In western tradition, people used to call western culture (civilization) "Christian culture" or "Christian civilization". This is because western culture has three sources:
1, the ancient Greek civilization represented by Socrates and Aristotle developed into the later scientific tradition;
2. Ancient Hebrew civilization and Judaism originated from the fear of God and triggered the concept of religious original sin;
3. The legal civilization of ancient Rome developed into a modern legal concept. These three civilizations are summarized in Christianity, and a huge cultural system has been built in the west in the form of religious belief.
The internal relations and essential differences among Greek culture, Roman culture and Christian culture.
There is an inheritance relationship between Roman culture and Greek culture, which is mainly manifested in two aspects. One is about the inheritance of Greek classical philosophy. At the same time, because that part of natural science in ancient Greece was included in ancient Greek philosophy, Roman culture also inherited this part of natural science.
On the other hand, it completely inherited the religion of ancient Greece and was a polytheist. So before Christianity appeared, Rome was also a polytheist.
The political system of ancient Greece was not inherited by ancient Rome. Greece has a democratic system, while Rome has a highly centralized political system. This is the essential difference between Greece and Rome.
Christian culture and Roman culture also have inheritance relations. Among them, Christian culture mainly inherited the philosophy and natural science in Roman culture, and reformed Christianity founded by Jesus, making Christianity rise from state religion to world religion. In the history of Christianity, it is generally acknowledged that Paul finished this work.
There are some differences between Roman culture and Christian culture. The first is the change of religious content. Roman culture used to be polytheism, but later it became Christian monotheism after absorbing Christianity. This is the transition from polytheism to monotheism. According to this, some western sociologists believe that the transformation of Roman Empire from polytheism to monotheism is of essential significance, because monotheism is the highest stage of religion. Of course, not all scholars agree with this view.
The other is in the political system. In Roman culture, the leader of the Christian church was decided by the emperor of the Roman Empire, and he had supreme authority over the church. In Christian culture, the king's accession to the throne requires the consent of the church, and even for a period of time, the king's choice is decided by the church.
The Inheritance and Development of Ancient Greece and Rome
Abstract: Ancient Greece and Rome are the cradles of western culture, which have left us an insurmountable height in the history of culture and art. Among them, ancient Greek culture is the source of Roman culture, and Roman culture has been developing and innovating on this basis, creating many unique cultural and artistic ideas and masterpieces.
Economic development model
Greece consists of the continental peninsula and some small islands scattered in the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It is surrounded by the sea on three sides, and only the north is connected with the land. It has a mild maritime climate with many hills and few plains. It is precisely because of such geographical conditions that its agriculture is difficult to develop. In order to survive, the Greeks learned to exchange agricultural products with other regions and gradually formed a prosperous trade exchange in the Mediterranean region. The environment in Rome is similar to that in Greece. It is located in the present Italian peninsula, and it is a hilly and swamp area. So agriculture is not very developed. But Rome did not solve this problem through free trade and barter, as Greece did. It used a bloody way-aggression and expansion. In order to meet the growing demand of the Roman Empire for food and wealth, the Romans chose to keep invading. Relying on powerful troops and weapons, Rome jumped from a humble town on the Tiber River to an imperial center that ruled 2 million square miles. Every day, hundreds of ships and vehicles arrive in Rome through docks and roads, bringing gold, silver, jewelry, grains and food plundered from all over the world. At the same time, with the continuous expansion of the Roman Empire, the consumption of these materials increased sharply, which in turn led to the continuous expansion of the Roman Empire, thus forming a vicious circle, which accompanied the Roman Empire from beginning to end. In contrast, in order to resist the harsh and changeable sea environment, Greece has developed a benign competition model of mutual cooperation. Moreover, the latter has penetrated into the spiritual field of contemporary westerners. In addition, the economic development of Greece mainly depends on overseas and regional trade conducted by businessmen and farming by local farmers. The number of slaves in Greek city-states is much less than that in Rome. After years of war, Rome brought wealth and a large number of slaves. These slaves are widely distributed in most industries, such as mining, metallurgy, navigation, paving roads and building large buildings. It can be said that a large part of the greatness and achievements of ancient Rome were created by slaves.
