The Greek Civilization - Essay Example

The Greek Civilization Civilization is a phrase that was coined from Latin word to mean the of advancement in the social, cultural and material status of a society or a civil organization and existence of man. The development in the Greek tradition and the advance of the society during the 18th century is believed to have influenced the growth and development of modern world. Greek civilization has been a central point of study for most historians who attempt to decipher the factors that may have influenced the emergence of such a major movement which affected other civilizations especially in the western and eastern parts of the world. The migration of the Greeks from their motherland believed to be somewhere in middle Asia has been attributed to the rise of Greece civilization and as start point upon which their development was based. In this paper, the factors that influenced the historical development of the Greek civilization will be evaluated to help find out reasons for such an extraordinary civilization. Other civilizations also occurred after or during the Greek civilization and this paper will seek to identify if the Greek civilization was more superior to these other civilizations like the Near Eastern civilization (Bruce 12). A number of agricultural, industrial and medical practices have roots in the Greek culture and this explains the extraordinary nature of the Greek civilization. Pruning, an agricultural practice was discovered in the Apulia when in the process of feeding, asses ate the shoots of vines and this resulted into increased yields. This happened despite historical evidence that points to Africa as the home of many plants that later domesticated into food crops. Large scale and plantation farming also began in Greek and this is attributed to the emergence of the growth of food crops in large scales to feed the increasing population. Greek devised the processed of fire making through the Athenians, the also developed the first ship in Alesiai, an important invention in the development of transport systems (Bruce 12). The strength and source of knowledge that guided the Greek development into a major pioneer of civilization has remained a puzzle for many modern historians. The exact source of information and innovation power that influenced their ability to understand the various inventions they made is a puzzle. However, Greeks believed in the power of the myths that were said of their origin, ancestors, migrations and heroes. Greek gods were also common and they differed based on the role that each played and how this influenced the lives of the people. The myths points to the geographical settings of the ancient Greek as a major determining factor in the development of civilization in the Greek colonies. The myths points a Greek that was filled with animated hills, dale and sea coasts which are believed to have influenced the quality of their lifestyle hence the need for innovations and civilization (Marc 28). The Greek civilization followed the Egyptian civilization and some historians argue that the influence of the Egyptian civilization accelerated the growth of the Greek civilization. However, the Greek empire controlled a number of colonies in Europe before the emergence of the Roman Empire; however, during this time of civilization, the roman invasion was rising and Greek was beginning to the feel the impacts of the pressure exerted by the Romans. Civilization and the development of new methods of doing things were necessitated by the competition that existed between these empires to control more colonies in Europe. Greeks may have stepped into the feet of Egypt to increase its agricultural production by adopting newer methods of crop production and means of transport in an effort to gain economic strength as compared to the roman empires. In explaining the progress and vigor of the Greek civilization, a number of factors have been floated and discussed in relation to the developments that characterized this period. Greek mythologies points to the belief in some spirit and the influence of the gods during this time. However, geographical factors existed like the climatic factors, the presence of hilly terrains and the rivers that may have led to the development of civilization. Based on all these evaluation, I am of the opinion that the two factors contributed to the development of civilization in differing proportion (Marc 26). Agricultural civilization is one of the advances in Greek empires that have been discussed in depth when issues of Greek civilization arise. A combination of factors contributed to the development of new agricultural practices and these ranged from spiritual impacts, environmental factors and influences from other civilizations. The Egyptian civilization progressed due to the need for the development of new techniques for plant and crop production. Greek civilization also developed from the environmental and geographical features present in the colonies, similar to the presence of river Nile in Egypt. However, the belief in the gods and spirituality may have contributed more to the development of civilization in ancient Greek. The twelve Greek gods played significant impacts in the development of the civilization as the people believed in the gods and heroes. The deities included the Hestia, Heracles, Hera, Demeter and Cronus among others (Bruce 13). Greek civilization has been viewed as the cradle of civilization by historians for a long time now due to impact it had on other civilizations. Based on this, a number of questions have been raised on whether the Greek civilization was superior to other civilizations like the Near Eastern civilization. As the Greek civilization borrowed a lot from the Egyptian civilization, other civilizations that preceded the Greek civilization borrowed a lot from them. Arguing that the Greek civilization was more superior as compared to the other Near Eastern civilization because the latter borrowed a lot from the former is fallacious. This is because such a deduction may affect the position of the Egyptian civilization in respect to time as compared to the Greek civilization (Marc 25). The feeling that the Greek civilization is more superior like the eastern civilization originates from the stronger feeling that the Greeks had on their civilization. The Greeks have for long cherished their style and ways and this has led to the prominence of the civilization and this explains why a number of studies have focused on the prominence of the civilization. The style and abilities of the Greeks is also attributed to the widespread belief that their civilization was more superior. The Greeks advanced the Buddha features by using the Zeus and Apollo through their sculptures in Gadara. This increased the influence of Buddhism beyond the boundaries of India into other Asian countries like Japan. The prominence of the Greek culture cannot therefore be attributed solely to its prominence but the culture and practices of the people that led to the spread of the civilization beyond the Greek colonies and influence (Bruce 12). The near eastern civilization is the development that occurred in the regions around the current Middle East; this region included agricultural developments that occurred in the regions of Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, ancient Iran and the general Arabian Peninsula. Historians differ on which among the two civilization should be considered as the cradle of civilization with others insisting that the Near East civilization is the main civilization and laid the ground for subsequent civilizations. Year round agricultural practices was first practiced in Near East region including the Mesopotamia where a number of agricultural practices were developed. The development of governance and administrative systems also began during the Near East civilization and this is believed by historians who subscribe to this school of thought as the basis upon which agricultural practices by other civilizations like the roman and the Greek was based (Marc 24). The debate on which out of the two civilizations is more superior to the other can only be conclusively debated if the genealogical developments within these times are present. The impacts of each civilization on the other make it impossible to conclude that the Greek civilization was more superior to the Far East. It is therefore imperative to conclude that the Greek civilization has significant influences on the development of other civilization and this has made it possible to believe that it has prominence of others. However, the agricultural development in the Mesopotamia region that is considered as part of the near east civilization makes it informed to rule out the superiority of the Greek revolution. Works cited Marc, Myron. History of the Ancient near East: Ca. 3000-323 B.C. New York: Blackwell Publishers, 2nd edition. 2006. Print. Bruce, Thornton. Greek Ways: How the Greeks Created Western Civilization. Encounter Books. 2002. Print. Read More