Andrew Papas

A Step Back in Time Andrew Papas

The values that make people a proud race are found in their language, religion, history, culture and legends. It provides us with a sense of identity, it teaches us about past events and the different periods of life and how societies came to the present. History helps people understand successes and failures and the difference between good and evil and how people are affected by it. History gives an insight to understand the present existing social, political, religious and economic conditions of a society and to evaluate and to improve the quality of future's outcomes. During the Golden Age of Greece in the 5th century BC, the greatest artistic, literary, architectural, scientific, philosophical and sporting achievements took place. Historians, Herodotus and Thucydides, Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine and the philosophers, Plato and Socrates all lived and worked in 5th-century BC Athens. Today, we can gaze at the arcthitectural wonders of ancient Greece and gain an insight to the wisdom of ancient Greek philosophers. The Greco-Persian Wars were three of the greatest military victories in antiquity. Had the Persians won, they would have invaded the rest of the Greek city-states and the European continent which almost certainly have had serious effects on the course of Western civilization's history. The early Christian Church was established after much suffering and martyrdom because many Christians were beaten, stoned to death, thrown to the lions, tortured and crucified. The Renaissance was a period of cultural and artistic "rebirth" following the Middle Ages. It promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art and challenged established ways of thinking. Florence was the birthplace of the Renaissance because of its of wealth, power, and intellect in the Church. Three outstanding figures that had a huge impact on the Renaissance were Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Michelangelo (1475-1564), and Raphael (1483-1520).