The culture of ancient Greece reflects the importance of the individual in society in many differentways. The Greeks used art, philosophy, and even their system of government to convey their beliefsin the importance of one single man in a society. Greek artists showed value for the individual. All people were portrayed in Greek art, from thesagging old woman to the ideal athlete. Although early Greek art focused on the human ideal, theirlater art shows that the Greeks appreciated all forms, and found the human body in general to be a beautiful thing. Even the gods in Greek art showed how highly the Greeks valued humanity. The gods were depicted as humans, and were made to human scale; no huge overpowering deity was everportrayed in their art. The Greeks appreciated themselves in their art as much as they appreciated thegods. Even on the most famous temple of all time, the Parthenon, humans were portrayed. The friezethat adorned the upper face of the Parthenon depicted the human procession in honour of the godIt was not just sculptures and architecture that showed Greek pride in the individual. Greek

The Greeks valued human emotions; theirplays covered a wide array of subjects, all the way from the tragedies of war to the comedic side ofa society in the perils of war. Humans were the subjects of statues, dramatic performances, and evenphilosophical debate. Like the various forms of Greek art, the government of ancient Greece appreciated the individual bycreating an environment in which individuals were free to express themselves. dramashowed a huge appreciation for humans in all their glory. The various characteristics of Greek society show pride in the individual in a number of differentways. Socrates also valued peoplein that he believed human beings and their environment are the essential subject of philosophicalinquiry, meaning that humans and their actions were extremely complex and hard to understand, sothey were worth studying. This democracy was made up of a number of committees who did everythingfrom working the laws all the way to handling military affairs. After the end of tyranny, Greece had a democracy; a government ruled by thepeople for the people. Along with creating a fair society for its citizens to live in, the Greeks also promoted the forwardthinking and ideas of its people. The Greeks created an environment in which human actions, emotions, and imaginations wereappreciated and encouraged. Thesetyrants reformed the state in many ways; they helped make it possible for the rich and poor to haveequal rights, and they created the conditions for the construction of the splendid monumentalbuildings ancient Greece is remembered for today. These subjects made it possible to reveal the Greek appreciation for reallife situations, showing the value they placed on human actions, but most of all on human nature. Tyrants like Pisistratusand Cleisthenes came to power to try and make the polis a better place for the individual. Although not all tyrants were good, they all hadone thing in common: they were all citizens of Greece, and ruled to improve the lifestyle of thecitizens of Greece. This system also made it so that even the poor citizens were not powerless, andit enabled Greek legislation to be governed by new people with new ideas every term.

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