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8. Greco-Roman Civilization: Foundation for the development of the Modern world

Greco-Roman Philosophy as the basis of Modern ideas 1 2 3 4

Ancient Greeks would not recognize our ‘democracy’ – they’d see an ‘oligarchy’ 1

  • Our current systems are considered oligarchies by ancient Greek standards.
  • To both ancient and modern democrats, for example, freedom and equality are of the essence – they are core political values. However, freedom to an ancient Greek democrat didn’t just mean the freedom to participate in the political process but also freedom from legal servitude, from being an actual slave chattel.
  • Sortition: random method of polling by lottery that aimed to produce a representative sample of elected officials.
  • Ostracism: a procedure under the Athenian democracy in which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years.
  • Flaws of the contemporary democratic system:
    • Elected officials can make major decisions without everyone’s (or majority’s) consent (e.g., the war in Iraq).
    • Citizens spend ⅕ of their lives governed by an elected official they didn’t vote for (e.g., other parties win).
    • The side that spends the most money on the campaign wins.
    • Corporate backing of political parties and their campaigns.

Greek philosophy: A unique culture that helped build the modern world 2

  • In general, ancient Greek philosophy can be broken up into three different parts: pre-Socratic, Socratic, and post-Socratic, aka Hellenistic.
  • Pre-Socratic philosophy:
    • The First Cause: where does life come from?
    • The Greek religion does not have an agreement about the creation of the world.
    • Thales was the first to believe that the origin of life was in water, and not by the gods.
    • Pythagoras argued that numbers were the only truth in the universe. He said that just as numbers have no end and no beginning, so too does life. It’s merely a constant flow from one state to the next.
    • Anaxagoras argued that the universe once existed as a mixture of all matter in infinitely small parts and that, eventually, that mixture began to expand into the known Universe.
    • People started to question statements before accepting them as truth.
    • Wealthy people started to sponsor philosophers to teach them about the world and called them Sophists.
  • Socratic Philosophy:
    • Socrates was born in 470 BC in Alopece, Greece.
    • Socrates was less concerned with the origin of life and the Universe and instead focused more on issues of morality and ethics, as well as epistemology, which is the study of “how we know what we know.”
    • He believed that it was impossible to know anything for sure, and he taught people to relentlessly question everything they saw and experienced so that they could better understand it.
    • Plato continued Socrates’ work and was interested in finding the best form of government.
    • Aristotle was concerned with understanding the physical world.
  • Post-Socratic Philosophy (Hellenistic):
    • During this period, the focus of philosophy switched from thinking about broad issues such as society, government, and ethics to issues of happiness and personal satisfaction.
    • Cynicism philosophers believed that the best way to live was in harmony with nature and against convention; thus, to live in poverty and disconnected from society. They argued that virtue had no real benefit and that the best way to live was by maximizing the joy you could experience in your body.
    • Epicureanism argued that the objective of life was not necessarily to maximize pleasure but rather to minimize pain, both mental and physical. So, they pursued lifestyles that allowed them to live in peace.
    • Stoicism argued that there were certain things humans could not change and that happiness and peace could be found only by accepting this truth.
    • Skepticism doubted humans’ ability to ever know the truth.
    • Megarianism introduced the world to concepts such as conditional logic.

