Preview

Ancient Greece and Its Influence on Western Society

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
929 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ancient Greece and Its Influence on Western Society
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.
Ancient Greece was known for its philosophers and mathematicians. The Greeks were very interested in science as a way of organizing the world and making order out of chaos, and having power over some very powerful things like oceans and weather. By the 400's BC, Pythagoras was interested in finding the patterns and rules in mathematics and music, and invented the idea of a mathematical proof (Ancient Greek Science). Pythagoras is where we get our Pythagorean Theorem in geometry today. The ancient Greek culture was fixed on proving that everything was true, they did this by using a lot of geometry; this is why geometry became so big in their society. The math of ancient Greece can be broken up into three periods: the early period, the classical period, and the helenistic period. The early period, was when people were first beginning to be interested in mathematics, this is when Pythagoras first came up with is the theorem. During the classical period a man by the name of Euclid, wrote a book titled The Elements, this book was a textbook to help people understand the basics of geometry, and it included geometric methods for the solution of quadratics (Euclid). During the helenistic period ancient algebra began to resurface. But none of these mathematical discoveries would have been possible without



Cited: "Ancient Greek Architecture." Kidipede. 17 Mar. 2008. 16 Apr. 2008 <http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/architecture/greekarch.htm>. "Ancient Greek Science." Kidipede. 10 Nov. 2006. 15 Apr. 2008 <http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/science/>. Cartledge, Paul, comp. The Democratic Experiment. 1 Jan. 2001. University of Cambridge. 16 Apr. 2008 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/greekdemocracy_01.shtml>. "EUCLID." Ancient Greek Mathematics. 15 Apr. 2008 <http://www.math.tamu.edu/~dallen/masters/Greek/euclid.pdf>. Howe, Jeffery. "Greek Architecture." A Digital Archive of Architecture. 1997. Boston College. 16 Apr. 2008 <http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/arch/greek_arch.html>. "Roots of Democracy." Ancient Greece. 16 Apr. 2008 <http://greece.mrdonn.org/athensdemocracy.html>.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Cerberus Research Paper

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Ancient Greek's beliefs were interwoven into everyday life, which was very different from our own way of life and beliefs. They had a different god or goddess for every aspect of life, and had many rituals and art such as paintings or statues dedicated to their gods and…

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Did you know that the watermill, odometer, and original alarm clock all came from Ancient Greece? Not only this, but Ancient Greece heavily influenced government, languages, cartography, current day math and so much more. Greece has made an overall larger impact on the world and the united states, along with influencing many languages and governmental styles.…

    • 285 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    How Did Greece Exist

    • 4103 Words
    • 17 Pages

    Ancient Greece can be credited with many achievements which are still very important today. Greece is credited with developing philosophy (Socrates), medicine (Hippocrates), drama and theater, the concept of states within a country, math and…

    • 4103 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Greeks were a culture that value math, philosophy, and science. They were the first to come with the foundation and study of philosophy. They invented the Socratic Method. The Socratic Method looked at both sides of an argument instead of one to come with a conclusion. They valued art and philosophy equal to math and science. They believe that reason and rational taught were beautiful. They believed that the human body was beautiful. In particular, they believe the male athletic body was beautiful. The Greek were the first civilization to come up with Democracy. Their citizen would vote for politicians. They originally came up with the Olympics, to have non-violent competition among city-states, to prevent the city-states from going to…

    • 602 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ancient Greece was the Western society to build mega-structures and develop architecture, the most major difference between each other's architecture is that Athenian buildings are far more intricate detail in its design and use more expensive…

    • 197 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    For a civilization thriving in the years of B.C.E, they were almost incomprehensibly advanced. The Greeks started inventing mathematical formulas as early as the sixth century B.C. Ever since then they have been influencing architects…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Greek religion and Greek mythology has affected Greece in a significant way. The religion was the most popular throughout the time period from 1800 BC to 146 BC. During this time, it affected Greece’s architecture, political structure and its arts.…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is no secret that ancient Greece greatly impacted today’s civilization. One of the most important social developments, democracy, can be traced back to the Greek city-state of Athens. Although this accomplishment is impressive enough, ancient Greece was more than the birthplace of democratic ideals. This small Mediterranean region, split down the middle by the conflict of two philosophies, closely parallels the modern world.…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Math and science were the most important and well-known achievement in the Greeks history. They…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Country Study: Greece

    • 2013 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The country of Greece is one of the oldest in the world, ranging back to 3,000 B.C. when inhabitants settled in its lands; the ancient Greek language dates back even older by 500 years, in which the modern Greek language evolved from. Greece shaped the ancient and modern worlds as we know it, especially in the context of western civilization and thought, and with a direct impact on the governing concept of democracy. This paper will explore an outline of Greek history, its people, and politics throughout the ages it has existed.…

    • 2013 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    3000 BCE was the start of one great civilization which became known as ancient Greece. Throughout the years there have been many cultures to adopt the many accomplishments that the Greeks have made. This civilization had many accomplishments such as those in art, architecture, sports, government, and education.…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    As you can see, Ancient Greek olympics, democracy, medicine, theatre, architecture, alphabet, art, and math have influenced our world so much. Without these, our world would not be what it is today. Ancient Greece influenced modern society in ways that can't be debated. If it weren't for their ideas and concepts, we would live in a vastly different world. All of these subjects can be seen today and everyday. When you watch the olympics, Talk about government, go to the doctor, watch a movie, look at buildings, write, do crafts, and do math, make sure you remember that the ancient Greeks influenced us to have that. What I have wrote about is not all the Greeks have influenced, they have influenced a lot more on modern society. I have listed…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    greek

    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages

    There are many Greek influences that still affect us today such as Democracy. The Greeks created the world’s first democracy. Athens started out as a monarchy and then advanced to and oligarchy until it finally reached a democracy. The government consisted of over 6,000 assembly members all of whom were adult male citizens. The assembly voted on issues throughout Athens, and passed laws. The required number of votes to pass a law was simply the majority but in order to banish or exile someone 6,000 votes were needed. Today we still use a democracy but now instead of using a direct democracy we use a representative democracy where the citizens democratically vote on who should make the decisions in the country, while in Greece a direct democracy was used and the citizens actually voted on the decision rather than choosing which people to make the decision.…

    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Greek Architecture

    • 1574 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Greek culture has had a huge impact on the history of the world. There is something Greek in almost everything, especially in the world's architecture. Greece no longer had one king, so they focused on building temples for their gods. Architecture began small and plain but evolved into impressive pieces of art. As time passed from the Archaic period to the Hellenistic period, the people of Greece developed a type of formula for their buildings and their pieces of art.…

    • 1574 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays