The Hellenic culture had a huge impact on Western, Southern and Central Asia, too. In my opinion, taken overall and not forgetting the logic, reason, math and science developed in Hellenic thinking, it has had more impact on world cultures than any other. The Roman culture, probably the second most influential, was in essence a Hellenic one, too, they were great lovers and adopters/adapters of everything Hellenic and many in the Roman world spoke at least some koine (common), if not perfect Attic, Greek, as the educated Roman people did. It wasn’t really possible to travel or trade in the Mediterranean and Near East without at least some knowledge of the Greek language.
The Hellenes always gave credit to the other cultures that influenced them, especially that of Egypt. To paraphrase one quote: we learned everything we know about building from the Egyptians, we lived in crude wood huts, then the Egyptians taught us to build magnificent stone temples. Another: We Hellenes never invented anything, we just improved on other peoples’ inventions. The last might be modest, but it isn’t true, they invented so much. To me the most important thing they offered is to seek rational, natural explanations for what we experience in the world, don’t just attribute disasters, failures, invasions, or bonanzas, joys, etc. to the “will of the gods”. Even though the did have their religious practices and culture, I’m convinced they didn’t really take their gods very seriously, and were essentially mythical storytellers, but rather superstitious secret atheists, until adopting Christianity.
My Peloponessian-origin family can’t be genetically distinguished from the Mykeneans who lived there before us, or those of classical times, we are their direct descendants. When the Mykenean civilization fell, there was no population replacement at all, only the urban/palace structures fell and there was a decline of overall population and literacy. The language continued, or it couldn’t have survived into archaic or classical times, especially with such little writing. Did you not know the Mykeneans spoke Hellenic (Greek)? We are the same as we ever were, these are just stages of the historical development of us, the Hellenes. DNA studies have proved this. Our origins are those of almost all native Europeans: a mix of migrating Indo-European pastoralists and farmers, autochthonous hunter-gatherers, and migrating ANE (Ancient Northern Eurasian/Siberian) peoples.
The bronze age collapse was brought upon by large migrations. I agree that in essence the ethnic makeup of hellenes was kept, but they also had some important additions as the Dorian migrations to the Peloponese.
Firstly, thank you for the video :-) As someone why has extensively travelled the world and especially Japan, I have seriously no solid reason to subscribe to the view that the Greek art has any significant influence on the 'world culture'. Yes, the idea of Athenian democracy has had a significant influence 'some' of the western countries like for e.g. England etc, but the contemporary form of democracies are something very very different than the short lived Athenian democracy. I'd better be careful when I spread views.
Here’s my thinking: Greek culture highly influenced European culture, which highly influenced world culture, rightly or wrongly, it’s an undeniable fact. This video is not saying that Japanese or any other culture isn’t influential, it’s just a matter of scale. Half the world speaks one or more European languages, lives under European governments and has adopted many elements of European culture, like music, food, transportation, education and dress. This isn’t true for Japanese culture, half the world isn’t wearing kimonos, speaking Japanese, eating sushi and living under the Japanese Imperial/Feudal-style governments. Don’t be so touchy, we all admire Japanese culture, but it doesn’t dominate the world.
Another point: as a child growing up in the US in the 1960s, we were all taught Japanese poetry, art and drama styles, and studied and made Japanese food, art, poetry and textiles/clothing, among those from many other cultures from around the world, like various African, native American, Hispanic-American, Australian/Oceanic, US/Caribe Black, Pacific Islander. We are widely traveled, too, you’re not the only one, and we’re not the Philistines you seem to think.
@@kimberlyperrotis8962 I doubt it very much that half the world has adopted European culture. More than half of the mankind has a GDP far below that of Western Europe, so your claim cannot be true. I am not denying that the Greek culture (which was itself heavily influenced by Ancient Egypt, Assyria and Parsia; the homeric poets borrowed large passages from Assyrian court texts etc.) had a serious on the western culture. Read my comment carefully and do be over-meticulous.
