How Did Greek Contribute To Western Civilization

Contributions from ancient Greece are still influencing our society today. The ancient Greeks improved our society with great inventions, ideas, and contributions to Western civilization. The Greeks’ contributions to Western civilization have shaped our society to be what it is today. Throughout the world, societies have been fashioned differently than the society would be if the Greeks had never existed because of the Greeks’ numerous contributions. However, the most distinct contributions to Western civilization are in drama, government, and philosophy. The theater of ancient Greece is an important contribution because it has influenced much of the theater in modern day society. The theater and arts in the Greek society were mainly influenced
Philosophy refers to an organized system of thought (PK). In philosophy, wisdom is key. Some of the earliest Greek philosophers tried to find this wisdom on the basis of unifying principles (PK). Pythagoras, famous for the Pythagorean theorem, taught his students that answers and wisdom could be found in numbers and music. On the contrary, many did not agree with Pythagoras’ ideas. For example, the Sophists argued that humans were not able to understand the concept of the universe and people should work on improving themselves instead of speculating about such topics. The Sophists’ goal was to argue effectively through rhetoric, the art of persuasive speaking in debates and swaying an audience, not to promote a belief or idea (PK). Many of these debating techniques are still used today during all levels of government. Some modern day schools have debate clubs where teachers, much like the Sophists, teach pupils how to win a debate. However, there were doubts about Sophists as well. For example, Socrates, a sculptor with a love for philosophy, taught his pupils how to live by a code of ethics. Socrates believed that people could be happy if they lived moral lives, he taught this to his students by using the Socratic method. Socrates stated, “The unexamined life is not worth living” (Doc.1). This shows that the Socratic method uses a question-and-answer format to lead students to the answer. Socrates believed that all answers could be found inside. Only reasoning and critical examination is needed in order to call the answers forth. Many more philosophies were created during ancient Greece and they all contributed to Western civilization by giving modern day people philosophies and methods to answer