THE HISTORY OF WEST CIVILIZATION

A culture or civilization has its own history to rise and flourish. However, a
civilization can not possibly be born and developed without coming into contact with other
cultures and borrowing one another. The process of borrowing between cultures can only
happen if each culture has its own mechanism.

In general modern Western scholars divide the history of the West (Europe) into
Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Times. The ancient is divided into Greek and Roman. The
Middle Ages were grouped into the Early Christian Age, the transition from Ancient to
Middle and Enlightenment. This meant that the roots of the Modern Age were Greek, Roman,
and Medieval. Western historians, however, differ on the origin of their culture. The
difference is tapered when they hold on to science as the cultural root. That is, a culture or
civilization will be born and developed along with the development of scientific concepts in
it. A civilization will not rise and flourish without a view of life and scientific activity in the
community.

ANCIENT ERA

Greece culture is a culture in the trust as a milestone of Western civilization. This

period in India ranging from Macedonia under the power of the Megas Alexandros. At the
time of Megas Alexandros, Greece spread across civilizations of the Mediterranean.
Economic development period of Alexandros in the do with the interisland trade brought
prosperity in society and social change that encourages new political system grew.

After the mysterious death of Alexandros, then be broken up into small States, ruled
by former generals. An example is Ptolomaios, in Egypt; Antigonid in Macedonia, and
Greece; and Seleukidon in Persia.

In addition there was the nation of Greece in the Ionian civilization of Anatoli, active
in trade. On the other hand, there's also Lydia civilization located in the Interior of Anatolia,
with Sardis as the capital, and is thriving in the 7th century BC King of Lydia, Kroesos,
recorded in history, first as a memrintahkan region its power to adopt a coin, the gold and
silver berbahankan. Lydia civilization, then stormed into the Ionia. In the mid-6th century
BC, the King of the Kroesos Ephesios control, and various other Greece cities in Asia Minor.
 However, in year 546 BC, he was defeated by Kurosh from Persia. Within one to two
years, the Persian Empire managed to conquer Ionia. Later, the civilization of Greece would
confront the Persians.

MEDIEVAL ERA

The fifth century is the century of the beginning of the invasion of the barbarian and
the fall of the House of the Western Empire. After Augustine's death in 430, there is the view
that appears among the academics that the century into a time of occurrence of a destructive
action, which is however largely determine the line of historical significance in the
development of Europe.

Throughout Western Europe, the Germanic kingdoms succeeded the Western Roman
Empire bureaucracy centered. Imperial post stop, major roads are damaged, a battle among
the barbarians have stopped the large scale trafficking which has been built by the Roman
Empire, and life back into a local both politically as well as economically. The central
authorities are only left in the Church, and with much difficulty.

This civilization known as the dark ages which may have destroyed the Orthodox
Christianity in Europe. Attack the House of a barbarian in the 5th century and the 6th brought
down the Roman Empire there. Europe became a primitive area. Imperial culture vanished
along with most of the wisdom of ancient times. People can't even farmed adequately and
their fragile settlements being washed away exhausted by the cycle of famine, flood, and a
disease that never runs out. As if the true faith was really destroyed by "worldly life" because
the new barbarian population in Europe is the people of bid'ah.

However, Europe has a strong Christian neighbors. Though the Empire has been
destroyed in the West, the Eastern capital of the Empire of Constantinople remains intact and
by Europeans when it was known as Byzantium. The Emperor of Constantinople, which
became the head of the Church and the State, is a descendant of the Holy Roman Emperor.
He still rule in a country that is strong and centralized as well as proficient in fighting with
diplomatic operations and the military to keep the army of Islam is not moving closer. As the
sole remaining Emperor, he became the ruler of Italy, who have not accessed at all by the
barbarians. The emperor has a seat at Ravenna. Therefore, the Imperial Byzantine Greece
enjoyed an unbroken and sustainability being the only places of ancient Christians of the
Roman Empire can survive in the world.
 After the destruction of the Western Roman Empire, the Latin people are feeling
anxious toward Latinized their traditions and identity. Latin people don't want swept away by
the influence of people of Greece while most Popes in the early middle ages came from
Greece or Eastern Christians. The Christians who used barbarian clans among the
AngloSaxon and Frank in particular is the defender of the Latin Rite and they are very
restless. According to them, the West must not become a mere outpost of the Byzantine
Orthodox Church of Greece. They feel offended by the way the people of Greece who clearly
despises them and they also hate the fact that Roman, the only glory left in Europe, should be
dominated by the Byzantines, and that there were more many who speak the language of
Greece than latin, and that the Pope is a man of Greece.

