Greek Contributions

• Greek Contributions to Western Civilization

Important Greek People

Philosophy:

Socrates

Socrates, a famous philosopher, is said to have found Western Philosophy. He believed standard that was absolute existed for truth and justice. He taught his students by asking them to question their morals and values in life. He was later killed by the jury when they believed his teaching were immoral and corruptive.

Plato

Plato was a student of Socrates. We was famous for writing The Republic, which showed his vision of a perfect governed society. His form of government was that society fell into three groups: artisans, warriors, and the ruling class. Plato later built a school called the Academy.

Aristotle

Aristotle was a student of Socrates. He provided us with the base to the scientific method. Aristotle questioned the nature of the world and the knowledge, thoughts, and nature of humans. He opened a school in Athens called Lyceum which rivaled the school of his master Plato.

Science:

Archimedes

Archimedes was a Hellenistic scientist who did many accomplishments. He accurately estimated the value of pi, explained the law of the lever, and invented the compound pulley and Archimedes Screw.

Hippocrates

Hippocrates is Greek physician who relied on facts, observations, and experimentations for his diagnosis and treatments to sickness. He is known as the father of medicine and his oaths are used as an ideal of ethics for other physicians.

Sculpture:

Phidias

Phidias is accredited for helping in the construction of the Parthenon and for the sculpting of the sculpture Athena which is inside the Pathenon.

Mathematics:

Euclid

Euclid is a mathematican whose work is still the basis for geometry courses today. He wrote a book called the Elements, which contains about 465 propositions and proofs.

Pythagoras

Pythagoras is also a famous mathematican, but is accredited for making the Pythagorean Theorem. The theorem states that the sum of the squares on the two sides of a triangle equals to the hypotenuse squared.

History:

Herodotus

Herodotus is said to have wrote the first history book which was on the Persian Wars. He developed the process of accurately recording events of history.

Thucydides

Thucydides believed events and political situations occur over and over, and studying these situations and events would help us better understand the present. He is considered as the greatest historian of the classical age.

Drama:

Sophocles

Sophocles was a dramatist who is accredited for making the story Oedipus the King and Antigone; he also more about hundred and more other plays.

Aeschylus

Aeschylus was a famous dramatist who was known for his tragedies. One of his famous works was the Oresteia, which was a trilogy about a family from Agamemnon and the idea of justice.

Poetry:

Homer

Homer is a Greek story teller who made famous works such as the Odyssey and the Illiad. He told epics, which were narrative poems celebrating heroic deeds.

How do we use Greek culture for Western civilization today?

• We use the value of pi, the pythagorean theorem, and geometry in math for the circumference of a circle.

• Students read about historical books and plays such as the Illiad, the Odyssey, Oedipus the King, and Oresteia.

We read about famous historical people such as Homer, Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle in our history book.

We enjoy looking at Historical structures such as the Parthenon and the statue Athena.

We use the information recorded before us to learn about the history of the world before us.

We use the scientific method for experiments, and we use science for the creation of new medicines.

Thank you...

Goddess Athena

Parthenon

Compund pulley system