Greek Contributions Dbq

Many historians believe that the start of many Western societies began with the Greeks. They Greeks have made many contributions to make their lives easier and these advances have also helped shape Western civilizations. The Greeks have spent their lives making contributions in many areas such as math, philosophy, and government.

Many of the concepts in math that students learn in school is based on contributions made by Greek mathematicians.Euclid, a very famous mathematician, composed a book of his findings called Elements. This book was written in about 300 B.C.E. and his ideas were a starting point in the field of geometry, which is studied around the world today. One of the many theorems in this book was "If two straight lines cut one another, the vertical, or opposite, angles shall be equal" (Document 5). Another famous mathematician named Pythagoras has also donated many ideas into the mathematics of geometry. One of his most famous theorems includes the Pythagorean Theorem. It states that "for a right …show more content…
As for social standing, advancement is open to everyone, according to ability. While every citizen has equal opportunity to serve the public, we reward our most distinguished citizens by asking them to make our political decisions. Nor do we discriminate against the poor. A man may serve his country no matter how low his position on the social scale" (Document 3). Pericles was describing a democracy where everyone had the same chance to help serve their country but everyone is expected to participate in civic affairs in this type of government regardless of their position on the social scale. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote, "In a democracy, there is, first, that most splendid of virtues, equality before the law" (http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-greece-democracy). This quote shows that in a democracy, there is equal opportunity for all. Therefore, the ancient Greeks have made many improvements to modern day