Mcmillan, Nora Project 2

Embed Doc
Copy Link
Readcast
Collections

CommentGo Back

Download

An Overview of Greek Contributions to American language and culture

I. Contributions of Greece to the language and culture of the newly created AmericanrepublicDuring the Renaissance (14

th

to 17

th

centuries), Europe was influenced by greatGreek thinkers of ancient times: philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, and the Pre-Socraticphilosophers such as Heraclitus, Democritus as well as the Stoics), poets such asHomer and Sappho, tragedians like Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, historianssuch as Herodotus, Xenophon and others, doctors such as Hippocrates, orators likeDemosthenes and writers such as Plutarch, Archimedes, Euclides, and Strabo. Theseare just some of the great Greek thinkers of ancient times.Their words established themselves in European languages and thought. Becauseof the introduction and spread of Christianity, many words and concepts eventuallybecame part of American culture. To be more precise, the New Testament, the texts of the great fathers of the Church, and Byzantine hymnology, introduced Greek thought intoAmerican culture.We find that the word

Europe

is derived from the Greek name of a

mythologicalfigure. The most likely etymology of the word is the Greek word for “the one who has ‘bigeyes’.” In fact, the word

politics

is a Greek word. The concept of politics originated inthe science (knowledge) of becoming a good citizen in the Athenian Republic (city-statein ancient Greece)—knowing how to carry out a citizen’s obligations and responsibilities.

Demokratia

(democracy) came from the Greek words meaning “people” and “power.”Democracy came to express the people’s authority, (the many) rather than the power of the elite or the few. Athenian democracy became the model for the government of a city-state that secured and guaranteed the democratic rights of all citizens.The etymologic basis of the word for

democracy

was the Greek word for dialoguefrom the verb meaning “to discuss matters with others seeking the truth”

(http://www.greekemb.jp/culture/babiniotis_en.htm). From the same verb we get

dialectic

(the method of seeking truth through question and answer, through dialogue).

Rhetoric

evolved out of the Greek word meaning orator, conversing objectively andconvincingly, practicing the art of rhetoric.Even the word

idea

comes from the Greek word meaning "what I see or conceivewith my mind"

(http://www.greekemb.jp/culture/babiniotis_en.htm).European languages used the Greek

ιδέα

to form

idea

in English,

idée

in French,

idea

in Italian and Spanish, and

idee

in German, for example. The original meaning of theGreek word is “vision as a source of knowledge.” From the same Greek root we get twoimportant words:

story

and

history

, from the initial phrase "the one who sees with hiseyes and knows well” (http://www.greekemb.jp/culture/babiniotis_en.htm). Note, also,the English words

history

and

story

, the French

histoire

, the Italian

istoria

and theSpanish

historia

.One can explore the areas of education, philosophy, art, theater, poetry andliterature in the same semantic sense. In fact, the word

music

comes from the Muses,the goddesses of the arts (music, painting, dance, poetry, prose, philosophy). Other words from that same etymological stem include

melody

,

harmony

, and

museum

("aspace dedicated to the Muses, and, by extension, the arts they protected"http://www.greekemb.jp/culture/babiniotis_en.htm).Other words and/or areas include

philosophy

,

philology

,

philanthropy

from theGreek phil "he who loves;"

analogy

,

analogous

,

analogue

,

analogic

from the Greek

αναλογία

("the equivalence of the characteristics of two objects"http://www.greekemb.jp/culture/babiniotis_en.htm).According to Professor George Babiniotis, president of the Hellenic Foundation, it isnot so much a borrowing or words as it is creation of new words with Greek stems: fromharmony,

philharmonic

evolved; from

phil

and

ατέλεια

(without charge) evolved

philately

and

philatelic

. From the Greek

συμφωνία

(harmony, harmonious,coexistence),

symphony

and

symphonic

evolved. Other words with Greek originsinclude:

neo

(prefix),

platonic

(from Plato),

sophism

,

apologia

,

orphism

,

salon

,

lyceum

,

academy

,

gymnasium

,

stoicism

,

cynicism

,

Pythagorian

,

odyssey

,

narcissism

, and

epicureanism

to name a few.And, of course, how can we forget

gymnastics

,

athletes

and

athletics

(the latter two words from the Greek meaning “to train” and “prize” from the original meaning"compete with others for victory, distinction, the prize." According to Professor Babiniotis,“the highest distinction for an athlete was victory at the

Ολυμπιακούς Αγώνες

(the

Olympic

Games) a highly prestigious pan-Hellenic competition held in ancient Olympia”(http://www.greekemb.jp/culture/babiniotis_en.htm).

1

Interestingly, the words

anarchy

,

despotism

,

demagogue

,

tyranny

and

authoritarianism

also sprang from Greek etymology.Another interesting area of Greek contribution is found in studying the origins of phrases and words. Here are just a few. You can obtain a much longer list at:http://www.areopagus.net/grkterms.htm#achilles.

Achilles’ Heel

, meaning a person’s weak spot, is based on the Greekmyth of the hero of the Trojan War, Achilles. His mother was a seagoddess and since Achilles was destined to die young, she dipped himinto the river Styx in order to make him invincible. However, sheheld him by the heel, thus leaving a vulnerable area. He would later die, as prophesized, by an arrow to his heel.

Adonis

, a handsome young male, is based on the Greek myth of an

1

A more complete overview of Professor Babiniotis’ work is found in

The Greek Language: Its Contributionto the Basic Concepts of European Civilisation

.

of 00

Leave a Comment