The influence of ancient politics on modern politics 3

  • Political systems:
    • Theocracy: civilization started as theocratic, ruled by the gods and their representatives.
    • Kingship: Advancements in warfare made the theocratic system obsolete, as winning battles required successful military leadership; those leaders became kings.
    • Monarchy: Kings would pass their power to their children (hereditary).
      • Monarchies were the most common form of government before the Enlightenment.
      • They survived because the authoritarian state could manage the society efficiently and, at the same time, protect its status.
  • Within the long dominance of the monarchic systems, two examples stood out: Greek Democracy, and Roman Republic.
  • The republic featured an executive branch consisting of elected magistrates, led by a pair of consuls. The legislative branch consisted of the Senate and the People’s Assembly. The assembly could pass laws but not propose them. The Senate could propose laws but not vote on them.
  • American democracy:
    • The founding fathers decided that the Roman Republic of America would be the most logical approach.
    • A balance was reached by having two senators per state and an assembly determined by population distribution. Senators would be elected by the states and representatives directly by the people.
    • The president represents the chief magistrate of the Roman Republic.
    • The founders looked at the new government as a republic of state republics.
    • The states would share power with the Federal government with no overlap of jurisdictions.
  • The Enlightenment helped us see that individual rights were important. That concept allowed democracies to take over the world as the default political system.

Four ancient Greek ideals influenced American independence 4

  • The Polis:
    • A U.S. state resembles the community structure of an ancient Greek polis or city-state.
  • The rule of law:
    • In ancient Greece, the idea of the Rule of Law came from the philosopher Aristotle and his belief in natural law.
  • Written constitutions:
    • Aristotle, or possibly one of his students, compiled and recorded The Constitution of the Athenians and the laws of many other Greek city-states.
  • Voting system:
    • The original U.S. voting system had some similarities with that of Athens, where every citizen could speak his mind and vote at a large assembly that met to create laws.
    • As in Athens, when the United States was founded, only white, landowning men were allowed to vote. Over time, however, all U.S. citizens over the age of 18 who have not been convicted of a felony have gained the right to vote.

Greco-Roman culture as a precedent of Modern Culture 5 6 7 8

11 Ways Ancient Greece Influenced Modern Society 5

  1. Democracy.
  2. The Alphabet:
    • The Greek alphabet was the first to include vowels.
    • It was derived from the Phoenician alphabet.
    • It had 24 letters from alpha to omega.
    • The word “alphabet” comes from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet: alpha and beta.
  3. The Library:
    • The Library of Alexandria was the first library in the world (in Egypt, not Greece).
    • It was founded by Ptolemy in the 3rd century BCE.
    • It had 700,000 scrolls, and it was the biggest library in the world.
    • All ships that came to Alexandria had to give their books to the library, where they were copied and returned to the owners.
  4. The Olympics:
    • The Olympic Games lasted from the 8th century BCE to the 4th century BCE before dying out.
    • They were held every four years in honor of the king god, Zeus, and participants came from all city-states and their colonies.
    • The modern Olympic Games was the brainchild of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on June 23, 1894.
    • In tribute to ancient Greece, the first Olympics staged by the IOC was held in Athens during the summer of 1896.
  5. Science and Mathematics:
    • Archimedes: the greatest mathematician of all time; he invented the lever and the pulley.
    • Eratosthenes: the first person to calculate the circumference of the Earth.
    • Aristarchus: He placed planets correctly in the solar system, and discovered the daily and yearly movements of Earth.
    • Hipparchus: He was the first to predict solar and lunar eclipses.
  6. Architecture:
    • The three classical orders are Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, each described below.
    • Doric: simple, short, round capitals (tops), and no base.
    • Ionic: tall, slender, and fluted columns with a large base.
    • Corinthian: tall, slender, and fluted columns with an ornate capital.
  7. Mythology:
    • Some of the most famous myths of ancient Greece are tales of Perseus, Theseus, and Hercules.
  8. The Lighthouse:
    • The first lighthouse in the world was located in the Greek-controlled Egyptian city of Alexandria.
  9. Standardized Medicine:
    • Greeks were the first to create a standardized system of medicine, including diagnosis, prognosis, and medical ethics.
  10. Trial by Jury:
    • Jurors were required to be male citizens of Athens, and a mechanism known as dikastaí ensured that no person could select jurors for their own trial.
    • The verdicts of ancient Athens were reached by the majority, as unanimity is hard to achieve with large juries.
    • Jurors were compensated one day’s wages for sitting in court.
  11. The Theatre:
    • The word “theater” is derived from the Greek word “Theatron,” meaning the seating section of outdoor arenas where people watched plays.