Generally speaking, the economic development of Greece and Rome took completely different paths and embodied two completely different ideas, which had a far-reaching impact on the economic development of western countries later. Anyone who knows a little about history knows that western countries have basically gone through these two stages, such as the overseas expansion of the new European Empire to Africa and America, and the slave trade, which is just another version of the Roman form, while the widespread trade between countries at the same time is a Greek reproduction.
Politics and democracy
When it comes to democracy, we will think of the contemporary western "human rights" society, but the word democracy first appeared in Athens, ancient Greece. Greek democratic politics, on the one hand, gave democracy to hundreds of people, on the other hand, deprived thousands of slaves and freemen of their right to participate in politics. The essence of Greek democracy at that time was: majority rule; Everyone is equal before the law; Freedom of personal life. Although democracy at this time has a strong class nature and is only aimed at citizens' democracy, this view has far surpassed its era thousands of years ago. Compared with the democracy of our time, I think their connotations are the same. Although contemporary western political circles keep saying that "everyone is equal and human rights are guaranteed", does this democracy really exist? For example, in the United States, its politics is still in the hands of a few rich and powerful big capitalists, which is reflected in its appearance as the spokesman of "democracy" funded by it-the president of the United States. Middle and lower class citizens are still often played by politicians in the illusion of "democracy". In this sense, its democracy is completely consistent with that of ancient Greece.
The early political system of ancient Rome was modeled after Greece. In the later period, from Augustus Caesar, "democracy" ceased to exist and became an absolute monarchy until its demise. The greatest contribution of the Romans was legislation. In the process of fierce contradictions and struggles between the nobility and the poor, the first written law, the Twelve Copper Tables Act, came into being. Although this law still safeguarded the interests of the nobility and the upper class, it was a great progress of civilization at that time. After that, civil law, civil law and civil rights law came into being one after another, which laid the embryonic form of the western legal system. In particular, the provision that "citizens' private property is sacred and inviolable" in the Civil Rights Law has become the eternal theme of western law.
Religion and art
Horace, a Roman poet, once sang: "Greece was captured, and the captured Greece captured the savage victors, and literature and art moved into a lonely place." Indeed, the early Roman culture was almost a pure inheritance and imitation of Greece, which was reflected in myths and religions. For example, the mythical Roman God is almost a copy of Greek mythology. Demeter, the Greek goddess of the earth, became celis, the god of the Roman valley; Zeus, the king of the gods, became Jupiter; Hera became Juno; Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, became Venus, which is too numerous to mention. With the continuous expansion of the Roman Empire, foreign religions spread everywhere, among which Christianity, which appeared in Rome around 40 AD, had the greatest influence. From its appearance, Christianity rose rapidly throughout the Roman Empire. At this time, the imperial emperors needed a kind of spiritual public opinion to restrain people's thoughts out of the need of rule, so in the last emperor's parish era, Christianity was designated as the state religion of Rome, which opened the European Christian era. Until today, Christianity is still regarded as a vast area of the West.
In education, the Romans carried forward the "academy" education of the Greeks and created a series of very sound educational systems. Including primary education and higher education. This system continues to this day and has become the main body of education in various countries. It is worth mentioning that the higher education in Rome, then called "institutions of higher learning", was the predecessor of modern universities. It emphasizes moral education and points out that "teachers should not only have profound knowledge, but also be role models for students in life". This idea of teaching and educating people with both ability and political integrity was inherited by later generations.
