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How Did Ancient Greek And Roman Culture Influence Western Culture

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The past is as crucial as the present and the future. For human beings, their past help to define who they are today and who they will become in the future. The same philosophy is true for civilizations because humans form these societies, which is why many traditions and customs of past cultures prevail in modern day societies. The cultures that mostly influence Western culture, in particular, are the Ancient Greeks and Romans through the remnants of their literature, system of government, and architecture.
While few Greek and Roman literature survived the passage of time, the ones that have endured are meticulously preserved. It continues not only in the corporeal sense, such as texts exhibited in a museum or kept in an archive, rather, they are …show more content…

The addition of magistrates who administered the law (praetors) and juriconsultants (experts with the law), made sure that the spirit of the law was above personal squabbles and the letter of the law; meaning, the law was ever evolving in nature, taking into consideration of the individual’s needs, instead of being taken at face value (Fiero 73). This concept is chiefly used in the American government since its formation in 1776. Many cases throughout American history have bore witness to the changes in regards to the nature of justice, such as the case of Plessy v. Fergusson and, later on, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka—which the latter overturned the former. This example shows the fluidity of the perception of justice. The overturn of Plessy v. Ferguson by Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, exhibits the shift in attitude by citizens and their perception of justice. The ambiguity of the system is the source of its continued use in present day judgments; as people change, the rules that regulate them must adapt as well or else there is a conflict of

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