The Influence of Ancient Greece on Modern Society

 by Becky Cleary 

Ancient Greece is renowned for being the birthplace of Western civilization. It has influenced almost every aspect of our society, from medicine to poetry. One could write pages and pages about it, but I am going to touch on 3 key topics; literature (including theatre & film), law/politics and philosophy. 

Firstly, and very importantly, the Greeks invented poetry, which was intended to be sung or recited. The stories that they told were mainly myth, which has had a huge impact on writers in all generations.

The first Western written literature was the Iliad, personally, it seems that there are timeless characters and lessons to be learnt, which is why I think that Greek mythology is of interest to people even today, as although aspects are outdated, there are a number of relatable occurrences. 

The fact that ancient Greek and Latin were compulsory in schools until relatively recently means that a lot of early literature and more modern literature can find its roots in Greek mythology and writing style.

Classical epics like the Iliad and the Odyssey have inspired writers like John Milton, who wrote Paradise Lost in an attempt to create his own Christian epic. Even Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has roots in the myth of Prometheus. Of course, Stephen Fry wrote Mythos, Heroes and Troy as accounts of Greek mythology, and many other authors have written translations of Greek epics or books about certain characters.

In modern literature, there have been strong influences of greek mythology, including Percy Jackson which is based purely off Greek myth, and the adventures of Percy and his friends are identical to those of most of the Greek heroes. Suzanne Collins said that she based the Hunger Games partly off the story of the minotaur and the sacrificial teenagers from Crete. One could argue that her books were so successful in the YA post-apocalyptic genre as they were rooted in ancient myth. Harry Potter is generally rooted mainly in folklore and celtic mythology, however there are some references to the Greek, such as centaurs and the three headed dog Fluffy (cerberus).

So, as you can see, Ancient Greek literary influence is widespread, and still impacts stories written today.

In the theatre, the outline is similar. The Athenians alone established 2 dramatic genres - tragedy and comedy. Tragedy is said to have existed in Dorian Greece around 600 BC, and comedy some time later. Both genres were connected with the celebration of Dionysus (God of fruitfulness, wine and ecstasy). Even in Shakespeare’s works, there are many references to classical mythology, including in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with characters such as Theseus, Duke of Athens, based on the Greek hero Theseus.

Even in musicals there are references, with a Greek Chorus in Legally Blonde the Musical, though that is rather tenuous. In film, there have been references to Greek mythology, with Disney’s Hercules based on the myths of Hercules, as well as adaptations of Greek mythology, such as Troy.

So, moving onto law and politics. Written codes of law were one of the first forms of prose, and were appearing by the end of the 7th century. Although there are significant differences in Athenian law courts, such as the lack of prosecutors, professional lawyers or crime-investigating police, meaning that complaints were brought by individuals, the beginnings of a complex system of different courts and laws for crimes can be seen to begin in ancient Athens.

The word ‘politics’ is a Greek word meaning ‘affairs of the polis (city/state)’. Other Greek words that we use include democracy, oligarchy, monarchy and tyranny.

The Greeks thought critically about their political and legal systems, and did not simply assume that their way of thinking was the best way - something I think many would benefit from today.

It was this critical thinking that was probably their greatest legacy, even more than their varied systems, with democracy at one end (Athens) and extreme social control at the other (Sparta). These polar opposites came to a clash in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE), and these ideologies of democracy and totalitarianism only resurfaced thousands of years later.

Finally, a legacy of Ancient Greece that is not so much an impact on our lives, but something that I believe seems to have seeped into our education system, politics and science, is philosophy. Ancient Greek philosophers are among the most successful and well-known, with Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and many, many more. The lasting legacy of these philosophers and their work is really quite astounding.

Many pupils are still taught their work in Philosophy lessons, and their views can still be applied to modern society. Their timeless emphasis on reason and inquiry is something that I think best shows the influence of Ancient Greece on modern society, and this can be seen in almost everything that they did.