Could you imagine life in the United States today without concepts such as democracy, libraries, the alphabet, art, philosophy, mathematics, and some architectural elements? (Anonemuss, 2010) Daily life would have completely changed without these innovations and many others. So, where did we get these ideas initially? Well it dates back to the Greeks and Romans. Many aspects of modern life have been influenced by their cultures, ideas and inventions. Then there is also the question of whether classical Greece or classical Rome influenced the contemporary United States more. In my opinion, classical Greece had a greater impact on our lives. In fact it has been stated that the Greeks are considered the first group of people from the ancient civilization that our society feels it can connect and relate to. (Kreis, 2000) What then is the classical era? The Classical Greek era dates back to 500-323 BC and was considered the period of maturity, discovery and achievement. During this era Athens was ruled by a democratic government, there was a more rational approach to exploring and explaining the world, and the Greeks first adopted art with a more realistic and humanistic approach. (Sakoulas, 2002) During the classical era culture was based on a mixture of the old culture and the new. The old is based on religious beliefs while the new occurs largely in part due to trade routes. Trade routes helped bring men from different areas and cultures to Athens. This allowed Athens to become something of a “melting pot” and allowed for great economic growth. From this came things like the production of dramas, comedies, plays and artists. As stated by Steven Kreis “The Athenian d...... middle of paper ...... marks the transition from the archaic to the classical period. The Romans continued with a more realistic style with statues such as Aristocrat with Ancestors and Marcus Aurelius. In the wall paintings of Pompeii the artists used great color and realism on people's faces. Works Cited Anonemuss. (2010, May 8). Greek influences today. Retrieved from: http://anonemuss.hubpages.com/hub/Greek-Influences-today Damerow, H. (2006, May). Retrieved from: http://faculty.ucc.edu/egh-damerow/romans.htmKreis, S. (2000). Lesson 7 Classical Greece, 500-323 BC Retrieved from: http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture7b.html Sakoulas, Thomas. (2002). History of Greece: Classical Greece. Ancient-Greece.org. [13/03/2014]< http://www.ancient-greece.org/history/classical.html>.Roman society, Roman life. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.roman-empire.net/society/society.html