Here are some articles I have written throughout the years. Most of them are quite old going back to high school.

The Grand Greeks

, Other Articles, David Bond

The following is a research paper written in my Junior year of high-school on why the Greeks where the most infuential civilization.
Throughout the halls of time, empires have risen and fallen, alliances have been forged and broken, and civilizations have been born and destroyed. There have been supreme empires, despotic tribes, and democratic republics, all of which have left their mark. Some are still remembered, being written in the history books, while others have been lost in the sands of time, only leaving the world a faint glimmer of what they once were. Above all the other civilizations that are written with in books, stands the ancient Greek polises, for they have contributed to every facet of every age.

As Sargon the Great conquered the Mesopotamia River Valley, another civilization was being born in the Aegean: the Mycenaeans. The Mycenaeans would pass through a dark age and then emerge as the confederate of polises we know as the Greeks. From these Greeks would come some of the world's greatest inventions and thoughts: geometry, history, biology, drama, political theory, and philosophy, to name a few (Sacks, xii). They would grow to a Mediterranean power through colonization and conquest finally being defeated by the Macedonian king, Alexander the Great, who was half Macedonian and half Greek; however, their legacy would live on through the ages. The Romans would emulate the Greek style of warfare as they conquered the globe, and the French revolutionaries would draw from Greek inspirations in their quest for freedom.

As one looks at the ancient Greeks one can't help but notice the two contrasting states that existed: Sparta and Athens. Athens was well ahead of the despotic civilizations that ruled around it for Solon, an archon, created the law, "seisachtheia," which balanced the power throughout the classes instead of limiting it to the upper class. This was the foundation of democracy (Sacks, 227). The word democracy, meaning government of the people, even comes from the Greek word "demos." From this early example of democracy stems John Locke's and Jean Rousseau's ideas on government as a contract, this changed the face of the globe though the revolutions that their ideas helped to spur on. In Locke's The Second Treatise of Government, one sees him mention the very tyrants that were overthrown for the new democracy when he writes, "we read of the thirty tyrants at Athens" (Locke, 113).

Contrastingly, we see Sparta's totalitarian state being formed by Lycurgus through the great Rhetra. Many civilizations throughout history have taken from the Spartan political theory. Hitler's Fascist Regime modeled its secret service after Sparta's Crypteta, which made use of brutal and invasive powers. Sparta is also considered one of the predecessors to Communism, for under Sparta's laws all of the citizens, or homoioi, were equal. Homoioi itself means equals. Communism's system of indoctrination of their youth, later prescribed in the Communist Manifesto, was partially based on Sparta's system (Marx, 32).

As one can see, without Greek Democracy, Fascism, and Communism might never have been formed. Without these, there would never have been the Cold war and the Second World War. Without their political theory, John Locke would never have written his theory of social contract, and the French revolution would not have occurred, preventing the rise of Napoleon. It has impacted almost every war of the last 500 years, ranging from the American Revolution, which partially based its ideals on Greek Philosophies, to the Vietnam War of the sixties, which was fought against a communistic nation.

Alongside the political theories of Greece, there was also Philosophy. The Greeks were the first to introduce philosophy, with Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. From their philosophies, the Stoic and Empiric systems of life were formed. The Stoic system had a great influence on the Romans, molding the views of people such as Cato the Elder, and Cicero while the Empiric system also affected people such as Horace, Lucretus, and Juvenal. The Greek philosophers furthermore came up with the ideas of the atom, density, and elements, which all have affected the scientific world. Hippocrates, another Greek scientific mind and the founder of modern medicine, created the Hippocratic oath, an oath that doctors still use to this day. He also introduced the four humors theory, a theory that lead to the death of George Washington and one that was nearly universally used up until the modern age.

The Greek Philosophers also lead to Euclidian Geometry. While this might seem to be a small contribution, it has immense consequences. Though their use of Geometry they came up with the system of logical deduction, a proof, on which every mathematic theorem relies upon (Epillow). Geometry is also used in physics, the science that is used for catapults, trebuchets, ballistae, and cannons. Without geometry, the medieval sieges would be limited to rams or, at the most, very simple catapults; gunpowder would have been a trivial invention since ballistics would not have existed to assist in its usage, and modern missiles wouldn’t exist. It is hard to fathom what the medieval age would have been without the siege weapons physics brought about, for they were intricately connected with the fabric of medieval warfare.

Alongside geometry, the Greeks gave the world a grand style of architecture (Trachtenberg, 91). They created the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian Orders. As one looks around, one sees museums, libraries, and other structures that are all decedents of the Greek style. Washington D.C., is littered with structures made to resemble Greek architecture. For instance, the Lincoln memorial was modeled after the Pantheon in Athens (Politte). Even Central High is modeled partially after the Greek style of architecture. Their architecture still stands as a reminder of their vast influence.

With everything that the Greeks gave to the scientific world, they have also altered the course of military theory. As the Dark Age ended in Greece, the agrarian society of Argos formed the hoplite theory. From here came the phalanx, which would dominate warfare until the battle of Hastings. Its most famous use comes from the Macedonians. Alexander the Great took the phalanx, which the Greeks had used throughout their height, and modified its usage. With these reforms, all of the Middle East and Greece would fall, forming one of the most powerful empires the world has ever seen, all due to the simple formation that the Greeks first created. Later on, the Greek phalanx was used by the Carthaginians and Romans in the Punic wars. The Romans would continue to use this as they conquered the Mediterranean world. Rome even went to the length of copying the Greeks by using the Spartan red uniform, for they noted that it had worked for the Spartans. (The Spartans used red to hide any blood from wounds on the battlefield).

