Ancient Greece's Influence On The Western World

The ancient Greeks were truly an amazing group of people. They were able to create things during their time that are still present and functioning today. Whether they were thinking, competing, or building they easily incorporated their culture into it. The Greeks changed the way that the western world thought and kept changing ideas and thought processes. They created the first schools and even wrote the some of the material that are being taught to students today. They created a political system that gave a voice to all of Greece’s citizens and brought people and ideas together. The Greeks were philosophers, artists, architects, literary geniuses, and impeccable athletes and their skills made them “immortal”. The Greeks were people of
Thales believed that everything happened for a reason and this reason was water. In these times, as well as today, there cannot be a civilization without water, water is the lifeblood of existence. Everything from having a good crop yield to the storms that destroy were all because of water. He said that everything is existence was due to water and he became known as the Father of Science. Later came the Pythagoreans who followed Pythagoras, the Father of Numbers. He said that the basis for everything was numbers. His idea was that everything could be broken down into numbers. If a volcano were to explode or a fire was to destroy a town Pythagoras believed that it was because of numbers. His idea is still being used today by scientists, mathematicians, and even higher level algebra students as he later created the Pythagoras theorem. Then someone said, “man is measure of all things.” This was Protagoras who was followed by the wise sophists. He believed that man was the base of everything is existence. Everything that was could only be compared to man and without man there would be nothing else. Today this is still true, if there were never humans there would be no knowledge of anything in
Expressions, stories, architecture, entertainment, and even sporting events that are worldwide everyday things all started in Greece. Back in its prime the Greece used all of these things to express the four main concepts of Greek culture: excellence, glory, contest, and victory. Lastly culture allowed for individualism and self-expression. Today things such as the movie Troy or calling someone a hermaphrodite or a narcissist are examples of Greek culture being used today. Many of the Greek gods, goddesses, and creatures are the main influences of major movies and books today. This lasting culture shows how important Kleos was to the Greeks. They preserved and passed along their ways and made their name remembered. The Greeks strived to obtain the four concepts: Arete, Agon, Nike, and Kleos. In English this means the Greeks wanted excellence, contests, victory, and fame. In the movie, “Troy” Achilles fulfills all four, but he puts great interest into Kleos, as he wants to be “immortal”. Sisyphus strives for Nike, something he will never achieve due to his impossible task. The gods and goddesses are examples of Arete, since they are said to be beautiful and perfect. The Olympics are a great example of Agon, the athletes are competing in