The Golden Age of Greek Civilization

During the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., the civilization of ancient Greece underwent a cultural shift which has often been referred as the "Greek Miracle." The Golden Age which resulted from this shift is historically important because many of the Greek innovations from that time have had a powerful influence on the subsequent development of Western civilization. One of the most notable features of the Greek (or Hellene) culture is that it was strongly concerned with the concept of humanism. The Greeks recognized that the powers of intelligence and reason made human beings unique among the creatures of the world. This pride in human affairs was reflected in such things as the treatment of deities as human-like beings and the glorification of the human body in sculpture. Related to their concern for humanism, the Greeks were also responsible for the development of the concept of the individual self. This acknowledgement of the self led in turn to the creation of democratic ideals. The height of Greek civilization was characterized by the existence of prosperous city-states, among which Athens was preeminent. It was also characterized by important achievements in science, mathematics, the arts and architecture. Among the most notable of the Greek achievements were those which occurred in the field of literature. The great literary works of this period include the historical writings of Herodotus and Thucydides, the dramas of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Ar

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d 56 signs (Grant, 1988, p. 297). With only twenty-four letters, the Greek alphabet "could be learned, and was, by almost everyone" (Green, 1990, p. 90). The transition to literacy did not take place overnight. In fact, it took nearly four centuries for the shift from orality to popular literacy to take place: from the first appearance of alphabetic inscriptions in the eighth century B.C., to the peak of Greek civilization around the beginning of the fourth century (Havelock, 1982, p. 59). By the time of the Greek Golden Age, however, the idea of literacy had become extremely important to the free citizenry of Greece. In this regard, the ability to speak and read Greek was considered a matter of national pride. Conversely, those who were not able to make use of the Greek language were designated by its speakers as being "barbarians" (Burkhardt, 1963, p. 114). It is clear that literacy provided many benefits to the Greeks of the Golden Age. In the realm of social evolution, these benefits included the development of increased political freedom. In the words of Peter Green, the Greek alphabet "was one of the great democratizing forces of ancient culture" (Green, 1990, p. 90). In the age of orality, despotic kings were o

Category: History - T