Greek culture has the most notable philosophers and philosophies. One of the most important Greek philosophies was of how the human mind was capable of understanding everything. The three most distinguished philosophers of ancient Greece were Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle adopted this train of thought and learned and discovered much of what we know today.

Aristotle believed that reason and the ability to think logically was the distinguishing characteristic of human beings and that a life guided by reason is superior to any other, a theory widely accepted in today’s culture.

Socrates, the most prominent of the Greek philosophers, suggested that, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”. This quote suggests that a life lived without question or examination is not worth living because then reason, the most godlike part of human nature, goes to waste.

These philosophers and great thinkers have undoubtedly taught us much and their ideas have impacted our lives and the way we live

Many ideas of government also originated in ancient Greece. This is the theory of government that, favors the many instead of the few

the Athenians also describes a democratic government, with the expectation that his citizens will have equal opportunity to serve the public, and will ask their most distinguished citizens to make their political decisions (excluding women, slaves and children)

Athens’ constitution is called a democracy because it respects the interests not of the minority but of the whole people. When it is a question of settling private disputes, everyone is equal before the law; when it is a question of putting one person before another in positions of public responsibility, what counts is not membership of a particular class, but the actual ability which the man possesses. (Pericles, 431 BCE)

The mainstay of any Greek army was the hoplite. His full panoply was a long spear, short sword, and circular bronze shield and he was further protected, if he could afford it, by a bronze helmet (with inner padding for comfort), bronze breastplate, greaves for the legs and finally, ankle guards. Fighting was at close-quarters, bloody, and lethal. This type of warfare was the perfect opportunity for the Greek warrior to display his manliness and excellence and generals led from the front and by example.

To provide greater mobility in battle the hoplite came to wear lighter armour such as a leather or laminated linen corselet (spolades) and open-faced helmet (pilos). The peltast warrior, armed with short javelins and more lightly-armoured than the hoplite became a mobile and dangerous threat to the slower moving hoplites. Other lighter-armed troops (psiloi) also came to challenge the hoplite dominance of the battlefield. Javelin throwers (akonistai), archers (toxotoi) and slingers (sphendonētai) using stones and lead bullets could harry the enemy with attacks and retreats. Cavalry (hippeis) was also deployed but due to the high costs and difficult terrain of Greece, only in limited numbers

Some states such as Athens, Aegina, Corinth, and Rhodes amassed fleets of warships, most commonly the trireme, which could allow these states to forge lucrative trading partnerships and deposit troops on foreign territory and so establish and protect colonies. They could even block enemy harbours and launch amphibious landings. The biggest fleet was at Athens, which could amass up to 200 triremes at its peak, and which allowed the city to build and maintain a Mediterranean-wide empire.

War became more professional, more innovative, and more deadly, reaching its zenith with the Macedonian leaders Philip and Alexander. Learning from the earlier Greek strategies and weapons innovations, they employed better hand weapons such as the long sarissa spear, used better artillery, successfully diversified troop units with different arms, fully exploited cavalry, and backed all this up with far superior logistics to dominate the battlefield not only in Greece but across vast swathes of Asia and set the pattern for warfare through Hellenistic and into Roman times.