@@kimberlyperrotis8962 Yup, when I say "widely travelled" I do not mean those 499 dollars travel packages (we here in Swiss seldom come across such offers); but rather proper vacations of 8-12 weeks. Kindly abstain from polemic, for I never considered "you" a "Philistine". And my comment was directed against the uploder, not you. So I do think you are unnecessarily doing drama. Perhaps out of unduly "persecusion mania"?
Japan is an extremely westernized country, though, not merely because of US occupation after WWII but because if its own domestic efforts toward westernization in the 19th and early 20th centuries where the Imperial government suppressed many aspects of the domestic culture. I helped do some artistic training with a group in Dharan, Nepal alongside a friend of mine who is Japanese but attended college in the US. I had expressed to him that this was my first time being immersed in an eastern culture and to my surprise he said it was his first time as well. I asked him what he meant by that, and he said that, in his opinion, Japan was (in his exact words) "so westernized" that a culture like that in Nepal was foreign to him. However, "westernized" is not tantamount to "western," and "influenced by the west" is not tantamount to "westernized. " The fact that Japan is westernized does not mean its culture isn't very different from a western culture, because even western cultures can differ greatly from each other. That being said, I don't think it is a stretch to say that any culture that has adopted democratic principles in its government has been influenced by western cultures, though not necessarily westernized, and that by a few degrees of separation they have been influenced by Athenian democracy. The idea of democracy is widespread enough that even a culture such as Nepal, which was extremely different than that of say, America, could be said to have been influenced by Athenian democracy to a degree.
The Greeks are not related to the Myceneans ?? The Greeks came from Macedonia or Turkey ? Maybe you should do your homework before you post a video like this...Really really bad
Thank you Prof. Neal!
This was so much nicer than just reading the chapter from the book. Thank you, from a current Art History student from Texas :)
your art videos are the best!!
Would have loved you used some editing.
Great vid! One note- I believe the Chiton was the underdress and the Himation was the large rectangular drape over the chiton.
You’re right🙂
The Hellenic culture had a huge impact on Western, Southern and Central Asia, too. In my opinion, taken overall and not forgetting the logic, reason, math and science developed in Hellenic thinking, it has had more impact on world cultures than any other. The Roman culture, probably the second most influential, was in essence a Hellenic one, too, they were great lovers and adopters/adapters of everything Hellenic and many in the Roman world spoke at least some koine (common), if not perfect Attic, Greek, as the educated Roman people did. It wasn’t really possible to travel or trade in the Mediterranean and Near East without at least some knowledge of the Greek language.
nice and good informative lectures
This was very helpful! thank you very much
Terrific class.
The Hellenes always gave credit to the other cultures that influenced them, especially that of Egypt. To paraphrase one quote: we learned everything we know about building from the Egyptians, we lived in crude wood huts, then the Egyptians taught us to build magnificent stone temples. Another: We Hellenes never invented anything, we just improved on other peoples’ inventions. The last might be modest, but it isn’t true, they invented so much. To me the most important thing they offered is to seek rational, natural explanations for what we experience in the world, don’t just attribute disasters, failures, invasions, or bonanzas, joys, etc. to the “will of the gods”. Even though the did have their religious practices and culture, I’m convinced they didn’t really take their gods very seriously, and were essentially mythical storytellers, but rather superstitious secret atheists, until adopting Christianity.
Hlo sir, can you please help me in my research work please
As far as I know, Achilles was killed by Paris - Hector's brother.
Amazing work. Loving the videos. Just a little correction, Achilles died at the hands of Paris, not Hector.
i wish you were my professor at university, much easier to understand!
I'm flattered!
The Hellenes of classical times are both genetically and culturally related to the Minoans and Mykeneans, I think you’re misinformed.
My Peloponessian-origin family can’t be genetically distinguished from the Mykeneans who lived there before us, or those of classical times, we are their direct descendants. When the Mykenean civilization fell, there was no population replacement at all, only the urban/palace structures fell and there was a decline of overall population and literacy. The language continued, or it couldn’t have survived into archaic or classical times, especially with such little writing. Did you not know the Mykeneans spoke Hellenic (Greek)? We are the same as we ever were, these are just stages of the historical development of us, the Hellenes. DNA studies have proved this. Our origins are those of almost all native Europeans: a mix of migrating Indo-European pastoralists and farmers, autochthonous hunter-gatherers, and migrating ANE (Ancient Northern Eurasian/Siberian) peoples.
