Western Civilization

derived from Greek poetry and

drama. Greek notions of har-

mony, proportion, and beauty

have remained the touchstones

for all subsequent Western art

and architecture. A rational

method of inquiry, so impor-

tant to modern science, was conceived in ancient Greece. Many

of our political terms are Greek in origin, and so are our con-

cepts of the rights and duties of citizenship, especially as they

were conceived in Athens, which gave the idea of democracy to

the Western world. Especially during the classical period, the

Greeks raised and debated fundamental questions about the

purpose of human existence, the structure of human society,

and the nature of the universe that have concerned Western

thinkers ever since. Although the Greeks did not conceive of

Western civilization as a cultural entity, their artistic, intellec-

tual, and political contributions were crucial to the foundations

of Western civilization.

All of these achievements came from a group of small city-

states in ancient Greece. And yet there remains an element of

tragedy about Greek civilization. For all of their brilliant accom-

plishments, the Greeks were unable to rise above the divisions

and rivalries that caused them to fight each other and undermine

their own civilization. Luckily, their contributions to Western civ-

ilization survived their political struggles.

CHAPTER TIMELINE

CHAPTER REVIEW

Upon Reflection

Q What was thepolis, and why is it considered by

many historians to be an important development

in the political history of Western civilization?

Q Discuss the organization of the Athenian

democratic system. Was it truly a democracy? In

what ways was Athenian democracy similar to U.S.

democracy? In what ways was it different?

Q The period of the Classical Age in Greece is known

for its literary, artistic, and intellectual

achievements. What basic characteristics of Greek

culture are reflected in the major achievements of

the Greeks in the writing of history, drama, the

arts, and philosophy? What universal human

concerns did these same achievements reflect?

1600 B.C.E. 1340 B.C.E. 1080 B.C.E. 820 B.C.E. 560 B.C.E. 300 B.C.E.

Mycenaean Greece Age of Greek expansion

Classical Age

Great Peloponnesian War

Homer Parthenon

Plato and Aristotle

Greek drama (Aeschylus,

Sophocles, Euripides)

Reforms in Sparta

Dark Age

Cleisthenes’s reforms

Battle of Marathon

Chapter Summary • 71

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