Greek Culture Change And Continuity Analysis

Ancient Greek cultures and traditions have set many precedents in the world. Even now in the twenty-first century, the presence of ancient Greek culture can be found in our mathematical and scientific formulas and theories, philosophy, and art. While some parts of the Greek culture have receded throughout the progression of history, like the belief in the pantheon of the gods, others have stayed, but changed. For example, the Hippocratic Oath, an oath sworn by medical professionals to the gods has changed throughout the years, but still remains a part of current medical practice. The Hippocratic Oath, although changed with time, offers important insight to the principles and beliefs that the ancient Greeks thought as important.

Protruding from Europe, Greece hangs precariously southward from the end of the Balkan Peninsula, and slices towards the Mediterranean Sea with dramatic peninsulas and thousands of large and small islands. The Mediterranean Sea offered an easily adaptable climate with mild winters and hot, dry summers, while the mountainous terrain, allowed for multiple easily defensible positions. The surrounding sea offered an environment conducive to developing and sustaining a enduring culture that was relatively safe from incursions while able to communicate and exchange large quantities of goods and ideas with ease through the sea lanes. It is not by accident that the ancient Greek civilization developed around a significant maritime power.

The Greek economy was based off of agriculture. They were also colonized to somewhat like the states we have in America. Their main crops and trade products were grapes, olives, and wine. The Greek commerce and trade by sea is what made all of the Greek city-states as wealthy and important as they were. The Greeks were often called “The Masters of the Mediterranean” because of their skillful seafaring.

One way was the sea. Athens was located on the Attica peninsula so they were surrounded by water on three sides and Athens built its naval supremacy of Triremes. The Triremes gave Athens control of the Mediterranean Sea so they controlled trade and gained the name the “Big Olive.” A lot of the battles of the Persian war were fought with navies and the Trireme allowed for them to win the narrow straits of Salamis. The sea also greatly impacted economy. The Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Aegean Sea connected all of the land and islands of Ancient Greece so they could trade with one another. The Sea also allowed for travel and they could trade with other countries like Egypt. They could make a profit for their natural resources and benefit from obtaining resources that were not natural to Greece at the time. The biggest impact geography had on Greece was the land. The land was dry with only 20% arable land and it was extremely mountainous. The mountains ran from the northwest part of Greece to the southeast part along the Balkan Peninsula. Due to the dryness, the Greek city states were constantly looking to expand their land and the mountains caused each city state to be spread apart. This made them have decentralized governments. Also due to the mountainous geography, there were over 1000 Greek city states including Athens and Sparta. Land also was on Sparta’s side during the Peloponnesian

The ancient Greeks, or also called the Hellenes, had a more westernized culture compared to other surrounding cultures in their time. Much of ancient Greek culture has influenced our culture today in America. They have influenced modern society through their religion, architecture, theatre, literature, society, language and sports.

Communities in greece were isolated by water and mountains which took a big role, because of this settlements did not have much communication with each other. They were isolated from each other also because time over time the population of communities grew and they needed more land. To get more land they fought each other and this caused them to isolate from each other because they hated each other. In greece mainland it was very hard to travel because of the high mountains.They used carts to travel but because of rocks the wooden wheels broke. Only few of the rich people could afford horses. When traveling there were inns beside roads which offered shelter but no food and water. Travelers needed to bring there own things. When walking peoples foot would also get stuck in mud puddles. Greeks used the sea to travel but it was also hard because of the stormy nights and big waves in long journeys. They also had trouble trading because there trading material was narrowed down by a lot.

One positive effect that the geography has on Greece it that they can grow olives easily. The land conditions that are favorable for growing olives are hot and dry climates, which Greece has so it is a great spot to grow them in. In document 4 it says that, “the Greeks believed that the god Athena gave them the first olive tree as a gift and they thought it was so priceless they named their city after Athena.” Olives and olive oil became one of the most valuable items that Greece had and traded. Greeks

The Aegean Sea, containing more than 2,000 islands was heavily relied on for trade, which in turn brought prosperity to the Byzantine Empire. Trade became their main source of income with trade traveling as far as Spain and Egypt. “Commercial sea trading became their main source of income and, in time, they colonized the various islands of the Aegean archipelago and produced various commodities such as figs, grapes, wine, raisins, honey, wheat, assorted vegetables, and herbs” (Mark 3). This sea played a role in development of Greek culture because it provided transportation for trade. This led to job specialization with occupations such as fishermen and shipbuilders. Because of its location, the earliest civilization in Europe appeared on the coasts and islands of the Aegean Sea.

Michael Cheng Michael Monyak Brady hancock Greece Greece is a country of influence, this can be seen culturally, politically, and socially. From the creators of the olympics to the democracy that is in the United States government, Greece has had a major influence on the world as we know today. Greek culture has influenced our culture in many ways.

Ancient Greece was one of the most successful and monumental ancient civilizations. From the Mycenaean’s all the way to Alexander the Great, the Greek civilizations thrived. The Greek civilizations were a major time period in history that have been studied extensively. Therefore, it is essential to study the historical figures that greatly impacted the Greeks way of life. Greek government, philosophy, and military initiatives were greatly impacted by historical figures such as Socrates, Pericles, and Alexander the Great. Socrates made a profound impact on the study of philosophy by his teachings. Pericles and his ideas of imperialism and democracy were unheard of for this time period. Lastly, Alexander the Great built a massive empire from his powerful military skills. Studying these historical figures will reveal the profound impact on Greek culture, success, and ideas still appreciated today.

The mountains made it difficult to trade and communicate through land (Geography Shapes Greek Life). With mountains covering most of the land, it divided ancient Greece into smaller city-states. Because of that, it took weeks to travel from place to place, thus limiting trade and communication. With the lack of trade and communication, it was difficult for ancient Greece to

Local cultures are sustained through customs. An example would be preserving the culture through food. Easter is a largely celebrated holiday in Greece and with a big celebration, comes an even bigger meal to end the day. Typical dishes served are whole, slowly roasted lambs, red-dyed eggs, braided sweetbreads (known as tsoureki), an Easter soup called magiritsa, and grilled tripe rolls (kokoretsi). Greeks also preserve their culture by the way they dress. During the holidays there, you’ll meet locals dressed in traditional costumes. In western Crete, the older men still proudly sport their high boots, breeches and black-tasselled kerchiefs; on the island of Karpathos, the women have two sets of costumes, a simple one for every day and a very

There were many changes throughout Ancient Greek history regarding politics and society. The Greeks first believed that the gods could give a person power and godlike kings ruled. Then they refused to believe that this could be possible. After this revelation, poleis, small city-states, begin to form. These poleis were made up of equal, free males (Morris and Powell 4).

I think the most significant contribution of Greek culture can't be just simplified down to just one thing. There are various contributors from Greek culture. You have the Olympics which was a type of competition that is done every four years. Teams from all over the world to compete in various events that pushes the competitors to the limit for the change to win a gold medal for their country. Another example of a significant contribution would be Greek mythology. Mythology is pretty ingrained in our culture, whether it's the old myths featuring likes of Hercules appearing in movies, comic books ,Video games ect. It's hard to have grown up without being at least a tiny bit familiar with Mythology. Lastly I feel like Democracy is one of the

Sea is a big part of cultural life in Greece, it makes sense that many of the gods and goddesses in Greek mythology originated in the water. Though most of us think of the Olympian gods and goddesses when we think about Greek mythology, the gods and goddesses of the sea were also important parts of the the greek tradition. Poseidon Poseidon was the main god who controlled the sea. As the brother of Zeus, he was very powerful. Every sea creature and sea god and goddess fell under Poseidon’s domain.