Ancient Greek Culture Essay Topics

Greek Culture

The history in relation to ancient Greek culture can be said to be divided into numerous periods, which are the Bronze Age (from 2100 to the 1200 BCE), the Dark Age (from 1200 to the 800 BCE), the Archaic Period (from 800 to the 500 BCE), the Classical Age (from 500 to the 336 BCE), and finally, the Hellenistic Period (from 336 to the 30 BCE). The Bronze Age perceived the growth of the initial cities upon the mainland. These were mostly fortified palaces upon the hilltops. This culture had been named after its own greatest and utmost citadel, named Mycenae. The Mycenaean culture vanished around 1200 BCE due to the outside invasions. The famous city of Troy had also been sacked around this time. The upheaval and devastation of the 1200 BCE distressed the economy of the nation of Greece and steered into a Dark Age that continued for about 400 years. Then, civilization slowly reappeared at the old sites, like Athens, as well as at the new sites, like Corinth and Sparta. By the 800 BCE, the city-states of mainland were the economic as well as the military powers. In the course of the following 300 years, which is the Archaic Period, it can be said that the Greeks expanded through the establishment of the colonies across the Aegean in the Anatolia (Ionia) and all along the central and the western Mediterranean coasts. The Archaic Period had come to an end when the increasing eastern power and dominance of Persia came into the conflict with the established Greeks because of the Anatolian coast.

The period ranging from the 500 to the 336 BCE can be said to have been the Classical Age of the nation of Greece, which was subjugated initially by the wars with the kingdom of Persia and then by the Peloponnesian War amid Athens and Sparta. Even though this period is actually defined by the military events, it had also been a time of numerous significant cultural advances.

The Hellenistic period can be said to have been taken its name from the Greek term Hellene, which actually means a ‘native’ of Greece and originated from the term for the region of the nation of Greece itself. The Hellenistic age commenced with the setting up of Alexander as the king of the kingdom of Macedon subsequent to the assassination of the father of Alexander. In certain 13 years of the military campaigns, Alexander the Great conquered and occupied most of the recognized world and spread and extended the Greek culture behind the Greek armies.

Philosophy And Science

Building upon discoveries and the knowledge of the civilizations in the nation of Egypt as well as Mesopotamia, amongst others, it can be said that the Ancient Greeks advanced a classy, philosophical as well as scientific culture. One of the main points of the Ancient Greek philosophy can be said to be the role of inquiry and reason. It emphasized the logic and backed the idea relating to impartiality, rational observation in relation to the natural world.

According to www.britannica.com, “The Greeks made major contributions to math and science essay tutoring. We owe our basic ideas about geometry and the concept of mathematical proofs to ancient Greek mathematicians such as Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes. Some of the first astronomical models were developed by Ancient Greeks trying to describe planetary movement, the Earth’s axis, and the heliocentric system—a model that places the Sun at the center of the solar system. Hippocrates, another ancient Greek, is the most famous physician in antiquity. He established a medical school, wrote many medical treatises, and is— because of his systematic and empirical investigation of diseases and remedies—credited with being the founder of modern medicine. The Hippocratic oath, a medical standard for doctors, is named after him.”

The Greek philosophical culture has been exemplified in the discussions forwarded by Plato, who curved the questioning panache of Socrates into inscribed form. Aristotle, who was the student of Plato, wrote about the topics that was as varied as the biology and the drama.

Art, Literature, And Theatre

The Literature and the theatre, which had been very much intertwined, were significant in the ancient Greek society. The Greek theatre commenced in the 6^th century BCE in the city of Athens with the presentation of the tragedy plays at the religious festivals. These, in turn, actually inspired the type of Greek comedy plays.

These 2 sorts of the Greek drama became enormously popular, and the performances spread all around the Mediterranean as well as influenced the Hellenistic and the Roman theatre. The works of the playwrights such as Sophocles as well as Aristophanes shaped the foundation on which all of the modern theatre is created. In fact, while it might seem like that the dialogue had always been a part of the literature, it had been rare prior to a playwright that was named Aeschylus introduced the notion of the characters interacting with the dialogue. The other theatrical devices, such as irony, had been exemplified in the works such as Sophocles’ Oedipus the King.

In addition to the written forms of the theatre and the literature, the oral traditions were very important, especially in the early Greek history. It was not until around the time of 670 BCE that the epic poems by Homer, such as The Iliad and Odyssey, had been compiled into the text form.

The Greek art, mainly the sculpture and the architecture, had also been incredibly influential upon the other societies. The Greek sculpture from the time of 800 to the time of 300 BCE took the inspiration from the Egyptian as well as the Near Eastern monumental art and, over the centuries, evolved into an exclusively Greek visualisation of the art form.

The Greek artists accomplished a height of excellence that captured the beautiful human form in a manner that was never before seen and realized and much copied. The Greek sculptors had been mainly concerned with the poise, proportion, as well as the idealized perfection in connection to the human body; the figures in the stone and the bronze can be said to have become few of the most identifiable pieces of art that was ever produced by any specific civilization.

The Greek architects delivered some of the optimum and most idiosyncratic buildings in the whole Ancient World and few of their structures, which includes the temples, the theatres, as well as the stadia, would become principal features of the towns and the cities from the antiquity onwards.

Furthermore, the Greek concern with proportion, simplicity, harmony and perspective in their own buildings would go on to momentously influence the architects in Roman world as well as provide the basis for classical architectural orders that would lead the western world from Renaissance to present day.

The Legacy Of Greek Culture

The civilization of the ancient Greece was vastly influential in several spheres: the language, the politics, the educational systems, the philosophy, the science, as well as the arts. It had chief effects upon the Roman Empire that ultimately ruled it. According to Horace, “Captive Greece took captive her fierce conqueror and instilled her arts in rustic Latium.”

By means of the Roman Empire, the Greek culture came to be introductory to the Western culture in general. Byzantine Empire inherited the Classical Greek culture unswervingly, without the Latin intermediation. The preservation of the classical Greek learning in the medieval Byzantine tradition wielded strong influence upon the Slavs and afterwards upon the Islamic Golden Age as well as the Western European Renaissance.

List Of Few Topics On Greek Culture Essay

1. The role of the gods and goddesses in ancient Greek culture
2. The Olympic Games and their significance in Greek society
3. The importance of the city-state in ancient Greece
4. The contributions of Greek philosophers to Western thought
5. The influence of Greek art and architecture on modern culture
6. The role of democracy in ancient Greece
7. The impact of the Persian Wars on Greek culture
8. The legacy of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic period
9. The significance of the Parthenon and other Greek temples
10. The role of religion in ancient Greek society
11. The impact of Greek literature on modern literature
12. The role of theater in ancient Greek culture
13. The influence of Greek Anthropology on modern storytelling
14. The role of women in ancient Greek society
15. The impact of Greek science and technology on modern society
16. The influence of Greek political thought on modern democracy
17. The role of education in ancient Greek society
18. The significance of Greek mythology in modern pop culture
19. The role of sports in ancient Greek culture
20. The impact of Greek philosophy on modern ethics
21. The role of art in ancient Greek culture
22. The influence of Greek music on modern music
23. The significance of Greek festivals and celebrations
24. The impact of Greek trade and commerce on the ancient world
25. The role of war in ancient Greek culture
26. The influence of Greek law on modern legal systems
27. The role of the family in ancient Greek society
28. The impact of Greek literature on modern storytelling
29. The significance of Greek literature in modern pop culture
30. The role of dance in ancient Greek culture
31. The influence of Greek mathematics on modern mathematics