THE BEECHMONT CREST GUIDE TO ANCIENT GREECE
The ancient Greeks touch your life everyday
Classical Greek civilization peaked more than 2,000 years ago; but those ancient Greeks have a sizeable impact on the modern world. Ancient Greece lives on, even in the twenty-first century. Here are some of the areas in which the influence of classical Greek civilization can still be detected:
Philosophy and science: The ancient Greeks were responsible for numerous advances in the world of ideas. And we aren’t just talking about the well known philosophers: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Ancient Greeks also made significant contributions to mathematical and scientific thought. Some of these Greek insights (or derivatives of them) still have a place in math and science textbooks today.
While we’re on the subject of Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle: These three men influenced thinkers throughout the subsequent history of Western civilization. They probably influence you as well. Have you ever ignored reality, and stubbornly clung to your ideal notions of the way a situation should be? That was your internal Plato in action. Have you ever tried to use subtle questions to direct a person toward a certain conclusion (in other words, to persuade him or her that your conclusion is really his or her idea)? That’s the Socrates in you.
Representative government is perhaps the most important Greek legacy to be found in the modern world. As you may have heard, democracy evolved in ancient Athens. But even Sparta, the Greek city-state so famous for its militarism, made contributions to our modern form of government. The Spartans were no democrats, but they did recognize the dangers of concentrating too much political power in too few hands. The Spartan system of government, as we will see later, had an elaborate system of checks and balances.
Language: You probably don’t know much of the Greek language. Or do you? Consider the English word democracy. This word is a derivative or two Greek root words: demos (people) + kratia (power). The English language is full of Greek prefixes and suffixes.
One obvious question is: Why is there so much Greek in the English language? These Greek root words were transferred to English via Latin, the language of the Romans. The Romans adopted many Greek words themselves, because they had a high regard for Greek culture. Centuries later, when Latin became one of the linguistic sources for English, these Greek words became elements of English vocabulary.
And don’t forget all the metaphors and figures of speech that refer to ancient Greece. Consider some of these examples:
Platonic love
Spartan discipline
Achilles heel
Architecture: Greek architectural principles have been imitated for centuries. Years before he became President of the United States, Harry S. Truman was a county administrator in his native Missouri. One his tasks in this role was to plan the design and construction of a new country courthouse. When searching for inspiration in the design of the courthouse, the future president turned to the ancient Greeks for inspiration. He chose the ancient Greek Temple of Hera as an inspiration for his new building.
Truman was not alone in his imitation of classical Greek architecture. The Founding Fathers of the United States also admired the building styles of the ancient Greeks. Washington D.C. was originally designed with Greek architectural principles in mind. Greek buildings were similarly imitated throughout Europe.
The influence of Greek architecture does not stop with Europe and North America. Greek influences have even been detected in structures designed and built in medieval Japan.