Greek Cultural Contributions
Joseph Munger
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. 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, The Capitol Building, Supreme Court and the Lincoln Memorial all have columns that show Greek Influence.
Government
Greek government had and has a direct democracy. That means everyone can vote and voice their opinions. The leaders could be any free citizens. The men would do the recreational things while women did the work at home. The leaders ran at first ten years, then to six years, then to only one year. The bad thing is that a lot of people had slaves back then in Greece. There were lots of wars back in Greece History like: The Persian War, The Peleponnesian war, and way more.
We see Greek influence of government today because we have a democracy, once you're 18 you could vote, and we also have term limits.
Mythology
Greek mythology has a lot of myths and stories. The Greeks used stories and myths to explain the unexplained. The unexplained was things that are now understood through science, weather, etc. There were lots of different mythological heroes, like Hercules and Odyesses. The gods were: Zeus, king of gods, Hera, queen of gods, Poseidon, the sea god, Athena, wisdom goddess, Hades, underworld god, Artemis, hunt goddess, Apollo, music god, Aphrodite, love goddess, Hephaestus, fire god, Ares, war god, and more. The people who wrote mythology were Apollodorus of Athens and Homer. When people die in Ancient Greece, you would be judged by the underworld ruled by Hades and his helpers.
We see Greek influence of mythology today because of books and movies. We still study Greek mythology today.
Philosophy
Greek philosophy had a lot of accomplishments. Some philosophers were: Aristotle, Solon, Pythagoras, Gorgias, Thales, Plutarch, Posidonis, Archimedes, Socrates, etc. Some beliefs were that Solon helped develop democracy, Pythagoras discovered the Pythagorean theorem, and Aristotle was thought to have invented science. The books philosophers wrote were the Odyssey, the Iliad, and the Medea. The Greek philosophers tried to answer why the stars, planets, and constellations are there. The philosophers were often executed, so they were treated badly.
We see Greek influence of philosophy today because we use Pi. We also use geometry from Greece. The other thing we use is the Pythagorean Theorem.
Sports
Greek sports were a very common thing in Ancient Greece. Only free male Greeks were aloud to play in the Olympics. The men did running, long jump, shot put, wrestling, boxing, Pankration, etc. Only unmarried women, free male Greeks, and the gods could watch the Olympics. The sporting event was created by the gods and religious events. This was an important part of Greece.
We see Greek influence of sports today because we have Olympics, we have many of the same events, and horse-racing is similar to Chariot racing.