Adriane Noel O.

Villanueva
BSN 4-D
(A&H101) GREATBOOKS

1. The country of Greece basically paves the way for the possibility of the creation of new
civilizations since time immemorial. Their civilization has provided the framework for
building societies, creating structures, cities, social events, and a lot more. First, the idea
and concept of democracy were produced in Athens. This form of government which we
call as the most agreeable and fair government would not be possible without the idea of
Democracy created by Greece. Next, is the creation of one of the biggest social event, the
Olympics. The Olympics is the culmination of showcasing great talents across the globe
and a way to show the importance of sports in building relationships amongst each other.
Without the Olympics, there would not be a way to show camaraderie and sportsmanship.
It gives us a way to form the youth and as well as our people and create experiences that
will develop no discrimination but instead love. Third, is art and architecture. The
influences of Greece in art and architecture are imperative up until now and are still shown
in textbooks and even used in our structures. Furthermore, art in Greece has been a part of
our history even the form of art used in religious artworks or paintings depicted or allowed
us to visualize how history unfolded. Lastly, the language or written works of Greece
provided a framework or building blocks for the modern languages that we have now,
especially the most universally used which is the “Alphabet”.
2. The Rage of Achilles allows us to perceive what influences the civilization of Greece. Iliad
shows the themes of glory, fame, respect, rage, and wrath that all revolve particularly in
honor. All of these are often themes of Homeric culture where humans who have
supernatural powers that can be compared to gods exist and people are often struck by
tragedy or war. Honor is a huge and essential part of the literary piece as Patroclus was
killed in the Trojan War by Hector. In return, Achilles is deeply enraged by the death of
his friend/lover which made him wreak havoc on the battlefield. This fury even made
Achilles ignore the sacred Greek funeral rites and took Hector’s body dragging it behind
his chariot parading in the great walls of Troy. The father of Hector and King of Troy,
Priam, couldn’t stand this gruesome act and went behind enemy lines to beg and plead to
Achilles to let him retrieve Hector’s body and be given a proper burial. In this plea, Achilles
is reminded of the grief he felt and how he mourned Patroclus’ death which made him
decide to allow Priam to retrieve his son’s body. Honor may be compared as a backbone
for this literary piece as it greatly influences the actions of the main characters such as how
Achilles is enraged by the death of Patroclus which drove him to avenge his death by killing
Hector and how Priam resolved himself to beg to Achilles to allow him to retrieve Hector’s
body.
3. The talk provided by Greg Anderson provided us with a different lens in viewing our
reality. Reality as we perceive it, together with all the modern technologies that we view
as an integral part of creating our societies now through industrialization is far from the
reality of how the pre-modern world sees it. First, the pre-modern world is not primitive
 but rather anchored the way of life that we have now. We always have to remember that
our reality is continuous and is always influenced by the actions of the people without the
actions of the scholars of different fields in the premodern world, these ideas of capitalism
or industrialization wouldn't have come to life. Next is that we don’t have to center our
perspective of reality on the way how our modern world perceives it, this perspective only
imperiled the world and gave detrimental effects on our world, it reminds us that we should
give how ancient civilizations view reality a shot as it gives importance to society as a
whole. Lastly, is that our world is a pluriverse. Always keep in mind that multiple realities
can coexist as the traditional and modern views of reality should work harmoniously to
pave way for an ever-expanding society and preserve our heritage and environment at the
same time.
4. History is essential in our everyday lives, as it serves as a reference for us to correctly act
or decide on our course of action. Moreover, history also allows us to view how the world
lived in the past and gives us an idea to preserve practices and traditions that help shape
our way of living, values, and principles as a whole. History inspires to live our lives and
appreciate the little things like how literature forms our creativity and imagination. We
have to laugh and learn that life does not revolve in our modern way of life through this
fast-paced society but instead relish our everyday lives and always inculcate in our minds
the essential tradition and practices that shaped our society for the better. We have to love,
love that history will always remain as a footprint and a huge step of mankind, that we may
learn from our mistakes and cherish the lessons we learned.