How Did The Zeitgeism Influence Ancient Greek Culture

Whitney Noonan
2/4/16
The culture of Ancient Greece continues to change multiple times over their 800-year history. Artistic and historical ideas bring together the many stages of ancient Greek history and connect the cultures of Ancient Greece to their predecessors in the ancient world. The philosophies of Plato and Aristotle express a love of truth, balance and harmony that form a critical aspect of the Zeitgeist of Greek culture. Identification of beauty with balance finds expression in the architectural orders, proportions of the body in sculptures, and the balance of geometric pattern on ceramic vessels and architectural decoration. Such competitions as the Delphic and Olympic games fostered the love of the strong, male body and the notion that competition yields excellence.
During this time, there was a lot of poverty, disease, and starvation among the people living in Rome. Also, to many people, Ancient Greek ideas did not seem relevant or personal. Most of the ideas they came up with were usually rejected by the people. Instead of believing the ideas of the philosophers, people often asked the question, “what is the best way to live my life?” During the Dark Ages, the Zeitgeist replaced naturalistic thinking with supernatural thinking. This Zeitgeist also forbid open debate leading critics to establish dogma of truth. Because of these limitations the Zeitgeist brought to the Dark Ages, there were no significant advances in science and philosophy in western civilization for over a 1000