Category: Ancient History

Introduction

The ancient Greek philosophers have played a fundamental function in the formulation of, not only the western philosophical tradition, but also modern philosophical thought. Many philosophers and other theorists today admit that ancient Greek philosophy has, for centuries now, shaped the entire western thought (Barnes 5).

The ancient Greek philosophers are known to have dissociated themselves from a mythological approach to explaining the events of the universe, and embraced a rather holistic approach based on reason and inquiry (Ancient Greek Philosophy para. 2).

However, according to the article, it is imperative to note that neither reason nor the quest for evidence started with the ancient Greeks, but the pre-Socratic philosophers endeavored to identify a single underlying standard that could be used to explain the whole cosmos, allowing in the process great progress in key areas of geometry, logic, and the sciences. This paper discusses the impact of ancient Greek philosophers’ seminal works and ideas on modern thought.

The western philosophical tradition commenced in earnest in ancient Greece in the 6^th century BCE, with the formation of the first caucus of philosophers going by the name ‘pre-Socratics’ (Ancient Greek Philosophy para. 4). Other ancient Greek philosophers that indelibly left a mark, and continues to impact modern thought, include Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Zeno of Citium, Epicurus, Pyrrho of Elis, among others.

These, and other ancient philosophers, merited Greece to be referred as the birthplace of Western culture due to the astounding advances and educated guesses made in a multi-disciplinary context (Knierim 1). Their speculations have productively anticipated findings of the 21^st century science.

Ancient Philosophers’ Contributions to Modern Thought

The fact that there exist palpable and comprehensible parallels between ancient Greek philosophy and Modern thought is undeniable. However, early Greeks perceived the world in a manner that one would today depict as holistic in that, disciplines such as science, religion, and philosophy were intertwined and coalesced into one worldview (Knierim 1).

This is not so today, but still, the ancient Greek philosophers continue to influence modern thought. Thales (624-546 BC) is one such philosopher, whose proposition about right angles commenced what is today known as deductive science. According to Thales, “…a triangle inscribed in a semicircle has a right angle” (Knierim 3).

This observation, though it may seem simple and straightforward, continues to inform mathematicians in the 21^st century, especially when it comes to Geometry. Deductive logic is still used in many disciplines to come up with well reasoned and accurate prepositions. Indeed, it was during Thales’ era that the notion on how all forms of substances can be diminished to a few elements was advanced.

Another main area where Greek philosophers have greatly influenced modern thought is in religion, especially in the interpretation and meaning of the human soul.

The concept of the human soul started with Thales, who firmly believed that any form of matter that moved itself using its own power had a soul (Guthrie 103). Leucippus and Democritus, formulators of the concept of atoms, believed that the soul is made of very movable spherical atoms. Other ancient philosophers were of the opinion that the soul was made up of gaseous or liquid matter.

The weakness of these explanations notwithstanding, the attempts by these ancient philosophers to define the human soul facilitated more contemporary and spiritual explanations to be proposed. Plato, for instance, argued that the soul is superior to the body, not mentioning the fact that it was the most important part of an individual (Barnes 23). The philosopher’s perception about the soul had an immense sway on early Christian theologians, and continues to influence Christians in the 21^st century.

The philosophical works of Aristotle, undoubtedly one of the most influential philosophers, has had great ramifications in most facets of modern life, including the field of education.

It was Aristotle who first coined the concept that knowledge achieved through the senses remains invariably confused and polluted, and that the thoughtful soul that turns away from the events of the world can acquire ‘true knowledge.’ For the philosopher, “…all forms of education are explicitly or implicitly directed towards a human ideal” (UNESCO 2). Aristotle further went to presuppose that if the objective of man is one of his fundamental concerns, then it is only through education that he can realize himself wholly.

Also, the philosopher was of the opinion that individuals posses explicit natural abilities, but it is only through education that they discover the art of becoming truly human. This theory of education, according to analysts, has lost none of its relevance in modern thought (UNESCO 9). His observations are indeed used to inform educational policy and practice across civilizations to date.

According to Long, “…in the modern world, Pythagoras is the foremost famous of early Greek philosophers” (66). His contributions to the discipline of mathematics are today still very much in use in our educational institutions, with other theories arising from his theorem developed to solve issues affecting the modern world.

Although the Pythagoras theorem was not discovered by the philosopher, he is credited for proving and popularizing it, especially in the Greek world (Knierim 7). Many millennia has passed by ever since the theory was popularized, but Pythagoras still shines as one of the brightest philosophers of early Greek antiquity, and his theorem is often alluded to as the starting point of mathematics in western culture. Today, this theory is taught in schools across the world.

