Ancient Greece: Social Hierarchy, And Government

Ancient Greek civilization was a period that took place more than 3,000 years ago; it started in 1,000 BC to approximately 300 BC, with the death of Alexander the Great. Arguably, the Greek civilization was one of the most advanced civilizations to ever exist at the time and had many contributions to human culture today. This paper will explore how Classical Greece influenced modern Western Society and culture. We will start with society: social hierarchy, and education. Then, we will explore the culture: art, science, and government.

I. Society

a. Social Hierarchy

In order to fully understand how ancient Greece impacted modern civilization we must establish and explain the foundations of how Ancient Greece came to be. Before the establishment

Culture

a. Government

Government and politics played a vital role both actually and in Ancient Greece. The most common ways of government in Greece were democracy, monarchy, oligarchy, and tyranny. In all of them, there was some degree of rule by the people for the people since they tried to diminish the gap between the wealthy and poor classes. As explained by Twinkl (n.d.) “democracy is taken from the Greek language, “demo” refers to the entire city population” (para. 4) who would participate, through the Assembly, in the approval or rejection of laws. At Present, the concept of democracy still prevails today and is the most common form of government around the world. Greece influenced modern society with the idea that citizens should have a voice to decide the representatives of government and political power. People now go vote to choose their representatives, which will be the ones who then decide on laws to be approved.

b. Art and Architecture

Ancient Greek society places importance on the practice of arts, literature, and theatre. Khan Academy (n.d.) highlights how in the 6 century BCE they would perform tragedy plays at religious festivals, and how these inspired the Greek comedy plays. The Renaissance was an artistic movement that emerged 2,000 years after the Greeks, they took inspiration from original Greek

The ancient architectural lines and concepts, including the Doric and Corinthian columns, were used as ideal for modern artists and academics, to the point of still being studied and imitated today.

c. Science

Science in ancient Greece was profoundly important and it made major contributions to what we know and the fundamentals of modern science today. Ancient Greek mathematicians such as Pythagoras and Archimedes provided the staples to understand geometry and mathematics (Khan Academy, n.d.). Hippocrates, a physician of ancient Greece, was one of the first persons to study medicine empirically and write documental papers. Wesley (2022) comments on how the Hippocratic oath, a list of obligations for doctors, is named after the famous Greek physician.

Conclusion

To conclude, I agree that classical Greece influenced greatly modern Western society and culture. Even more, it is tangible, and its influence can be seen in politics, philosophy, art, science, architecture, and even government. As a society, it is irrefutable to say that we owe some of the greatest advancements as a civilization to our Greek ancestors and their great