Contributions of Greek Culture to Western Civilization

Athens was an open civilization where creativity and individuality were encouraged. Many new ideas developed there because of this.

Greek ideas spread through their colonies and the conquest of Alexander the Great.

Alexandria, in Egypt, was the home of the largest library at that time.

Drama – Aeschylus and Sophocles – Great play writers of TRAGEDY

Aristophanes – Great play writer of COMEDY Rule of Threes Same Category/Same Category/Different Category (T-shirt which lists world-class cities: Paris/Tokyo/Fargo). Expected Trait/Expected Trait/Unexpected Trait (She was pretty, she was shapely, she was a man). Something Everyone Loves/Something Everyone Loves/Something Everyone Hates (A Las Vegas wedding package contains everything you will need; music, flowers, a divorce document).

Poetry Homer Wrote epic stories about Greek heroes and history – Epic - a long poem that tells the story of a hero

The Iliad tells the story of the 10-year long Trojan War. The Odyssey tells the story of the hero Odysseus’ return journey from the Trojan War.

history Herodotus – Greek historian who is known as the “father of history” – He wrote Histories which was about the conflict between Persia and Greece – Referenced the gods

Thucydides – A Greek historian who wrote History of the Peloponnesian War. – He wrote about the conflict between Athens and Sparta – No references to gods

sculpture Phidias – He is known as the Greatest Greek Sculptor – He designed the Parthenon (the temple of the Goddess Athena) – Sculpted the huge Statue of Zeus at Olympus

architecture

Doric Column Very plain and simple Has no base

Ionic Column Capital has scrolls Has a base More decorative

Corinthian Column The most decorative capital Roofs are flat

science Archimedes – Considered the greatest mathematician – Discovered the principles of density and buoyancy

Hippocrates – is the founder of medicine and the greatest physician of his time – Began scientific treatment of patients. – Hippocratic oath

astronomy Greek astronomers came up with latitude and longitude, closely estimated the size and shape of the earth and mapped the locations of the stars. Ptolemy – set up an inaccurate organization of the solar system (GEOCENTRIC THEORY).

mathematics Pythagoras – the father of numbers, he founded the Pythagorean theory

Euclid – the father of geometry – Research into cones, spheres, fractions, prime numbers, etc.

philosophy Philosopher = “lover of wisdom”.

philosophy Socrates (469BC- 399BC) Encouraged students to constantly think about why they think what they think. His question and answer method is known today as the Socratic Method.

Socrates was sentenced to death for “corrupting the youth of Athens”. He committed suicide by drinking hemlock poison. "an unexamined life is not worth living"

Plato Plato ( BC) was one of Socrates’ students. Helped spread Socrates’ ideas Wrote The Republic about a perfect world. “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. “

Aristotle Aristotle ( BC) was one of Plato’s students. Opened a public school in Athens called the Lyceum. Looked for a logical structure and patterns in everything. “There is no great genius without a mixture of madness.”

S P A

Pythagoras Alexander the Great Euclid or Archimedes SOCRATES Plato Aristotle Zoroaster