Why were people

[archieclement]

then so fascinated with Greek/Roman culture? It seems art, architecture, philosophy, college courses were all influenced by that period.

 

[Peace Society]

That was the main component of a "classical education". It wasn't til more recently that we got away from that. Not sure when - around the turn of the then century? Definitely by the 1950s.

 

[jackt62]

At least in art and architecture, classical standards as defined by the Greeks/Romans held sway for centuries. Those standards were questioned and challenged in the late 19th century and the 20th century by artists like Picasso and architects like Le Corbusier who believed that the "modern era" needed new forms of expressionism. I would say that the rapid pace of industrial, economic, and scientific development that began in the 19th century had a major role to play in creating those new forms.

 

[A. Roy]

Personally, modernism has give me a few things to like and many things to dislike. When I walk around in Washington, D.C., I'm awestruck by the monumental classical architecture around me.

Roy B.

 

[archieclement]

At least in art and architecture, classical standards as defined by the Greeks/Romans held sway for centuries. Those standards were questioned and challenged in the late 19th century and the 20th century by artists like Picasso and architects like Le Corbusier who believed that the "modern era" needed new forms of expressionism. I would say that the rapid pace of industrial, economic, and scientific development that began in the 19th century had a major role to play in creating those new forms.

Always found it odd there was several more modern European empires or powers, that they kept emulating ones so ancient

 

[jackt62]

Always found it odd there was several more modern European empires or powers, that they kept emulating ones so ancient

True the great European empires such as Spain, Great Britain, and France emulated those ancient classical styles, but even those Europeans got swept away by modern trends in the 20th century. As far as we're concerned, consider CW statues and monuments. In the US, all of those that were designed and built in the decades following the war were done so in the "classical" style with a lot of heroic poses and ornamentation. But by the 20th century, although monuments are still being designed that way (WWII memorial in Washington, General Longstreet statue in Gettysburg), many have been designed in the more austere, evocative tradition of the "modernist" movement (Vietnam War memorial, 9/11 memorials New York, Washington).

 

[Ole Miss]

I suspect that the early Americans, not referring to the indigenous peoples, were of European ancestry, especially British. The European settlers revered the heritage of the Greeks and Romans as evidenced by the removal of the Parthenon Marbles from the Acropolis of Athens which ended up in the British Museum. This interest in the Mediterranean culture is still evident in the 2 major history offerings in colleges of American History or the History of Western
Civilianization.
Of course this is just the opinion of an old geezer, so take it with a grain of salt.
Regards
David