The Ancient Greek Of Greek Civilization

Homer is one of the greatest epic poets and his legendary status was well established by the time of Classical Athens. He composed two major works, the Iliad and the Odyssey; which were originally in oral form before it was later converted to a written format. Though there were other works that were attributed to him but were disputed. Homer acts as a major source of information for the Greeks and their gods. Homer is the earliest poet in Western culture whose works have survived.

The ancient Greeks have influenced the way nations run their people, the way people view knowledge and their lives, and the way people feel about their home and native country. All of these contributions that the ancient Greeks made are still prevalent not just in American culture, but in society as a whole. The ancient Greeks made several contributions to Western civilization such as the idea of democracy, philosophy, and value of patriotism and national pride. The idea of having a democratic government, which comes from the ancient Greeks, has influenced several nations around the world to govern their people with some form of democracy.

The Mycenaeans were the first Greek speaking culture to pop up in the region surrounding the Aegean Sea. They developed a written language using the Greek alphabet. The written language was not used to keep their historical records, but rather they show a complex form of documentation and record keeping of goods that flowed into and out of their cities. These detailed records show the complex system of regional collection and distribution that made up the economy of the Mycenaeans. Internal warfare and riots from the peasant class would eventually lead to the downfall of the Mycenaeans. The next few hundred years would come to be known as the “Dark Age” in Greek

When people wonder about Ancient Greece the first thing that comes to their minds is Greek mythology; gods and goddesses that have helped shape many historical events. “In ancient Greece, stories about gods and goddesses and heroes and monsters were an important part of everyday life.” (“Greek Mythology.”) The civilization showed that numerous characters and stories helped shape Greeks. The beliefs the Greeks had with mythologies was they understood the meaning behind all the characters that are known today. However, to the Greeks, they were not just characters, these were their gods and goddesses who gave them meaning and understanding of the world around them. Worshiping the gods and goddesses helped them with their religious rituals and the temperament of the weather. A famous wine-jar that was made during this time period was “Achilles killing the Amazon Queen Penthesilea, 540-530 BCE, black-figured amphora”. (Khan Academy) The civilization that they lived in grew around their worship and achievements.

Homer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey” reveals many aspects of ancient Greek life and culture through character and plot. Through each of the tales circling the life of Odysseus and the Greek people, Homer depicts the history, legends, values, and merits of the ancient Greeks. Greek culture is known to be one of the most flavored and thorough in history, and each facet of it—from religion to ideology to mentalities and beliefs.

1. During the Mycenaean civilization, who was the great poet and what were his two important literary works that influenced the Greeks and formed part of Western literature? Homer, The Iliad, The Odyssey

     Ancient Greece is known for its beautiful theaters and its skilled poets. One of the most famous ones at that time and famous even now is Homer. Nobody knows who he actually is but the works that he has created are far more than magnificent. The Odyssey and The Iliad are two poems that turned into myths, have actually been accepted as part of the history of the Greeks. The Odyssey is a story about a hero from the Trojan War who struggles to get home to his family and when he finally does he faces the suitors who he fights and defeats with the help of the gods and his son who he hasn't seen for around twenty years. The gradual development of the plot, the actual, end of the book is

They even aided the development of our modern day alphabet. Essentially, most of the more famous Ancient Greek writers were philosophers and/or “lovers of wisdom”. For example: Plato, Aristotle, Anaximander, Pythagoras, Empedocles, and a few others. Though, another quite famous writer was Homer. He was known for his epic poetry (poetry portraying the story of heroes) but was more of a poet than a philosopher. Homer’s most known works are the Iliad and The Odyssey, which greatly inspired other poets as time went on. These two epic’s contained history, fiction, and mythology, which are some of the greatly popular genres of today's writing. Also, Ancient Greece gave us the first comedies, tragedies, playwrights, theatre's, and theatrical

Civilization flourished during the Neolithic period (7,000-3,000 BCE) (Orfeas Organisation-Greece, n.d.). The Bronze Age (3,000-1,100 BCE.), “saw major advances in social, economic, and technological advances that made Greece the hub of activity in the Mediterranean” (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). During this time period, there were three different civilizations that identified people at this time. These three civilizations were called the Cycladic civilization which was developed in the Aegean Islands; the Minoans which occupied Crete; and the Helladic which was the civilization of the Greek midland (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The Helladic civilization was also called the “Age of Hero’s”, during the Mycenaean era. The Helladic civilization was the source of the mythological heroes such as Hercules, and epics such as the Odyssey (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The considered first most advanced civilization in Europe was the Minoans (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The Mycenaean philosophy (para. 2) “had a great deal of influence with its legends and Greek language on what later became the splendor of Classical Greece” (History of Greece: Bronze Age, n.d.). The culture that outlasted the Cyclades and the Minoans where the Mycenaeans. They had lengthened their impact over the mainland, Aegean Islands, Crete and the shore of Asia Minor by the end of the 10th c.

Ancient Greeks have had an significant influence on the western civilization. Greeks were the roots of many important contributions to modern culture. They were home to multiple beginnings in philosophy, architecture and medicine.

The ancient Greeks and Romans were perhaps two of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world. These two civilizations thrived in their ancient environments which eventually led to a vast amount of prosperity within these two cultures. It is because of this prosperity that these ancient cultures were able to make a variety of advancements in literature, architecture, art and a variety of other fields. These two civilizations also produced some of the ancient world’s greatest writers, leaders, and philosophers. The cultures of ancient Greece and Rome made a number of contributions to western civilization in the form of advancements in literature, architecture, art, government, and philosophy.

of Homer’s literary skill and of the impressions he intends to leave with us. This is clear even in the

In Hellenistic literature is when we can see the new intellectual way of thinking and in many ways contributed to other advancements in science, math, and architecture. With the expansion of Alexander’s empire into Egypt came a new center of literacy production in Alexandria where their library contained almost a million papyrus scrolls. This library was a great research institute and supported many great scientists and scholars and due to this atmosphere led to great work in the field of history. One example of this is the work of Eratosthenes; with all the great works that were kept in this library, Eratosthenes was able to put together a chronology of important events dating back to the Trojan War. However, one thing that the Hellenistic Age lacked was a historian that documented important events of the time as there were no historians that compared to historians of Classical Greece such as Herodotus and Thucydides. Because of this we are unable to understand the Hellenistic Age as in depth as we do Classical

Along with the extraordinary writers, they had extraordinary pieces. One of the most famous ancient writers Homer has written some of the best epics till this day. One of his best was The Odyssey, and epic by Homer. The story is about a hero, Odysseus, and his journey home from the Trojan War. Another very well constructed piece had been The Iliad, this story was about the events that taken place in the Trojan War, it also goes into detail about the Trojan Horse, the horse had been made out of wood and had been a fake peace offering, but instead was filled with warrior, they soon attack and started war. Ancient Greek literature plays a huge part in our world today. Without it our world would be changed completely.

The ancient Greeks and Romans contributed to western civilization in many different forms of literature and architecture. Both of these cultures produced a variety of literary works which are still studied today. One of the biggest contributions to literature was from the author known as Homer. Homer was known for two of ancient Greece’s most epic poems, The lliad and The Odyssey. Both of these poems have had a profound impact on western literature and continue to influence teachers and authors today. “The lliad and The Odyssey have provided not only seeds but fertilizer for almost all the other arts and sciences in