Susan Louise Sgroi
Humanities
1-23-2013
Greek and Roman Civilization
The Greek culture is considered by many to be the birthplace of western thoughts and civilization. The most fascinating factor for me about the Greek culture is the great revolutionary technological advancement and discoveries that they have made over time. Some of these discoveries are still being used today.
Greek civilization put values on Tekhne, known to be the spirit of art, technical skill and craft. Other values they believed in are Nous which signifies intelligence, Phronesis meaning practical wisdom or intelligence and paideia which stands for education and growth.
Ancient Greece was home to many of the world’s greatest minds and they served ancient Greek well by developing technologies that was used for peaceful endeavors to developing their city and improving the economy and standards of living like Streets, Cartography, Rut way, Caliper, , Analog Computers, Fire Hose, Vending Machine, Wind Vane, Clock Tower, Automatic Doors, Truss Roof, Crane, Escapement, Tumbler Lock, Gears, Plumbing, Spiral Staircase, Urban Planning, Winch, Ancient Suez Canal, Light House, Water Wheel, Alarm Clock, Odometer, Chain Drive, Levers, Wheelbarrow, Showers, Central Heating, Astrolabe, Canal Lock, Water Mill, Gimbal, Dry Dock, Air and Water Pumps.
Granted not all of the technologies coming out of Greece were invented for developmental purposes; they also revolutionized wars by inventing the Crossbow, Cannon and one major development that made a difference during wars was the development of fully working catapult, these inventions helped to put the Greek civilization atop the world as a powerful civilization.
A lot of these inventions are still being used today; maybe not exactly how they were from when they first created, but the basis of these ideas is what helped the world grow as a whole. For example without the invention of modern roads we would still be using dirt
Cited: Sfetsos, Elias. Ancient Greek Technology. 11 29 2002. <http://www.e-telescope.gr/en/history- and-archaeology/132-ancient-technology>. Sources, Multiple. Ancient Greek Technology. 20 12 2012. 12 1 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_Technology>.