Again, it is the ancient Greek philosophers who came up with fundamental facets of philosophy, still studied in our educational institutions today. These facets, namely metaphysics, materialism, idealism, epistemology, empiricism, rationalism, ethics, among others, continue to influence modern thought, especially in social and political context (Boeree para. 12). The metaphysical question about what the world is made of still bothers contemporary philosophers though it has its roots in ancient Greek philosophers.

In the same vein, it is the same ancient Greek philosophers who formulated such epistemological queries such as the knowledge of true and false, good and evil, real and unreal, among others. These concepts still inform the direction of contemporary life, especially in social, political, and religious orientations. The concepts are still studied today at a university level globally to enhance students’ capacity to critically think through complex issues (Barnes 48).

Modern atomic theory, which is critically fundamental in the discipline of Physics, draws its origins from two ancient philosophers – Leucippus of Miletus and Democritus of Abdera (Guthrie 57). These philosophers proposed that all matter is made up of minute, inseparable particles, otherwise known as atoms.

The philosophy thinkers also held that, not only were atoms too small to be seen, changed, or destroyed, but were also wholly solid, lacking any internal structure and having an immeasurable array of shapes and sizes (Infoplease para. 2). These concepts, though greatly reformulated and corrected, are still very much in use in the 21^st century, and as such, it is only plausible to give credit to the ancient Greek philosophers.

According to Gadamer & Palmer, “…the Greeks [ancient philosophers] taught us to be at home in the world without making the objects in nature into things, how to be at home in a realm of social practices and institutions, [and] how to reflect on man’s way of being in the world” (267). This statement, therefore, means that the world could have never being the same if the ancient Greek philosophers did not lay the groundwork for providing answers and explanations to complex situations and experiences bedeviling the world.

Put another way, the ancient Greek philosophers created a platform through which modern-day objectives and aspirations can be advanced. As such, the ancient Greek philosophers can equally be credited for deciding the conduit of modern civilization in that, major contemporary concepts, knowledge, and viewpoints have been built upon the knowledge and conceptualizations derived from these wise men (Gadamer & Palmer 268).

Conclusion

It is clearly evident that ancient Greek philosophers have had a great influence on modern thought, not only on the specific disciplines as we know them today, but also on our personal lives. It appears, therefore, that theirs was a period of enlightenment, whereby the philosophers were imparted with knowledge previously unheard of (Barnes 8).

A wide allay of civilizations, including the western civilization, owes their origin and nurturance to ancient Greek philosophy, and philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle are still mentioned today in nearly all facets and disciplines of life. The impact of ancient Greek philosophers on modern thought, therefore, is monumental.

Works Cited

Ancient Greek Philosophy. In Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2010. Web.

Barnes, J. Early Greek Philosophy, 2^nd Ed. London: Penguin Books. 2001. Web.

Boeree, C.G. The Ancient Greeks, Part One: The Pre-Socrates. Web.

Gadamer, H., & Palmer, R.E. The Gadamer Reader: A Bouquet of the Later Writings. Northwestern University Press. Web.

Guthrie, W.K. Greek Philosophers. New York, NY: Harper Perennial. Web.

Infoplease. Atomic Theory. 2009. Web.

Knierim, T. Pre-Socratic Greek Philosophy. Web.

Long, A.A. The Cambridge Companion to Early Greek Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Web.

UNESCO. Aristotle. Prospects, 23(2): 39-51. Web.

This paper discusses the character and behavior of two Heroes in the Iliad with the aim of explaining the Geeks’ concept of pride. Considering the lives of Achilles and Patroclus, as presented in the Iliad, it is clear that for ancient Greek heroes, honor meant everything.

In actual sense, a Greek warrior or man would rather choose to die than be ashamed or embarrassed by someone else. Honor meant so much to them that they did everything to attain it. Honor was the lifetime goal of every ancient Greek man and people sought it at all costs.

Unfortunately, their concept of honor could be interpreted as foolhardy pride in our days. As will be shown through focus on Achilles and Patroclus, had they not been driven by their pride, they would not have met with their downfall; the way they did.

Achilles was a great Greek warrior who had helped the Greek with his might and skills. Like all Greek men, he wanted to do his people proud and the people were proud of him. However, his desire for honor leads to his downfall when he confronts the king over a woman. He had been given the woman as a prize for his valor in war against the Trojans.

