The Ancient Greek Civilization

Civilization Name: Greek civilization

Period: 2700 BC–479 BC
Original Location: Italy, Sicily, North Africa, and as far west as France
Current Location: Greece
Major Highlights: Concepts of democracy and the Senate, the Olympics

The ancient Greeks may not have been the oldest civilization, but they are doubtlessly one of
the most influential. Even though the rise of ancient Greece came from the Cycladic and
Minoan civilizations (2700 BC–1500 BC), there is evidence of burials in the Franchthi Cave in
Argolid, Greece, dating back to around 7250 BC. The history of this civilization is spread over
such a long period of time that historians have divided it into different periods, the most popular
of them being the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods. These periods saw a number of
ancient Greeks come into the limelight, many of whom changed the world forever and are still
being talked about to this day.
Among other things, the Greeks invented the ancient Olympics, and formed the concept of
democracy and the Senate. They laid the foundations for modern geometry, biology, and
physics. Pythagoras, Archimedes, Socrates, Euclid, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great… the
history books are full of these names whose inventions, theories, beliefs, and heroics have had a
significant impact on subsequent civilizations.
See also:

 Top 10 Most Important People in Ancient Greece

 Top 10 Famous Garments in Ancient Greece
 Top 10 Inventions and Discoveries of Ancient Greece
 Top 10 Ancient Greek Goddesses
 Top 10 Ancient Greek Gods

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Top 10 Inventions and Discoveries of Ancient Greece That Are Remarkably Used Today

Ancient Greece can be credited with many inventions and discoveries, although many of these
have been developed and adapted by subsequent generations. The ancient Greeks’ findings in
the areas of astronomy, geography, and mathematics made them pioneers in the field of science.
The Greeks’ interest in the scientific specification of the physical world can be seen as far back
as the sixth century BC, and they have often been hailed as the fathers of science, medicine,
zoology, and many other areas. Remarkable leaders like Alexander the Great and Pericles, and
their innovative and philosophical ideas have motivated thousands of other intellectuals
throughout history. Here is a list of the top 10 inventions and discoveries of ancient Greece that
are still used today:

10. The Water Mill

Water mills were a revolutionary invention and have been used all over the world for the
purpose of metal shaping, agriculture and, most importantly, milling. To mill means to grind,
and that invariably means to grind grain. This in turn led to the production of edible food staples
like rice, cereals, pulses, flour, and so on. Ever since its invention, the water mill has seen a
number of adaptations, which have enabled people to use it to mill different raw materials.
These mills are still used in many parts of the world and serve a similar function.

This useful invention takes its origins from the earliest known Perachora wheel, created way
back in the third century BC in Greece, most likely invented by the contemporary Greek
engineer Philo of Byzantium. Earlier, the portions of the mechanical treatise on this particular
water mill written by Philo himself were regarded to have Arab origination. However, recent
research by British historian M.J.T. Lewis has proved that the water mill was an ancient Greek
invention.

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9. The Odometer

One of the most widely used instruments in the present day, the odometer, measures the
distance traveled by a vehicle such as a bicycle or automobile. Even though modern odometers
are digital, not so long ago they were more mechanical, slowly evolving into electro-mechanical
with the rise of technology. This omnipresent instrument was also being used in ancient Greece.
Vitruvius first described the odometer as being used for measuring distance around 27 BC, but
evidence points towards Archimedes of Syracuse as its inventor sometime around the First
Punic War. Some historians also attribute its invention to Heron of Alexandria. Regardless of
who invented it, the odometer was widely used in the late Hellenistic period and by the Romans
for indicating the distance traveled by a vehicle. It helped revolutionize the building of roads by
accurately measuring distance. The Romans were then able to carefully mark distances with
milestones.