In the field of art, it is manifested as solidified art such as architecture and sculpture, and also as literature. The architectural styles of ancient Greece and Rome are quite different. Italian architect Bruno Saiwei pointed out in his "Architectural Space Theory": "Hellenism = a beautiful era, symbolizing meditation and rest in passion; Romanesque = the age of force and luxury. " If appreciating Greek architecture is like listening to a peaceful and beautiful serenade, which inspires your deepest thinking and imagination everywhere, then ancient Roman architecture is more like a magnificent symphony. If the architecture of ancient Greece is exquisite and continuous, then the architecture of ancient Rome is a magnificent gathering. The most representative of Greek architecture is the temple. It is generally made of marble and supported by various stone pillars. Simple and elegant, the styles of Parthenon and Acropolis handed down from later generations can be seen. The architecture of ancient Rome inherited and absorbed the Greek style and gradually developed. At first, Roman buildings mostly used circular arches and domes, and their temple buildings mostly used Corinthian order. For example, the famous Pantheon in Rome is an extremely solemn and magnificent huge building, which was built in Octavian's era in 27 BC. The whole hall is a huge drum-shaped architectural style, with a glittering dome above and a dazzling array of reliefs inside, which is equally magnificent. Ancient Greek and Roman architecture had a far-reaching influence on later western architecture. Especially during the Renaissance, a huge wave of imitating the classical period was set off. At this time, a large number of antique-style buildings appeared, such as: Mantua St. Andre's Church with the Arc de Triomphe in ancient Rome as the sample; Rusella Mansion with classical columns; St Peter's Cathedral with a dome and columns.
In addition, in literature, sculpture, natural science and other aspects, ancient Greek and Roman civilization also provided a steady stream of inspiration and vitality for the development of western literature and art in later generations.
When the ancient Egyptian civilization showed a declining trend, Mesopotamia in the two river basins had developed into the second civilization center of mankind-the ancient Babylonian civilization. Subsequently, an Indo-European ethnic tribe calling itself the Heleng people came to the Aegean Sea from Mesopotamia. They are the ancestors of the ancient Greeks. 1 1 century BC, the Greeks invaded Troy, and the history of Europe began. Philip, a Macedonian, conquered the Greek city-state, but did not complete the great cause of revitalizing Greece, so his son Alexander embarked on a journey. He painted the territory of Greece almost all over the known world. If there were no obstacles from the Himalayas, God knows how many stories he would tell the Seven Heroes of the Warring States that shocked the world. However, Alexander also died young and his empire fell apart. When the Romans got the fire of civilization from Greece, they also took away all these heritages.
All the excellent ports in Greece face the east, because the Aegean Sea is the center of the world. On the west side of Apennine Peninsula, another Indo-European race gradually developed. The Greeks later began to make sweaters with them and learned that they were Romans. The Romans not only learned trade from the Greeks, but also learned all civilizations such as writing, myths and legends, and developed them into Latin and Roman myths. But they don't like the Greek political system. Later, Rome conquered the world unconsciously by fighting Carthage. After the glory of Caesar and Octavian, the Roman Empire was finally defeated by the northern minorities such as Christianity and Xiongnu.
Brilliant ancient Greek civilization and ancient Roman civilization were born on the Mediterranean coast. Lebanon has Phoenician civilization, and there are civilizations in North Africa and Asia Minor around the Mediterranean. Historical examples in this regard typically illustrate how human beings have destroyed their living environment step by step.
Phoenician land is located by the sea, which consists of a long and narrow coastal plain and a long and narrow hilly area parallel to it. The soil here is fertile, the rainfall is abundant, the grasslands and forests are lush, and the cedars in Lebanon are world-famous and have superior natural conditions. The favorable terrain prevented the invasion of militant inland tribes; It provided reliable protection for Phoenicians; On the other hand, it also prevented them from developing inland, and the "blue civilization" that developed to the Mediterranean was born. The Phoenicians discovered very early that the timber all over their country was a best-selling commodity, and it was even more precious to the civilized people in Egypt and the two river basins, so the timber trade began to prevail. From the 8th century BC to the 6th century BC, the Phoenicians spent their golden age, but this prosperity had obvious limitations, because it relied on timber trading under the protection of maritime forces. With the rapid decrease of forest land and the Greek fleet becoming the maritime overlord in 480 BC, Phoenician civilization declined.
