Ancient Greek Contributions
... for years. Until the 17th century, most of the science in the Western world was based on his ideas. Aristotle, with his scientific approach to philosophy was able to conclude, “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.” This suggests that human beings are the superior animals on earth due to our ability to reason (Evans167). Aristotle was a classifier and rational thinker who used reason as logic in his studies. He developed syllogism, which is the reasoning from general to specific. Both of these philosophers have made incredible contributions to the Western civilization. One important contributor to the field of government was Pericles (495 -429 BC). Pericles was an Athenian leader who led Athens in the Peloponnesian War until his death of plague during the war. He was a dominant politician and is responsible for the building of the Parthenon and for the start of democracy. His lifetime is known as the Age of Pericles due to his wonderful contributions. Also, he was a supporter of responsible citizenship, the poor, and civil servitude. Pericles’ views can best be demonstrated by his Funeral Oration to the Athenians in 430 BC. It shows that he thinks a democracy will benefit everyone (Burn 143). This contribution of democracy has affected us greatly due to the fact that our country as well as many other countries in the Western world has adopted this form of government. Another distinguished Greek of those times was Hippocrates (460-377BC). He was a physician who founded a clinical approach to medicine. He promoted cleanliness as an aid against disease. Also, he was on of the first physicians to believe that diseases are a result of environmental factors rather that supernatural ones. He had very strict views on ethics of medicine. As such he created the oath that to this day physicians at the start of their careers have to take. This is known as the Hippocratic oath. In this, he says that he will use his best ability and judgment in treating people and to save life while rejecting medicine or advice leading to death (Cameron 56). Projecting further into the world of science, Euclid (around 300 BC) a Greek mathematician was able to theorize and prove that two straight lines intersect each other, the vertical or opposite angles shall be equal. This is the currently known vertical angle theorem (Guthrie 34). Euclid wrote many books on mathematics as well as astronomy and music. He made several original discoveries in the theories of numbers. His books were used as textbooks for over 2000 years and to date they’re the basis of high school instruction in plane geometry. Ancient Greeks produced many remarkable new developments in literary form, specifically the creation of theatre and drama with its two components tragedy and comedy. There were three great tragic playwrights ancient Athens; Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles. Sophocles (496- 406 BC) wrote over 100 plays including Antigone, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Ajax, Trachiniae, Philoctetes, and Oedipus of Colonus. Most of the plays deal with tragedy. For example, in Antigone, Antigone disobeys the king’s order and buries her brother who was killed in a rebellion. She does this knowing she will be killed for going against the king, who is her husband. This play shows family values where blood is thicker than water (Evans 112). The ancient Greeks have also influenced the Western world through architecture. The most important forms of architecture were temples. Temples incorporated all the different styles of columns. The three styles were Doric, which were dignified and masculine, Ionic, which were slender and had spiral capitals, and Corinthian, which were slender with leaf, shaped capitals and a graceful base. The most important of these temples is the Parthenon. The Parthenon was built during the Age of Pericles, from 447- 432 BC and was dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of Athens. It emphasizes calmness, clarity, and freedom...