Greek questions

Ryan Otto, World History                                                                              1/9/14

Period 6

Thoughts and Reflections on: The Human Story Chapter 4

 When people discuss ancient Greece, the topics of Athens and Sparta are almost inevitably going to be brought up. Though technically in the same country, these two city states had drastically different lifestyles. One of the most prominent differences was how each city state was ruled. Athens was a limited democracy whereas Sparta was under a dual monarchy consisting of two kings. Athenian life was much less harsh than life in Sparta, and there was significantly more culture in Athens. As an ancient civilization, Greece had some of the most culturally impactful contributions to society, and most of these came out of Athens. They created the drama, a fairly sophisticated democracy and much of modern philosophy. They also managed to defeat the Persia empire a couple of times, though some of that can be put down to lucky circumstances. In fact, much of modern life in the US can be traced back to Ancient Greece. We have a similar democracy to that of Athens (though with more political rights), and much of modern entertainment has its roots in the ancient dramas of Greece. Greek architecture is also something which has withstood the test of time, and much can be found in the Southern regions of the US. Indeed, with the exceptions of Rome and Mesopotamia, one could argue that Greece had the most lasting impact of any ancient civilization on the United States.