Cyprus-Forum.com

[Hyder]

Wow, been pretty busy since I last checked in.

The question was sincere, so I think you were needlessly rude & confrontational Kimon07 but I do genuinely appreciate the obvious effort that you have put in with links etc. I knew a decent chunk of that stuff but I have learned things too.
I'm afraid I don't have your work ethic so I won't be supplying links to the contributions of ancient China, India, the Mayans or the Arabs but if you look into it I'm sure you'll agree that they did a few things too.

I guess as other posters have pointed out this boils down the distinction between ancient & modern Greece. It seems the moderns really are dining out on tales of greatness that they perhaps should share more widely as the geography was somewhat different.
It also begs the question 'what went wrong?' as not much of note seems to have come out of Greece since the time of Christ (give or take a couple of centuries).

[Hyder]

Every decent university in Britain (and most parts of the Western world) has a whole department to answer your question "What's so great about Greece?"... but you apparently have never been in one

Well LSE is number 5 in the world university rankings for economics, & number 1 in Europe. Given that is what I wanted to study that's where I went.
I didn't notice a 'What's So Great About Greece' Faculty but I think the place qualifies as decent. Cambridge probably has one but I turned down my offer of a place there.

Where did you study?

[GreekIslandGirl]

Every decent university in Britain (and most parts of the Western world) has a whole department to answer your question "What's so great about Greece?"... but you apparently have never been in one

Well LSE is number 5 in the world university rankings for economics, & number 1 in Europe. Given that is what I wanted to study that's where I went.
I didn't notice a 'What's So Great About Greece' Faculty but I think the place qualifies as decent. Cambridge probably has one but I turned down my offer of a place there.

Where did you study?

Did you go with one of the generous scholarships Stelios Haji-Ioannou donated?

http://www2.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/news ... onLSE.aspx

You said above that modern-day Greeks are "dining out" on the claims of their glorious history. On the contrary, most serious "economists" would say the opposite is true (as we witness here daily) - that in fact the Greeks are constantly ridiculed and beaten up because of the chip-on-the-shoulder the western capitalists have against the legacy of Greece and its democracy building.

I think modern Greeks carry the burden of their inheritance very well. They are a calm, soft-spoken nation which strives to instill good moral and ethical habits into their children, either by way of religion or education or both. Indeed, this was probably what most ancient Greeks did on a daily basis too.

Not every British person today is a Newton or a Darwin or a ... erm ... erm ... anymore anyone?

[kimon07]

Wow, been pretty busy since I last checked in.

The question was sincere, so I think you were needlessly rude & confrontational Kimon07......

That is because i suspected that you were an old member using a new alias. I apologise if I am/was wrong.

......I'm afraid I don't have your work ethic so I won't be supplying links to the contributions of ancient China, India, the Mayans or the Arabs but if you look into it I'm sure you'll agree that they did a few things too.

No body doubts the grandeur of the oriental civilizations. But the Greek civilisation is usually examined in regard to its influence to the European civilisation and to the evolution of Europe.

I guess as other posters have pointed out this boils down the distinction between ancient & modern Greece. It seems the moderns really are dining out on tales of greatness that they perhaps should share more widely as the geography was somewhat different.

My point is that the moderns, Greeks and other Europeans alike, are "dining out" not on "tales of greatness" but on the fruits of the ancient achievements, which were the solid base of the progress of today in every field.

It also begs the question 'what went wrong?' as not much of note seems to have come out of Greece since the time of Christ (give or take a couple of centuries).

You obviously have not seen yet my posts above about Byzantium, the contribution of Byzantine Greeks to the European renaissance and about modern Greece. Concerning what went wrong recently, my post above about modern Greece gives you ample material, I think.

[Me Ed]

My point is that the moderns, Greeks and other Europeans alike, are "dining out" not on "tales of greatness" but on the fruits of the ancient achievements, which were the solid base of the progress of today in every field.

Your misunderstanding the idiom, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basking_in_Reflected_Glory.

The central point is that the recent world changing achievements of say the British, even if they utilise in small part ideas from classical antiquity, whether it be Greek, Roman, Chinese etc., are clear to see, where modern Greeks are reduced to basking in reflected glory.

[Piratis]

It also begs the question 'what went wrong?' as not much of note seems to have come out of Greece since the time of Christ (give or take a couple of centuries).

The Byzantine Empire was essentially Greek and for many centuries it has been the most advanced and civilized place in the world.

Then Greece fell under Ottoman rule. That is "what went wrong". The Ottomans pushed Greece deep into the dark ages while most Greek intellectuals escaped to other Christian territories and helped them to continue evolving the European civilization.

The Ottoman rule ended in the 1800s, when western Europe was already far ahead. Since then Greeks had to continually fight with the 5+ times more numerous Turks just to maintain their freedom.

You talked about how great the UK is, but everything that you talked about is history also. Nothing much comes out of Britain today. Now we live the "American Era". In a couple of decades it will be the turn of the Chinese.

Many nations contributed to the civilization we have today and the contribution of the Greeks is one of the biggest ones and that is really undisputed by anybody who knows the facts.

I didn't notice a 'What's So Great About Greece' Faculty but I think the place qualifies as decent. Cambridge probably has one but I turned down my offer of a place there.

If you really cared about "'What's So Great About Greece" you should have gone to Cambridge then. Did you expect to learn in a forum thread what is the subject of whole university departments?

[Get Real!]

The Byzantine Empire was essentially Greek and for many centuries it has been the most advanced and civilized place in the world.

The severe brain damage of Cyprus' children on display at the CF 24/7...

[ZoC]

The Byzantine Empire was essentially Greek and for many centuries it has been the most advanced and civilized place in the world.

The severe brain damage of Cyprus' children on display at the CF 24/7...

don't sweat it, gr! everything's essentially greek. and everything essential is greek. and everything greek is essential.

just put these on, disengage ur faculties, and enjoy the view...

spec.jpg

[Hermes]

What's so great about Greece?

"[The Greeks] were the first Westernizers; the spirit of the West, the modern spirit, is a Greek discovery and the place of the Greeks is in the modern world." [Edith Hamilton]

"A knowledge of Greek thought and life, and of the arts in which the Greeks expressed their thought and sentiment, is essential to high culture. A man may know everything else, but without this knowledge he remains ignorant of the best intellectual and moral achievements of his own race." [Charles Eliot Norton]

"Of all peoples the Greeks have dreamt the dream of life best." [Goethe]

[Get Real!]

The Byzantine Empire was essentially Greek and for many centuries it has been the most advanced and civilized place in the world.

The severe brain damage of Cyprus' children on display at the CF 24/7...

don't sweat it, gr! everything's essentially greek. and everything essential is greek. and everything greek is essential.

just put these on, disengage ur faculties, and enjoy the view...

spec.jpg

That sure looks like the standard Greek-sponsored gymnasium graduation certificate they’ve been handing out to students in Cyprus!