What Were the Achievements of Ancient Greece?
The culture of ancient Greece produced many accomplishments, such as art that remains among the world’s finest, the first valid approaches to science, the first works of literature that remain in the canon of classics and significant contributions to mathematics. Later societies relied on Greek discoveries in mathematics and science all the way up until the Renaissance and even until the Industrial Revolution in many instances.
Ancient Greek culture is recognized for its contributions to the art world, architecture, science, mathematics, theatre and literature. Greek civilization was immolated by other inferior societies during the time of its prime. The Greeks made the largest strides in sculpture; accurate and vivid detailing of the human anatomy, clothing and hair in Greek art were unparalleled at that time. The challenging ability to show the body in motion as well as in a variety of moods or emotion was seen in Greek artistry Architecture was also a significant art form in ancient Greece, as the buildings that remain on the Acropolis today demonstrate.
The Greeks were the first culture to make significant inroads into the sciences. The names of the sciences (zoology, biology, anthropology and so on) all come from Greek. The philosopher Thales is still known as the father of physics for asking what the central substance of all things was. Eratosthenes estimated the circumference of the Earth and only ended up being off by about 1 percent.
In mathematics, the studies of Euclid created the basis for modern geometry, and the Pythagorean theorem is one of the first basic facts that children in the later primary grades learn about shapes.
In literature, the first great plays and poems came from the Greeks. The tragedies of Sophocles and Aeschylus set a strong standard for drama, and the poetry of Homer and Sappho, among others, created a tradition of epic and lyric verse that remains strong today.
