Greek Cultural Values

In addition to architecture, fine art and literature speak much about ancient Greek society also. The fine art that has been studied allows us to easily depict how the people of the societies though and how stable they were regarding wealth. One detail that the art of this time show us about how the ancient Greeks thought, was obvious obsession with the human body. Many statues that were created in this time were of humans, mainly men, with perfectionist bodies and every little part of their muscles and features were chiseled with the greatest detail. To add to this, all of the statues created to resemble to gods were made to look like the men of the societies and all had perfect chiseled bodies also. The fact that the bodies of the gods were compared to the bodies of the inhabitants of the societies show us how they believed that all the people of the city states should look. They believed the body was meant to, and was, perfect. Sadly, not much of the ancient Greek art is in favor of women. Rarely any sculptures, statues or paintings are of women or about them. The fact that women are very little represented in the art shows another great detail about the ancient Greeks, which is the level of importance that women have in comparison to men to the people of the societies. Interpretations from these fine arts mainly being revolved around men give us the idea that

Pericles’ Funeral Oration by Thucydides, and Sophocles’ play, Antigone, both illustrate cultural values that are crucial in understanding the dynamic of Ancient Athens. In these two pieces of literature, the cultural values are explained and understood through death. Pericles delivered the Funeral Oration as part of a public funeral for some of the Athenian fatalities in the first year of the Peloponnesian War. In Antigone, Sophocles is able to encompass values and conflicts through the death of Antigone’s brother. Pericles connects the death of soldiers to the importance of community, trust, personal freedoms, and social order that was essential in the success of Ancient Athenian Culture. Sophocles addresses the values of family, religion, and loyalty in his play, Antigone. The values highlighted in each of these works are very similar as they institute the importance of the patrioi nomoi (Athenian constitution) to the success of the Athenian state.

The pursuit of perfection shown by the Classical Greek people years ago, were Architecture. The Classical Greek people perfection was created from generation to generation. Every structure was skillful put together. “The design of graceful columned Greek temples has influenced architecture from the Renaissance to modern times. Greek sculpture established an ideal standard for the human form that served as a model for artists in ages to come.” Greeks not only discovered the Architectural skills but also use it to create human like figures from mud and wood like structures. These structures were created by in the 700 BC which potteries structures.

Hellenistic art was engaged more on perfection of the human frame, accuracy and detail. Models from Greek times looked more God-like than human. Hellenic art depended on the new thought of authenticity. Hellenic figures were molded into sensible, blamed human structures. Art in the Hellenic world art epitomized richness, cheerful nature, and coarse with. Marble statues and reliefs described human greatness and sensuality. Art in Hellenistic world emphasize extraordinary naturalism and unashamed luxury. Art in Hellenistic and Hellenic showed feelings and other components filled with different

Art was a big thing for both Greek and Roman culture. There were many sculptures made in both cultures. There were probably more sculptures made in Greek culture than in Roman. The sculptures were made very well. They had excellent shapes and curves in the sculptures. They held up for a very long

“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.

When you think Greek architecture, you think stark white columns and sculpted temples, but many famous buildings today were inspired by this style. Many of the buildings in Washington D.C. such as the White House and Capitol Building were influenced by Greek architecture. You can see Greek architecture in other places as well. Their impression on our society can be seen in almost every city. Greek architecture can be observed everywhere, not just in well-known buildings. Their architecture has left a larger mark on the world than any other

Examining our culture can teach us a lot of values. We pursue happiness and wealth, through employment. We achieve satisfaction by using our money to feed ourselves, and purchase items needed or desired. We reproduce and understand our duties of providing for our offspring, which becomes our main responsibilities. Popular culture exists everywhere in our lives, and is a very integral part of our decision making. Because we understand the needs for food, shelter, and other things, we decide to go to school and work. As we realize we are responsible to the children in care of us, we decide to make wiser choices, instead of choices that could lead to problems, such as loss of wealth or incarceration.

Objects as prosaic as a drinking glass can reveal to us the ingenuity of Greek design as well as their devotion to their religion. Literature shows us the political attitudes and issues of the era, as well as how many aspects of society, such as the role of women, worked. Even the buildings they worked and prayed in can tell us the frequency of their prayer as well as specific aspects of different poleis. The Greek people were skilled craftsmen and artisans and their attention to things such as the vessels used for olive oil and wine can tell us how central things such as grape and olive crops were to how they lived. Images on pots can tell us how the average Greek admired athleticism and physical skill. Plays such as Euripides’s Trojan Women can show us both the ravages of their warfare as well as the attitudes people had during a specific conflict in their history. We are able to form both a narrow view of average Greek’s values and interests as well as a larger view of the political and social shape of their entire society from the things that have

In lassical Greece is where is born the ideal of beauty which has lasted until today. Greek art, especially sculpture, focused on finding a barrel of perfect proportions for the human body. On this occasion, and initially, the models for the art would be male (young athletes), and only they could be shown in full nudity. Thus, in the case of female, their representations would appear devoid of their femininity and sex characteristics, resulting in robust and masculinizadas figures. However, from the fifth century, when Athens lived their greatest splendor, there would be an important evolution of forms and a change in the concept of what is beautiful. The myth of Aphrodite under the attribute of goddess of beauty, pleasure, and love.

By the 600s and 500s BC, Greece had entered into its Archaic age, with advances in trade, warfare, interstate interactions, and religious institutions converging to define a momentous era of this culture’s long history. Given the extent to which Greece, during these centuries, congealed into the ancient society it is best remembered as today, it is necessary to ask the elusive question of what makes one Greek? By this era, what made one Greek entailed a paradoxical strong value for community coupled with a strong value for competitive individualism, a combination that is found in religion, sports, writing, architecture, and other well-known hallmarks of Greek culture.

From research and studies it has been identified at several points that the ancient Greek as well as Roman philosophies, political as well as other social aspects have had a strong and long-lasting contribution towards the formulation and maintenance of the contemporary society. It is believed that the western or the contemporary society that today occupies the Western Europe and North America is basically a mesh of varied ancient cultures. The two main cultures out of these were described as the Greek as well as Roman culture.

“Would you believe in what you believe in if you were the only one who believed?” said Kanye West himself. As a paraphrase this quote means something like would you still believe in what you believe if you were the only one on the planet. The quote is appealing because it makes you think about your beliefs so it has to be interesting. It relates to today’s societal beliefs because of individual beliefs, group beliefs or maybe even a community belief due to the culture of the area. During throughout the essay it should prove why beliefs are important.

Ancient Greece society is very similar to the modern day society because it both did one common thing which is the essence of the culture remained same throughout the centuries even though technology, fashion and Western influence have brought some changes to it. Some things that made their culture and customs so rich were the art, architecture such as sculptures by famous artists, paintings and infrastructure. Greeks were very advanced in sports and art which made their daily life more interesting and meaningful. Greek enjoyed rich food and mixed music and dance as part of their meal. One of the most important things about Greek culture is their religion such as gods who they prayed to and temples where they prayed. Even though we don’t

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.