Along with the hoplite theory, there came a strict set of rules that was followed in battles, namely that battles were to be fought on open fields, to the point that unlevel land was sometimes flattened for battle. This practice was carried into the American Revolution where the British continued to fight in fields, an action that the colonial militias took full advantage of. One wonders if the British could have won if they had not used the Greek form of fighting.

Sparta, the most militaristic polis of Greece, also altered the course of history with their military practices. As one looks at Sparta, one sees the Agoge, a military training system. This would later form the basis for the training system for many of the nations and empires around the world, including the United States. Along with military training came civilian physical training. The Greeks founded the first gymnasiums, creating the cult of physical fitness many are now so entrenched in (Sacks, xii). They crafted the ideal figure, seen in their many statues, a concept which many wish to attain even to this day.

With the cult of physical fitness, that the Greeks created also came a sports system. The height of this was the Olympics; being founded in 776 B.C. by the Greeks, these continued for hundreds of years (Kush). In 1896 after a long period in which no games occurred, they once again commenced. These games have served as a diplomatic center throughout their life and have had, in no doubt, a global impact.

Among the various other institutions that the Greeks founded, they also founded the academy. The most renown of these was Plato's Academy; here many scholars learned the philosophies of the era. From this system of academia sprung the western world's system of universities. Without these, the world would be a different place. One wonders if the industrial revolution would have ever happened, for without a system of higher learning many inventions would never have come. One can also question whether today's age of computer would be upon us. Without this system of learning, the world might still be riding cavalry to war.

The influence of the Greek is certainly astounding. As one looks at the subjects which one studies in school, it is amazing how many the Greeks have given to us. Geometry, as covered above, was founded by the Greek philosophers. Trigonometry, physical science, and physics were enabled by the study of Geometry. Herodotus, the father of history, formed the system of history that one now studies in school. Homer helped shape poetry and wrote down much of the rich mythologies, which are read to this very day. Aesop created many of the fables that are used to teach children morals as they grow into adulthood. Sophocles wrote many of the plays that are now covered in school. The Greeks formed the idea of national writers and expounded upon the concept of loyalty to one's country. Even biology was founded by the Greeks.

With the myriad of inventions and ideas that the Greeks established, a way was also needed to facilitate the dispersal of them. This facilitation came through many means, the most prominent being colonization and conquest. As the Greek polises emerged from their Dark Age, their colonies spread out abundantly. Gaul, Iberia, and the Danube River mouth were all colonized, and travelers from Greece reached modern day Britain and Pakistan. The Greek culture rapidly spread through these colonies. This is evident with Le Tene culture of Gaul. These were greatly affected by the Greek traders, from whom they adopted languages and practices. This culture would later form part of the Celtic and Germanic tribes.

The second way that the Greek influence spread was through the conquest of the Greeks themselves. First, Alexander conquered Greece and founded the Hellenistic culture, one that is based on Greek culture, which spread across all of the Middle East. Alexandria of Egypt is one fine example of this because, for many centuries after Alexander's empire had fallen, it remained a center of learning throughout the Mediterranean world. After Alexander's empire came the Roman Empire. With their mighty legions, they conquered Greece; however, as it is brilliantly put by Horace in 19 B.C. "Captive Greece took mighty Rome captive, forcing culture onto rustic folk" (Sacks, xii). The Greek culture was inescapable by all who tried to subdue it. Even the Roman religion was almost an exact copy of the Greek religion.

As some civilizations fade from view, the Greeks, still shine. They gave the world more than any other civilization. Wars have been fought over the ideals they formed. Millions have listened to their stories. Without them democracy would be a foreign word. Without them Napoleon, Hitler, and Stalin might never of risen to power. Greece has taken America, as well as the whole world, captive.

Works Cited

Hollister, Warren. Roots of the Western Tradition A Short History of the Ancient World. New York. Knopf, 1982.
Sacks, David. A Dictionary of the Ancient Greek World. New York. Oxford University Press, 1995.
Haywood, John. Historical Atlas of the Classical World 500 BC AD 600. New York: Barnes & Nobles books, 2001.
Haywood, John. Historical Atlas of the Ancient World 4,000,000 500 BC. New York: MetroBooks, 2001.
Locke, John. The Second Treatise of Government. New York. Macmillan Publishing Company, 1952.
Chandler, David. The Time Chart History of War. Michigan. Lowe & B. Hould Publishers, 2001
Trachtenberg, Marvin. Architecture. New York. Prentice Hall, 2002.
Marx, Karl & Engel's, Friedrich. The Communist Manifesto. Northbrook, Illinois: AHM Publishing Corporation, 1955.
Kush. History of our Olympic games. 9/24/03 .
Politte, James. Abraham Lincoln and the Lincoln Memorial. 9/20/03 .
Epillow Books. The Science of Ideas: Two Contemporary Analogies. 5/22/01. 9/24/03 .