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Why is Ancient Greece studied so much in school, and how much influence did they have on Europe during their own time?
We are always told how they laid the foundations for democracy, and had much advanced math and science, but they were not relevant for the last 2000yrs. Is it not possible to have discovered all those math and science theorems independently of the Greeks during those 2000yrs?
If the knowledge they had gained was spread throughout Europe during their time, and all their contemporaries have been trying to live up to the Ancient Greeks, and have been trying, for the last 2000yrs after their conquest by Rome, to recreate civilization in the mirror image of Ancient Greece, then I can understand studying them. But I am not sure this is the case.
Ancient Greece is not "studied so much" in school. Be grateful you were exposed to this culture and any other culture.
Ancient Greece had a profound influence on subsequent Western cultures. The Romans borrowed heavily from their math and science and contributed little. The Greeks were the first to put names on many mathematical and scientific theories, so they deserve attribution.
As for their influence on Europe during their time, consider that much of the rest of Europe was not in a position to appreciate the contributions of the Greeks at that time.
Ancient Greece is not "studied so much" in school. Be grateful you were exposed to this culture and any other culture.
Ancient Greece had a profound influence on subsequent Western cultures. The Romans borrowed heavily from their math and science and contributed little. The Greeks were the first to put names on many mathematical and scientific theories, so they deserve attribution.
As for their influence on Europe during their time, consider that much of the rest of Europe was not in a position to appreciate the contributions of the Greeks at that time.
but then how do we even know of the all the advances they made? How much was Ancient Greece studied by all the Euro nations to come to fruition since the Romans? When did people start studying the Ancient Greeks, and was there a particular reason? Did the study of them lead to some great advancement or discovery that we need to be grateful for, and is that the reason why they are so important, and I mean besides the fact there was an ancient civilization at that time which seemed much more cultured than the rest of the barbarians?
Their advances were noted by subsequent civilizations, i.e. the Roman Empire and later derivatives. Ancient Greece was studied to a varying extent. Their math and science contributions lasted virtually unchanged until the past 200 years or so. Their philosophy contributed to every subsequent Western society. Their architecture contributed greatly to the Romans and subsequent revivals, including most of the Federal buildings and pre-WWII banks in the United States.
Some of the knowledge attributed to the Greeks came from earlier civilizations in the Middle East. The Greeks consolidated this knowledge and added greatly to it. They were able to do so because they had a stable and prosperous society which allowed an educated class to devote time to such advancements. They also were great writers and keepers of knowledge. A lot of credit can be taken by those who make prolific documentation of their advancements. For example, Columbus was credited for discovering America because so much was written about it at the time, whereas others may have made earlier discoveries but did not provide a paper trail of doing so.
Good points. I've always thought we received much from ancient Greece and I thought it's greatest 'hand-me-down' was especially how they implemented ideas and behvaiors to order and help govern a civilized society politically. Their genius is with us today. I'll admit 'democracy' can be dirty but you know arguably it could be the best way to do things. From the looks of it, it's better than some other 'ism's that float and have floated around.
You can't really understand western history without Greek and Roman history. For one thing, the European scholars of the middle ages - to the extent they were educated - learned Latin and studied the remaining texts from the classical era.
When Thomas Aquinas was writing his treatises in the Italy of the mid-1200's, he was writing in Latin and was citing constantly to Aristotle - calling him "Philosophus" ("the Philosopher"). Greek and Roman ideas were a major part of more recent European history.
Ancient Greece is not "studied so much" in school. Be grateful you were exposed to this culture and any other culture.
Ancient Greece had a profound influence on subsequent Western cultures. The Romans borrowed heavily from their math and science and contributed little. The Greeks were the first to put names on many mathematical and scientific theories, so they deserve attribution.
As for their influence on Europe during their time, consider that much of the rest of Europe was not in a position to appreciate the contributions of the Greeks at that time.
Greek history is obviously important, and has set many foundations for European civilizations. That's one reason.
Another reason for the emphasis is just how much focus on Europe many of these schools have, emphasizing the Greeks and Romans while sadly not giving nearly as much attention to the contributions of cultures outside of Europe, there's some token coverage, like as a background for European colonization, but I recall my "world" history books being more like European history books.
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