The bronze age collapse was brought upon by large migrations. I agree that in essence the ethnic makeup of hellenes was kept, but they also had some important additions as the Dorian migrations to the Peloponese.
Sir i am student of BFA from amity University India ... Please make the video like such that can help me and my friends in our graduation
Firstly, thank you for the video :-) As someone why has extensively travelled the world and especially Japan, I have seriously no solid reason to subscribe to the view that the Greek art has any significant influence on the 'world culture'. Yes, the idea of Athenian democracy has had a significant influence 'some' of the western countries like for e.g. England etc, but the contemporary form of democracies are something very very different than the short lived Athenian democracy. I'd better be careful when I spread views.
Here’s my thinking: Greek culture highly influenced European culture, which highly influenced world culture, rightly or wrongly, it’s an undeniable fact. This video is not saying that Japanese or any other culture isn’t influential, it’s just a matter of scale. Half the world speaks one or more European languages, lives under European governments and has adopted many elements of European culture, like music, food, transportation, education and dress. This isn’t true for Japanese culture, half the world isn’t wearing kimonos, speaking Japanese, eating sushi and living under the Japanese Imperial/Feudal-style governments. Don’t be so touchy, we all admire Japanese culture, but it doesn’t dominate the world.
Another point: as a child growing up in the US in the 1960s, we were all taught Japanese poetry, art and drama styles, and studied and made Japanese food, art, poetry and textiles/clothing, among those from many other cultures from around the world, like various African, native American, Hispanic-American, Australian/Oceanic, US/Caribe Black, Pacific Islander. We are widely traveled, too, you’re not the only one, and we’re not the Philistines you seem to think.
@@kimberlyperrotis8962 I doubt it very much that half the world has adopted European culture. More than half of the mankind has a GDP far below that of Western Europe, so your claim cannot be true. I am not denying that the Greek culture (which was itself heavily influenced by Ancient Egypt, Assyria and Parsia; the homeric poets borrowed large passages from Assyrian court texts etc.) had a serious on the western culture. Read my comment carefully and do be over-meticulous.
@@kimberlyperrotis8962 Yup, when I say "widely travelled" I do not mean those 499 dollars travel packages (we here in Swiss seldom come across such offers); but rather proper vacations of 8-12 weeks. Kindly abstain from polemic, for I never considered "you" a "Philistine". And my comment was directed against the uploder, not you. So I do think you are unnecessarily doing drama. Perhaps out of unduly "persecusion mania"?
Japan is an extremely westernized country, though, not merely because of US occupation after WWII but because if its own domestic efforts toward westernization in the 19th and early 20th centuries where the Imperial government suppressed many aspects of the domestic culture. I helped do some artistic training with a group in Dharan, Nepal alongside a friend of mine who is Japanese but attended college in the US. I had expressed to him that this was my first time being immersed in an eastern culture and to my surprise he said it was his first time as well. I asked him what he meant by that, and he said that, in his opinion, Japan was (in his exact words) "so westernized" that a culture like that in Nepal was foreign to him.
However, "westernized" is not tantamount to "western," and "influenced by the west" is not tantamount to "westernized. " The fact that Japan is westernized does not mean its culture isn't very different from a western culture, because even western cultures can differ greatly from each other. That being said, I don't think it is a stretch to say that any culture that has adopted democratic principles in its government has been influenced by western cultures, though not necessarily westernized, and that by a few degrees of separation they have been influenced by Athenian democracy. The idea of democracy is widespread enough that even a culture such as Nepal, which was extremely different than that of say, America, could be said to have been influenced by Athenian democracy to a degree.
Mycenaeans spoke Greek, I guess you can say that they were "related" to the Greeks in that they were Greeks.
The Greeks are not related to the Myceneans ?? The Greeks came from Macedonia or Turkey ? Maybe you should do your homework before you post a video like this...Really really bad
Maybe he meant Minor Asia, since Turkey didn t exist, and Turks didn t live there back then. Minor Asia was also Greek land.