Greek Culture and its Influences Today Essay

Music was a large part of everyday life in Ancient Greece. The people thought of music as a gift from their gods, associating different instruments with specific gods. Their term for music was not limited strictly to vocal and instrumental melody, but referred to dance, lyrics, and even poetry reading. Music was brought into many facets of life for Ancient Greek citizens, from weddings and funerals, to banquets and religious festivals. Education and Drama were also parts of Ancient Greek life to which music was integral.

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

Growing up my yaya told me contently “Eíste Éllines, ton politismó mas, eínai to palaiótero kai pio agní deíchnoun to páthos, deíchnoun yperifáneia.” Which I quickly learned roughly translates to “You are Greek, you are the best, claim it, be proud.” Being Greek is like being the proudest group of people in the world and telling everyone you meet that you are in fact Greek and because you are Greek almost all Western cultural traditions can be traced back to the Greek—Greece is the birthplace of Western culture and we are proud of it. Now if all you know about the Greek culture is what you have seen from the “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” franchise, you are a bit misinformed but that is fine—the franchise did get a few concepts about Greek

From Doric columns to the Pythagorean Theorem, the Greeks have left a lasting impact on the contemporary world. Their architectural skill and design, proceeding from 800 BC to 27 BC, has pervaded through the centuries. Their ideas in math and science have influenced the development of the modern studies and left concepts still used today. Athens bore the concept of democracy, a concept innate to government for most Americans. Ancient Greece’s lasting contributions in architecture, math and science, and government have fueled the growth made throughout the centuries and made it the most influential ancient civilization on modern society.

Ancient Greek culture was a culture of poets, philosophers, warriors, and most importantly of all: athletes. As most young men today would wake up in the morning and go to school, young men from ancient Greece would wake up and go to their city’s gymnasium where they would workout and prepare for the highlight of every ancient Greek persons life: the ancient Olympic Games. The Olympic Games was an event so grand that it could be compared to the modern day Super Bowl, Thanksgiving, and Macy’s day parade put together! The ancient Olympic Games were also highly representative of ancient Greek culture at the time of its occurrence. These similarities were seen through many ways such as expressing the already established rivalry between Greek city-states,

Ancient Greece is a beautiful place in the corner of the Meditteranean sea that is known for its inspiration to modern day art and architecture. Ancient Greece had many things that made it very complex there were art and architecture math and science Philosophy, History, and Literature.i would argue that Greek art and architecture were the two things that most influenced modern civilization. A lot of people like to think that literature was the biggest influence because the Greeks came up with the alphabet but I disagree. There are 2 ancient Greek pillar forms that I am going to talk about.

In the western world today, war is generally seen as a distant thing, that most of us never have to struggle with. But long ago, our classical greek ancestors’ culture revolved the idea and glorification of war. War sculpted the culture of ancient Greece. It shaped the values and philosophies of citizens. Their gods were thought to play a very active role in the outcome of battles, their greatest heroes were those of war, and in many places, such as Sparta, boys were raised to be soldiers from an early age.

Centuries and centuries of development has brought modern Greek culture to what it is today; rich, beautiful, and unlike any other culture in the world. In Greece, all the components of culture fall together beautifully; the food is delicious, the language is beautiful, and the architecture and general scenery takes many aback. Overall, the customs define who the people of Greece are, making it one of the most amazing cultures one can come across.

Ancient Greeks are well known for many creations and teachings. In our modern world we have reflected what the Greeks had made, like libraries, some of there teachings and their ideas that we use today like theaters and art. We have art today in museums and around the world that started from the Ancient Greeks and their amazing mindset on art. The Ancient Greeks cultures, education system and governmental structure makes us have a democracy that we use in the modern day. The Greeks with good ideas we took their ideas and made something better out of it and made people around the world to the same.

It is believed that the tradition came from paganism, specifically old festivities worshipping Dionysus, the god of wine and feast (“Traditions in Greece” 7); they also have many other types of festivities and celebrations. Various cultural events also take place in Athens, the Greek islands, and other cities mostly organized in the summer (“Greece Cultural Events” 1). Examples include the Athens Epidaurus Festival; it takes place yearly from June to August and includes, and I quote, “modern theatre, ancient drama, ballet, opera, jazz, classical music concerts, and art exhibitions.” This is just one of quite a few festivities that take hold throughout Greece (“Greece Cultural Events” 2). Today, many Greeks also hold music dear to them like their ancestors; however, not for the same purpose of tribute to their powerful Gods and Goddesses. Currently, they have many influences from eastern and western cultures that encompass them (“Greece Music” 1). Their music has changed in the aspect that it developed a more “ecclesiastical approach” from the Byzantine Empire, which essentially means it is intertwined with an eastern sound of music (“Greece Music”

Greeks were great people and what they have done has impacted this world tremendously and some of the miraculous things they have built are still in use in todays world.

3500 years ago, people in ancient Greece were unknowingly changing the entire world. From their government to their arts and sciences, Greek culture would go on to influence almost everybody in the world, and to this day, much of western civilization is owed to them.

Music is ever present in the rituals of the Greek city-states and only seldom do we find a Greek ritual deprived of any musical expression. Every public act of worship was accompanied by hymn singing, instrumental accompaniment, dances or musical processions. Greek Festivals were dedicated sites of musical performances, ranging from the spontaneous hymnic cries of the crowds to the intricate skills of professional musicians. At the core of this study lies the basic assumption that each Greek cult, each God or Goddess in their varied local manifestations, demanded a specific musical worship, a unique cultic soundscape. The inherent local soundscape of each and every Greek cult defined it`s traditionally accepted set of musical-patterns, governing

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

As a child I have always been fascinated with the history and influence of Greece. When I first learned about the Olympics and how it derived from ancient Greek times, I couldn’t believe that these types of sports were still being played in today’s society. When the move 300 first came out in 2006, it just motivated me to learn more and more about the conflict during those times. Even during my eighth-grade western civics class when we discussed the structure of the United States government and democracy of Greece, it finally clicked that the Greek culture has had a huge impact in today’s modern culture. First of all, the Greek influence is not just limited to politics but also in Art, philosophy, mathematics, and even modern science.