Ancient Greek Civilization - Essay Example

Task: Ancient Greek Civilization Greek civilization presents the first major political, social and economical restructuring process. The restructured social aspects led to improved living standards within society at the time. It also set the stage for recording of history through writing because the Greek invented the alphabet. Just like any civilized society, civil wars and scramble for power characterized the period. The coin emerged during this period and became the first money created. The coin took trading to a new level with emergence of merchant classes that sought political posts. These conditions and poverty levels presented challenges that needed improved laws and law system. Consequently, the authorities’ emphasized on laws, leading to revision and incorporation of new clauses in the existing laws. The justice system continues to influence laws and school of thoughts. Ancient Greek during this time was marked with increased philosophical and medical studies that led to political, education and social changes (Covert 44). However, it is necessary to determine the factors that led to civilization. One has to determine whether geography and Greek are responsible. It is also necessary to compare Greek civilization with Eastern civilization and determine its superiority. Greek civilization, noted as Ancient Greece is a period stretching from 8th century B.C to 600AD. It succeeds the Dark Ages of Greek that was a period marked with orthodox ideas and misguided practices. The Greek civilization succeeds starting in a period called archaic period and ends with end of antiquity period. The beginning of the civilization features the influence of five cultures that helped shape Greece to its largely adopted culture. These cultures include Egyptian, Assyrian, Syro-Hittite and Phoenicians (Solway 3) During the onset of the civilization period, several changes began happening that made the period stand out from previous minor civilizations. Coining of the Greek alphabets from Phoenician scripts is one of the first changes. This occurred in the archaic period leading to emergence of written accounts. Water bodies characterize the geographical structure of Greek. Additionally, mountainous structures separate all neighboring community states. The coin emerged during this period that challenged the governing aristocratic regimes because the newfound trading methods led to the rise of a mercantile group that ended up desiring political power. This marks the period of societal governance change to democracy (Solway 23). The population grew in this period causing shortage of land and a deepening gap between the poor and rich. During this conflict, a social change occurred when Spartans males had to join the military whether one is an elite, rich or humble background. This is a period marred with civil wars. For example, Athens encountered land problems and agricultural misgivings that led to civil war. Law became the only solution in countering the conflicts. Initial attempt at settling the conflict failed but later succeeded after Solon reforms successfully established power to the aristocracy and improved the plight of the poor. This depicts the development of social structures, authorities and their shift with the changing economic, political, and educational aspects (Covert 3). Increased population growth led to migration and settlement into other areas that later would be collectively referred to as Greece. The migrations expanded the cultural practices and linguistic styles of the Ancient Greek. This further facilitated economy growth and adoption of the coin within the original states and overseas to the newly conquered colonies. Improvements became apparent in the people’s standards of living (Solway 34) The geographical outlook of the Greece territory was mountainous with numerous valleys and plains. As a result, numerous small communities lived separately, each with its own language, cultural practices and identity. This resulted in a larger community with diverse practices. Upon interaction of the various groups, conflict erupted creating a new ground for conflict solving (Solway 23). This ground is the political and authority structures that rose above individual communities. Interaction also led to birth of a new class of people who could not restrict themselves to their specific group practices. These new individuals brought about diverse ideas that further shaped the empire as the early scholars. The numerous city states sprawled across the empire contrasted with the other surrounding communities who were ruled based on their tribal affiliation or under a king. The first case of democracy is evident in the Greek civilization. Despite the cultural diversity of the groups under the Greek territory, its people shared a common religion. Its political system had no tribal bearing. Instead, it was neutral with universality of common interest. This system put emphasis on urban areas despite the status, size or economic activity of the respective city-state. Law amendments or formulation of new ones became rampant during this time to counter the emerging different issues such as poverty, crime and land issues. The entire territory organized around conquered city-states and the respective rulers of the states became officials to carry out the ceremonial duties of the supreme ruler. Highly placed families in the society sometimes controlled the religious seats but this did not offer them any formal influence in the law. The above discussion affirms that the geography of the land played a major role determining how Greek subjects conducted themselves. It organized communities into small independent but social groups that interacted with the other communities to devise a common ground of operation. This is an ingredient for civilization because it starts with exposure to new ways and cultures and eventually spikes interest in unknown concepts. Likewise, the conflicts erupt when two cultures clash. The rise of conflict regardless of the need work and thrive together creates a platform that serves all parties involved without discrimination. This leads to the rise of a neutral law and government that lacked tribal bias. The Greek “spirit” may stand for the motivation, self-drive and social strength of the Greek society. It can also mean one of the religious entities that the Greek people believed. The Greek Gods though believed to be bringing good fortune to the land, did not contribute to the civilization of Greece. Evidence proves that belief in spirits is orthodox practice that only served to ease the spiritual uncertainty. The people’s spirit towards the law and land greatly influenced the way they handled issues that is the main contributor to their civilization. Greek civilization cannot compare to eastern civilization because they both occur at different times in man’s history. The Eastern civilization builds on what the Greek civilization had accomplished whereas the Greek civilization is the first. Civilization is measured based available knowledge and operational systems in place. Works Cited Covert, Kim. Ancient Greece. New York: Capstone, 2011. Print Solway, Andrew. Ancient Greece. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print Read More