欧洲文化论文TheSourcesofEuropeanCivilization.doc

The Sources of European Civilization
The foundation of European culture was laid by the Greeks, strengthened by the Romans, stabilized by Christianity, reformed and modernized by the fifteenth-century Renaissance and Reformation and globalized by successive European empires between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries. European culture is made up of many elements, which have gone through changes over the centuries. Three of these elements are considered to be the resources of European civilization and they are: the Greco-Roman element, the Judeo-Christian element, and the Germanic element.
Part One: Greco-Roman Culture
The Greek civilization is divided into several eras, it was formed in 800 B.C., then after the classical era and the Hellenistic age, The Greek civilization reached the top in the 5th century BC. And in 146 BC, the Greek civilization was replaced by Roman civilization.
The first notability we have to know is Homer, and his Epic. In the 12th century BC, with the invasion of the Trojans, Greece came to "dark ages". Homer's epics described the war between Greeks and Troy.
The ancient Greeks were curious about many things, including what made the universe. They had the spirit of free enquiry and were quite ready to drop established ideas, to speculate, to use their imagination, and to form their own conclusions. They were also not afraid to speak their minds. And also, due to the plays the Greeks performed at religious festivals early in their remote past, a powerful drama developed in the 5th century B.C.. The ancient Greece had created many philosophers and playwrights. Mainly represented by philosopher Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Socrates pulled the importance of the free debate forward. Plato's goal was to achieve a society which can both maintains noble, and be accepted by the poor. Aristotle sought for the order for every aspect of nature and human social. The famous playwrights were Aeschylus with his Agamemnon, Sophocles with his Oedipus the King, and Euripides with his Trojan Women.
Also, historical writing started early in Greece. Here we have Herodotus, who is often called “Father of History”, wrote about the war between Greeks and Persians, and Thucydides.
The Greeks set an example by the bold effort they made to understand the world by the use of human reason. The body of ideas the Greek philosophers expressed, and the variety of questions the raised about the nature of the world and of human thought, knowledge and conduct, have had an abiding interest for later generations. In literature, too, they have exerted an influence which can still be felt today. Countless writers have quoted, adapted, borrowed from and otherwise use Homer’s epics, Sappho’s lyrics, the tragedies of Aeschylus and Sophocles and Euripides, Aristophanes’s comedies, Plato’s Dialogues, etc. so that their themes, characters, episodes, their particularly striking passages, phrases, even single words and their derivative are familiar to educated people the world over, a cherished legacy from that splendid period of human history.
Then let’s come to Roman Culture. The most important contribution the Romans made to European culture was the foundation of Roman Law. Also, in architecture and art Romans made outstanding contributions, like the Colosseum and the Pantheon.
Part Two: Judeo-Christian Culture
Among all the religions by which people seek to worship, Christianity is by far the most influential in the West. Every phase of man’s life is touched by this religion, so much so that it has become part and parcel of Western culture. Judaism and Christianity are closely related. In fact, it was the Jewish tradition which gave birth to Christianity. Both originated in Palestine—the hub of migration and trade routes, which led to exchange of ideas over wide areas.
The Old Testament recorded the history of the Jews. Jews were once called Hebrews, strayed in Middle East Desert in about 3800 BC. In about 1300 BC, they gradually settled down in Canaan, and formed a small kingdom.
Christianity and Judaism have close relationship. The core of the Christian is Jesus Christ, its doctrine is: one, Jesus Christ is the son of god, god sent him to men, suffer torments with humans and eventually save mankind. Second, the Christ is the only son of god , anyone who believe in Christ finally get eternal life.
The major Christian classic is the bible. The "bible" is consist of the new testament and the old testament. The Old Testament has 39 parts writing about the things happened during 1000-B.C. to 100A.D. the most important parts including genesis, the exodus, "Levi remember", "the number of people remember", "deuteronomy". The New Testament came after the rise of Christian, with a total of 27 volumes. The first four volumes talks about the legend of Jesus' words and deeds, and the legend of the Jesus' apostles.
Part Three: Germanic Culture
In the latter part of the fourth century the Huns swept into Europe from central Asia, robbing and killing as they came along, and large numbers of the half civilized Germanic tribes such as the Visigoths, the Franks, the Angles and Saxons, and the Vandals fled their homelands in northern Europe and were pushed to cross the Danube river into the territory of the Roman Empire. In A.D. 476 a Germanic general killed the last Roman emperor and took control of the government. While the Eastern Roman Empire continued, the power of ancient Rome was gone. In its place mushroomed a great many Germanic kingdoms, which in a few hundred years were to grew into the nations known as England, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany. This is a period in which classical, Hebrew and Gothic heritages merged. And it is this fusion and blending of different ideas and practices that paved the way for the development of what is present-day European culture.
Christianity played a very important role in Europe political life of the feudal society; it became the spiritual pillar of the feudal system. Christian world rejected alien and militant control (o ne of the most famous was the Crusades). Especially a few times to invade Palestine. Although it ended in failure, but promoted the cultural exchange between east and west, and prepared for the formation of the monarchy.
In the academy and science, Charlemagne and his Carolingian Renaissance, Alfred the Great and his academic centre, St. Thomas Aquinas’ Scholasticism and Roger Bacon, all did great contribution to the preserve and development of the culture.
In literary, there was a long Epic. The Anglo-Saxon's epic "the Europe of Woolf" is the most complete one spread until now, and the song of Roland is the most famous French epic. There were also great poets, Dante and Chaucer. And the famous Italian poet Dante's "divine comedy" is the landmark in the world literature history, expressing the upcoming Renaissance humanistic ideas. Geoffrey Chaucer is called the first short story writer in English literature history and the first modern poet, his most famous work is the Canterbury tales.
The architecture and art is mainly the Romanesque and gothic, they are the extension of classical art.
To sum up, European Civilization has inherited a lot from the Classical Civilization, including ancient Greek philosophy sense, ancient Roman laws, Latin language, and most significantly, Christianity.
And those three cultures we have talked about are the main resources of European culture; they are all of vital importance in the development of European culture.