The
Ancient Greek Civilization (In in the Point of view of Civil Services, MPSC
Mains)
There were many ancient
civilizations that flourished all over the world. We could view some of the
examples like Maya civilization, Indus valley civilization and so on. All such
civilizations were in touch with each other through trade, cultural exchange
etc. They created a manifesto by empowering their own economies in
collaborative way. Travel and transport made these economies to come closer to
the rest of the world.
One of such civilization that
flourished over the land of Macedonia was Greeks. Greek empire is one of the
most ancient civilizations in the world. By and large Greeks contributed in the
development of various cultures in Europe that we see today. Philosophy science
and arts, sports and political organization have their ancestry in Greece.
Greek civilization is considered to
be developed around B.C. 1500.The name
“Greece” is derived from the island named “Graecia”. Greece in ancient world
was also known as “Hellas”. The land of Greece is covered by long mountain
ranges to the north and to the rest of directions it is enclosed by
Mediterranean Sea. One by one we are going to unveil various features of Greek
civilization.
Social
and Cultural life of Ancient Greece:-
The socio cultural
entities that prevailed in the ancient Greek society made them to be known to
the rest of world. The Greek society was bifurcated in to two major sects,
1)
Citizen
2)
Prisoners and slaves of war
The participation and
fundamental rights regarding with the economic, political, cultural as well as
religious matters were honored to the citizens only. Slaves and prisoners were
prohibited from participation in to these matters. In the society men and women
enjoyed equal status. They followed the patriarchal family system. The women
were granted with right to education and inheritance of property. Except the
political rights women led a prosperous and dignified life.
The cultural ethnicity
was maintained by the society through various beliefs, traditions, customs,
norms etc. It is considered that the writing skill was first developed on the
land of Greece. This tradition of writing can be experienced through the Greek
poetic writing of the Poet “Homer”. The two very famous epics of him were,
“Odyssey” and “Iliad” that made him the greatest writer of all times in the
world.
Also in the field
historiography ancient Greece made a major contribution in the form of
Herodotus (B.C 5th Century) who, for the first time developed a
scientific way of writing the history. Hence he is considered as the “Father of
History”. Many other such contributions in the field of art literature and
Science were, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Pythagoras, Ptolemy and Hippocrates.
Political
System of Ancient Greece:-
The political system of
Greece was simple. Politically, Greece was divided in City-states. The major
places with reference to political set up were Athens, Sparta, marathon,
Corinth, Delphi, Thermopylae, and Olympus. Other states were Troy, Smima etc.
Small islands developed and established in big cities. In B.C 338, King Philip
invaded and annexed major cities of Greece. However the land of Greece gave the
world, the democratic system of administration. Athens was a concentric city
which was a hub of administrative ideas. The chief administrator was known as
“Archon” that was elected by the people themselves. Nine such Archons formed the “Administrative
Council”. The assembly was responsible for major decisions and was open for the
people from Athens. This system of administration was known as “Direct
Democracy” The “School of Hellas” was well known of the times. The military
centre of Greece was the neighboring city called “Sparta”.
Economic
Development of Ancient Greece: -
The Greek economy was
agriculture oriented one. Nearly 80 percent of population was involved in
agriculture. The Mediterranean climate and physio-graphic features provided the
land of Greece for production of variety of fruits. Autumn was the major
agricultural season which was utilized in Greece. Wheat, Barley, millet's were
the major crops grown. Greece was rich in production of olive and dates.
Vegetables like cabbage, onion, garlic, lentils and chick pea were grown.
Orchards of fig, almond, grapes, and pomegranate were established on large
scale. Wine production was a major fruit processing industry in Greece.
Besides agriculture,
Animal husbandry was an allied task that was undertake by the Greek. Sheep and
goat rearing were the major livestock production units Oxen’s and donkeys were
reared as draught animals. Poultry farms were most common household business.
Apart from this, the timber production was also a business. Hence due to the
availability of timber closer to the seashore the helped the Greeks for Ship
building.
