Influence of Greece on western civilization
Throughout history, there has been many to hold the title of the greatest and most influential western civilization. It is believed that Greece more specifically Ancient Greece is the first truly western civilization and has had a part in the following fields of education. Philosophy being what many would argue to be the second biggest contribution of Greece. With the first thought coming to my mind being Aristotle, Socrates, and Archimedes. These philosophers not only contributed to the field of philosophy; but to science, mathematics, literature, and poetry.
Democracy being possibly the most important influence on all societies. The democracy spoken of is commonly credited to the fundamental of Athenians Greece by the philosopher Aristotle in 350 B.C.E. the constitution set up an outline of governance that set term limits from life to 10 years and needing to be a citizen to serve such terms. This also sets up how to be a citizen and a way for to slaves to become a citizen. The constitution served as an outline for future democracy’s constituents like that of the united states constitution. “I mean the democracy of the Athenians. We see more to admire, and less to condemn, in that great, extraordinary people, than anything which history affords.” (Paine)
“Mr. Burke is so little acquainted with constituent principles of government, that he confounds democracy and representation together. Representation was a thing unknown in the
The Ancient Greeks have done so much for the western civilizations. Their success in art, philosophy, architecture, science, government, and history have influenced the western civilizations to use their ideas. Many different people came up with different ideas to contribute to their government. New ideas and conclusions were constantly being made because of philosophers asking questions all the time. They really helped shaped Ancient Greece's government.
When writing the Constitution, one of the most prominent arguments focused on whether America should be considered a Democracy. A large percentage of the founding fathers feared the term “Democracy” because they strongly believed that if the people had control, then there would be disorder and violence. As James Madison stated in Federalist No. 10,
The positive influence of Christianity is far reaching especially in the rich history and culture of Western Civilization despite a long standing ignorance or adamant denial of its contributions. The Bible itself is responsible for much of the language, literature, and fine arts we enjoy today as its artists and composers were heavily influenced by its writings. Paul Maier, in writing the forward to the book How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt, says this about the profound impact Christianity has had on the development of Western Civilization:
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.
Advances in Art, science and politics were made in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Greek philosophers were among the first in the West to explore nature in a rational way and to make educated guesses about the creation of the world and the universe. This is why Greece is often referred to as the birthplace of Western culture.
When people gather together for form a society, they will automatically need a fundamental law (constitution) that will be above everything and everyone. Constitution is what actually regulates a country. It provides rights and set up obligations for everyone. The United States constitution is one of the greatest documents ever written. It provides liberty, prosperity, equality, more importantly huge freedom. However, the ratification of the U.S. constitution was not an easy task. The farmers had trouble to agree on several issues such as the representation and distribution of political powers; how to prevent excessive democracy; and the protection of individual liberties, etc.
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.
Government was a form of order among both the Athenian Democracy and the Roman Republic. It lead to a simple unification as a whole, causing their separate civilizations to prosper. It allowed the citizens to become a part of leadership that wasn’t so enforced from the beginning of civilization. Through agreements as a society joined together, they established firm laws and developed different systems that each reaped their own benefits. Each had similar yet contrasting outcomes through organization and development, leading to a new perspective for both governments. However, despite the fact both had exceptional ideas of government, the Athenian Democracy stands out as more prominent because they gave quality citizenships, they gave the opportunity for common men to participate in affairs, and they strictly enforced
Even though democracy was first invented in Greece, fully grew and developed in the United states. As we know democracy is the back bone for one country’s development. When the government is under the law, it is least likely abusing the country’s resources for individual use and participating in corruption. For example, Africa has different kind of good resources, but the continent is very back ward because of their corrupted and dictator governors. A constitution is a framework that legally describes the rules and procedures of a government and legally binds that government to a set of guides as it limits and empowers the government to act in the name of the people or the state. “America got a constitution
Archaic Greece is responsible for so many different ways like agriculture, philosophy, mathematics, engineering, politics, art and architecture, and the sciences like Astronomy, Physics, and Medicine. Politics were influenced by the Greeks, democracy and republics were all early forms of Greek city-state politics and in the end applied by Rome, Europe, America and all over the world. With agriculture, certain foods were first made and created in
In this speech, he outlined the constituents of democracy: "If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences...if a man is able to serve the state; he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition. The freedom we enjoy in our government extends also to our ordinary life. There, far from exercising a jealous surveillance over each other, we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbor for doing what he likes..." Greek democracy helped inspire the creation of modern democracy, including the government of America.
Ancient Greeks made many influential contributions to western civilization such as in the areas of philosophy, art and architecture, math and science.
Many of the arguments by Burke in the books had indicated, in one way or another, that democratic ideas did not necessarily increase, but rather decreased liberty. Burke’s general arguments against democracy was based on Aristotle’s classification of constitutions, that is “a democracy has many striking points of resemblance with a tyranny”. The fact that “the majority of the citizens is capable of exercising the most cruel oppressions upon the minority”, in Burke’s mind, suggested tyrannical rule by a democratic government could be achieved and that, compared to that of an absolute monarch, this persecution by the people could reveal to be much more repressive. Because being ruled by a tyrannical large group was comparable to being “overpowered by a conspiracy of their
Western Civilization has had a tremendous influence on many different cultures worldwide. From the Hispanic cultures in South and Central America, to the Caribbean islands, and also to the various exotic African countries, and even to the distinguished cultures that reside in the continent of Asia. In many ways than one, these cultures have been molded to be as westernized as they could possibly be without losing their traditional customs indefinitely. They’re religion, fashion sense, and family structures have all been altered in some form so that it could resemble the western nation’s patriarch. Countries in North America and Europe have for centuries traveled to different continents in the world and colonized many nations, as a result of that, many of the customs and traditions of those people have been shaped to be a bit more westernized.
Have you ever really looked into the development of history? Have you ever wondered who contributed to western civilization? The ancient Greeks were perhaps one of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world and are among one of the biggest landmarks in all of world history. The Greeks affected philosophy, math, science, arts, architecture, drama and etc. Many of Greek principles and concepts have since been applied in civilizations throughout much of western history and have had a continuing impact on people in different phases of history. Numerous of philosophers, authors, and artists originated in Greece are believed to have influenced much of the world. There were other empires that were bigger than those of Greece, such as Rome and the British Empire, but none of these cultures produced more great thinkers, philosophers, and artists than Greece.