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Before any historical journey, it’s important to have a background on where we’re going and what we’re about to experience. When you hear our destination is ancient Greece, what comes to mind? For many, it’s gleaming white sculptures and marble temples. As you delve more deeply, vague recollections from your school years may resurface regarding “Western civilization.” What does that really mean? And what is it "west" of? The map below depicts the Mediterranean Sea. The word comes from Latin’s “medius” and “terra” which means “middle land.” The name makes sense because it's a unique region where major continents and cultures meet. Africa is south, Europe is west, and Asia is east.
Let’s travel backwards to 330 CE. At that time, the Roman Empire controlled most of this region. However, its power was declining due to political infighting, invasions from outside cultures, and a new religion called Christianity. The emperor Constantine decided to move the capital eastward, from Rome to Byzantium. The new city had several advantages. First, the eastern part of the empire had fewer enemies at the borders and higher revenue resulting in a more stable region. Second, the city was easier to defend because it was on a peninsula with protective water on three sides. Third, it was the center of an important economic route that offered lucrative trade.
Look at the map again and notice the north/south line that separates the two sections. There are many ways to define it, but this is an easy way to imagine “Western” versus “Eastern” civilization. The western portion's major influences were Greece to Rome to Christianity. The language that bound it together was Latin. On the other side, the eastern potion developed the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and eventually Islam. The dominate language was Greek.
So, “Western civilization” is the culture originating from Greco-Roman and then Christian values. It carried westward in the Middle Ages, solidified during the Renaissance, then transported across the ocean as part of the migration to the Americas.
Here is a visual example to illustrate: the Apollo Belvedere (Greek 330 BCE) compared to Michelangelo’s David (Florence 1504 CE). These are over 1000 years apart, but you can easily see western ideals carved in stone.
Unlike architecture and art, many of the influences are unseen. They lie at the very foundation of our culture:
Political structure of citizens, law courts, democracy and free speech
Philosophical questions about truth, beauty, and justice from minds like Socrates and Plato
Scientific method from Aristotle who urged observation and reason
Medical treatment from Hippocrates who discarded the gods and sought natural causes
Education via the creation of academies
Organization of the world's knowledge
Human physical perfection with athletics
Entertainment including drama/comedy, epics, theatres, and arenas
However, it's important to recognize that these accomplishments were not in isolation. The classical library at the University of Cincinnati bears an inscription in Latin: "ex oriente lux" (out of the East comes light). This offers tribute where tribute is due. Western civilization was greatly influenced by earlier, Eastern cultures. It didn't "invent" many of these things, but it is where great ideas were further developed. You'll find one example below. The Greek (and eventually Latin) alphabet had Eastern origins.
While giving credit where it's due, there's no question there was a revolution of advancements attributed to the Greeks. Join me to revisit this great culture. We'll marvel at temples on the Acropolis and debate with philosophers in the Agora. We’ll celebrate athletic victories at Olympia and agonize over military defeats like Thermopylae. We’ll witness the dawn of Greek civilization and experience the illumination of the region...and eventually of the world. Let's rediscover the roots of Western civilization.
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