The Greeks

Long before the Greeks, mankind realized that order was necessary for society to function, but it was always believed that order was impossible without autocratic rule. The great empires of the ancient world Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia were all tyrannies. It took the small and unimpressive city state of Athens to produce the idea that individual freedom and order are not incompatible.

The Greeks did not come up with that concept because they were naive optimists. They were, in fact, realists who understood very well that unlimited freedom can produce chaos. The principles they most revered were moderation, balance, self control, all summarized by the words carved in the stones of their holiest shrine, Delphi: "Nothing in Excess."

Why did this miracle spring from the soil of Attica rather than a mightier, richer, or more ancient civilization? No one can say for certain, but one reason may be the nature of the landscape of Greece. It is not a place of extremes. Greece is a land of unceasing variety, austere but beautiful, where everything can be taken in by the human eye and understanding. It was no coincidence that the Greek discovery of individual worth and freedom produced the most profound advances in art and sculpture.

Most of what we know about Greek art work comes form pottery, as very little of their works have survived.