When the year 729 emperor sent an instruction to Pope Gregory II on doctrinal issues,
the Pope raging and encourages the Western Churches to fight the brothers their Highness
Greece. Pope says it will send a new missionary to the Western parts of the most distant and
vowed that he would baptise the new Christians.

There is also, Romanesque churches (Roman Church) began to well organized in the
time of Pope Gregory I (590-604) known as the "Great". It was he who built the early
Medieval period the Papal bureaucracy and strengthen the authority of the Papacy (papacy's
power). Gregory uses the Roman administration for organizing the wealth of the Church in
Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Slang, and other regions.

Twenty years later, a Pope crossed the mountain ranges of the Alps, i.e. when Stephen
II allied with Pepin, King of the new House of Frank and his son Charlemagneyang (in the
other books mentioned by the name of Charles Martel). He helped Stephen II crossed the
Alps. As a result, Pepin positioning the Emperor Greece as the protector of secular Pope.
Although Pepin has yet to become emperor of Byzantine, people looked at Pope Stephen II as
the traitor and Pepin as a cocky, which barbarians. But in the West, people were very happy
at its prominent Western powers who recently and looked at Pepin with admiration, which is
building an empire of-Frank strong (to be referred to as the Holy Roman Empire in the
following centuries), which forcing more pagan House to enter into Christian in a huge effort
to make Europe as a power firm and United.

Holy Wars for expansion is continued by his son, Charlemagne, who in the end
forward power Pepin in 771 and amazing expanding territory. In 800, Pope Leo III crowned
Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor in the West on Christmas day. That's when the Holy
Roman Empire which was formerly the Western Roman Empire stood as the Empire of the
sovereign and separate politically at the same time religious from the Eastern Roman Empire.

The coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor is a challenge for the Byzantiun, as in the

know that Charlemagne could not read and write. But he could sit on the throne of the Empire
and juxtapose himself with the Emperor of Greece are literate. According to the House of
Byzantium is a painful thing, because the emperor was appointed as the barbarians had
destroyed the House of the Empire in the West. But, according to the European people will
determine the way for each of them and show independence from the people of Greece who
is arrogant.

Charlemagne ordered all the people taklukannya to be a Christian. He ordered that

every Saxon people refused to be baptized, was killed. He implemented the Rome and Latin
in the liturgy. In addition to the tiu Charlemagne is very concerned about education, and
issued a regulation year 787 ordered all convents and the House of bishops should be a place
of education and learning. This policy is called the Carolingian Renaissance.

The Empire of Charlemagne and the whole accomplishment is dispersed after his
death on 28 January 814. during the 9th and 10th, Europe experienced the invasion-a new
invasion was delaying his progress. Those Vikings invaded from the North, the Magyars
from the East.

In 882, Pope John VIII was killed and became the first Pope who died was killed. He
died at the hands of attendants who are not satisfied with him. He was poisoned and then
beaten to death. This is then followed by other bad things. As in the autumn of the year 896,
Pope Stephen VIII brought the corpse of his predecessor, Pope Formosus, taken from the
tomb and were presented with the Papal robes. This bad situation continued until in the year
962, Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor and started resurrecting the Holy Roman Empire. He was a
Duke of Saxony, that is one of the five regions of the vast territory of Charlemagne.

And at a time when the King ruled the title Otto apply formally the sovereignty that
he acquired after he defeated Berengar the attack Swabia and married Adelheid, the Queen of
the Kingdom. The relationship of both kingdoms became closely who later endorsed by Pope
John XII as the Emperor and Empress, the first great political as well as a sacred status.

