Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Ancient Greek warfare wikipedia , lookup
History of science in classical antiquity wikipedia , lookup
Thebaid (Latin poem) wikipedia , lookup
Ancient Greek philosophy wikipedia , lookup
Ancient Greek medicine wikipedia , lookup
Ancient Greek literature wikipedia , lookup
Thebes, Greece wikipedia , lookup
Greek mythology wikipedia , lookup
The Iliad vs. The Burial at Thebes From literature to philosophy to art Homer • b. sometime around 800 b.c.e.? • creator of epic poetry • wrote The Iliad and The Odyssey • we know NOTHING of him The Iliad • Agamemnon and the Greeks are beginning their 10th year of fighting the Trojans • Achilles, the best fighter, will not enter the battle because of his rage toward Agamemnon • through the intervention of the Gods, the Greeks eventually begin to overpower the Trojans • culmination of the battle occurs when Achilles defeats Hector • we are foretold of events to come, e.g. Achilles’ death • the poem focuses on great heroic battle Tensions and Themes • • • • Rage Heroic Acts Duty and Honor Ideal representation of Greek manhood • Intervention of the Gods • Guide to proper behavior Sophocles • b. 496 b.c.e. • d. 406 b.c.e. • most prolific Greek tragedians, wrote 125 plays • only 7 of these plays survive The Burial at Thebes • written around 442 b.c.e. • simple plot line of conflict between Creon and his niece Antigone • Antigone, name means “born to oppose” in Greek • against the law of Creon, she buries her brother • she is sentenced to death for the crime • she hangs herself • Creon’s son and wife kill themselves in response to Antigone’s death • What happens to Creon at the end? – he gives up the throne after “seeing the light” Tensions and Themes • tyranny vs. democracy – Creon vs. Haemon • who might the Athenian people have sided with? • fate – Oedipus as source of destiny • The Gods and Heroes – What role do they play? – Who are they? Greek Philosophy • Sophists – offered wisdom to students – emphasis on development of practical skills like public speaking – committed to humanistic values – “man is the measure of all things” – human beings have the power to make judgments about themselves and their world – helped to free the human spirit to become more creative – tendency toward skepticism – undermined traditional values of the power of the Gods • Socrates (470-399 b.c.e.) – opposed Sophists – also focused on human problems and empowerment of humans to make moral choices – belief in an enduring moral and intellectual order in the universe – the psyche is the most important thing – it must be nurtured by knowledge – one gains knowledge through stimulating conversations, debates, and abstract thinking – he was seen as a heretic and a corruptor and was sentenced to death after Athens falls to the Spartans in 404 b.c.e. – died by ingesting hemlock How does Philosophy relate to The Iliad and The Burial at Thebes? • The Iliad – traditionally philosophical text – uses the Gods as the controllers of human fate – Achilles = hero b/c he is godlike • The Burial at Thebes – Sophist or Socratic? – role of the Gods? – what defines a hero? How does Art figure into this?