Influence of Greece on Western Civilization

The Greek civilization contributed greatly to the development of modern Western civilizations. Amongst their numerous accomplishments, the ancient Greeks are known for their architecture, art, language, literature, politics, sports, and theater. A few old Greek ideas have since been connected in human advancements all through a lot of Western history. Greek standards in writing and dramatization, and in addition those in craftsmanship and government, are subsequently said to have continuingly affected individuals in incalculable periods of history. These are some influences of Greece had on Western Civilizations.

Architecture is one of the important aspects of Greece. Greece, especially Athens, is known for their architecture. Architecture for the Greeks is a form of art and design for the building. The Greek life was dominated by religion so they had temples that were vast and beautiful. The Parthenon in Athens was built between 447 and 432 B.C. on the ruins of an earlier temple destroyed by the Persians.The Parthenon was built entirely of marble. It was decorated with magnificent sculptures portraying various battles, a procession of Athenians honoring the Greek goddess Athena, and scenes from Athena’s life.

Greek architecture is used for aqueducts, monuments, bathhouses, Opera houses, theaters, and arches. Temples like the Parthenon are made with special architectural columns. They were called the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Greek architecture is used for aqueducts, monuments, bathhouses, Opera houses, theaters, and arches. Many western societies like America uses these designs too. For example, The White House has a Doric column design which was basically the simple column out of the three columns. The Abraham Lincoln memorial is also made of columns. Many state banks and city halls are made of the columns. Most of them are made of the same materials the Greeks used like marble. Greek architecture is used for aqueducts, monuments, bathhouses, Opera houses, theaters, and arches.

Human expressions reflect the general art forms in Greece. Through their temples, political buildings, and theaters, the Greeks have many different aspects of art that fuse together to have one principle and meaning. To the Greeks, art implies brilliance and achievement, bravery, and many others. A lot of Greek arts meat to honor their gods. Many sculptures have resembled for a god or goddess. Many western societies use greek based sculptures of famous people. The sculptures are usually made of stone or wood. Many of the sculptures are usually naked.

One famous sculpture of famous people in the Western world is our very own Statue of Liberty brought to America by October 28, 1886. French historian Edouard de Laboulaye suggest making a statue for the United States to celebrate the nation’s success in creating a strong democratic country after the Civil War. Another famous greek based sculpture is the Abraham statue in the Lincoln Memorial itself. If you ever been to the Lincoln Memorial, you will see a giant statue of Abraham sitting down with one of his legs crossed. The statue itself actually took almost 4 years to built! The Martin Luther King memorial is based on the greek art form. All three of the statues are made of similar materials and they all are white. The greeks had their statues the color white too because or the marble and stone they use.

Many Greek words, especially those borrowed from the literary tradition, are seen and used in Western languages including English. Greek is one of the oldest languages in the world. Few English verbs are derived from the corresponding Greek verbs; examples are baptized, ostracize, and cauterize. However, the Greek verbal suffix -size is productive in Latin, the Romance languages, and English: words like metabolize, though composed of a Greek root and a Greek suffix, are modern compounds. More than 150,000 words of English are derived from Greek words. These include technical and scientific terms but also more common words.

“Achilles heel” means to have a weakness or vulnerable point. Achilles was a Greek hero and central character in Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad. He was only vulnerable at his heel because he was dipped in a holy pool and his mother forgets to dip in the heel. Another word is “Midas Touch” is another common expression from Greek mythology used to describe succeeding anything one undertakes. The phrase came from a story of King Midas, who is remembered for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. If you a “Midas Touch” you are a capable person who can succeed anything with money or just pure luck. Many of the Greek expression come from Greek mythology.

Over a period of almost ten centuries, the ancient Greeks created a panoply of a literature of such complexity. The language in which the ancient authors wrote was Greek.

In poetry, tragedy, comedy, and history, Greek writers created work that has inspired, influenced, and challenged readers and writers to this day. The stories are told in language that is simple, direct, and eloquent. Both are as fascinatingly readable today as they were in ancient Greece. Western literature is no more than a piece of the writings of classical Greek., but it is nevertheless true that the Greek world of thinking was very much still used today.

