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The significance of Ancient Greek Culture for WestAbstracts:As one of the major contributors to Western civilization, ancient Greek culture has provided the creative energy and prototypes for later forms of Western society.Intellectural and cultural achievements,together with social and economic developments in ancient Greek and its neightbouring areas, mark the real beging of Western civilization and the ending of barbarous age in Europe.(1)Key words:Religion PhilosophyIntroduction:Historically Greek culture is of a rich Variety, lasting Value and wide influence around the world.It falls into many categories in this introduction: Greek mythology and religion, Greek philosophy, Geek literarure, Greek art and science. Even at the age of capitalism developing Greek culture builds a foundation for capitalism.Culture is a production of human being’s development.Greek culture contains everything and almost everything is essencial.Simple words cannot represent its glamour and show its improtance for West modern culture,so I will expand the significance of ancient Greek culture for West in several aspects.Greek culture is liking a heart of western culture.It seems like the source of western culture.Even we can say no Greek culture, no western culture.If A mother gives birth to a baby, the Greek culture is prenant with the western culture.So the significance of Greek culture for west is liking a mother for a baby.But why do I say so?This is what I am talking.Discussion:Greece lies in southern Europe, north-eastern Mediterranean, including the current in the southern Balkans and many islands in the Aegean Sea. Specific geographical conditions of the ancient Greeks make it difficult to rely on farming, but by doing business at sea, being a pirate or to open up overseas colonies to survive. This living environment of the ancient Greeks creates free-spirited, imaginative, full of raw desire, wisdom and strength-advocating national character.Ancient Greek literature shows the ancient Greek’s thoughts for the universe, nature and understanding of life and thinking, which contains the more primitive of their spiritual, psychological, emotional and cultural content. Mysterious outside world, the nature that cannot be controled, the life that cannot be predicted, result in they formed a color with religious fatalism, "Destiny." Reflected in the literature, the fate of people is controled by the destiny absolutely.People must obey thedestiny.However,in some way we can take possession of our talent, develop our potential and arbitrary to do my own.The gods in Greek literature all have the quality of independent and uninhibited, carnival fun, enjoying individual life. But when faced with difficulties they express a kind of indomitable spirit. The fate of the infinite power of the ancient Greeks brings confusion and fear to Greek, but also cultivate their spirit of self-awareness and individual. In addition, they struggle with the fate and show a ind of exuberant vitality. Ancient Greek literature is the description of people in the pursuit of secular values. When people struggle with the contradictions and struggles of fate, people show a kind of lively and beauty of human nature, the performance of the freedom of human childhood.The life consciousnessof, human consciousness and the concept of freedom is the basic spirit of ancient Greek literature.In the future of Western literature these will have become the basic kernel.This kind of value exists modern western culture.We all know the value of modern western culture.They are almost concerned about self-awareness, individual, independent, uninhibited, carnival fun, enjoying individual life,something like these.In terms of religion,Greekculture is full of connection with modern western culture.Philosophy: Outlines of the History of Greek Philosophy作者：Eduard ZellerGreek philosophy emerged from the bondage of religion and went through a process of fruitful theoretical research combined with practical experience before it achieved its high point in the history of human intellectual development, marked by a series of important concepts about materialism, idealism and dialectics.Greek philosophy focused on the role of reason and logic. Many philosophers today concede that Greek philosophy has shaped the entire Western thought since its inception. As Alfred Whitehead once noted, with some exaggeration, "Western philosophy is just a series of footnotes to Plato."[1] Clear, unbroken lines of influence lead from ancient Greek and Hellenistic philosophers, to medieval Islamic philosophers, to the European Renaissance and Enlightenment.Some claim that Greek philosophy, in turn, was influenced by the older wisdom literature and mythological cosmogonies of the ancient Near East. According to Martin Litchfield West: "contact with oriental cosmology and theology helped to liberate their the early Greek philosophers' imagination; it certainly gave them many suggestive ideas. But they taught themselves to reason. Philosophy as we understand it is a Greek creation."[Socrates:The beliefs of Socrates, as distinct from those of Plato, are difficult to discern. Little in the way of concrete evidence exists to demarcate the two. Thelengthy theories given in most of the dialogues are those of Plato, and some scholars think Plato so adapted the Socratic style as to make the literary character and the philosopher himself impossible to distinguish. Others argue that he did have his own theories and beliefs, but there is much controversy over what these might have been, owing to the difficulty of separating Socrates from Plato and the difficulty of interpreting even the dramatic writings concerning Socrates. Consequently, distinguishing the philosophical beliefs of Socrates from those of Plato and Xenophon is not easy and it must be remembered that what is attributed to Socrates might more closely Many of the beliefs traditionally attributed to the historical Socrates have been characterized as "paradoxal" because they seem to conflict with common sense. The following are among the so-called Socratic Paradoxes:∙No one desires evil.∙No one errs or does wrong willingly or knowingly.∙Virtue - all virtue - is knowledge.