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Ancient Greece & Their Contributions to American Culture

Essay by   •  August 3, 2011  •  Essay  •  1,113 Words (5 Pages)  •  2,636 Views

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I studied the "Ancient Greece" website (www.ancientgreece.com) in order to choose a topic to write about. The website presented information about a variety of topics. These topics included culture, art, literature, theater, math, science, architecture, and philosophy. As I read through all of them and learned more about the ancient Greek culture and state of mind, I realized that practically every area of American life is influenced by Ancient Greece. As a result, I decided to write about all of these topics in order to explain how I believe they influenced and continue to influence every day life the United States of America today. As I did some more research, I realized that this was a very broad subject to write about in the short time that I had available to me. Therefore, I decided to concentrate on the cultural similarities of between the ancient Greeks and modern Americans. I should also note that this essay mostly concentrates on the "classical era" in Greece because I found that this period had the most influence on the ancient romans, Western Europe and eventually the U.S.

The ancient Greeks were the first civilization to provide coherent written records that are still relevant today. These records give us clues about what life in ancient Greece was like. These amazing accounts are the basis for virtually every field of study and idea that is significant today.

In addition, if we take a closer look at the United States of America and its basic cultural values the Greek way of life and philosophy is still appreciated. In other words, there is enough evidence to show that ancient Greece had a great influence on America and this influence can be seen even today when we take into consideration the cultural diversity, and the progress America has made in science, art, engineering, warfare and literature.

I noticed many obvious cultural similarities between these two cultures. Historically and geographically speaking these two civilizations could not seem farther apart. But if we take a closer look at the basic values and traditions that are practiced in the U.S. today, these cultures are in fact similar in various ways.

Because of its location, ancient Greece was a melting pot of cultures just like America. Ancient Greece had people from different lands living in the same country and they all ended up sharing a common language but were still separate governments with their own gods, armies and currency. This is similar to America where each state is a separate government to a certain extent but when combined the states are one nation. America also includes people from many cultures who live together peacefully while respecting each other's cultural and religious beliefs.

Another common interest that the ancient Greeks and modern Americans share is their passion for sports and games. In America, we love our athletes and are more passionate about our sports than any other country. That is why we have won more Olympic medals than any other country. As a new United States citizen who migrated here ten years ago, I have noticed that competitions, athleticism, games and past-times are very important here. As I studied the website I realized that this type of culture was originally founded by the ancient Greeks.

The Greeks also took their games very seriously, especially physical athletic competition. The Greeks

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