2. Athens:

The Greeks, on the other hand, are both the group of city-states (polis) and colonies that are independent of each other (Athens, Sparta, Thebes; Syracuse and Magna Graecia, Marseilles, etc.) and the development of encyclopaedic culture (as the literal translation suggests, this is circular education, embracing an entire circle, i.e. a complete education). So the Greeks were, among other things, thirsty for knowledge and the desire to know wisdom, which is well represented by the circle in general. In Europe, too, they were the first thinkers and philosophers (see the famous 7 Wise Men), the first poets and playwrights, the first historians and scientists. The Greeks were indeed the first of the Indo-European peoples to leave a lasting and uniform mark of quality on the international stage.

The colour green is there to show the start, the green light, of this artistic and intellectual research that was initiated in Europe and this natural growth of the creative principles of our society. Freedom and democracy are the most important contributions of Greek culture to political thought. Greece allowed freedom of thought and expression, both political and philosophical, to a limited number of citizens, but it allowed them to do so. Let's not forget that women and slaves didn't count politically, which is why Greek regimes were more similar to aristocracies. Nevertheless, Athens was undoubtedly the most liberal of all the Greek cities, although we may well wonder why they put Socrates to death if there was total freedom of expression and thought among the citizens.

The Greeks were generally reflective and philosophical, and art was synonymous with proportion, balance and perfection. In education, too, the sense of utility was not important, it was not essential, but rather beauty in its ideal sense, of a desired or desired image.

Art objects were appreciated. Sculptures in the human form were idealised and followed a canon, often of completely naked people, representing the Greek ideal. Art was therefore characterised by the quest for beauty and perfection. Phidias became famous not only for his sculptures, but also for having been in charge of all the construction projects for the Acropolis in Athens.

There is no need to stress the importance of the sea to the Greeks either: they were boat builders, not road builders. As a result, their maritime vocabulary was highly developed, as were their fleets. Bronze was still the main metal used. From the adventures of Ulysses to Alexander the Great's conquest of the Middle East (maximum territorial expansion in 323 BC, uniting the West with the East for a very short time), the Greeks were driven to travel far, both in the imagination and in reality, by their thirst for discovery and their practical needs.

The 5th and 4th centuries BC were the key period of ancient Greece, whose apogee came in the Age of Pericles (which did not in fact last a century, but only half a century at the most, from 479 to 429 BC) with Athens, of course, remaining forever the Greece of Greece.

The legacy of the Greeks:

The English language abounds in expressions and words from the Greek language and mythology: an amphitryon (an host), a boeotian (a philistine), the Achilles heel (a vulnerable point), rich like Croesus (to be extremely rich), etc. The Greek language, derived from the Phoenician, will give birth to Latin, Cyrillic and Coptic among others.

In addition, we have the stone columns of Ancient Greece and their styles, copied by the Romans: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. The taste for body exercise remains very current, as well as the Olympic games that we owe them! Their ceramics too which is better preserved than their gold and silver treasures, than the temples statues, etc.

The love of the Greeks for music also served as an emulation for their scientific research. We use their mathematics (dear to Pythagoras, Thales of Miletus, Archimedes, Euclid and Democritus with his famous notion of the atom); we also use their length measurement systems. We keep the basics of geometry and arithmetic (Pythagoras), of astronomy (where Aristarchus of Samos determined that the Sun is the center of universe), as well as the basics of medicine (with Hippocrates and his famous oath) and of history itself (with Herodotus rightly considered as the father of history).

The legacy of the Greeks is therefore considerable on many levels.

Let us not forget first of all the principles of democracy and social organization (with Cleisthenes, Ephialtes and Pericles).

Moreover, we keep their temples, their heroes and their legends. The theatre remains marked by the figures of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Although they were imbued with a sense of the sacred, the line between religion and superstition was often blurred for them. Generally speaking, polytheism tended to degenerate into superstition rather than raise the moral level of the masses.

Nevertheless, the free Greeks are considered to be the fathers of philosophy and the first scientists, because they tried to give a rational explanation to the natural phenomena without resorting to religion or magic. In philosophy they set themselves the goal of a rational interpretation of the universe and nature (with Socrates and Plato, his follower, and Aristotle, follower of Plato). We now speak about Platonic and Aristotelian philosophies. As Plato with his Academy, Aristotle also had an enormous influence as founder of the Lyceum of Athens, the Peripatetic School, he who liked teaching by wandering: he is the founding father of logic and biology.