∙Virtue is sufficient for happiness.The phrase Socratic paradox can also refer to a self-refential paradox, originating in Socrates' phrase, "I know that I know nothing"∙( reflect the specific concerns of these thinkers. Bernas, Richard, cond. Socrate.By Ephilosopherrik Satie. LTM/Boutique, 2006 )Socrates is a great philosopher. He tells us what is philosophy and tells us what we are.He says ‘know youself’.Let us know we should have individual.How similar with modern western thoughts.Plato:Plato was the first philosopher to offer a systematic philosophic point of view by building on various theories of time./article.cfm/platos_thought_and_ancient_gree k_philosophersThere have been various influences on the development of Plato's worldview and theory. Plato has borrowed from some of the philosophical currents of his time and by incorporating and disagreeing with some of his contemporary philosophers, he managed to work out a detailed, systematic and consistent philosophy that outlasted most of his predecessors.His main Republic ideals havei.the class structure.ii.The supreme ruler.iii.The communist’s system.iv.The political system.v.The marriage system.cation.philosophyHis philosophy in general displays a eprpetual openness to a from of progress,an idea that individual may pursue in hope and wonder though it is based on subjective and idealistic supposition.The two most famous Philosophers’ thoughts show us the connections between Greek philosophy and western culture.Greek literatureGreek literatur e refers to writings composed in areas of Greek influence, typically though not necessarily in one of the Greek dialects, throughout the whole period in which the Greek-speaking people have existed. Referring to literature written in Ancient Greek from the oldest surviving written works in the Greek language until approximately the fifth century AD and the rise of the Byzantine Empire. The Greek language arose from the proto-Indo-European language, though roughly one-third of its words cannot be derived from various reconstructions of that tongue. A number of alphabets and syllabaries had been used to render Greek, but surviving Greek literature was written in a Phoenician-derived alphabet that arose primarily in Greek Ionia and was fully adopted by Athens by the fifth century BC. It’s divided to Preclassical, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman Age.Drama / PlaysThe origin of drama is mired in legend, but to the best of our information, drama seems to have arisen as part of religious worship. Today we divide plays into the categories of comedy and tragedy.∙TragedyThe word tragedy appears to come from the words for 'goat' and 'song' or 'ode'.∙ChorusThe first element in Greek tragedy was the chorus, which danced and sang poetry created by the dramatist at the religious festivals.∙ActorsActors came later, with the great tragedians.∙ComedyComedy seems to have come from phallic processions followed by sacrifices, but we don't know. Its etymology appears to come from komos (connected with revels), plus the word for 'song'.Poetry∙Epic PoetryThe man credited with creating the epics we know of as the Iliad and Odyssey, (whom we refer to as Homer) was a rhapsode, a person who accompanied hisimprovised performances with a musical instrument. Epic poetry came to bedistinguished by its distinct (epic) meter.∙Lyric PoetryLyric poetry, developed according to legend, by Terpander, was poetryaccompanied by a lyre.∙EpigramsEpigrams were composed for funerals. It was an epigrammatist, Mimnermus of Smyrna, who is credited with developing the elegiac meter that was used for love poetry (elegies)./library/bl/bl_raclassicalliterature.htm Comparing Renaissance Literature:Renaissance Literature refers to the period in European literature that began in Italy during the 14th century and spread around Europe through the 17th century. The impact of the Renaissance varied across the continent; countries that were predominantly Catholic or Protestant experienced the Renaissance differently compared to areas where the Orthodox Church was dominant as reflecting on its culture, as well as those areas of Europe under Islamic rule.The creation of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg encouraged authors to write in the local vernacular rather than in Greek or Latin classical languages, widening the reading audience and promoting the spread of Renaissance ideas.Literature in Britain in the period beginning in around 1500 and lasting until themid-1600s. Influenced by the artistic and cultural Renaissance, the transformation of both English language and literature in this period can be seen to move away from the medieval Middle English literature period and into the more recognizably modern Elizabethan literature. The period is characterized by the influence of the classics (in literature, language, and philosophy), as well as an optimistic forward-thinking approach to the potential of humans (known as Renaissance humanism. See also English literature.In simple terms, the Renaissance in England was caused by the spread of Renaissance learning and ideology from Italy, where it developed earlier(c.1400–1500). The Renaissance embraced not only literature, but also art and architecture. In literary terms, the study of the classical poets led not only to their translation into English but the adaptation of their verse forms and systems of poetical metre, as well as the embracing of their themes and genres. An illustration of the linguistic explosion caused by the Renaissance is the addition of more than 10,000 new words to the language in a short space of time, mainly from Latin. The Renaissance also led to a rebirth of classical humanism, which encouraged knowledgeof the arts, languages, and a generally broad and active education. This led to a great spirit of confidence and the urge to explore the potential that language, literature, and philosophy could offer and the heights that humans could reach.Humanism,Individual,enjoy life.So many common ideas between Greek literture and Renaissance.Many writing materials in Renaissance is from Greek.Conclusion:There are also many aspects liking art, mythology, science etc. in modern culture similar with ancient Greek.The Greek culture is the cradle of western culture, the history of two eternal monument, which is the glorious westerners prurient interest. Industrious ancient Greek uses their wisdom to create a breathtaking.Still that words:If A mother gives birth to a baby, the Greek culture is prenant with the western culture.So the significance of Greek culture for west is liking a mother for a baby.Referrence:。