Ancient Greek Contributions example essay topic

The ancient Greek civilization ranged from 1900-133 BC, however its impact on the Western world lasts to this day. As the Greeks expanded their empire, they spread their ideas to other countries, while also borrowing from other cultures. During this period of time, the Greeks made many significant and long-lasting contributions to our modern culture, in art, architecture, drama, philosophy, government, math, and science. These givings of important ideas, events, inventions, and structures have had an extraordinary influence on the surrounding environment then and in the future.

One important contributor to the field of philosophy was Socrates (470-399 BC). Philosophy is an organized system of thought; love of wisdom in Greek. Socrates was a Greek philosopher who developed the Socratic method, which is a form of teaching that used a question and answer format to force pupils to see things for themselves by using their own reason. He was a master of reason logic, and his reasoned, questioned methods of teachings are still used to this day. He was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and shortly after was sentenced to death.

He questioned everything and everyone. This can best be shown by his statement that says, "The unexamined life is not worth living". Through this he implies that all real knowledge is already present with in each person and only critical examination is needed to call it forth (Doc. 1, Socrates). Socrates spent his life examining his own ideas and trying to discover the truth about many subjects using reason and logic. His contribution became an important part of Western civilization- a legacy that reminds us to think for ourselves and to stand up for what we believe in.

Another great contributor to the field of philosophy was Aristotle (384-322 BC). Aristotle was also a Greek philosopher, although many consider him to be more of a scientist and logician due to his contributions in the fields of logic, physics, biology, and humanities. He was a pupil of Plato but disagreed with most of his ideas and tutored Alexander the Great for years. Until the 17th century, most of the science in the Western world was based on his ideas. Aristotle, with his scientific approach to philosophy was able to conclude, "Since human reason is the most godlike part of human nature, a life guided by human reason is superior to any other... For man, this is the life of reason, since the faculty of reason is the distinguishing characteristic of human beings".

This suggests that human beings are the superior animals on earth due to our ability to reason (Doc. 2, Aristotle). Aristotle was a classifier and rational thinker who used reason as logic in his studies. He developed syllogism, which is the reasoning from general to specific.

Both of these philosophers have made incredible contributions to the Western civilization. One important contributor to the field of government was Pericles (495? -429? BC). Pericles was an Athenian leader who led Athens in the Peloponnesian War until his death of plague during the war. He was a dominant politician and is responsible for the building of the Parthenon and for the start of democracy.

His lifetime is known as the Age of Pericles due to his wonderful contributions. Also, he was a supporter of responsible citizenship, the poor, and civil servitude. Pericles' views can best be demonstrated by his Funeral Oration to the Athenians in 430 BC. It shows that he thinks a democracy will benefit everyone (Doc. 3, Pericles). This contribution of democracy has affected us greatly due to the fact that our country as well as many other countries in the Western world has adopted this form of government.

Another distinguished Greek of those times was Hippocrates (460-377 BC). He was a physician who founded a clinical approach to medicine. He promoted cleanliness as an aid against disease. Also, he was on of the first physicians to believe that diseases are a result of environmental factors rather that supernatural ones.

He had very strict views on ethics of medicine. As such he created the oath that to this day physicians at the start of their careers have to take. This is known as the Hippocratic oath. In this, he says that he will use his best ability and judgment in treating people and to save life while rejecting medicine or advice leading to death (Doc. 4, Hippocrates). Projecting further into the world of science, Euclid (circa 300 BC) a Greek mathematician was able to theorize and prove that two straight lines intersect each other, the vertical or opposite angles shall be equal.

This is the currently known vertical angle theorem (Doc. 5, Euclid). Euclid wrote many books on mathematics as well as astronomy and music. He made several original discoveries in the theories of numbers.

His books were used as textbooks for over 2000 years and to date they " re the basis of high school instruction in plane geometry. Ancient Greeks produced many remarkable new developments in literary form, specifically the creation of theatre and drama with its two components tragedy and comedy. There were three great tragic playwrights ancient Athens; Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles. Sophocles (496-406 BC) wrote over 100 plays including Antigone, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Ajax, Trachiniae, Philoctetes, and Oedipus of Colon us.

Most of the plays deal with tragedy. For example, in Antigone, Antigone disobeys the king's order and buries her brother who was killed in a rebellion. She does this knowing she will be killed for going against the king, who is her husband. This play shows family values where blood is thicker than water (Doc. 6, Sophocles).

The ancient Greeks have also influenced the Western world through architecture. The most important forms of architecture were temples. Temples incorporated all the different styles of columns. The three styles were Doric, which were dignified and masculine, Ionic, which were slender and had spiral capitals, and Corinthian, which were slender with leaf, shaped capitals and a graceful base. The most important of these temples is the Parthenon. The Parthenon was built during the Age of Pericles, from 447-432 BC and was dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of Athens.

It emphasizes calmness, clarity, and freedom from unnecessary detail. These attributes have resulted in Greek architecture to be adopted in the building of banks, courthouses, opera houses, and government building so that they can reflect the dignity and beauty of the Greek temples (Doc. 7). Additional artful contributions made by the Greeks were in the areas of sculpture and pottery. This can be shown by the famous marble Discus Thrower, where the classical sculpture method is demonstrated as well as incorporating the ancient Greek philosophy of developing a healthy mind in healthy body.

Greek sculpture shows nude males with relaxed attitudes. The statues were life like with ideal forms and proportions. Many sculptors avoided realism. These three fields of art include many of the ancient Greeks' ideas.

It can easily be seen that the ancient Greeks not only made major advancements in the areas of art, architecture, drama, philosophy, government, math, and science, but they also made original contributions in these areas. For example, in the field of philosophy, Socrates contributed his ways of teaching and his beliefs. Aristotle contributed in the fields of logic, physics, biology, and humanities and until the 17th century, science in the Western world was based on his ideas. In the fields of government, science, math, and medicine, Pericles started the type of government we use today known as a democracy. Hippocrates developed the Hippocratic oath, which all physicians beginning their careers must take and Euclid developed the vertical angles theory. In the fields of art, architecture, and drama, ancient Greek playwrights such as Sophocles established drama and with in drama, tragedies and comedies.

Ancient Greeks also contributed their architectural and artful ideas to the Western world. But their emphasis on individuality didn't allow them to provide for a unified nation. As such, they were overcome by the Romans who adopted many of the ancient Greek contributions. Although Rome conquered Greece, Greece conquered Rome, culturally and spiritually. This led to the Greco- Roman Era.