Hi guys! This week I will be talking about how Phidias's work and Ancient Greek culture have affected the modern world. Ancient Greece has affected the common era in so many ways. Today, so much of our art and architecture is inspired by that of our earliest artists in Ancient Greece. The Greeks invented theater and special effects. Ancient Greece had some of the best philosophers, whom all introduced interesting and important philosophical questions that people have pondered for centuries. Lots of words used in the English language have Greek roots. The Greeks created the first map and were the first people to record locations. The Greeks created many of the sports we play today and they invented the Olympics! Ancient Greece had some of the first mathematicians who created lots of the mathematical theories used today. The Greeks conquered much land, spreading culture and changing history. Greek mythology has been told throughout hundreds of years and has taught the people in our world some very valuable lessons. I could go on forever about how Ancient Greek culture had inspired that of today.
Phidias's work has also had a large impact on life today. Through Phidias's work, we have learned a lot about what happened in the time he lived and the religion that the ancient Greeks believed in. We know that Athens worshipped Athena, the goddess of war, because Phidias made many statues and temples dedicated to her. Phidias made the Athena Promachos (a colossal bronze statue of Athena), the Athena Parthenos (an ivory and gold statue of Athena), the Parthenon (an Ancient Greek temple to the goddess Athena), and the Lemnian Athena (a bronze statue of Athena). Phidias created many statues of Athena in his time to signify Greece's victory in the Persian war. We also know how the Greeks envisioned their gods because of Phidias's detailed sculptures. Phidias's work appears in modern stories and theories. In Rick Riordan's The Mark Of Athena, the main characters must go on a quest to find the Athena Parthenos. The novel follows the theory that the Athena Parthenos was stolen by Romans, though it is still unknown what really happened to the statue. People today still wonder what happened to the works of Phidias. Another way that Phidias had an effect on the people of the future was the style of his statues. Phidias's statues were very realistic and copied the human body so that it was almost exactly the same. His art styles, shown on the parthenon and in his statues, are seen much in the modern world. Phidias truly was one of the greatest sculptors of Classical Greece and his work continues to teach new generations about the history of our world.