Western civ (Greeks Vs, Hebrews) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Western civ (Greeks Vs, Hebrews) - Essay Example Consequently, the Greek system prepared individuals to serve the state while the Hebrew system prepared individuals to serve God. There is little question that religion played an important part in the social lives of both civilizations but dogmatic religious practices are more readily associated with the Hebrew tradition. In similar fashion, the political realities of the day reflected the intrusion of religion into the affairs of the state. The Hebrews believed that God would hold everyone accountable one day so the ruler was expected to be accountable to God alone. In contrast, the Greek system of personal accountability relied on philosophy and on the discretion of fellow men. Hence, the Greek ruler was accountable to his fellow men more than his accountability to any gods. This increased accountability paved for the world’s first democracy in Athens (Blainey). The achievements of various Athenians such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, Thucydides, Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle among others laid the foundation for the modern Western civilization. The move to democracy strengthened the Greek quest for knowledge. Furthermore, the Greeks had managed to disassociate divinity with exploration of things around them. Even after Athens was subsumed into the larger Greek civilization, the traditions of learning and development continued unabated. The epistemological drive of the Greeks led to developments in science, architecture, law, philosophy, commerce and numerous other fields. A rich scientific tradition can be traced back to the Greeks with names such as Archimedes, Hero of Alexandria, Galen and others appearing in scientific discussions to this day (Thornton). In contrast, the Hebrew tradition kept God intact with learning limitations. God was seen as the center of the universe in the literal sense and ideas upheld by the scripture were unquestionable. The strength of the Hebrew tradition of