U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a wide-ranging address in Athens on Western civilization, standing before the Acropolis and arguing that the United States and Europe must rediscover the qualities that built the West and apply them to the challenges of the coming decade. The remarks, titled “In Defense of Western Civilization,” were published by the State Department on Oct. 8.

A debt to Greece

Rubio, who described himself as the great-grandson of settlers who came to the New World from Spain, opened with the Athenians who barricaded themselves on the Acropolis against the Persians, then rebuilt the Parthenon under Pericles. He said America’s history is “covered with the fingerprints of antiquity,” from the columns and domes of Washington to the Greek name of Philadelphia, the city where the Constitution was born. He noted that the most commonly cited author in the Federalist Papers was Plutarch.

Beyond democracy and philosophy, Rubio said, the debt runs deeper: the Greeks embodied traits that define the West, including individuality, ambition, curiosity and the conviction that the unknown can be known. He said that foundation paved the way for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to take root in Europe and informed Christian theology and the natural law tradition.

“The Greeks did not just shape history; the Greeks gave us history itself.”Secretary of State Marco Rubio

“Building downwards” versus building up

Rubio argued that much of the modern West has lost the ancient Greek “thumos,” the fire of passion, strength, courage and pride. He said Western societies came to feel ashamed of their own exceptionalism, tore down monuments, opened borders, outsourced industry, let militaries wither and transferred decisions to global bureaucracies. By contrast, he said, the builders of the Parthenon “built upwards.”

He warned that the next decade’s decisions will shape the next century, saying the West will either “choose to act now or lose the choice to act at all.”

The Trump administration’s choice

Rubio said the United States under President Trump has chosen “the unapologetic pursuit of national power,” including reclaiming critical supply chains, reindustrializing the economy, rebuilding defense and competing for the technologies of the future, from advanced manufacturing and superintelligence to chips, minerals, cyber and space. He said that includes returning astronauts to the moon.

He argued that the ancient Greeks understood that statecraft requires diplomacy but also the credible ability to use force when diplomacy fails, a classical view of politics he said the administration hopes to reclaim for the whole civilization.

A call to Europe, and praise for Greece

Rubio said he believes Europe can “awaken from its long slumber,” pointing to rising defense spending, new partnerships and expanded production across the continent, following last year’s defense commitments in The Hague. He called Greece an indispensable friend and “a model ally” on energy, migration and defense, and expressed hope that all of Europe would follow its example.

He said strains between the United States and Europe must not be allowed to break their bonds, and cited a new agreement among the United States, Denmark and Greenland that he said will reshape the Arctic and strengthen NATO. “We want to win together. We must win together,” he said.

“The story of our civilization is the greatest story ever known to man.”Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Duty, heroism and a contrast with Iran

Rubio argued that loyalty to one’s nation is not selfish, citing Socrates, the 300 Spartans and Achilles as models of duty, and tracing that ethic to the Christian martyr and the American patriot. He contrasted Western heroism, which he said values life, with what he called the cult of death promoted by Iran’s radical mullahs.

He closed by recalling Daniel Webster’s 1824 address to Congress in support of the Greek revolution, in which Webster said Americans, “like the rest of mankind, are greatly her debtors.” Rubio urged Americans, Europeans and allies across the West to be “intensely proud” of where they come from and to rediscover the courage and strength to meet today’s dangers.