Big, Fat Greek Ideas

I'm afraid this one sounds a bit like a lesson and it has nothing boaty in it at all, so stop now if you want to.

Western culture began in Greece. Everybody knows that, but until you spend some time here, you don’t fully appreciate just how true that is, nor how incredible it is. Incredible, because it just seems so unlikely that this rugged land with its scattering of mostly barren islands should have been the birthplace of so many of our big ideas. Here are just a few that come to mind:

Mathematics. Of course other civilizations had systems of calculation for trade, but the ancient Greeks developed Mathematics as a disciplined system of abstract thought. This is the foundation of all our science and technology.

Physical Culture. The training of the body, not just for war, but for fitness, health and beauty. The word ‘gymnasium’ is Greek, of course, and so are the Olympic Games (and so are nearly all the keywords in this list!)

Aesthetics. Another Greek word for the appreciation of beauty. Greek ideals of beauty, in nature, art and architecture are very much alive in what we still think of as beautiful. 3000 year old Greek sculptures are still attractive in a way that is difficult to find in say, medieval art.

 

Democracy. A revolutionary idea from 5^th century BC Athens, that citizens had a right to participate in their own governance and that decisions could be reached by public debate and election. Pericles was the leader who developed Athenian democracy to its fullest; it is difficult to comprehend just how new an idea this was in a world of tyrannies large and small. Lots of places still haven't got the hang of it.

Theatre. The remains of theatres are everywhere. It was an important forum for both entertainment and education. The fundamental forms of tragedy and comedy, and many of the conventions of Greek theatre can be seen in any film or TV show today. And the theatres themselves are the archetype of every sports stadium since ...

Narrative. We think of it as natural that a story should have a beginning, middle (where various complications happen) and an end (where they are resolved) but this is actually Aristotle’s idea. You only need to read the traditional narratives of most non-Western cultures to see that this is not universal.

The Rule of Law. A system of laws, overseen by a criminal court, was a Greek idea.

Medicine. Every society had its traditional cures, most of them religious, but the Greeks developed Medicine as a systematic discipline. And gave us the Hippocratic Oath.

Philosophy. Disciplined thought in the service of improving the individual and society, and grappling with the meaning of existence.

Education. The standard classroom 'discussion', where the teacher asks the students questions to which she already knows an answer, is the legacy of Socrates. Another thing we take so much for granted that it is invisible until you experience a non-Western culture.

And there you have pretty much the basis of the modern western world - and there is so much more that could be included, if you wanted to go into detail (pizza, showers, sewerage systems, libraries ... ). What links all of these ideas for me is an entirely new vision of humanity, quite different from anything that had happened before. The big new idea is that the ordinary individual matters – that their lives have value and significance in themselves, not just in terms of their utility to a king or warlord. For example, contrast the pyramids of Egypt, where thousands laboured and died to ensure the immortality of a deified pharaoh, with these beautiful grave stele, which depict the dead individual as he or she appeared in life, being farewelled by those who loved them.

 

 

Apart from a few details of dress, these could be any modern family.

The scary thing is that enlightened ideas can be lost or suppressed, as of course these were for centuries - the Renaissance of western Europe was a 're-birth' of classical Greek ideas.