Discuss the creative background of the ancient Greeks and Romans and their impact upon Western Civilization.

Discuss the creative background of the ancient Greeks and Romans and their impact upon Western Civilization.

Be sure to include Greek and Roman examples of their contributions to TWO of the following areas of artistic achievement, and how those contributions to art have had lasting effects on the Western world.

philosophy
literature
theater
architecture
sculpture

Writing guidelines:
PURPOSE: Your critical response involves analysis, evaluation, and critical thinking.  A Response is not just an “opinion paper.”  You need to make claims about Greek, Roman, and modern western culture and most importantly, you need to give examples from course reading, videos, and/or outside sources.  Don’t just discuss the production – use your critical thinking to support your claims with evidence!
FORMAT: the paper should be 5 pages in length, and double-spaced with one-inch margins. (Dont worry, if you discuss all aspects of the prompt, you should have no trouble getting to 5 double-spaced pages)
PLAGIARISM:  To write with originality and depth, you must use your own voice and resist the urge to plagiarize. This assignment requires little to no outside research and is meant to be a pure analysis of the information by you alone. Feel free to quote from your text, course readings, course videos, etc. Just be sure to cite properly. Copying from sparknotes.com or any of the college essay sites is easily detectable and takes away your chance to trust yourself and make observations about your analysis of the information. 
STRUCTURE:  Make sure you include the basic information early in the opening of your paper: cultures you will be discussing; types of art you will discuss; tie that info to the overall Western world.  The body of your paper must include specific examples from Greek and Roman Arts (philosophy, theatre, sculpture, and architecture), a discussion of the style and themes, the context (historical background info) in which they were created, and your evaluation of their impact on the Western world at large. Then Conclude.   
The following questions may help you to analyze the course information. Your paper should address these questions for the areas of Art you have chosen

Explain the context (historical background) of the ancient Greeks and Romans. What kind of lives did they lead socially, economically, politically? How do you think these aspects of their lives affected the way they approached and produced art (philosophy, literature, theater, sculpture, and architecture)? Does social, political, and economic status affect the way we approach and produce those same types of art today? How so?
Compare and contrast the philosophical thought of the Greeks and Romans. What kinds of questions did they ask? What were they interested in explaining about human life? How did they view the world overall? What do those views say about their culture? How have their contributions to philosophy lasted into the modern Western world?
Discuss how the Romans both copied and transformed Greek theater. How do you think the theater of the modern Western world compares? We have obviously made changes to the theater since then, but what similarities are still present to this day?
Describe the style of Greek sculpture and of Roman sculpture. What were the common subjects of their respective sculptures? What was the purpose of their respective sculptures? Did the Greek model of the ideal man/woman affect the way the Western world views beauty? If so, in what way? For how long? What kinds of sculptures does the Western world erect today? What do all of these examples say about our cultures?
Describe the style of Greek and Roman architecture. Who did these cultures build for? What advances were made? Are our modern buildings influenced by Greek or Roman styles?