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Introduction
Ancient Greeks have played a significant role in the Western civilization around 4000 years ago. There have been many important achievements that Greeks have made in the past that have significantly impacted the modern world, especially in science, philosophy, arts and government and have influenced our lives dramatically. The ideas of Ancient Greece have had an impact on the modern society, most importantly in the realm of politics. The laws that were created are still being applied in the modern society. The ideals of democracy have been a great influence on the Western world since the 18th century. The 18th century is known as the Enlightenment period, which was a time of intellectual development and great learning, and the thinkers have gradually challenged the concept of Ancient Greece over the period of time.
The founders of the United States took a lot of influence from the Ancient Greece with the development of the classical education system. When the structure of the United States was developed, the strengths of the Ancient Greece were utilized while making changes to the system according to the needs and requirements of the current economic system. The nation such as as Columbia and France tolerated revolutions in their quest for democracy and countries such as Great Britain were able to implement the concepts of Ancient Greece more peacefully although the current world has changed the concept of Ancient Greece but still have successfully implemented the ideas well (Scott, p.1).
Democratic system
The first penal and civil law code were developed by Draco. Draco was an outstanding poet, and he developed the penal and civil law code. He brought in reforms in the agricultural outputs, for example, the standardized system of weights and measures, increased rights of ekklesia and the jury court. The gift of democracy can be contributed to Draco as he introduced this system of government for the first time across the globe. The reforms were to reduce the influential role of the aristocracy and eliminate the mixing system of society and financial impact and differences among people. The democracy in Athens was developed due to continuous reorganization and reforms which the modern world has adopted to a great extent. The citizens of Athens were given an opportunity to participate and select their leader, which resulted in a change in the lives of the people and helped them develop intellectually (Athens University of Economics and Business, p.1).
When the constitution of the United States was developed in the 18th century, the Roman model of a Capitol and Senate was designed rather than any other model such as ekklesia and Athenian boule. Along with this, the Spartan model that was used in Cromwell was the one that was designed by the Nazis, and the youth camp of Nazis were designed and modeled on the system of young Spartans. The adoption of the democracy in Greece was based on the fact that it is mostly related to slavery excluding the women. The democratic system was developed in the early years but have been gradually improved in the later years. The democratic system that is present today is more representative with an indifferent voter turn-out during the election process, whereas the system that was adopted by the Ancient Greece made it possible that every citizen had the right to vote on the major issues present in society and more than two-third of the population had the chance to sit on the Supreme governing council. This does not mean that the Athenian system was better than ours, but it does surely mean that the legacy of the democratic system continues from the Ancient Greece (Athens University of Economics and Business, p.1).
Economic system
The economic system that was developed in Ancient Greece was simpler and relatively smaller to what we have adopted in the modern economic system, but the trend is followed from the Ancient Greece. The agriculture played a significant role, but trading was an important part of the Greek economic system, and they found ways to get a hand of the items that they were unable to produce themselves in the economy. The Greeks were extremely labor intensive and more than three-quarter of the population was employed in agriculture. The trading and selling system was designed to sell olive oil and wine with Mediterranean traders in order to feed the population. The pottery was traded and also produced, including the vessels that were used for ceremonial and religious purposes. Along with the import of wheat, the Greeks also traded metals, spice, fabrics and papyrus (Athens University of Economics and Business, p.1).
The taxation system has been adopted from the Ancient Greek that was successfully implemented during that era and in the current period. Even though, they did not have a formal taxation system, they did apply general taxes as required, for example many cities were able to tax the rich people during the time of war as the financial help was required. Many other taxes were also implemented such as public festivals, livestock, houses, slaves, etc. The coins and silvers were used by the Greeks that were minted by themselves and before the currency was used the Ancient Greeks implemented the barter system and later on once the system became impractical, the coins were minted which practically became a system of financial regulation in the economy. The usage of coins was initially made in the larger transactions, especially the ones that involved overseas trade as the value was high and could not be used for smaller transactions (Teachers Curriculum Institute, p.1).
Architecture
The architecture has been the most famous in the history of Ancient Greece. In the modern world, the monuments, buildings and houses have been designed according to the architectural designs of the Ancient Greece and these have been landmarked as famous places in the history and as the time is passing by, the thoughts of these monuments have begun to turn out to be contemporary. The Greek architecture has been defined as following the cultural and international trends however, the real architecture of the current world began to take the real place in the world after the war of independence that took place in 1821. The materials of construction that was used by the Greeks is still famously used today, such as the unbaked bricks, marble, limestone, metals, and woods. These materials are still readily used by the contractors where the development of recreational places, religious and political buildings are required (Teachers Curriculum Institute, p.1).
There have been many architectural designs that have been used in the modern world, but the most famous of the Ancient Greece designs that have been readily implemented and used today are Corinthian, Doric, and Ionic styles. Each of these orders has their own concrete style, but they cannot be differentiated easily by the naked eye. The most important order is the Doric style used in the architecture of Ancient Greece, which is most arguably still implemented today. It can be found when visiting Acropolis and the Parthenon, which can be differentiated by the plain roof and vertical column. It can be seen in colonies of Sicily and Southern Italy which are the most oldest of the architectural designs and orders that exist today. The Ionic order that is the second order of the Ancient Greece is more elegant, intricate and delicate in comparison to the Doric architecture, and these structures became iconic in the Hellenistic period. Last but not the least the third order was the Corinthian style of architecture. This design is not successfully implemented but is the famous one (Scott, p.1).
Conclusion
There have been many important achievements that Greeks have made in the past that have significantly impacted the modern world, especially in science, philosophy, arts and government and have influenced our lives dramatically. The gift of democracy can be contributed to Draco as he introduced this system of government for the first time across the globe. The reforms were to reduce the influential role of the aristocracy and eliminate the mixing system of society and financial impact and differences among people. The agriculture played a significant role, but trading was an important part of the Greek economic system, and they found ways to get a hand of the items that they were unable to produce themselves in the economy. The Ancient Greece has strongly influenced the modern world.
Work Cited
Athens University of Economics and Business, Ancient Greek Culture and Civilization, (2010), p.1, http://www.leadershipclassics.org/AncientGreekCulture&Civilization.html
Scott M. What did the ancient Greeks do for us? History Extra, (2013), p.1, http://www.historyextra.com/blog/ancient-greece/what-did-ancient-greeks-do-us
