Greek culture flourished in the 5th-4th centuries B.C. Its influence on other countries was very great.

The Greek alphabet has formed the basis for many modern ones, including Russian.

Many Greek words have been borrowed into other languages, for instance, "arithmetic", "democracy", "history". Many names, such as Peter, Nicholas, Eugenie, are also of Greek origin.

Greece was the birthplace of the theatre. Works by Homer and many other ancient Greek writers and poets have been translated into almost every modern language. Ancient Greek architecture has served as a model for architects in later times. Ancient Greek statues, vases and other works of art are the pride of many museums in the world.

Every four years there are competitions in athletics, which are still called the Olympic Games. At the opening ceremonies the Greek teams always march first. In this way young people show their respect for the mother country of the Games.

The main reason for the flourishing of culture in Ancient Greece was the establishment of slave-owning democracy in Athens and other Greek city-states. In this society a large part of the free population helped to develop culture. It was not accidental that Athens became the cultural centre of the whole of Greece: a slave-owning democracy in that city appeared earlier than in other city-states, and therefore it was the first to reach full development.

Sean Townes

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