Contributions & Legacy
Without Ancient Greece, so many aspects of our lives would be different. Learn why and how in this section.
Without Ancient Greece, so many aspects of our lives would be different. Learn why and how in this section.
Government
Our government, especially, would be extremely offbeat, had the Greeks not created so many different ways to pilot their society. The Greeks invented most forms of government that we use today, including democracy, monarchy, oligarchy, and tyranny.
There were so many different city-states in Greece that there were multiple forms of government being used throughout the civilization. Between about 2000 and 1200 B.C.E., almost all of Greece had some form of monarchy in effect, and then most city-states switched over to oligarchy. Then between 600 and 500 B.C.E., most of Greece had a tyrant in each populated area. In 510, the Athenian people created a democracy in order to allow plebeians to be more involved in the decisions of their government. In doing so, they gave more citizens equal rights (excluding women and slaves) and power. In America today, we use the same form of government that gives us freedom.
Our government, especially, would be extremely offbeat, had the Greeks not created so many different ways to pilot their society. The Greeks invented most forms of government that we use today, including democracy, monarchy, oligarchy, and tyranny.
There were so many different city-states in Greece that there were multiple forms of government being used throughout the civilization. Between about 2000 and 1200 B.C.E., almost all of Greece had some form of monarchy in effect, and then most city-states switched over to oligarchy. Then between 600 and 500 B.C.E., most of Greece had a tyrant in each populated area. In 510, the Athenian people created a democracy in order to allow plebeians to be more involved in the decisions of their government. In doing so, they gave more citizens equal rights (excluding women and slaves) and power. In America today, we use the same form of government that gives us freedom.
Drama
Ancient Greece brought us theater and the amazing performances that we can witness today. The Greeks were the first people to portray different people on a stage while acting out a story or event. They set up the stadium seats where the farther back you were from the stage, the higher up your seat would be so that everyone could enjoy the performance. Today we enjoy many of the same genres, and we also have a similar way of setting up our theaters.
Ancient Greece brought us theater and the amazing performances that we can witness today. The Greeks were the first people to portray different people on a stage while acting out a story or event. They set up the stadium seats where the farther back you were from the stage, the higher up your seat would be so that everyone could enjoy the performance. Today we enjoy many of the same genres, and we also have a similar way of setting up our theaters.
Citizenship
The concept of citizenship was created in Ancient Greece. In order to be a citizen,you had to be a male born from two Athenian parents. They needed to participate in military service and present themselves for jury duty. This concept shaped much of what we have modified to fit our society’s needs today.
Trial by Jury
The Greeks created the concept of being tried for your crimes. The jurors were citizens of people who were at least 30 years old. The jury consisted of 500 or more people,and they all took the accused’s case into deep consideration. After hearing both sides of an argument, the jury would then decide on who won the case. In our society today, we follow the rules of the jury, but the number of jurors depends on the extremity of the case. Nonetheless, this concept was in fact born in Ancient Greece.