1. Cultural Diffusion
The Legacy of Historical Eras
Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages,
the Renaissance

2. Ancient Greece Contributed…
Inventions such as…
• Democracy
• The Olympics
• Theater
• The Alphabet
Innovations in…
• Technology
• Science
• Architecture
• Medicine
• Mathematics
• Philosophy
• Literature
• Art
• Language
• History & Geography

3. PARTHENON, ATHENS,
GREECE

4. COLUMNS - KARYTIDES

5. Socrates Archimedes

6. Homer
Author of two of the world’s
greatest epic stories:
The Iliad
•The story of the Trojan War
The Odyssey
•The story of Odysseus, the
hero of the Trojan War

7. AMPHITHEATER
AT EPIDAURUS,
GREECE
Greeks invented theater with
tragedies and comedies.
Playwrights included
Aristophanes, Euripides,
Sophocles

8. Theater of
Dionysus

9. OLYMPIC TRACK
OLYMPIA - GREECE
TRACK AT EPIDAURUS,
GREECE
Greek Olympics

10. WINGED VICTORY
“NIKE”
Currently on display
at the Louvre Art
Museum in Paris,
France

11. CORINTH CANAL
CORINTH, GREECE

12. Ancient Rome
Contributed…
Inventions such as…
• Republic
• Arches
• Domes
• Coliseum
• Julian Calendar
• Numbering system
Innovations such as…
• Written laws
• Paved roads
• Transporting water
• Architecture
• Literature
• Art
• Religion

13. The Roman Forum
Where the Romans met &
shopped

14. The Roman Coliseum
Home of the Gladiators

15. PANTHEON
ROME, ITALY

16. Arches
Constantine’s Arch
Rome, Italy
Arc de Triomphe Paris, France
Picture of La Defense,
Paris
Paris, France

17. Aqueducts
The Roman
Pipe System

18. Notice the Roman
road and the cross
walk below.
Roman Roads

19. ROMAN FAST FOOD
POMPEII, ITALY

20. Cast of Roman citizen left
behind after eruption of
Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.
“Beware of Dog” sign
Pompeii, Italy
Circa Roman Empire

21. Contributions of the Middle
Ages…
• Limited Government (Magna Carta)
• Architecture (Gothic Cathedrals)
• Art (Stained Glass Windows)
• Literature (Robin Hood, King Arthur, Canterbury
Tales, Beowulf)
• Universities (Sorbonne, Oxford, Cambridge)
• Spread of Christianity
• Formation of Nation-States

22. Limited Government
The Magna Carta
The basis for the United States Constitution

23. King John of England (right) and an English baron agreeing to Magna Carta. A
detail from the bronze doors of the U.S. Supreme Court building, Washington, D.C.
Credit: Image courtesy of the U.S. Supreme Court.

24. Gothic Cathedrals
Chartres, France

26. Notre Dame Cathedral
begun in 1163

27. Notre Dame
Cathedral
flying
buttresses
c. 1175

28. Chartres Cathedral buttresses

29. Flying
Buttress
diagram

30. Other Gothic
innovations
• pointed arch (instead of round
arch)
• ribbed vault (instead of dome)
• stained glass windows
(see pp. 163-170)
WHO CAME UP WITH THESE
IDEAS?

31. Oxford University,
England

32. The Crusades
Created trade between
Europe & Asia once
again.

33. Formation of Nation-States
Nation-states developed with
strong central governments, single
rulers, laws, and full time armies.
City-States decline
except in Italy

34. The Renaissance
Contributed…
Inventions such as…
• Printing Press
• Telescope
• Microscope
• Mechanical Clocks
• Eyeglasses
• Flush Toilet
• Gunpowder
• Submarine
• Wall Paper
Innovations in…
• Art
• Architecture
• Science
• Technology
• Map Making
• Trade
• Theater
• Navigation/Sailing
• Exploration
• Spread of Religion

35. Improvements in Art
• Began to use perspective
• Art became more life-like and
three-dimensional
• Famous artists
•Leonardo da Vinci
•Michelangelo
• Sculpture resembled that of
Greeks & Romans
VS.

36. Innovations in Architecture
Il Duomo,
Florence, Italy
Rediscovered
how to make
domes.

38. Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy

39. Theater/Literature
• Revival of drama & theater
• William Shakespeare (1564-
1616)
– Author of many famous
plays
• Romeo & Juliet
• Hamlet
• Julius Caesar, etc.
– Performed at Globe
Theater

40. Scientific Discoveries
Galileo Galilei
• Invented telescope
• Confirmed orbit of
Earth around sun
• Scientific Method
Anthony Leeuwenhoek
• “Father of Microscope”

41. Printing Press
Printing Press & Moveable Type:
• First used by German monk,
Johannes Gutenberg
• Allowed books to be printed
in languages other than Latin
• Before – books were
handwritten by members of
the clergy
• Allowed more Europeans
access to books; more people
learned to read

42. Exploration & Discovery of “New
World”
• Invention of astrolabe & modern
compass allow for better
navigation
• European merchants want new
trade routes to the East for
spices
• Christopher Columbus discovers
“New World” in 1492
• Ferdinand Magellan
circumnavigates the world in
1520-21

43. Catholic Reformation
Martin Luther
– German monk who
criticized the Church
– Wrote “95 Theses”
– Translated the Bible into
German
– Prompted many to
challenge the Roman
Catholic Church
– Protestant denominations
began (Lutheran, Baptist,
Presbyterian, Methodist)
Henry VIII
– King of England
– Wanted to divorce his
wife, Catherine of
Aragon
– Broke away from
Catholic Church and
created Church of
England (Anglican
Church)
– Married Anne Boleyn