When the king takes away the woman (prize he had given to Achilles), Achilles out of pride challenges the king and refuses to go to war. His decision not to go to war against the Trojans is what prompted Patroclus to pick up his armor to face Hector. Moreover, apart from refusing to fight for the Greek, Achilles out of pride chooses to argue or disobey the gods.

Priam, his mother intervenes, and again out of pride, Achilles chooses glory over a long life. In the life of Achilles, one can see pride or honor being prioritized over every other important thing. For instance, it is out of pride that Achilles refuses to go to battle prompting his friend Patroclus to stand in to lead the Greek armies against the Trojans.

Patroclus, just like Achilles, was a great warrior. He was one of the great warriors from the Greek side and would have been instrumental in defeating Hectors on behalf of the Achaeans.

However, desire for honor and pride got the better of him. Hectors was more skilled and the only person who could match him from the Greek side was Achilles. Patroclus had been warned against engaging or fighting Hector because he was not his match. However, as it would have been expected of any Greek hero, Patroclus goes against every warning that he should not engage Hectors in a battle.

Having won a number of battles, he is so full of himself that he thinks not engaging or fighting Hectors is a cowardly act. Secondly, he also stands up to Hectors to save himself the shame of having failed his people in a battle. Consequently, this willfulness leads him into dying at the hands of Hectors.

In conclusion, from the two examples given, it is clear that the Greek priced pride over all other values such as safety. It can also be noted that desire for honor and pride, among Greek heroes, was what propelled them to great heights but also what led to their downfall. In search for honor, the heroes did their people proud but out of pride they often became willful and untactful leading to their downfall.

Philosophy translates as the love of wisdom, so people turn to philosophy to comprehend the truths about themselves and the world, time, relations with the world, and the universal good. Philosophy covers almost all spheres of life, studying their highest necessity (“What is philosophy?” 2021). The academic discipline philosophy is conventionally divided into several branches, among which three are most important – metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Metaphysics studies the nature of reality, the structure of the world, the origin of man, God, truth, matter, mind, the connection between mind, body, and free will, and the correlation between events.

Epistemology focuses on studying knowledge, defining what we can know and how we can get that knowledge. The most critical questions from this area include the definition of knowledge, whether a person can know something, how a person knows that they know something, whether we can claim to know certain things. Then, ethics studies, what is right and wrong, and what determines good and bad actions. In other words, ethics answers the questions of what is good and what makes people good, what is right, and what makes actions right, whether morality is objective or subjective.

Therefore, epistemology answers the question “What is knowledge?” presenting various paradoxes about the nature of knowledge; the brightest representative of this branch is Socrates. This scholar once said, “I know that I know nothing,” which is an example of an epistemological paradox. At the same time, Aristotle, Plato, and Epictetus asked the question “What is the good life?” and how an individual can achieve it. Aristotle is the most famous and outstanding philosopher who made significant contributions to the development of ethics. In particular, he examined concepts of friendship, love, respect, and ideal relationships between people. The interests of metaphysics are connected with the answer to the question “What is reality made of?” and prominent representatives of this trend are Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Emmanuel Kant, Hegel, Friedrich Nietzsche, and many others. In metaphysics, one can notice an opposition between philosophers who relied on logic and those who followed intuition on the path of knowing the truth.

A philosophical mindset can be formed by examining the views of truth from various prominent philosophers who shaped schools and led lengthy philosophical discourses about the fundamental concepts characteristic of a chosen philosophical branch. Thinking philosophically means fostering some fundamental methods used in epistemology, a branch of philosophy that determines the limits of knowledge. Therefore, philosophical reflections can include questions such as: “What do I know? Why do I know this? May I know for sure? How do I influence the way I know? May I know something definitively?” One of the most pleasant features of philosophy is that it takes human thinking out and into the distance, opening up the infinity of possibilities and the inexhaustibility of the answers. However, because there is always something clear and fundamental behind this multi-variance, philosophers focus on studying these fundamental truths and their relationship.

Thinking philosophically can be very helpful, even in everyday life, since there are many paradoxes to which philosophers have found answers or solutions. Therefore, when faced in life with complex, confusing circumstances that require a responsible decision and affect our moral reflection, we can rely on the truths that representatives of academic philosophy discovered. For example, understanding the difference between a utilitarian and an ethical approach, one can recognize that in every person and situation, there are at least two sides – one that regards necessity or inevitability and one that involves the possibility for the manifestation of higher principles of love or morality.

