“The Greek Way” by Edith Hamilton
“They were the first Westerns; the spirit of the West, the modern spirit, is a Greek discovery and the place of the Greeks is in the modern world” (Hamilton 19). In the first chapter of her book the author suggests that ancient Greeks created a basis for the modern Western civilization. Hamilton admitted people can have access to the limited part of this cultural heritage, but they still reap its benefits. She highlighted that the Greek civilization significantly differed from its contemporaries with words: “a new civilization had arisen in Athens, unlike all that had gone before” (Hamilton 16). Hamilton claimed that this unusualness in the case of altitude to people and knowledge made its heritage so important.
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Both these civilizations had own achievements and power that could surpass Greece’s results in some spheres: “compared with the Egyptians, we are childish mathematicians”, Hamilton cited Plato (28). She also mentioned that Indians were more skillful in this field than Greeks. But these civilizations had less impact on the Western world because of their attitude to people’s life and knowledge’s availability. Ancient Egyptians were interested more in the afterlife than in their current existence. They created a culture that was built on the death: “countless numbers of human beings for countless numbers of centuries thought of death as that which was nearest and most familiar to them” (Hamilton 23). The after-life is a common thing for many religions. However, some of them were too focused on it that made people (at least society’s lower classes) to neglect their existence in favor of the future happiness. Individuals did not want to worry about their education or life conditions too much in this environment. Upper classes also did not aim for the knowledge
For instance, they both had many gods and celebrated many of the same ones in the same ways. Herodotus believed that this was because the Greeks adopted a lot of the Egyptian
In the aftermath of the French revolution and the Napoleonic wars, a clash of ideologies would arise between the repressive conservatives and the nationalistic liberals within Europe. Conservatism was forcibly implemented by Metternich and his alliances, which primarily fought against liberal revolts that erupted in countries who rejected the autocratic rule and were influenced by the political ideas that essentially emerged within the Napoleonic era. However, among these various liberal revolts that were for most part repressed by the Great Powers of Europe, a national revolution within Greece against the Ottoman Turks succeeded and were actually supported by various European nations. Although there were various opinions about the Greek character
What is life after death? Since the beginning of time, many people have wondered what happens after death. I chose to read and provide a synopsis of the chapter “Life After Death” by William L. Rowe. There are four main parts discussed in the chapter: the varieties of immortality, the meaningfulness of immortality, the case for immortality, and the case against immortality. By the end of this synopsis, I will explain a better understanding of whether or not we can believe there is life after death.
“This idea is partially included in most forms of religion, with early religions asserting that there is a life that follows death and creating elaborate stories about the nature of this afterlife. Eastern religions held to a more migrational notion – not so much an afterlife as the recycling of souls into new bodies,” (Furches, 2023). Which beg’s the question if our soul still exists after we die, depending on one’s beliefs this idea could rationalize the idea that some part of us still does go on and would justify everlasting
In the past, Egyptian scientists explore the Egyptian civilization and they discovered Egyptian civilization northeastern Africa in the 3rd millennium. Moreover, The people who lived in Egypt civilization their name was The pharos. I choose Egyptian civilization because they have an exciting life, for example, The Egyptians lived in the path of the yearly Nile flood, and they made their homes of mud bricks(Fleming,1992).Also, they think there is a life after the died. In contrast, they have a lot of abuse kings. That makes them stronger to Endure the conditions of life.
“Classical Ideal” In the documentary, “Art of the Western World-The Classical Ideal”, the narrator provides a history and a perspective on the Greek and Roman creation of the “Classical Ideal” to art and architecture. The narrator infers that the foundation of the two societies, namely their democratic falsifies and religious foundations, along with their focus on fitness, personal strength, calculations and intelligence, drove Greece and later Rome, to perfect their visions of balance, symmetry and beauty in their architecture and art. Greece and Rome are often held out as the greatest societies to have ever existed.
Just like several other ethnic groups in the 1800s, poverty drove many Greeks to emigrate to America. In their home country, agriculture paid inadequately and was long, arduous work. And those already paltry conditions turned destitute for citizens when blight struck their crops. This caused a mass migration from Greece that began in the 1890s and lasted through the 1920s (Iliou, 2007). During that time, many people from Greece sailed to Ellis Island, in hopes of a better future.
Ancient Greek culture is majorly influential in Western culture. Major works of literature, art, and political structure from ancient Greece remain relevant to modern Western society. However one can contrast these two societies by observing and valuing the art of ancient Greece. One can differentiate ancient Greek culture and modern Western culture by analyzing the treatment of religious figures, attitude towards emotion, and reaction towards nudity in each society. Ancient Greece was a polytheistic society.
During the bronze age both Ancient Mesopotamians and Ancient Egyptians developed forms of religion that highly reflected their habitat. They had many similarities in their politics even though they had completely different forms of government. Both societies were also known for their discoveries in art and technology. They developed their own forms of writing, different tools and architecture.
Greece and Rome, two ancient societies, both influenced many aspects of modern life. Their advancements were utilized in many later cultures. They influenced almost every part of today’s world, such as government, language, and architecture, as well as making scientific advancements. Also, the successes of these two civilizations lead to many countries modeling most of their public facilities and systems after the ones found in Greece and Rome. Ancient culture strongly influenced modern culture by means of language.
Both the antiquated Egyptians and Chinese were polytheistic. The Chinese and Egyptians were both innovatively
The Ancient Egyptians were one of the first Civilizations to form in the ancient world. These people dealt with each other in peace and war, birth, and death. The Egyptians have influenced us in many ways. The Egyptians have influenced us in our inventions, math, writing, medicine, religion, sports, and music. Ancient Egyptians were able to build massive movements, pyramids, and temples.
Basically, it’s imperative to point out the fact that the roots of Western civilization can be traced back to Mediterranean classical ancient times, as well as other parts of European predominantly occupied by the Greek. In this regard, the geography of Greece played an important role in the development of the Greek Civilization, for instance, “HIST 101 Western Civilization I.” (n.d) states, “Greece is an extremely mountainous, peninsula almost completely surrounded by water. It includes both a mainland and some 1400 outlying islands in the Mediterranean Sea.”
Foundations in Ancient Greece Ancient Greece’s contributions to society helped to shape the modern world in many ways. The Grecians, especially the Athenians, developed the basis for rationalism. This idea led contributed to the advancement of the historical method, the scientific method, different political forms, and of humanism and the power and dignity of man. Without these accomplishments, the way we live today would be immensely dissimilar. Civilization as a whole would not be as far as it is now.
The Egyptian civilization and Mesopotamia, which is often known as the Fertile Crescent, are the most significant civilizations recognized in the world. They are both located in the same region of north and middle Africa and therefore they are closely interlink, (Coleman, Callaham & Crossley, 54). Consequently the two civilizations played a role in influencing each other. The two civilizations maintained their individual identities but they shared several similarities as well as differences in terms of their social structure, religion and geography. Both the two civilizations had similar social structures.