Traces of Ancient Rome in the Modern World 6

  • Art and Architecture:
    • Romans continued the use of columns, but the form became more decorative and less structural in Roman buildings.
    • Ancient Romans created curved roofs and large-scale arches, which were able to support more weight than the post-and-beam construction the Greeks used.
    • Romans also built large amphitheaters, including the Colosseum. The sports stadiums we see today, with their oval shapes and tiered seating, derive from the basic idea the Romans developed.
    • Concrete was a Roman invention that allowed them to build structures that were more durable and less expensive than stone.
    • Marble was used extensively in Roman buildings and sculptures, due to its beauty and durability.
  • Technology and science:
    • Romans were engineers.
    • They harnessed water as energy for powering mines and mills.
    • They also built an expansive road network, a great achievement at the time.
    • They became successful farmers due to their knowledge of climate, soil, and other planting-related subjects.
    • Their techniques are still used by modern farmers, such as crop rotation, pruning, grafting, seed selection, and manuring.
  • Literature and Language:
    • Poets such as Virgil, Horace, and Ovid produced works that have had an everlasting impact.
    • Ancient Romans spoke Latin, which spread throughout the world with the increase of Roman political power.
    • Latin became the basis for a group of languages referred to as the “Romance languages”.
    • These include French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Catalan.
    • Many Latin root words are also the foundation for many English words.
    • The English alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet.
    • Along with that, a lot of Latin is still used in the present-day justice system.
  • Law:
    • There was a preliminary hearing, much like there is today, where the magistrate decided whether or not there was actually a case.

The Contribution of Ancient Greek Culture to Modern Age 7

  • The Greeks made significant contributions to the four fields of philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine.
  • Raphael’s School of Athens (1-5-111) depicts the best ideals of ancient Greek architecture and brings together all philosophers.
  • Famous Greek play genres: comedy and drama.
  • Greek playwrights:
    • Sophocles (tragedy),
    • Aristophanes (comedy),
    • Aeschylus (invented dialogue).

How does Ancient Roman literature influence today’s world? 8

  • Many prolific literary figures worldwide like William Shakespeare and his play ‘Romeo and Juliet‘ and the powerful poem, 9 Circles of Hell, composed by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri have drawn inspiration from the Literature of Ancient Rome.
  • Roman literature started by translating Greek literature into Latin.
  • Literature in Ancient Rome flourished during the Imperial period and several literary writings, poetry, drama, historical texts, comedy, and philosophy. Its scale expanded with the expansion of Rome into the Holy Roman Empire.
  • Roman playwrights:
    • Catullus: known for his strong emotions and his love and hate poems.
    • Marcus Tullius Cicero: known for his speeches and philosophical writings.
    • Virgil, Horace, and Ovid.
  • Till today, Ecclesiastical Latin is used in the Roman Catholic Church as an official language. It is a language of theological science and is no longer used in daily conversations.
  • The use of Latin as the official language in churches has maintained the sanctity of Christianity as a religion in today’s world.
  • More than half of the grammar and lexis of English is derived from Latin.
  • German and Dutch also constitute significant percentages of Latin.

Art and Architecture: Then and Now 9 10 11

Why does the art of ancient Greece still shape our world? 9

  • 600 BCE: Greeks started to create art. Stone figures called kouroi – or youths – were common.
  • 510 BCE: Artists started to capture the human body in motion; the captured body is saved in a sculpture or pot-painting (fresco).
  • 447-432 BCE: The Parthenon was built in Athens.
  • 350 BCE: In the statue of the goddess Aphrodite at Cnidus, the sculptor Praxiteles created the first female nude statue.
  • 146 BCE: The Romans conquered Greece.
  • 600 CE: The eastern part of the Roman Empire survived Rome’s collapse and became known as the Byzantine Empire.
  • 1506 CE: The Renaissance began in Italy.
  • 1600 CE: The Greek style was revived in paintings and not just stones.
  • 1825 CE: The British Museum opened in London, and it was built in the Greek style.
  • 1930s CE: Hitler was inspired by Greek art and considered it the only art that was pure and noble.

