Greek Cultural Contributions
Ryan Wenninger
Architecture
Greek architecture is known for its columns. There are three types of columns: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Other types of Greek art include pottery, sculptures, and paintings. Every city-state had a temple that was dedicated to a specific god. They went there to worship and make sacrifices. Some leaders like Pericles and Alexander the Great spread the Greek architecture throughout Europe.
We see Greek influence in architecture today in important buildings. The White House, Capitol Building, Supreme Court, and the Lincoln Memorial all have columns that show Greek influence.
Government
Greek government is known for the first country to have a democracy. Each city-state had a type of government depending on what people wanted. The Greeks had a direct democracy, a direct democracy is where everyone could voice their opinions and vote on laws. Free male citizens over the age of 18 were expected to vote and participate in the government. Unfortunately in Ancient Greece, there was slavery. Ancient Greeks were also known for their warfare. Some of the wars they fought were the Persian war and the Peloponnesian war.
We see Greek influence in government in our democracy, how long our leaders can stay in office, and when you were allowed/expected to vote.
Philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophers were possibly some of the greatest minds in history. Some of these great thinkers included Thales, Socrates, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Ptolemy, Alexander the Great, Euclid, Epicurus, Hippocrates, Archimedes, and Herodotus. The beliefs of three especially great thinkers include. Plato: Believed that the physical and intelligible world exist together. Aristotle: Believed that matter was all the basic of how life exists. Socrates: He tried to find life's virtues. They wrote books such as, The republic, Complete Works, Meno, Apology,and Gorgias. These philosophers asked questions like "What exists and if the universe has a purpose, how the body is made, and what the world is made of." The philosophers of Ancient Greece weren't always treated the way they wanted to be treated. Some like Plato were adored, but some like Socrates were beaten and killed.
We see Greek influence in our Doctors, because they still use the Hippocratic Oath. We also still use math skills like PI, the Pythagorean theorem, and geometry.
Mythology
Ancient Greek mythology is very well known for all of the great stories that were told, created. People in ancient Greece used storytelling to explain natural events that occurred on the earth. Some of the great mythological heroes were Hercules, Achilles, Odysseus, Perseus, and Theseus. Some of the gods they had were, Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Hades, Hermes, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Hestia, and Aphrodite. People who wrote these fables/myths included Homer and Aesop. When people died in ancient Greece, they believed that they went to the underworld, where their soul separated from them and they were there forever.
We see Greek influence in our society today from books,(such as the Percy Jackson series) movies, and in schools and colleges we still study the material today.
Sports
The Greeks were known for contributing to the sports we have today such as boxing, horse racing, running, discus, wrestling, shot-put, and javelin throw. The reason they played these sports was too earn the god's favor/honor. The ancient Greek athletes were honored like heroes. They had statues made of them, thy had parades in their honor, and they were given free meals for a year. The people that actually played in these sports were free Greek male citizens. Many leaders watched these sports, other people that watched these sports included families of the athletes, and women who were non-married government officials.
We see Greek influence in today's world from the Olympics, and basically all of our sports.