Western culture
Western Culture is composed of a triad of influences: ancient Greek Culture, ancient Roman culture and Christianity. It is known by the phrase “Greco-Roman, Judeo-Christian culture”.
First. The basis and foundation of Western Culture is the Greeks. They were very different from what came before and what existed around them. The ancient Greeks were marked by their masculinity, their art, their reasoning and their self-government. It begins with Homer who set the ideas of The Good and the Beautiful. Socrates caps this with the idea of truth. Truth is what every man should strive for and achieve; to live and die for the Truth. This formed the basis of the classical triad of truth, beauty and goodness. The Greek Paideia became the basis and foundation of Western Culture.
Plato (and Socrates) influenced much of Christian theological thought and formed much of medieval philosophy. His concept of the soul and the importance of cultivating it, is central to understanding Western culture.
Isocrates wrote of his culture that:
“And so far has our city distanced the rest of mankind in thought and in speech that her pupils have become the teachers of the rest of the world; and she has brought it about the that the name “Hellenes” suggests no longer a race but an intelligence, and that the title of “Hellenes” is applied rather to those who share our culture than to those who share our common blood.” (1)
Later, the Latin poet Horace would remark that:
“Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit et artes intulit agresiti Latio.”
“Greece, when captured, captured her savage conqueror and brought the arts into rustic Latium.” (2)
Second. The second formulative influence of Western Culture was the Romans. Romans are marked by their practicality. Roman law, Roman Architecture, and the Roman Army, play significantly in Western culture. All western law proceeds from Roman law. Black’s Law Dictionary, which had wide influence, is of Roman influence.
Cicero had a major influence, not only in his country, but throughout medieval times and even affected the Framers of the U. S. Constitution.
Third. The third formulative influence is Christianity. Jesus had the profoundest effect on Western Culture. His preaching of the golden rule, of salvation, redemption and immortality not only affected the lives of people but their art, literature, philosophy, and architecture. The Bible became a central piece of Western literature affecting all fields within Western culture; law, philosophy, education, and politics. With this, the Hebrew Scriptures, the Torah, the psalms and prophets, coupled with the New Testament taught the people wisdom, maxims and precepts. Western morality is basically derived from the teachings of the Ten commandments and the Old Testament.
With Christianity came a movement called Monasticism. Monasticism carried Christianity and science to all the countries of Europe and preserved Latin and Christian texts. They chanted the Psalms throughout Europe. Their Gregorian chant was heard by many of the peasants working in the fields.
St. Augustine is premier, along with Plato, in forming the Christian mindset of Latin Christianity. He formed Western thought and Latin Christianity.
Renaissance
With the splitting of the Roman Empire into two halves, the Latin Christian church officially using Latin as the Liturgical language since the 5th century, the attack of barbarian hordes, the growth of banditry, Greek influence and works died out in Western Culture and a connection to the Eastern half of the Roman world was broken.
But because of Islamic influence in Moor Spain and the first crusade which sacked Constantinople, the Greek Paideia was re-introduced into the Latin West and the Renaissance was born. Aristotle was re-introduced into Western Culture which caused a profound effect in Catholic philosophy and with the re-introduction of Greek literature a re-flowering of Greek culture began at Florence and Venice.
With the fall of Constantinoplein 1453, the flood of Greek influence increased greatly. It is significant that many of the Protestant reformers where Greek Scholars. The rebirth of Hellenism in the Western World is one of the causes of French Revolution.
References
(1) Panegyricus, Isocrates, The Loeb Classical Edition, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. sec 50; pg 149.
(2) Epistles, Horace, II.2, 156-157
Related Sites
Bibliography
- Christianity and Classical Culture, A Study of Thought and Action from Augustus to Augustine, Charles Norris Cochrane, Oxford University Press, NY, 1980.