The Ancient World’s Effect on the Present Day

Essay - Globalization of the Ancient World

It is a known fact that the cultures of the ancient world have had a significant effect on the modern-day world. Whether it be in theater, literature, architecture, or simply people’s mindsets, the ancient world has greatly influenced the present day. Especially if looking at the ancient Greek culture, there have been many influences to notice in modern times that have come from that culture. Although with the existence of science, the belief in the Greek and Roman Gods is not as prominent, the impact of the culture remains to this day as they are still widely known and an interesting concept for many people. Several pieces of fictional literature take influence from cultures like Greece and Rome.

For decades, authors have drawn inspiration from creatures mentioned in old stories: sirens, mermaids, cyclopes, pegasus, and more. Even the planets in the Milky Way solar system as well as many other constellations, and other objects in space are named with Greek and Roman names or are based on their stories. For example, Mercury is the planet closest to the sun, is also the Roman name for Hermes the messenger of the Gods, Mars, the fourth planet from the sun, and also the Roman name for the god of war. There are also Saturn and Uranus, both planets are named after the Titans. Along with this, the English language is heavily inspired by ancient languages and uses old languages as roots for forming their own words. One significant influence in modern language is Latin, a language that has roots in many different languages. The impact of the ancient world on present cultures is very clear to see once one looks at the history of certain things. 

Impact of Ancient Greece 

Ancient Greece brought many things to society that have roots in almost every culture noticed around the world. Notable things that have been around since ancient Greece are in things such as government, theater as well as many philosophical teachings. The impact of Ancient Greek culture can, especially, be seen in the United States government because the system of democracy was said to have started around that time. According to an article by the National Geographic in March of 2019 called “Greek Influence on U.S. Democracy”, the United States’ governing system was similar to the Greek system of government. The article compares the original 13 colonies to the Greek polis, which are essential, city-states of Greece.

Greek city-states like Athens, Sparta, Thebes, etc., were all governed with their own separate set of rules, much like how the states are governed today. In the United States, the government has a set of laws that apply to every state, however, each state has its own set of laws that vary from one state to another. For example, something that could be illegal in one state could be legal in another. Along with this, the judicial system also differs from state to state, meaning if someone is charged in one state, whether they live there or not the court is held in that state. While the states are all governed differently, they are still united when it comes to times of conflict and such. Similarly, in Ancient Greece, the city-states, although ruled differently, were able to unite for times of conflict and joined through beliefs and cultures. 

Another aspect that connects modern society to Ancient Greece is the existence of Theater. Theaters were very popular in the times of ancient Greece and Rome due to the poets and stories that came about around that time. In every Greek and Roman city, there was an amphitheater, an open-air theater surrounded by spectacular views where plays would take place. In the essay “Theater in Ancient Greece” by Colette Hemingway, the author gives a detailed description of what Greek theaters were like. They say “The Greek theater consisted essentially of the orchestra, the flat dancing floor of the chorus, and the theatre, the actual structure of the theater building.” (Hemingway). Hemingway explains the basic outline of what a theater in ancient Greece usually contains, along with the actual theater part of it. The emergence of theater led to the emergence of several playwrights like Sophocles as well as many others. 

Even in the mythology of the gods and such, theater and music played a big role as told in stories in modern-day schooling. For example, there is a myth of a human, using music to open a gate to the underworld in order to bring his dead wife back to the world of the living. Many Greek tragedy stories have been turned into plays as well; stories speaking of heroes journeying to faraway lands and going on quests for the Greek gods. The plays could range from comedic to tragedy varying from different genre’s although it remains unclear how they were helped. In modern days, many public schools will host plays, some even based on old Greek myths that have been turned into plays for people’s enjoyment. 

Ancient China’s effect on Society Today

China is the world’s largest country in present times, however, it was even bigger during ancient times because of all the places the dynasties of China had conquered. A lot of modern things used today exist because of China, things like silk, paper, acupuncture, and many other things. Chinese culture has been around for thousands of years, longer than any other modern culture so, it can be deduced that they would have a lot of significance in modern society. As societies develop, they adapt and learn from the other cultures around them to build their own ways of living, sharing ideas and tools to adapt and survive in the world around them. 

China was well known for many things, with being such an old and longstanding nation, they had many things to offer the other people in terms of knowledge, tools, inventions, medicine, and more. One thing that more people do not usually know is that China was also responsible for the creation of paper. In “Four Great Inventions of Ancient China” it explains the importance of some of China’s most significant inventions such as paper, the compass, and gunpowder. 

China was one of the first nations to invent paper in ancient times, while other nations used different things to keep records and write since they had no other way, whether it be tree leaves, sheepskin, etc. According to the article, the Chinese had invented paper by using silk and experimenting with it until they had created something similar to paper. Along with paper, they also invented the early version of printing as it is called in the modern-day. The existence of printing and paper has greatly developed over the years and have both become everyday use items in present times, especially in most careers and in the education system. 