The church started a psychiatric reform of Europe at the end of the 10th century in the
monastery of the order of Benedektin Cluny in Burgundy and many branches. They
converted the people of Europe and educating way the true Christian. One is doing on
development projects. Hundreds of churches were built throughout the territory of the Holy
Roman Empire, even in villages or small residential.

During the 11th century, there is no longer an invasion but there is still a feudal war.
The Knights are no longer the defender of the Holy Roman Empire, but, in the absence of a
common enemy from the outside, they fight each other. During the battle, the poor are
trapped between the two armies of the knights who are warring, they can membarikade
themselves in the Church and took refuge there. The Church said it is very clear to them that
war is not just a spiritual battle in representing the public, but the Church also protect them
much more effectively than the Knights, who have no attention to the people's welfare. The
common people have to ask for help and guidance to the Church, not to the barons and their
soldiers.

At that time, the enemy is not Islam, but Western people of Byzantium. Along with
the Europeans who saw the new independence, they set up aggressively against the Eastern
Byzantine Churches and looked at the natural enemy of the West were trying to identity
construction. In 1136, a Bishop from the East, wrote a letter to a bishop in the West, which
succinctly sums up the root problems that resulted in the distance between the Western
Church and the Eastern Church increasingly wide. Eastern Orthodox consider the Papacy
as/"honor diunggul-unggulkan" and "love", but they have never acknowledged that the
papacy had the power to regulate them legally.

Until the end of the reign of Charlemagne throughout the European Community in the
middle ages has been a Christian. Each day the Church offers its annual and daily
stimulation. In the middle ages, when the paper is very rare, the pictures of the great story of
dala Scriptures delivered with glass media and that colorants.

The majority of people in Europe in the middle ages found himself as the great
society. The economic and political system at that time very firm refers to the hierarchical
and based on the model of a pyramid that is believed to be the destiny of God. The majority
of the population is continue living in conditions of near-poor, who live only from harvest to
harvest obtained from a plot of land belonging to others who are more affluent. They are the
underlying land or farmers. On top of this group, is the Lord (lord), which owns the land.
There are usually also some people among both these groups, who oversees life workers and
control their activities. The owner of the land itself is usually overseen by a Prince or King,
which will protect areas of land with a small army in Exchange for services and respect for
the nobles.

MODERN ERA

Culture of Greece bring influence to modern Western civilization. Here's the real
influence:

a. The Olympics and International Sport Events

Held once every four years a ceasefire and abandon political intrigues to witness
antlet athletes best. Although the Olympic Games ended in the 5th century the
Olympic Foundation is in use at the Olympic Games the first year 1896.

b. Mythology

Modern terms such as ' pandora's box '; ' the harp '; and ' herkules ', are examples of
modern civilization reference on the mythology of ancient Greece. Modern life is
characterized by succeeded stories ' superhero ' ever identified, is the influence of
mythological stories of ancient Greece.

c. Dramatic Storytelling Structure

d. Fashion

As it is written in the Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, designer

fashion from Paris, the revolutionaries like Paul Poiret and Madeleine Vionnet,
became a pioneer of the contemporary fashion style neoclassical. In fact, some of the
clothing they design, named with the names of Greece. Contemporary fashion
designers and then, continuing inspriration fashion designs from ancient Greece to
today. In popular culture, this chic design-design of fashion, known as goddess gown.

e. Democracy

The principles of democracy in ancient Greece, with some modification, now seems
to be only a political principle of menghegemoni around the world, post liberalism,
and Marxism classics.
References

https://www.academia.edu/22377634/Sejarah_Yunani_Klasik_Sebagai_Akar_Kebuda
yaan_Barat

http://repository.usu.ac.id/bitstream/handle/123456789/55628/Chapter
%20II.pdf;jsessionid=EA832462BC8A6AB311A76A0F3490670E?sequence=3

Fahmi Zakarsyi’, Hamid. 2013. Akar Kebudayaan Barat