The Greeks lived in independent city-states due to the mountainous terrain covering most of Greece. They developed into seafaring people and admired beauty, expressing it through their art and literature. Greeks believed that man could achieve great things through rational thought and physical abilities. They made many scientific and mathematical contributions, including democracy, the philosophies of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, and advances in medicine, geometry, and physics. The Greeks sought ideal forms of expression over realistic imitation and made influential works in architecture, drama, mythology, history, and more.

1. Ancient Greece Early European Civilization

3. Fertile valleys provided the Greeks productive land for farming and pasture.

4. The sea surrounding almost the whole country developed the Greeks into seafarers with a fierce love for freedom and adventure.

6. Greeks believed that man is a rational being. If he uses his intelligence and physical abilities, he can achieve great things.

8. Philosophies of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. The Greeks were inquisitive people.

9. In the science of medicine, Hippocrates, known as the “Father of Medicine,” discovered that diseases are caused by natural causes rather than by gods or evil spirits.

10. Herophilus discovered that blood is being pumped by the heart and that nerves are affected by the brain.

11. Euclid came up with certain principles in geometry.

12. Archemides was the first to describe the importance of a lever. He also discovered an important principle of gravity.

13. Erastothenescalculated the length of the earth’s equator.

14. Leucippus and Democritus first advanced the theory that matter is made up of atoms.

16. In Greek architecture, the Greeks built the Parthenon dedicated to the goddess Athena.

17. Aeschylus was known as the “Father of Greek Tragedy”. One of his greatest plays was Agamemnon. Another famous Greek dramatist was Sophocles.

18. Greeks had a wealth of myths and legends. Myths are accounts of the beginnings of the world and tell about gods and the earlier people.

19. Iliad (tells about the invasion and destruction of Troy by the Greeks) and Odyssey (tells about the adventures of Odysseus) was written by the poet Homer.

20. Herodutos is regarded as the “Father of History”.

21. Greeks introduced the Olympic games.