Let us not forget either, finally, the importance of art in Hellenistic period (from 323 BC to the Roman conquest) with artistic centers such as Alexandria (in Egypt), Antioch (in Syria), Halicarnassus, Ephesus and Pergamon (in Asia Minor) and the works from that period that are still famous today: the Venus of Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace or the altar from the temple of Zeus in Pergamon. What is more, Philostratus (3rd-2nd centuries BC) would much later introduce Andrea Mantegna (during the Italian Quattrocento) and Rubens (in the 16th-17th centuries AD) to the work of forgotten Greek painters, from Apelles to Zeuxis.

Finally, Greece's influence was above all intellectual: its moral, intellectual and literary influence even increased with the arrival of the Romans. Greece kept its games and Athens its schools. A trip to Greece always complemented a good Roman education. The emperor Hadrian was held to be the restorer of this Greece, whose unfortunate decline finally and fortunately led to the founding of Constantinople.

3. Jerusalem:

The Hebrews, also called Israelites or Jews according to the historical period concerned, remain a people apart. They really enjoy a particular situation, forming this fascinating and intriguing nation of Israel, since their moral laws depend directly on God. They draw from divine revelation as well their divine laws (Exodus 20), as their priestly laws (Leviticus) and their civil laws (Deuteronomy). 

The Torah for the Jews is an absolute reference, because their whole society revolves around it: it is the basis of their education (rabbinical teaching for the most intelligent students and for everyone else, weekly Torah readings in the synagogues); the Torah is also the basis of their justice, the source of their commentaries (such as the Midrash or the Talmud) and the source of their artistic inspiration (songs and dances in particular), and even the raison d'être of their cabbalistic research...

The star of David symbolises the unified monarchy of Israel in the 10th century BC, this kingdom of David and Solomon, highlight of Hebraic history, which lasted only 80 years, the time to leave us for until now more literary than archaeological traces. Nevertheless, the stele of Merenptah (circa 1210 BC) attests to the presence of a population called Israel in Canaan, as well as the Tel Dan stele demonstrates the existence of King David and his house.

Thanks to written Hebrew, a Semitic language resurrected by the voluntarism of the pioneers who built towns and villages, the Jews survived the Diaspora (dispersion outside the Land of Israel), preserving their language and customs, in the face of the multiple persecutions and pogroms (antisemitic acts of violence) they had to endure, not to mention the Holocaust. Despite their geographical dispersion and without territorial community (since the year 70 until this famous May 14th, 1948, date of the creation of the State of Israel in a single day), they nevertheless form a singular whole: that is why it is possible to speak of Hebraic civilization.

The colour yellow shows the light, the faith, the interior and precious life for man and humanity: it is indeed the light of divine revelation, this wisdom from above much more precious than silver or gold. The Jewish people is always the bearer of messages, testimonies and a prophetic call: it is also the only democracy in the entire Middle East.

The legacy of the Hebrews:

The archaeological legacy of the Hebrews seems to be less well known than their spiritual legacy, even though its importance is growing all the time, given the increasing number of archaeological digs being carried out in Israel.

What they passed on to us above all is the Torah, which forms the Pentateuch of the Old Testament of the Holy Bible, the Book of Books, that priceless book. Deuteronomy, for example, existed long before Roman law; it served as the basis for civil governments, including so-called democratic ones.

Let us not forget either the whole Judeo Christian tradition, dear to the West. Judaism is source of Christian iconography, just as Europe inherited its most important festivals, such as Easter. God first spoke to his people through the Law, then presented himself to his people in the living person of the Messiah, before his message of life spread through his Spirit throughout the Mediterranean basin and finally to the ends of the earth.

Furthermore, it should be noted that Christianity saved classical culture, known as Greco-Roman culture, and preserved culture in general, not only throughout the Middle Ages, but also during the Enlightenment and right up to the present day with the strengthening of both individual and political freedoms.

Good traders because they were nomads, forced to adapt constantly because they were also persecuted, the Jews are excellent in many areas. Just look at the list of Nobel Prize winners, for example: according to calculations, almost a fifth or even a quarter of the prizes awarded are to people of Jewish origin, including only Albert Einstein (science) and Ludwig Wittgenstein (philosophy). However, their tenacity can sometimes, if not quite often, be transformed into intransigence and their election into pride in believing themselves to be the best.

Last but not least, because of its spiritual influence, Jerusalem is the crossroads of civilisations. It unites all three of the world's monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Jews also know that in the future, during the Millennium, it will bring all the nations of the world together on its soil for the various annual festivals, just as they were blessed by a common ancestor, Abraham, if they put their faith in his testimony. This will be even more evident at the end of this 3rd World War, for example, when all the nations will come to fight Israel in the famous battle of Armageddon (just as a thousand years later, in the 4th and last World War, as revealed in Holy Scripture, Jerusalem will once again be at the centre of the world conflict).