Archaic and Classic Greek Culture - Essay Example

The critical thought makes it seem as though modern democracies arose out of the thinking of the Ancient Greeks, or that governmental architecture mirrors classical Greek architecture naturally. This, however, ignores the massive historical gap that lies between the two time periods. The modern democracy, and the modern nation-state, arose not out of the polis, but out of the feudal system of the middle ages. Land ownership requirements existed in many countries into the 19th century for voting rights, for instance, a direct holdover from the feudal, not the classical world. To be truthful to history and to the truth of ourselves, we must recognize that our world in some ways mirrors the prototypes developed by the Greeks, not because of natural evolution or happenstance, the mirrors exist because the creators of our societies have actively tried to copy and to call on aspects of ancient Greek culture in architecture, governance and philosophy. Read More