Ancient Greek Culture

The Ancient Greeks believed in many gods and heroes during their time. Each one had a sole purpose in a mortal’s lifetime. Greek mythology had a huge impact on religion in Ancient Greece. The Greeks performed rituals in order to honor their gods. Mythology affected the Ancient Greeks in many ways. The origins of mythology, the influences of mythology through a human’s lifetime and lessons taught in the ancient myths will be examined.

Greek society was divided between citizens and Metics. A citizen who was born with Athenian parents could take a position in the government after an obligatory time in the army they were expected to be government officials.

Greek culture has been around for thousands of years. This culture has translated many different practices into modern day times. The colonization and culture of the Greeks is something to be admired. There are plenty of things that could be said regarding the greeks, but the main things that will be covered are: The evolution of Greek history, the militarization of the Greeks, and the decline of the greek states.

Ancient Greece was not only a place of discoveries and inventions, but it also was a place of great adventures. Firstly, ancient Greece begins in the period known as the Archaic Period which lasted from 800-500 BCE; however, the Classical Period is the most well-known period of Greece because of the politics, art and philosophy. During ancient Greece there were specific roles that each member of society had to fulfill. For example, men had the most powerful role as a citizen; he could vote, own land and hold office; however, women had stay at home and attend to their family. In contrast, labourers and slaves made up the largest part of Greek society. Aside from Greek social structure, Greek culture and society was immensely impacted by the geography of this peninsula; Greece is surrounded by three

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.

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.

Throughout my exploratory essay, I found that there are many different perspectives when it comes to Greek life. I as a member of Greek life myself, feel that the positive aspects outweigh the negative. There are many positive advantages that come from being a part of Greek life. There are an abundance of networking opportunities that come from Greek life along with all of the incredible friends that you make throughout the recruitment experience. One may also gain leadership skills from being a member of the executive council and having to lead their chapter on a day to day basis. Being a member of Greek life also pushes you to be more involved on campus as well as in the community. Each Greek organization has a philanthropy that they support

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

The temples and monuments of both ancient Greek, Roman, and Minoan cultures encompass the religious ideals of their time periods. Often times, these religious sanctuaries would outlast the religions altogether, leaving them standing as a monumental icon of the importance of religion within classical art and archaeology. These monuments could be shrines with altars inside, such as the Parthenon. They could contain religious votives for the afterlife, like the Ayia Triadha sarcophagus. They could also be the religious shrine themselves, such as with Aphrodite of Knidos, who is the goddess of love and fertility. Or they could be shrines of familial protection, like the lararium from the house of Vetti in Pompeii. During antiquity, many of these

“Polis is a term that is used to describe a tight knit small community of Ancient Greek citizens who agreed on certain rules and customs. Usually a polis was centered on a small town and the countryside the surrounded it” (Deering). The polis defined a public and communal space, the Agora, for the purpose of leading public affairs. The affairs of men and affairs were included as these had essentials parts to the entire community’s affairs. The Ancient Greek poleis are among the first recorded democratic governments in the world. The term polis has been translated into city-state as there was typically only one city and because an individual polis was independent from other poleis in terms of political, judicial, legal, religious and social

Alexander the Great died and Hellenistic culture began. The Hellenistic time period was Greek-like and embodied many of the traditional Greek values, while modernizing the Middle East. During the Hellenistic Period, art, entertainment and athletics flourished. Many temples were built but the customs were altered to become modern and enjoyable. Stadiums and Gymnasiums were also fabricated, which induced a social aspect to the polis’. The agora, public alters, and libraries were new and exciting additions to the Hellenistic Period which united the people and gave the people more opportunities. These attractions began to pop up all over the Hellenistic world, whether the Jews wanted it or not. Previously Judah was on the outskirts of other cultures,

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,

Ancient Greek entertainment included sports, theatre, and festivals. Greek theatre laid down a pathway in which modern theatre has been built upon. Some ancient Greek sports still exist today. Ancient Greeks also had many festivals in which they celebrated their gods. Ancient Greek entertainment was perhaps the most advanced form of amusement in the ancient world.

The Modern day, Olympic is eighteen days. On the other hand, the ancient Olympics, last for only five days. This are the things what happened in five days

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.