In Greece, the first large-scale destruction occurred in 680 BC, because the population growth and the expansion of residential areas caused the decrease of cultivated land and the decline of land productivity. Then the Greeks began their colonial policy in order to alleviate the population pressure on the mainland. Although the Greeks painfully realized from their own lessons that it is extremely important to protect the soil, using fertilizers can maintain the fertility of the land, improve the structure of the soil, and the platform can prevent soil erosion, and so on; Since 590 BC, in order to restore the productivity of the land, the rulers of all dynasties have called on people to plant olive trees and build terraces, and adopted a series of measures to protect the environment and encourage production. However, the pressure of population growth is so great that no one can stop the decline of Greek civilization after the Peloponnesian War in 339 BC.
Centuries later, the same problem appeared in ancient Rome. The growth of population has caused the destruction of vegetation, soil erosion and flooding, which have brought fertile topsoil into rivers and deposited in estuaries, and prosperous cities have disappeared into swamps and wilderness one after another. Storm Port, once the main port of ancient Rome, was completely silted up by sediment in 1 century BC, and the whole city became an endless swamp. The epidemic of malaria left the city uninhabited until the 9th century. There were 16 prosperous towns in 200 BC, which became the famous Ponting swamp around 200 AD. The deterioration of the environment has also caused a devastating blow to the splendid ancient Roman civilization.
The rise and fall of civilizations in Mediterranean countries are very similar: at first, civilization rose on the fertile land created by nature for a long time and continued to progress for centuries; When more and more land becomes arable land, or the original forests and grasslands on the land are destroyed, erosion begins to peel off the productive topsoil; Then continuous planting and infiltration leaching consume a lot of mineral nutrients needed for crop growth. As a result, the productivity of land began to decline, and the prosperity of land also began to decline. In this historical process, some countries maintained their prosperity by conquering and plundering the land and other resources of neighboring countries. But this temporary solution can only prolong the survival time, but it can't avoid its final decline. The center of ancient Rome and Greek civilization moved northward forever.
Philosophy is a way of thinking. Therefore, philosophy is a way of thinking. There have been various ways of thinking in human history, that is to say, there have been many different ways of thinking. Western philosophy and ancient philosophy of China are two important ways of thinking.
The road of western philosophy originated in ancient Asia Minor and Athens. With the change of history, after completing the course of ancient Greece, it extended to ancient and modern European countries and North America. This is a rationalist way of thinking, because their way of thinking is rational and logical. China's ancient philosophy began in the pre-Qin period, and gradually formed a school of thought with Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism as the mainstream in the development of later generations. We all know that this is an intuitive way, because the way of thinking of these thinkers is intuition or understanding.
However, in addition to the above two ideological paths, another path appeared in ancient Hebrew civilization, which is Jewish philosophy. This is a strange way of thinking. It originated in Jerusalem, geographically belonging to the east but close to the west, and located in the middle zone between the east and the west-the Middle East. But later history magically pushed it from the Middle East to Europe and found a new way in the hinterland of Europe such as Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany. Philo, saadi, Harivi, Maimonide, Gersenid, Kleska, Mendelssohn, Cohen, Rosenczveig, Buber, Haischer, Kaplan and Levinas are all outstanding philosophers on this ideological road. It has become a new way because it is a new philosophy, which is different from rationalism and China's intuition or mysticism, but a new philosophy combining reason and belief. Undoubtedly, such a philosophy should be of positive significance to the development of China's philosophy and even the world philosophy. So far, Jewish philosophy has not been widely understood and recognized in China, and its value and significance have not been shown.
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