8. The Alarm Clock

One of the most commonly used gadgets these days is the alarm clock, and it too had its origins
in ancient Greece. Over time, the alarm clock has undergone a number of changes and
improvements from the mechanical alarm to modern gadgets like cell phones, which come with
an inbuilt alarm.
But the first alarms used by the ancient Greeks were nothing like today. The Hellenistic
engineer and inventor Ctesibius (285–222 BC) fitted his clepsydras or water clock with a dial
and pointer to indicate the time, and added an elaborate alarm system which involved pebbles
dropping on to a gong, or the blowing of a trumpet by forcing bell jars down into water and
taking the compressed air through a beating reed at pre-set times. The ancient Greek
philosopher Plato (428–348 BC) was said to possess a large water clock with an unspecified

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alarm signal similar to the sound of a water organ. He used it at night, possibly for signaling the
beginning of his lectures at dawn.

7. Cartography

Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. It has played an important role in travel
and navigation since ancient times. Even though the earliest known evidence of cartography
points towards ancient Babylon as early as the ninth century BC, the Greeks took what they had
at their disposal and brought cartography into a new light. Anaximander was one of the first
pioneer cartographers to create a map of the world. Born between 611 and 610 BC, he made
important contributions to the science of astronomy and geography.
Anaximander is mentioned in Aristotle’s work, who categorized him as a pupil of the physical
school of thought, propounded by Thales. Anaximander included all inhabited areas of the
world in his map. The map appeared in tablet form and featured Ionia in the center. It was
bounded on the east by the Caspian Sea and stretched to the Pillars of Hercules in the west.
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Middle Europe borders the map in the north while Ethiopia and the Nile feature at the southern
end.
Anaximander made immense contributions in the fields of cartography and geography and his
map of the world was indeed a marvelous achievement of that time.

6. Olympics

The modern Olympics are one of the greatest sporting spectacles of the modern age. But when
Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the international Olympic committee, started the first
modern Olympics in 1896, he was inspired by the ancient Olympics that were held in Greece
more than 2,700 years ago. According to historical records, the first ancient Olympic Games
can be traced back to 776 BC. They were dedicated to the Olympian gods and were staged on
the plains of Olympia.
The Isthmian Games was staged every two years at the Isthmus of Corinth. The Pythian Games
took place every four years near Delphi. The most famous games held at Olympia in the
southwest of Greece took place every four years. People from all over the Greek world came to
witness the spectacle. The victors were given olive leaf wreaths or crowns as prizes.

5. Basis of Geometry
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Geometry is doubtless one of the oldest branches of mathematics, possibly older than arithmetic
itself. And its practical necessity demanded the use of various geometric techniques way before
any of these were recorded in history. The Egyptians, Babylonians, and the Indus were among
the first to incorporate and use many such techniques but they never worked out the rules and
axioms governing geometry. The Babylonians assumed value of Pi to be 3 and never challenged
its accuracy.
Then came the age of Greek geometry and everything changed. The Greeks insisted that
geometric facts must be established by deductive reasoning, much as it is done today. Thales of
Miletus, regarded as the father of geometry, proposed a number of axioms and rules that were
truly based on reasoning (called mathematical truths) in the sixth century BC. Then came the
likes of Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes whose geometrical axioms and rules are still
taught in schools today. There were many more Greek mathematicians and geometers who
contributed to the history of geometry, but these names are the true giants, the ones who
developed geometry as we know it today.

4. Earliest Practice of Medicine

The ancient world did not fare too well when it came to the curing of disease. Back then,
diseases were supposed to be the gods’ way of punishing humans and all possible remedies
were surrounded by superstition. That all changed when Hippocrates of Cos started to collect
data and conduct experiments to show that disease was a natural process; that the signs and
symptoms of a disease were caused by the natural reactions of the body to the disease process.
Born in 460 BC, Hippocrates was an ancient Greek physician of the Classical age and was
considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He was referred to as
the father of Western medicine in recognition of his lasting contributions to the field and was
the founder of the Hippocratic School of Medicine.