Along with those, the culture of China was also known for their crafts, using ceramics to make color and intricate designs. There are many things one can learn when looking at Chinese culture, whether it be in ancient times or present-day China because there are significant Chinese roots in many other cultures around the world. According to the article “How Ancient China Art Impact Modern Society?” China was the birthplace of many inventions and crucial aspects that are still around in modern times. Art was also a huge aspect of China in the ancient world and they had incorporated art into their culture using ceramic as well as other things to spread the beauty of their art. Art in the modern-day is seen as a form of expression, whether you are telling stories or displaying your beliefs, something that also rang true in the ancient world as well. 

Throughout the history of society, art has been used as a way for people to express themselves in a creative medium, whether it be to display emotions, tell stories and get a different perspective of things. For example, art can be used to incite intellectual debates and change people’s beliefs in some cases, simply by using a number of colors and shapes. It is known that people associate colors with different emotions, and in some cases colors can also remind people of events in their lives. Take the inkblot tests used by psychologists, for instance, inkblots are essentially one solid colored piece of paper that has another color splashed onto it. However, anyone who looks at that paper will see something else entirely depending on how they perceive the shapes the blots make. This can lead to a deeper and more abstract thought process and make people reevaluate their views on things.

Ancient Rome and the Modern Day Society

Rome is a country that is associated with a number of things that have come from ancient times and piques the curiosity of many people around the world. Modern-day society had taken much influence from ancient Rome when it comes to things like art, civil rights, the judicial system, our architecture, and more. Ancient Roman culture was heavily influenced by the Greeks: they created Roman counterparts to the Greek Gods to worship, they kept the tradition of theater and music, and much more, however, they were more militaristic than the Greeks. In present times, a lot of architecture all over the world has Roman influence in it, whether it be due to the white pillars or something else, the inspiration for some of the buildings is easy to spot as a Roman influence. In an article posted on National Geographic called “Traces of Ancient Rome in the Modern World” the author talks in detail about the influence the Roman culture had on shaping the arts, technology, and more in modern society.

In the article, the author explains that although the Romans take great influence from Greece, they have also made an example out of trying to improve on things they had learned from the Greeks. They have used their own culture to further improve their skills in art and architecture and build several incredible pieces of architecture such as the colosseum. Speaking of the colosseum, according to the article, the Romans had built it, along with several amphitheaters in order to view theater productions as well as for sports entertainment. The structures the Romans had built, could be seen were built to be durable as all buildings remained moderately sturdy and put together despite hundreds of years of elemental influence. 

According to the article as well, the Ancient Romans were not only talented in architecture and art but also advanced the world’s knowledge in things like science, agriculture, and technology. The Romans had created the aqueducts, used water as an energy source, and even created more developed roads for their time period. The roads they had developed, in specific, were very intricate as instead of just a number of roads, the Romans had created an entire system of them leading in all different places and also leading back to Rome as well. Along with the improvements to science and tools, the Romans were also very skilled in farming and agriculture due to their extensive knowledge about the sciences as well and plant life and living things. 

The Romans also had a great impact on literature and the use of language in the modern world as well. The language spoken in Rome at the time was Latin, a language that has roots in several languages all over the world. Latin is the inspiration for English as the English language has so many words derived from the old Latin words; however, Latin roots can be found in many languages spoken on almost every continent. The Roman culture also had a great influence on literature as Rome was the home of many poets at the time. Rome was known for a rise in poetry due to the poems that had been produced in Rome in ancient times. 

Finally, the article “Traces of Ancient Rome in the Modern World.” also mentions the influence the Roman law system had on modern-day judicial systems. Romans had run their cities in a strict fashion, which led to a strict judicial system as well. The punishments in a Roman court were extremely harsh for this reason, explaining why most of them are not used in modern-day judicial systems as punishments. However, the similarities and the order in a court proceeding can be seen as easily influenced by the Romans because of the way the courts are run. 

Conclusion

To sum everything up, modern society has incorporated many aspects of the ancient world into their everyday lifestyles. Those aspects include things like entertainment, technology, tools, architecture, and even some simple inventions that not many people think deeply about on a daily basis. Many people do not usually put much thought into the invention of paper or the rise of theater, however, the history of such things is interesting once researched thoroughly. Paper was invented in a different way all around the world by people using their own resources to create something that resembles paper in order to write and keep a record of things. The incorporation of the ancient world into modern society also shows how much things have changed throughout the years because, with the change in technological and scientific knowledge, people are able to take those older aspects and improve on them to further improve the human race’s quality of life.