Ancient Greek Culture

The ancient Greek empire was full of culture. In those times, the empire was considered large. With that being said it was very surprising that most aspects of Greek culture were unanimous throughout the empire. The most consistent similarity is found in Greek religion. Greek religion included many gods, practices, and ways of worship. While religion was generally unanimous throughout the empire, the opposite can be said about politics and government. Many different ways of governing city-states exist in Greek history. From monarchies to democracies, the idea of politics varied greatly, depending on the current views of each city-state. Evaluating the many similarities and differences of religion and politics throughout the

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.

Ancient Greek culture has influenced our modern culture in many ways from philosophy to medicine to government. We still use many of their concepts, technology, and even alphabet system. Without ancient Greece, our modern world would not have advanced as far. A significant contribution of the ancient Greek culture to the world today is the Greek theater, more specifically the structure of tragedy. Some contributions are the structure of tragedy in modern literature, rise of opera, and the creation of the theater.

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

Music was probably the second most important form of entertainment. Stated by Plato, “Music gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” Music was important to the Greeks, if a man had something important to say, he often said it in verse. This meant that he would sing it in song. Almost all Greek poetry was sung or spoken to music. The music would be accompanied by a flute or lyre, as they were the most popular type of instrument. Young boys would learn how to play the lyre. Once they learned how to play the

Greece was a beautiful country of the arts. Ancient Greece’s time was around 2000 to 30 B.C.E. Ancient Greece’s people had to deal with mountainous lands, making it hard to live there. Though these causes were against them, they survived and had beautiful and dramatic plays, arts, and architecture. Greece had many wonderful and terrible leaders, and took over much of the ancient world.. Greece had a very rich religion, counting up thousands of gods. Greece also was known for their arts, from pottery to dramatic plays.

Music played a significant role in the lives of ancient Greeks. They believed that music fostered one’s relationship with the gods, and some instruments, such as the lyre, were created by the gods. Music and dance were also taught

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

How many in this world dare say that their god is ever present? From the dawn of mankind to the erection of the mighty skyscrapers, man has looked at the skies and asked themselves: is there something greater out there? Man has asked this question for millennia yet has come no closer to discovering the answer; the same struggle his ancestors faced long ago. Come the modern age near the turn of the century, a new philosophy began to come into fruition that with the prevalence of scientific reasoning and understanding would preclude the coming end of the religious convictions of Christianity itself.1 Yet, in this modern age, with cellular devices, vehicles that can take us from one side of the world to the other in a matter of days if not weeks,

By this i learned their clothing, their food their gods and some interesting facts about Greek. And this was my best topic that i had learned in history and if i a chance to do this again i will do

Ancient Greece was a beautiful land full of wonder, excitement, covered I farmland myths, and mystery. It was and covered in cities and lush farmland.

An important festival that occurs is Genesia, especially Athenians, which is a general state festival where they honor the souls of the dead (Ogden 2007, 88). Ancient Greeks believed that certain rites were due to those that had passed; death was seen as a passage that was to be marked with a ceremony (Ogden 2007, 86). Funeral and mourning customs in ancient Greece were very uniform (Ogden 2007, 87). “The ancient Greeks’ very strong belief in the necessity of honoring the dead was also reflected in religious customs devoted to the continual appeasement of both those who had already been properly buried and those who had not received the due rites” (Ogden 2007, 88). It was typical that families of the deceased would bring offerings to the graves

The Ancient Greeks didn’t understand many things in their lives. They wondered how the seasons changed and what were planets and stars. All of these things were mysteries to them, and the Greeks answered these questions through the myths of Gods and Goddesses. Ancient Greeks believed that these Gods and Goddesses controlled the elements of nature and helped their lives for the better through everyday activities. Their powers were used to explain all that they cannot, from everyday work to the forces of nature.

Throughout the course of time, different civilizations across the world hold one thing in common by which a society or culture can be based upon or help influence the structure. The one common thing that has help a civilization grow throughout the period of time would be the formation of a religion. Religion is a center point for many societies throughout history. As the center for the different civilizations, it helped form their different traditions and customs. The same could be said about the people of ancient Greece, where religion or mythology played an important role in their lives as it was the pedestal of their culture and how they base their lives upon. The formation of a religion across the large number of regions of Greece, help the different locations mold themselves by the customs that were created from the adaptation. During what was known as Ancient Greece, the people would hear tales of the twelve Olympians and how their actions influence the world around them. Within this period of time for the people of Greece was that of growth, as they sought to bring new ideas into light as they exited from a dark period within their own history.