient Greek religion is also known as Greek Mythology, Classical Religion, and Classical Mythology. Though whatever people call it, decisions made in Ancient Greece were heavily influenced by their religion.

The ancient Greeks highly valued the strength and power in a spoken word. Political, economic, cultural, and social life of the Ancient Greeks can be seen in their plays. They thus relied on words to communicating. Their desire to communicate and pass crucial information led to the creation of numerous plays across the region. The ancient Greek plays were both entertaining and educative thus reflecting on the kind of life that this person lived (Hogan 11). Their settings can suggest a lot about the circumstances and conditions under which this play was performed. The dramatic presentations were crucial to Athenians, a fact that can be seen from the numerous and well- spread theatres across the city. The paper will focus on how the ancient

A similarity between the ancient Egyptians and Greek is the use of what is now known as geometry. It is currently thought that the Egyptians had introduced the earliest fully-developed base-ten numeration system, this system was introduced around 2700 BCE, and was based. On people having ten fingers (story of mathematics). A famous document of the time was the Rhind Papyrus, created 1650 BC, and contained information and exercises to show the “Correct method of reckoning, for grasping the meaning of things and knowing everything that is, obscurities and all secrets.” (Washington.edu). The Egyptians had also approximated the area of

PAPER #1 The six dimensions of religion include ethical, ritual, emotional, institutional, cognitive and aesthetic. The six dimensions can be applied to any and all religions that exist or did exist at some point. A good example of a religion from the past that the dimensions can be applied too is the Ancient Greek religion. Being polytheistic religion in which many gods ruled many different domains of the earth, the six dimensions can be applied to the Ancient Greek religion but some dimensions are more influential than others because of the way the Ancient Greek religion is structured.

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.

While the Ancient Egyptians were not the only ones to have a cat goddess. For example, Norse mythology wasn't without exception; the goddess Freya the deity of love, fertility, war, wealth, divination, and magic is known for her love of cats. Additionally, Freyja rode in a chariot pulled by two giant gray cats. In fact, Nordic farmers left offerings for cats in order to ensure a good harvest. (Robin) Everywhere cats go humans fall in love with them so does their mythology. Additionally, other cultures include Ai-Apaec, a god of the pre-Inca civilization known as the Mochica, was often depicted as an old man with a wrinkled face, long fangs, and cat-like whiskers. He was said to have evolved from an ancient cat god, whereas he was able

The first hypothesis that the research will dive into is that younger college students will tend to be more interested in Greek Life at their college. First and second year students tend to be less developed as a person and want a place to fit in. Greek life offers a place for people to feel welcomed and build a sense of community. Also looking at older students who have a greater sense of who they are and where they fit in on campus, and how they have little to no interest in joining a fraternity or sorority. The second hypothesis is that students who party more would be interested in joining a sorority or fraternity if their college offered it. The theory is that students associate the Greek Life system with parting and that would make

Egypt of the pharaohs is best known for its great monuments and feats of engineering (such as the Pyramids), but it also made great advances in many other fields too. The Egyptians produced early forms of paper and a written script. They developed the calendar too and made important contributions in various branches of mathematics, such as geometry and algebra, and it seems likely that they understood and perhaps invented the use of zero. They made important contributions in mechanics, philosophy, irrigation and architecture. In medicine, the Egyptians understood the body’s dependence on the brain over 1000 years before the Greek scholar Democritus. Some historians now believe that ancient Egypt had an important influence on ancient Greece, and they point to the fact that Greek scholars such as Pythagoras and Archimedes studied in Egypt, and that the work of Aristotle and Plato was largely based on earlier scholarship in Egypt. For example, what is commonly known as Pythagoras’ theorem, was known to the ancient Egyptians hundreds of years before Pythagoras’ birth.

The early Pythagoreans did not publish anything and with a noble self denial, they referred back to their master all their discoveries. (Allman, 1976) Hence, it was not possible to separate what was discovered by him from what his disciples discovered. The Pythagoreans wrote many geometric proofs, but it is difficult to ascertain who proved what, as the group wanted to keep their findings secret. Unfortunately, this vow of secrecy prevented an important mathematical idea from being made public. The Pythagoreans had discovered irrational numbers! If we take an isosceles right triangle with legs of measure 1, the hypotenuse will measure sqrt

Subsequent to the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, the ancient Greeks established possibly the greatest center of learning at the time in Alexandria. Indeed, history purports that perhaps this great library rivaled even the great library in Athens, especially considering the fact that the Alexandrian library produced such significant mathematical figures as Archimedes and Euclid, the works of whom likely depended on the earlier works of great Greek mathematicians like Thales and Pythagoras (Lahanas, 2016). Although even those preceding mathematicians likely expounded upon the mathematical methodologies and computational techniques developed in earlier Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations. Still, there can be no doubt that modern mathematics,

70,000+ years ago, Africans developed the systems of adding and subtracting as well as multiplication and division. Also, they were the first to make sense of fractions. Egyptians used geometric formulas to calculate the volume and area of items so that they could construct different structures. They also calculated distances and angles along with solving algebraic based on minimum resources, like the Nile River. The ancient Egyptians also theorized that a circle is equal to 360 degrees, and pi was estimated to be about 3.16. The same mathematics that we use today was discovered and advanced by ancient Africans, Egyptians to be

Egyptian architecture was greatly inspired by their beliefs in the afterlife. This is evident in the pyramids which are designed and created according to the mathematical principles of geography, and vectors. The Great Pyramids of Giza for instance are designed in such a way that they appear to glow and shine when there is a full moon. It makes the pyramids take on a surreal or unreal quality that would otherwise not be possible. This is all possible through the use of mathematical calculations that enabled the designers and architects to create such magnificent structures. Similarly, the designs and the shapes of the pyramids themselves were constructed according to mathematical calculations that allowed them to figure out what would be the optimum size and shape of the pyramids, and how the weights will be balanced out. Thus just like the focus of engineers today, the people in ancient Egypt used mathematics and engineering designs to their advantage in order to create architectural masterpieces that stand the test of time. According to an article by author Deborah Jo Bennett, “The evolution of the concept of "randomness" is explored through the method of historical research. This dissertation examines the use of chance mechanisms through artifacts originating in Mesopotamia, the Indus valley, Egypt, and Babylonia as early as the third millennium B.C. and explores notions about randomness in antiquity through the literature of the ancient Vedic, Greek, Hebrew, and Chinese cultures” (Bennett, 1993). This basically shows the sheer importance that all these cultures placed on mathematics, and gives us a lot of hints as to how these cultures used their mathematical knowledge for their own benefit. One of the most notable characteristics of Egyptian architecture is the sense of harmony that is present in their designs.

Egyptians: 1- Used math to solve practical problems (measuring time, the annual Nile flooding, calculating area of land, bookkeeping, accounting, calculating taxes). 2- Introduced Approximation by giving the approximate area of a circle. 3- Introduced the base 10 counting system they used for measuring time, flood, areas and records.