Greek Accomplishment and Foundation of the Western World Essay

Greek Accomplishment and Foundation of the Western World Most people today think that our ancestors made up our current cultures and traditions by themselves. However, most of western society is based upon Greek culture and ideas that were passed to the Romans and then passed on to Europe, and then Americas. We still share characteristics with the ancient world. The most important aspect that made Greek ideas so appealing was the idea that humans were able to reason: the highest value that a human could ascribe to. Their definition of reason was that a person should ask questions, and then use a system of thinking and activities to find physical answers and then know what they indicate. In modern day, this process is known as the scientific method. If done correctly, this system should lead to more questions and should never be answered by supernatural explanations. This was the beginning of a revolt against the Greek religion. It led to the idea of liberalism: a very optimistic belief in human potential. They believed that humans had capa city of improvement. If you believed in liberalism, you could understand and control natural and human forces. They believed that if you could control things, then you should be able to govern yourselves. The ability to reason makes them capable of self-government. The Europeans readily accepted this and other important ideas of that time. They also felt individualism, in that all rights and privileges were relative to themselves and not to a family or other group. Government Democracy, where people govern themselves instead of being ruled by a king, was first documented in ancient Greece, especially in the city of Athens. The government was a loose federation of cooperating city-state... ...e still valued today in the arts and school. Humans are still celebrated as the subject of art and theatre. The Greeks developed ideas such as materialism, commerce, and profit, and how to apply them to the physical world. Without those ideas our society could not have evolved the way that it did because capitalism may not have existed. They also coined the idea of individualism in that all rights, privileges, strengths, and weaknesses were relative to an individual and not to a family or society. In other words you will be punished or rewarded for your own doing. They also developed the idea that humans are equal except for their innate traits. The ancient Greeks developed a great deal of what we take for granted and in fact, we would be a completely different society if they had not existed. This is why Greece is often known as the Cradle of Western Civilization.