How Did The Parthenon Influence Western Civilization

For many years we have been influenced by many ideas from the Greeks. Some things we have today wouldn’t be possible without the Greeks contributions to Western civilization. Out of the many great ideas they had, the three most popular ones are philosophy, math and medicine, and entertainment. These all play major parts in today’s everyday life. In ancient Greece, philosophy was becoming a big thing. Many people were against it and wanted to get rid of philosophers. There was a famous trial in which the Athenians tried to put Socrates to rest. He was accused of attacking conventional ideas and ways of life. They said he was a bad influence on all of Athens. During the trial they gave him three options. He could be killed, exiled, or sentenced to life in jail. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living,” which means there is no point of living if he has to change his
whole life around and to not be able to do what he does every day. With this they put him to death with poison. Another famous philosopher was Aristotle. Aristotle believed man is by nature and that men want to dominate and take control. He also believed in a democracy of the needy. When talking about his beliefs of human nature, he said, “Since human reason is the most godlike part of human nature, a life guided by human reason is superior to any other… For man, this is the life of reason, since the faculty of reason is the distinguishing characteristic of human beings.” What him and Socrates had in common is that they both believed that the body relies on the soul to exist but the soul cannot leave the body when someone dies and when they die the soul does too and cannot return to the world. Math and medicine were both created by the ancient Greeks. These things are very important today and they were back then too. There was a famous physician named Hippocrates. He created the Hippocratic Oath which is the corner stone of today’s medical ethics. “I will follow that [treatment] which, according to my ability and judgment, I will consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is [harmful]. I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such [advice]…” It means that he will do everything he can to help a patient whether they are poor or rich or no matter what. This oath basically says all the beliefs and ethics of a doctor’s job. Another thing that was big in ancient Greece was math. They had many mathematicians including the famous Euclid. He is considered the “father of geometry.” He once said, “If two straight lines cut one another, the vertical, or opposite, angles shall be equal.” He is widely known for creating Elements; the 13 volume textbook. In this textbook he included the following topics: plane geometry, proportions, astronomy, and music. Everything he put in his textbook helped everyday mathematics. These two things are still used today and are instrumental to everyday life. There were many things Greeks did for entertainment.
One of the most popular things was sports. They held the Olympics every four years which would compose of the most famous sports and amazing athletes to play them. One of the most famous events was the discus throw. It was so famous that they even made a statue about it. It is a very fit man, holding a discus back, ready to throw it. The Olympics helped bring sports and competitions to a higher level. Another thing they did for pleasure was watch plays. The most famous plays were tragedies and comedies. There was a famous play called Antigone by Sophocles. In one scene Creon says “And still you dared to overstep these laws.” Antigone then said, “For me, it was not Zeus who made that order. Nor do I think your orders were so strong that you, a mortal man, could overrun the gods unwritten and failing laws…I know I must die… but if I left my brother dead and unburied, I’d have cause to grieve as now I grieve not.” This is one of the more famous tragedies of their time and also a perfect example of how sad these plays can actually
be. The ancient Greeks contributed a lot to today’s world. From entertainment to math, if you actually think about it, they contributed so many things that we possibly would not have if it weren’t for them. They also brought sports to a competitive level and they helped form democracy. In many ways, ancient Greece can be considered the cornerstone of today’s progressions and their inventions will never stop helping. Their ideas helped the world then, help the world now, and will help the world for many years to come.