Western Civ. 1-15:

    The key to understanding our present is to understand where it came from. In the western world, a great deal of our past comes from a tiny country on the edge of the Mediterranean called Greece. In fact, much of what modern man has achieved in history would not have been possible without the contribution of ancient Greece to the west. In the span of only a few hundred years, the Greeks created the finest civilization in all of human history up to that point and contributed more to western civilization than anyone before or since. follow along as we explore the legacy of Greece in western civilization.

    Art is one of the most profound objects in human experience. The ability to encapsulate the beautiful essence of a scene and reflect it in materials is something that has always captivated the human mind, especially in Greek art. Some may even say the Zenith of art in the ancient world was found in Greece. The glory of Appalonian civilization took many forms, but the key influences were Sculpture, Architecture, and Poetry. Everyone should count the conquests of Ceasar and Alexander as blessings, for they carried with their swords some of the best art in human history. The ruins of the Mediterranean are scattered with the pedestals of statues, the foundations of corinthian-columned temples, and the steps of amphitheaters. All of these once bore ancient wonders like the world had never seen. But standing next to the ruins of the temples are banks, our new temples, decorated with great columns and white marble, a monument to the Pantheon. A block away a concrete amphitheater is built, it houses plays by Shakespeare and other poets, a tribute to Homer. Nearby a museum exhibition displays Michelangelo's David and a carving of the virgin mary, a reflection of the Athena Promachos. Western art is carried on the wings of Icharus and floats on the ocean of Poseidon. 

    It is not just the arts we inherit from that bygone era. Our reason is the direct development of the ancients. Our scientific method, the very idea of objective reality, and everything we know about the world originates with the philosophers. The atom, geometry, astrology, heliocentricism, and much more come from the great cities of Athens, Alexandria, and Ionia.  It is Our very conception of metaphysics was put forth by a few men, the greatest among them Plato and Aristotle. The forms, empiricism, ethics, and the language of thinkers all come from that time. Western Philosophy traces its lineage from the greeks to the Romans and the middle ages down through the enlightenment and into the modern age. For the last two thousand years, the Greek worldview has dominated philosophy and influenced such minds as Cicero, Kant, Hegel, Bacon, Rand, and Jefferson. The whole world, and the west in particular owe every advancement in philosophy to the foundations laid down in the public squares of Greece.

    But the Greek influence does not end with art or philosophy. It extends into popular culture as well. Everything the west has in terms of Politics, Individualism, and Sports comes from Greece. The world is governed by Democritus, Plato, and Aristotle. A vision of the Republic draped itself over the mind of Marx. The gospel of democracy has infested every dark corner of the world, spilling over from Europe like a cup of hemlock. The works of Aristotle, the Individual nature of the self, and the concept of self-worth, it captivated Rand and the libertarian movement like so much gold and silver. The Individual was highly praised in Greece, even as a slave of the state. The concept of a community separate from the state may have been foreign to them, but the Athlete was not. In some ways, nothing changes but the face of man. In their time the Olympics were an individual effort. And now more than 2000 years later, in a world defined by individualism, the Olympic athlete is believed to be a tool of the state. 

    The west owes much of what it is to the Greeks. They shaped western art, reasoning, and popular culture. The world is in such awe of its achievements that it has nearly been plagiarizing them for the past 2000 years. Our ideas are so intertwined with the people of that time that we cannot imagine what the west would be like without them. In a time of turmoil such as this, a time of wars and rumors of wars, it is important to hold onto what we are. No wealth of resources or historic happenstance has allowed us to be where we are today. The west has stood on the shoulders of a mighty civilization, now we are grown up and looking over the fence toward the future. The story does not end there, and we have a choice. The west can continue to be great, and raise up a legacy to follow after it has passed over the wall, but it can only do this by remaining true to what it is. A house divided against itself cannot stand, how can an entire civilization hope to be great if it deconstructs itself? Will our image be worth imitating, or will it be anything at all. It is our choice.