Ancient Greek Inventions That Changed Everything

Thousands of years after the collapse of their civilization, the Greek empire still reigns as one of those most successful of all time. Sure they gave us things like the Olympics, but they were more than just athletes. They were thinkers, and pioneers in many areas of science and philosophy that still influence us today. You could fill a large tanker with all of the cultural and technological contributions the ancient Greeks have made to humanity, in which case you'd probably want to use an Archimedes Screw to remove them, but here are a few of the most impactful ancient Greek inventions. 

Let's start with some of the basics, like columns and stadiums, which Ancient History Encyclopedia credits to the ancient Greeks, and can be found in just about city in the world today. Of course, these allowed for other cultural inventions like gymnasiums and baths, which they can also take credit for. And before we move on, Interesting Engineering notes that the Greeks built the first modern theaters and pioneered the art form, giving rise to the tragedies, comedies and satirical forms that are as relevant as ever.

This one's struggling a bit more these days, but how about democracy? Yup, that's a Greek invention. All Athenians were allowed and encouraged to participate in government, and votes were decided by a show of hands. In this respect, America owes its existence to ancient Greece. 

Of course, hand in hand with politics is philosophy, and while it would be unfair to the rest of the world to call it a Greek invention, they deserve recognition for their contributions from figures like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, among many more.

From there, it's a short step to mathematics, which received large contributions from figures like Pythagoras, whose theorem is the bane of geometry students everywhere. Greeks also gave us deductive reasoning, which had huge implications in across every thought discipline for its emphasis on logic and proof.

Here's another sick contribution: Greeks such as Hippocrates pioneered modern medicine and understanding of the body, and a version of his Hippocratic Oath is still sworn by medical professionals today.

Engineering? Check. Levers, arch bridges, cranes, and catapults are but of few of ancient Greece's achievements, along with the water clock and water mill. Need more proof Greeks were awesome? They invented alarm clocks, a form of computer, plumbing, pioneered cartography and navigation with things like the astrolabe, and kept things hot with bellows and "Greek Fire", which we still aren't even totally sure how to make.

The point is, like O'Doyle, ancient Greece rules.