repeatedly, and indeed many of us believe to be true, that there is nothing new under the sun, it is nevertheless always a little startling to find that issues that we consider to be thoroughly modern have in fact been being discussed for thousands Continue Reading...
Lysistrata Of Aristophanes' 11 plays that are still extant, Lysistrata is perhaps his most famous. Certainly the play's contemporary popularity stems not a little from the fact that it resonates sympathetically with many of the scholarly concerns th Continue Reading...
Socrates Both comedy and tragedy are "related to emotional needs and religious longings that became crystallized and structured in ritualistic celebrations and festivals," (34). Both can be framed as "catalysts" that force "some sort of conversion" Continue Reading...
Isocrates: No Sophist A strict definition of sophistry has evolved throughout the centuries, yet sophists are identifiable in every age, whether in Plato's Dialogues, Shakespeare's dramas, or today's politicians and scholars. What then is a sophist? Continue Reading...
Aristophanes Acharnians, Knights, and Clouds are three of the most revered works by Aristophanes. These works are of particular interest to this discourse because they have clear political and social nuances which affected the manner in which they w Continue Reading...
Ancient European History The image of the Greek philosopher, a man who addressed issues both of cosmic significance and of political moment, is embodied in Socrates, a man known largely by the writings about him from his students, such as Plato, and Continue Reading...
Socrates As Navia puts it, "there are not many things that are known about Socrates with certainty," (15). Historians do know the philosophers years of birth and death (469 BCE and 399 BCE, respectively), and the fact that he was poisoned by an Athe Continue Reading...
Lysistrata stands in the foreground, guiding the men to peace, despite the fact that neither side wants to admit blame. She reminds the Spartans of Athenian assistance in the wake of the quake, and she likewise reminds the Athenians of Spartan assis Continue Reading...
Heroic Ideal Greece, Rome An Analysis of the Heroic Ideal from Ancient Greece to Roman Empire The mythopoetic tradition in Greece begins with Homer's Iliad, which balances the heroic figures of Achilles and Hector, two opposing warriors and men of Continue Reading...
Socrates and Plato Greek philosophy held a preeminent place in the middle ages among scholastics like Thomas Aquinas, whose Summa Theologica was an attempt to reconcile faith and reason. The faith aspect was supplied by the Church, but the reason ca Continue Reading...
Classic Literature for a New Generation When one watches "Rambo: First Blood Part II" are we actually watching a contemporary version of the Iliad about the ferocity of Achilles on and off the battleground? When we watch Francis Ford Coppola's "Godf Continue Reading...
