Why the Greeks Could Create A Great Culture

The Greeks, known as Hellenes, were not the first civilization to establish culture and society; long before them, Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Indians, and Chinese laid significant foundations. However, the Greeks excelled in developing their culture by wisely learning from these earlier civilizations, incorporating their advancements in religion, philosophy, and the arts, notably adopting the Phoenician alphabet.

A hallmark of Greek culture was its emphasis on intellectual freedom and inquiry, exemplified by thinkers like Socrates, who famously stated, “The unexamined life is unlivable.” This spirit of critical thought spurred the pursuit of great ideals, with figures like Plato envisioning ideal societies led by philosopher-kings. The Greeks were perfectionists, striving to improve upon borrowed ideas and achieve excellence in every endeavor.

Their culture was characterized by experimentation and a rational, scientific approach, distinguishing them from more emotionally-driven cultures. Humanism was central to their philosophy, focusing on human experience and immediate happiness rather than posthumous rewards. Despite existing as small city-states, such as Athens and Sparta, the Greeks achieved remarkable cultural heights and regarded the polis as a model of community and virtue.

Greek culture has been deemed “classical,” forming the foundation for European civilization. However, it is crucial to acknowledge the rich contributions of the Oriental cultures from which the Greeks drew heavily, highlighting a more nuanced understanding of cultural development.

Why the Greeks Could Create A Great Culture:-

In several respects, the Greeks were different from other people. They were able to shine far better in culture and civilization than the peoples from whom they learnt much.

Greek Culture Not the Earliest:

The Greeks (also known as Hellenes after their great ancestor Hellen) were not the earliest people to lay the foundations of culture and civilization. Long before them, Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Indians, Chinese and other peoples had organized government, evolved social and economic life, created religious and spiritual values, invented the alphabet, language and literature, laid the foundations of science and contributed much in art and architecture.

Even before the Greeks had laid the rudiments of their culture and civilization, Egyptians had experienced their golden age, Sumerians and Babylonians had built great cities and had achieved much, Sindhu Valley culture had risen and fallen, Indians had composed the hymns of the Rig Veda, and Chinese had evolved a full-fledged culture. Greece found no place among the cradles of the earliest cultures of the world. She came late in the day to give culture and civilization.

Learn Wisely from Other Peoples:

The Greeks as ‘‘children’’ learnt much from the ‘‘adults’’ like Egyptians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, Cretans and Indians. They had the wisdom and genus to discover the good things in the earlier cultures, learn them and benefit from them. The capacity to discover and learn quickly from others enabled the Greeks to create a great culture, which was in many respects superior to the earlier cultures. The Greeks imbibed Oriental ideas in religion, science, technology and philosophy, Oriental forms of coinage and credit financing were borrowed. The Greeks particularly showed their wisdom in developing their art of writing. They cleverly chose the Phoenician alphabet instead of the Babylonian cuneiform or the Egyptian hieroglyph.

Great Thinkers:

The Greeks were great thinkers, who loved new ideas, and wished to think freely and independently. They were filled with a sense of wonder and curiosity, and wished to know the ‘‘why’’ and ‘‘how’’ of things. Greek culture gave great importance to freedom of thought, and great thinkers like Socrates were the products of this culture. It was free thinking that made Greek culture great and superior to many other cultures. As thinkers, they examined everything.

Socrates said:

The unexamined life is unlivable for a real human being.

Great Ideals:

The Greeks were men of great ideals. They were not satisfied with the things as they found them. They had great “aims and aspirations, and pictured ideals, which they tried to reach. For example, Plato thought of great political ideals, and in his Republic he presented an ideal state, in which the philosopher-kings thought of nothing but the welfare of the people committed to their care.

Sense of Perfection:

The Greeks borrowed much from their neighbors and predecessors. But they were not satisfied with the borrowed things only. They wanted better things, and this made them improve upon the borrowed things, and reach perfection.

The Greek spirit was never satisfied with second-rate or imperfect things In organizing a democratic government, in giving a speech, in writing an epic, in painting a picture, in carving a statue, in playing Olympic Games or in any other activity, the Greeks showed their love of perfection. On everything the Greeks did one could , see the great Greek touch and the classical stamp. The Greek gems to do everything perfectly raised Greek culture to great heights of glory. The Greeks wanted to lead a full life, and develop a complete human being. “A sound mind in a sound body” was their motto.

Spirit of Experimentation :

Greek culture is distinguished by the spirit of experimentation. The desire to improve and have better things made the Greeks nourish the spirit of experimentation. For instance, in the political field, they were not satisfied with one particular form of government for all time. In the beginning, they tried monarchy; but when it degenerated, they conducted a new political experiment in aristocracy. Later, they turned to tyranny and finally to democracy. Perhaps in no other country were such political experiments tried. In many cultures, from the beginning to the end, only one form of government, monarchy, prevailed.

Rational and Scientific Approach:

The Greek approach was rational and scientific. While the Aryans in India developed an emotional, religious and metaphysical approach, those in Greece cultivated a scientific and logical approach. The great Greek thinkers like Socrates and Aristotle keenly observed and investigated.

Eye on Truth and Beauty:

Greeks aimed at truth and beauty.

Humanism:

Greeks laid emphasis on humanism. They tried to make the human being rather than matter as the center of their study. They stressed the importance of happiness here and now, and not after death.

Great Achievements in Small City States:

Egyptians, Babylonians, Indians, Chinese, Persians and other peoples built huge kingdoms and empires. But the Greeks could not go beyond the stage of the small city state. Till the rise of Alexander the Great, there was nothing like a Greek empire. It is surprising that in their small city states like Athens and Sparta they reached great heights of glory.

The polis or city state was, strictly speaking, neither a city nor-a state as we understand the term today. It was a well-knit community, a true commonwealth or republic. In the community, the Greeks shared a common life and purpose. Both Plato and Aristotle regarded the city state as a spiritually self-sufficing unit. The city state came to be regarded as the highest form of social organization. The purpose of the city state was achieving a good life, a life of virtue, reason and happiness.

Classical Culture Providing Foundation to European Culture:

The high standards of Greek culture earned the epithet “classical” The classical culture of the Greeks provided foundations on which Europeans built their culture. It will not be incorrect to say that Greek culture and civilization became the mother of European culture and civilization.

While appreciating Greek culture, we should not underrate the cultures of the Oriental peoples from whom the Greeks borrowed liberally. Unfortunately, many, if not all, Western historians have done injustice to Oriental countries in giving exaggerated importance to Greek culture and in ignoring altogether or grudgingly acknowledging the debt of the East.