Greek Literature aspects are all over the play writings in Western Civilization today. Courses in modern Greek literature, language and history are offered for taught in a lot of universities. The study of Greek America has also expanded in recent years. Such systematic study goes back at least to 1911. Since then many books and recorded factual notebooks have helped to make the Greek literature one of the most researched in the nation. The most famous book written about it is “The Greeks in the United States (1964) by Theodore Saloutos. Modern Western civilization always uses Greek presence in their literature literally. Many writers and authors today use Greek literature as a reference to explain an idea of or just a word that can be used to define something.

There were many different city-states in Ancient Greece so the Greeks had a lot of different types of political view and government. Forms of governments the Greeks had were monarchies, oligarchies, tyrannies, democracies, etc. These were named by a famous Greek philosopher call “Aristotle.” Most of the city-states were oligarchies which were basically a group of powerful, rich men whole leads the polis. Tyrants eventually took over most of the city-states because they had support from the poor and therefore they are more powerful than the other leaders. Many city-states have a form of these governments and some city states change their form of government for good reasons like Athens, which became a demotic democracy around the Persian War. Many countries today have similar governments.

Our Founding Fathers were at least somewhat inspired by Ancient Athens to make a democratic country. Just by looking at the US constitution, you can see many similarities between the two governments. Legislation in Athens was represented in a meeting called “the Assembly.” These assemblies were for the citizens so that they can speak to the government freely. The US Congress actually is very similar to the role of the Assembly and the council of 500. It was for proposing and voting on the legislation. The US also had similar trials with juries and citizens. The basic idea of a fair trial is the same for both governments. Lastly, the Founding Fathers and the Ancient Athenians both agree that all men are created equal and fall under the laws of the democracy.

Ancient Greece was also known for the many sports they have like running, jumping, wrestling, discus throw, boxing, pankration, equestrian events, etc. The ancient Olympic Games were initially a one-day event until 684 BC, when they were extended to three days. It is an event where people compete against each other in the different sports. In the 5th century B.C., the Games were extended again to cover five days. Many city-states had public gyms so that people can workout and train. The majority of the boys and men practice sports and enjoyed it. The Olympics were very important for the Greeks and the rituals they do for sports.

One of the most famous sports to be played in Ancient Greece was boxing. Boxing greatly influenced the Western world especially the US. The UFC which was the Ultimate Fighting Championship is a league of professional boxers. Boxing also is held in the Olympics. In Ancient Greece, the boxers would wear leather thongs around their knuckles to protect their hands from getting hurt. Boxers are not supposed to punch the male organ or they are out. The UFC require their boxers to always wear gloves to a fight or they can’t fight. The Greek boxers would train with a punch ball much like the boxers today. Boxing was considered the most dangerous sport the Greeks played because of the fights itself and getting wounded. Today in the US boxing is consider one of the most dangerous sports too along with wrestling, football, and hockey.

The Greek theater history started with celebrations regarding their divine beings. Dionysus was regarded as a celebration called by ‘City Dionysia’. In Athens, amid this celebration, men used to perform tunes to welcome Dionysus. Plays were just displayed at City Dionysia celebration. The festivals were changed into a theater with plays. Eventually, the plays were wanted in a more public place and the development of the theater came to be. Tragedies, comedies, orchestras, were the main part of the theater. Actors need weeks of practice to perform the play in front of hundreds of people. Greek theater gradually grew to become a very important aspect of the Greek world and their ways of living.

The beginnings of community theater in the U.S. are not well recorded. No one seems to have been conscious it was a “movement” which needed to be set down for posterity. But US theater was based on Greek views of the theater in the past. In the beginning, it actually was influenced by the native Americans but as the industrial and modern age approached, the theater became a different point of view and it took a Greek based approach. There were many different ages in US theater and one included the early age before the Gilded age which was basically when drama was dominating the houses. Later on, Greek structures and art were added to the buildings of these theater houses.

Work Cited

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