The road from Rome 10

  • Benefits of the fall of the Roman Empire:
    • Rome’s collapse brought down the plutocratic ruling class, releasing the laboring masses from oppressive exploitation.
    • The new Germanic rulers operated with lower overheads and proved less adept at collecting rents and taxes.
    • Forensic archaeology reveals that people grew to be taller, due to reduced inequality, a better diet and lower disease loads.
    • When Goths, Vandals, Franks, Lombards and Anglo-Saxons carved up the empire, they broke the imperial order so thoroughly that it never returned.
    • Power became constitutionalism, openly negotiable and formally partible; bargaining took place out in the open and followed established rules.
  • It was small, geographically peripheral cultures – from the ancient Phoenicians and Greeks to the Norse, Polynesians and Portuguese – that had the most to gain from striking out

Roman inventions that influence our lives today 11

  • Sewer systems, underfloor heating, and cement buildings: Roman inventions are standard modern-day technologies.
  • Aqueducts, streets and urban planning: The Romans were masters in building sophisticated infrastructure networks.
  • Hygiene and cleanliness played important roles in Roman society, explaining the popularity of public bathhouses and bathing complexes known as Thermae.

References

  1. Cartledge, P. (2016, June 3). Ancient Greeks would not recognize our ‘democracy’ - they’d see an ‘oligarchy’. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/ancient-greeks-would-not-recognise-our-democracy-theyd-see-an-oligarchy-60277 ↩↩

  2. Jones, M. (2022, July 27). Greek philosophy: A unique culture that helped build the modern world. Library for Kids. https://libraryforkids.com/greek-philosophy-a-unique-culture-that-helped-build-the-modern-world/ ↩↩

  3. Kristin D. (2020, December 2). The influence of ancient politics on modern politics. Classical Wisdom. https://classicalwisdom.com/politics/the-influence-of-ancient-politics-on-modern-political-systems/ ↩↩

  4. Tanaskidis. (2021, July 4). Four ancient Greek ideals influenced American independence. Greek Reporter. https://greekreporter.com/2021/07/04/american-independence-ancient-greece-ideals/ ↩↩

  5. 11 ways ancient Greece Influenced Modern society. (2022, September 9). Owlcation. https://owlcation.com/humanities/Greek-Influences-today ↩↩

  6. AppleTone, S. (2022, October 12). Traces of Ancient Rome in the Modern World. National Geographic Society. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/traces-ancient-rome-modern-world/ ↩↩

  7. Gokhale, A. P. (2021, September 5). The Contribution of Ancient Greek Culture to Modern Age. Countercurrents.org https://countercurrents.org/2021/09/the-contribution-of-ancient-greek-culture-to-the-modern-age/ ↩↩

  8. Pokharel, S. (2021, November 1). How does Ancient Roman literature influence today’s world?WayBackMachine. https://web.archive.org/web/20211130040257/https://historyten.com/roman/ancient-roman-literature/ ↩↩

  9. News. (2018, August 31). Why does the art of ancient Greece still shape our world? (from BBC timeline). SaveWorldDraw.Org https://web.archive.org/web/20170716211522/http:/www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/z99tn39 ↩↩

  10. Scheidel, W. (2021, April 15). The road from Rome. Aeon. https://aeon.co/essays/how-the-fall-of-the-roman-empire-paved-the-road-to-modernity ↩↩

  11. Tschierse, K. (2022, April 19). Thank you, Roman spirit of innovation! DW. https://www.dw.com/en/roman-inventions-that-influence-our-lives-today/a-61499759 ↩↩