Compare And Contrast Greek Culture Vs American Culture

The influence of Latin culture is prominent in the American world today. Everything from the Latin language to the Roman law is visible in the culture that shapes the way we live our lives in the United States. You can see it by watching the Super Bowl game or even fulfilling your citizen duty of serving on a jury.

When visiting different countries, it is easy to see the differences between the cultures of each place. When visiting Greece, something that stood out to me was the food and the process that it took to get it. Greeks ate at different times than Americans and finding a place to eat was a completely different process than in America. The service, food, and payment at Greek restaurants also had contrasting styles than what I was used to in the United States. Greeks and Americans both contain people who share a love for food, but the process of getting food in each country is slightly different from each other depending on the time, place, and service.

The word democracy comes from two Greek words: demos, meaning "the people," and kratein, meaning "to rule." These two words are joined together to form a democracy, literally meaning "rule by the people". Nowadays democracy could be referred as a rule of the majority. It is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or choose delegates from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a parliament. The Greek system of government was maybe more like a true democracy or administered by the general population than any other ever. On the other hand, most American politicians with mindfulness and knowledge have realized that the U.S. is not a Democracy as a country, regardless of the way that most people declare it to be a Democracy. Greek and American democracy have some similarities such as the amount of nationalism and patriotism saw in the people when a lack of representation for a city-state or nation as a whole is seen, and they both vote for their political leaders.

American sport culture has had many influences that impact how they are today. I believe the ancient greek culture, and society accurately reflects on our sports. There are many variables to american sports that were taken from the greek society. Americans have open gyms and mass training sessions like the greeks had. American sports also have big festivals with sports competitions like the greeks has. Americans also use sports to train, and some to train for war just like the greeks did as well. There are many more ways american sports reflect the greeks, but those are just a few examples.

pic. Greek life is, in many ways, different from modern day American culture. People in ancient Greek civilization thought, believed, and treated people differently than modern day Western civilization does. Although what went on in Greek culture at the time may seem very strange or different to children who have grown up in America their whole lives, that does not mean that Greek life was, by definition, strange. The Greek culture is like any culture in that it is different in its own way. It has aspects and objects that are unique to the culture that others would find interesting. Even some objects, for example: bow and arrows, swords, spears, and others, are the same objects other cultures have, yet they may look slightly different from the objects in other cultures. Ancient civilizations did not have mass manufacturing as modern day America. No weapon, item of clothing, or dish was the exact same.

Ancient Greek culture had major influences on today’s culture; some of these influences include mathematics, government, art and architecture; they even did research in the field of medicine. Many cultures and religions have adapted their ideas from the ancient Greeks. Without the influences of the ancient Greeks our society wouldn’t be the way it is today. The Greek culture lasted from around 776 BCE to 146 BCE (though it is argued to have begun around 1000 BCE), during this time they invented many technologies and refined old technologies. These things are what caused the ancient Greek culture to be such a powerful influence on western society today.

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.

​There are two main periods in Greece history, Hellenic and Hellenistic period. They have some similarities but they are significantly different. Many people believe that the Classical era is the most impressive due to the success in literature, science, philosophy and architecture, which does not mean that the Ancient Greece is less significant. While in Hellenic era they saw rising and falling of the polis in Hellenistic era it was more about war and fighting for among the prevailing dynasties. The thing that they have in common is that they were consistent in discovering new philosophies and science also decreasing the role of gods.

I never thought that the Greeks wouldn’t eat much of a breakfast also i didn’t know that most of the food in Greece were imported from all around them. The foods they eat also don’t seem really different from what we would eat here. I knew very little about what they wore in Greece. I didn’t think that they wore modern clothes like us currently. There houses inside are partially the same way our houses would be like in the inside but, on the outside the houses aren’t much

American culture encompasses customs or traditions in the United States. Customs or traditions include, but would not be limited to, values, language, religion, or how we communicate. The population in the United States is over 325 million, (United States Census Bureau, (n.d.) and is built on immigration. In comparison to other countries, the United States is considered cultural, as most nations unite, and later mix, their culture into American culture.

The Greek civilization contributed greatly to the development of modern Western culture. Three of the most important contribution that are the foundations of our society are Language, Philosophy, and Government.

At the end, both differences between the families ended when finally Toula married Ian. The movie story even that it is a little more exaggerated from the reality, it shows us a true context about the cultural problems that can emerged when people from different backgrounds and traditions comes together, also the misunderstanding because of the unfamiliarity with other cultures and traditions. On the other hand, this story bring us a piece of the Greek culture, like any other culture that lives in America, and the important characteristic that Greek people have such as the tied bondage to their family, traditions, religions, and culture, and their stories that left behind in their country in order to come to America to have a better life for

“Greek civilization is alive; it moves in every breath of mind that we breathe; so much of it remains that none of us in one lifetime could absorb it all.” Ancient Greeks are known to be one of the greatest and most advanced people and have left behind a legacy that helped define the Western civilization. Cultural diffusion helped spread Greek culture all over the world, and its effects can still be felt today in almost every aspect. Greek culture has greatly affected different parts of my daily life including architecture, food, government, inventions, music, religion, and education.

In the article, it talked about how the different cultures around the world have different sets of values, which may seem wrong to one culture, but completely normal to another. The article gave an example of the Greeks and Callatians, who have very different cultural values of what to do with the dead. The Greeks believed in cremating the dead, while the Callatians ate their dead as a sign of respect. To one culture, the other seemed completely barbaric and disrespectful, and they would never do the other, as proved by King Darius. This lesson, althougn many years old, still applied to today, even in a place as diverse as America. There are many locations in America where it is not very culturally diverse. I feel like the many problems

Civilization is the period in which humans develop and organize their community in an advanced form in different aspects. As time was fleeting the ancient Greek civilization was starting to shape and adopt many alterations which started to center a more stable community. Just as the Greeks there were other civilizations developing some similar to the Greeks attributes and some differing them in different aspects.