Culture and Cultural Changes of Western Civilization

Mesopotamia

3000 BCE

Mesopotamia is credited for being one of the first actual civilizations. They brought new practices, ideas, and technologies for their time, which laid the foundation for civilizations from their time to the present. They made new advancements in math, science, writing, and agriculture. They were able to control the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to take their irrigation to the next level.

Ancient Egypt

2680 BCE

The Egyptians were a very prosperous civilization that were custom to having very extravagant gems and metals. Their location on the Nile River is what likely propelled them to being so prosperous. We can still see some of what they were able to achieve to this day. The Pyramids of Egypt are very well known and their pieces of art such hieroglyphics and pottery have made it so historians can know what life was like back in those times.

Hebrews

1600 BCE

The Hebrews were prominent during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Well known for making big religious impacts during their time, by their means of conquering and by their inventions. They were responsible for the bringing up of monotheism, which is the belief in one God. This was a huge change to human culture because it made way for more religious beliefs in the future.

The Greeks

776 BCE

The Greek are very famous for their sophisticated sculptures and architecture. This was their way of expressing the importance of reaching one's full potential and it had a big emphasis on the accomplishment of being a human being. Hold themselves to such a high standard is brought about their contributions to philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine, all of which are still practiced to this day.

The Spartans

600 BCE

Being a big part of Greek history, and being in constant battle with Athens for the strongest polis in Greece, the Spartans are very well known for their militaristic ideas. They believed in having a super elite, but smaller military which allowed them to train their military to be the absolute best despite having significantly less numbers in battle. Some of the tactics they used are still used in our militaries today.

Athens

600 BCE

The Athens focused highly on their culture instead of war, unlike the Romans. They were very rich and populous, making them a significant force in their time. Much of this force being prominent in the Mediterranean trade. They are known for the up bringing of democracy, which is still used as a governing style today.

Christianity

30 BCE

Christianity believes that you can achieve salvation through the belief in Jesus as the son of God. This God is the same God the Jews believed in as well, which brought about questioning whether or not you had to be a Jew to worship this religion. Christianity eventually took off and it gained a massive following of both Jewish people and those who aren't Jewish throughout the Roman Empire, thus making it the official religion of the Roman Empire. Christianity is still seen to this day.

The Vikings

700

The culture of the Vikings was very much about war and fighting. They were known for their barbaric ways of invading, raiding, and then taking over of civilizations in Europe. Then they would settle down in these places and become farmers and fishers. They were also known for their long boats that they used for travel.

The Renaissance

1300

The culture during the Renaissance was much like the culture during the Classical Age of Greece, which brought about sophisticated art/sculptures and architecture. During this time there was great advancements in the sciences and technologies of their time. It was also a time of more accessible learning opportunities to those who didn't come from the wealthy and powerful families.

The Reformation

1500

The Reformation transformed the structure and organization of Christianity. It brought about the idea that you could have tour own way of thinking and didn't have to only think for the Church. This lead to people splitting away from the Church and created new sections of Christianity like Lutheranism. Both Christianity and Lutheranism are still seen to this day.

Thesis Statement

2023

The culture of these civilizations is expressed in many different ways but they all had relatively the same goal, to become prosperous and powerful. They all lead to the creation and advancements of stuff we still use in our everyday lives like, science, mathematics, medicine, and philosophy. These are the civilization that laid the foundation for what life is like for today, we learned and use what worked well for them and we stay away from the stuff that didn't work well for them.