The Role of Greco-christianity in Preserving Ancient Aristocratic Cultural Values

Abstract

Historical evidence shows that Christianity survived Greco-Roman civilization to become its cultural heiress. In this paper, we focus on the Greco-Roman social values assimilated and transmitted by Christianity, leaving aside the institutional and political dimensions of the process. We are interested in the system of values because, as values determine peoples’ everyday lives, they transfer us directly to the domain of morality. Thus, the ancient Greco-Roman moral legacy takes on more importance than the political one (democracy). The quintessence of this archaic moral legacy resides in the idea of agathós (the superior man), an idea assumed by Greek (Athenian) democracy and inherited by Rome before being incorporated into the Christian doctrine and passed onto the bourgeoisie, who made it part of the culture of modern democracies.