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The most famous of his contributions is the Hippocratic Oath, which bears his name. It was this
document that first proposed an ethical standard among doctors. It covers many important
concepts which are still used today such as doctor–patient confidentiality.

3. Modern Philosophy

Before the age of ancient Greece, the world did not see philosophy as we see it today. It was
more shrouded in superstition and magic than it ever would be. For instance, the Egyptians
believed that if the Nile rose and flooded, making the soil dark and fertile, their pharaoh had
commanded it. But the Greeks approached philosophy from a different direction. They
developed philosophy as a way of understanding the world around them, without resorting to
religion, myth, or magic. In fact the early Greek philosophers were also scientists who observed
and studied the known world, the earth, seas, mountains, solar system, planetary motion, and
astral phenomena.

Their philosophy, based on reasoning and observation of the known world, played a pivotal role
in the shaping of the Western philosophical tradition. Philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle were such influential philosophers that their studies were used to teach subsequent
ages of Romans and other Western cultures.

2. Concept of Democracy

The idea of every citizen having equal opportunity and a say in government constitutes the
concept of democracy. It is one of the most widely used styles of governance in the modern
world. And even more fascinating is the fact that democracy also had its origins in ancient
Greece. In fact, the concept and the implementation of democracy can be traced back from the
present day to ancient Athens.

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Although there is evidence that democratic forms of government, in a broad sense, may have
existed in several areas of the world well before the turn of the fifth century, it is generally
believed that the concepts of democracy and the constitution were created in one particular
place and time – in ancient Athens around 508 BC. For this reason, Athens is regarded as the
birthplace of democracy. This transition from exploitation by the aristocracy to a political
system where all members of society have an equal share of formal political power had a
significant impact on future civilizations

1.Discoveries in Modern Science

It would only be fair to say that, given the evidence, the ancient Greeks made some outstanding
contributions in various branches of science. They made some astounding discoveries in the
fields of astronomy, biology, and physics that broke with contemporary stereotypes. Many
ancient Greek intellectuals excelled in mathematics, physics, and astronomy.
Aristotle introduced the idea of the earth as a globe. He also classified animals and is often
referred to as the father of zoology. Theophrastus was the first botanist that we know of in
written history. The Pythagoreans not only made the earliest advances in philosophy and
geometry, but they also proposed the heliocentric hypothesis of the earth revolving around the
sun and not the other way around as was believed at that time. This idea was so ahead of its
time that it was regarded as blasphemy. Archimedes discovered that submerging a solid object
in water would displace the same amount of liquid as the object’s weight. The Greeks had so
much influence in the early concepts of science that most symbols used in physics and math
equations are derived from the Greek alphabet.

See also:

 Top 10 Ancient Roman Inventions

 Top 11 Inventions and Discoveries of Mesopotamia
 Top 18 Ancient Chinese Inventions and Discoveries
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  Top 10 Inventions of Mayan Civilization
 Top 10 Inventions and Discoveries of Ancient Egypt

Conclusion
Without a doubt, Greek society inspired the achievements that shaped the foundation of ancient
Western civilization. They were daring enough to go in directions no other civilization had
ventured into before. They went on to accomplish great feats in the arts, philosophy, science,
architecture, and many more. Although some of their ideas may have been discarded over time,
many of the ancient Greeks’ discoveries and inventions are still used today. The major
discovery that the sun is in the center of the solar system was once ignored, but later
rediscovered and agreed upon. From cannons to plumbing, urban planning, wheelbarrows,
showers, lighthouses, canals and many more, ancient Greek inventions and discoveries are
numerous and widespread. A single list cannot do them justice.

Related posts:

1. Top 10 Most Important People in Ancient Greece

2. Top 10 Ancient Greek Philosophers
3. The 10 Oldest Ancient Civilizations That Have Ever Existed
4. Top 18 Ancient Chinese Inventions and Discoveries