Customs
and Religious Texture of Greek civilization: -
Greek civilization was
the first to establish temples and ideological worshiping in the world. Greek
people worshiped the Supreme God “Zeus”. Mercury, Venus, Athena, Mars, Apollo
and Hera were the other such gods in Greece. The evidence of the above fact can
be clearly understood from Sir Isaac Newton’s one of the famous Alchemical
recipe called, “The Net” in which God Mars caught her wife with God Venus which
provoked him to build an indestructible net made up of Copper and Iron
Greek’s were great
believers of mythology. They believed that god kept the contact with the people
on earth through females. God provided important messages through females. Such
female was known as “Oracle”. The oracles of Delphi were well known. Similarly
animal sacrifice was also observed. Priests offered the offerings and performed
all the religious tasks.
Prosperity
of Art and Architecture in Greek world: -
Marbles were found in
abundance on the land of Greece. Due to this the entire architecture were
constructed in marbles. The basic feature of the architecture of Greece is
that, it the harmonious unification of the details regarding human physiology
and human feelings. The people of Greece were very religious. They oriented all
their architecture to the god which they assumed that helped them in getting
the success in the war. Hence depending upon various religious beliefs and
mythological ideas, it gave rise to three distinct orders in the architecture.
a)
Doric
order: - The temple of Athena Parthenos which was the
ancient Greek goddesses of Wisdom in Acropolis in the city of Athens was of
this order. Constructed in B.C 5th century, it still erect giving
the evidences of the life of ancient Greek society.
b)
Ionic
order: - The famous Erechtheum, is of this type. This
structure is also in Athens. The Erechtheum consist of shrines of Athena
Polias, Poseidon, and Erechtheus. The temples have been constructed on the
sloping site giving them a unique landscape feature. The Temple of Apollo is
the second example of this order. It was built in B.C 300 in Didyma in turkey.
The design of this temple was known as “Dipteral” which referred to the two
sets of columns which surrounds the interior section.
c) Corinthian order: - It
is considered as the most ornate and classical orders of an architecture. The
oldest example of this order can be seen as the temple of Apollo in Bassae
which was constructed in B.C 420. The order was the latest of all and the very
chief example of this order was the circular structure of Athens which was
known as Choragic monument of Lysicrates which was constructed in B.C 335. The
Temple of Zeus is considered as a peak among the architectures of Greece. This
was constructed and completed by the emperor Hadrian in A.D 2nd
century.
Gaming,
Sports and Recreational Activities in Ancient Greece:-
There is a greatest
contribution of ancient Greece in the world of sports. They have given
unparallel and remarkable milestones in the field of sports. In ancient Greece,
the sports men from Greek cities used to gather in every four years at the
place called Olympia. Here they used to organize many such competition and
sports and no wars were allowed during this period.
The message of
“Goodwill, Friendship and Peace” was given to the society through such games.
This tradition is also continuous in today’s date in the form of Olympics. This
tradition is supposed to have been started somewhere around B.C 800. It is
considered that these games were organized in the enclosed forest area. People
used to gather in between the summers in every four years so as to honor the
God Zeus. These sports consisted of Athletics, Javelin Throw, discus throw, and
wrestling. The modern day Olympics
started in 1896 in Athens.
In such way the ancient
Greek civilization has given many things to the rest of the world that further got
shaped and many such other civilizations flourished in the other parts of the
world.
Vaibhav Pramod Rajdeep
Author (rajdeepvaibhav706@gmail.com)
References:-
Ø National
Council for Education Research and Training textbooks for secondary school.
Ø Maharashtra
State Board of secondary and Higher Secondary Education textbooks
Ø The
Architecture of Ancient Greece- An account of its Historic Development- By
William Bell Dinsmoor
Ø How
the Greek Built Cities- By Richard Ernest Wycherley.
Ø The
City- By Max Weber
Ø The
Classical Tradition- By Anthony Grafton, Glenn W Most, Salvatore Settis.