In other words, the ability to use philosophical literacy for one’s benefit can help resolve some internal psychological conflicts. A philosophical mindset can also be helpful when a person seeks to develop spiritually and understand whether they are something greater than their mind. No less important is the quest of the philosophical thought concerning the definitions of death and life, and the nature of living, since these ideas can expand one’s beliefs about human capabilities.

Remarkably, my opinions and views were greatly optimized under the influence of prominent Ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle. Plato’s ideas, expressed in Socrates’ dialogues about the ideal city, allowed me to take a broader look at the nature of social relations and make more meaningful distinctions between people who adhere to the views of aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny. In particular, my understanding of the essence of democratic principles has dramatically changed under the influence of these ideas, as I realized the limitations of the so-called democratic freedom. At the same time, Aristotle’s ideas about friendship helped me to qualitatively analyze my relationships with other people and develop a more balanced assessment of my morality within the limits of human capabilities.

Therefore, acquaintance with philosophical ideas allowed me to form a more balanced idea of ​​what a good life is. I realized that good relationships are a relative and situational concept that must be considered with many factors in mind, such as whether the other side is taking a utilitarian or an ethical position and to what extent. Thanks to reflection on the ideas of Aristotle, I became even more convinced that a good life should be based on fundamental, indestructible truths, the knowledge of which is hidden in the heart of every person.

Aristotle gives a broad overview of how different people see life without judging anyone. This approach allowed me to look at myself without condemnation, accept that some truths are not characteristic of my heart, and be glad that some ethical norms are natural to me. Therefore, a philosophical view of the concepts of morality, devoid of judgment, allowed me to free myself from self-condemnation and the desire to follow unnatural dogmas, presenting a wider arena for a free but moral life.

Reference

What is philosophy?(2021).

Myths and legends of ancient Rome and Greece are not just the pieces of folklore, they are the parts of the cultural destination of these countries.

The main themes in these myths coincide as well as the characters and their behaviors. Most of the myths were shared orally for the future generations, however, Homer and Ovid made a great contribution into the cultural treasury, they wrote the books where they gathered the myths of the ancient world. Dwelling upon Roman and Greek myths, the relations between Gods and people deserve special attention.

Remembering the main idea of the myths which is to portray the creation of the specific natural phenomena via the God’s actions, the relationships between people and Gods cannot be rejected in the book. Reading the fifth book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses and particularly the myth devoted to Ceres, Pluto and Proserpine, the cooperation between gods and human beings is going to be considered.

Reading Ovid’s Metamorphoses, it is possible to see four major stages in the development of the mentioned above ties. At the first stage of the interaction between gods and people, gods understand that they are to act like people in order to understand their needs, e.g. the situation when gods fell in love. After this stage, gods understand their superiority and it helps them get what they want, e.g. the myth about Ceres, Pluto and Proserpine.

Some people become subjected to gods, therefore, they are given the right to govern other people that leads to the superiority of some human beings under people, e.g. the myth about the pathos of love. The final stage of human – god relationships is when people become gods, e.g. Trojan War. Focusing attention on one specific myth, it should be stated that the myth about Ceres, Pluto and Proserpine is a great example of the gods’ superiority under people (Ovid 1135).

Pluto was in love with Proserpine and he did all possible not to leave her “O virgin,.. Your guardian is a god– and I am not a common deity: for I am he who holds within his hands the heavens’ scepter: I am he who hurls the roaming thunderbolts. So do not flee!” (Ovid 1142).

However, Proserpine’s desire to remain free and independent makes Pluto capture her and get to the Underground where he makes her stay there forever. Being captured in the Underground, Proserpine’s mother is unable to find her daughter, therefore, she decides to punish people as she is unable to punish those who really deserve such attitude, “she exclaims against all countries, and calls them ungrateful, and not worthy of the gifts of corn” (Ovid and Riley 105).

As a result, feeling the power of gods, people were afraid of them and tried to satisfy them. On the contrary, feeling their power, many gods understood their superiority and use it when it was convenient for them. However, gods also understood the importance of people and when it was about the benefit of people, gods usually supported them. The crops were saved from death and the fruitfulness returned to the Earth. People were fed and happy.

This is just one example of the gods’ superiority over people. There are a lot of examples when people suffered from god’s terrors, however, there are also the situations when people were happy from Gods’ superiority as they remained under the powerful protection.

Works Cited

Ovid and Henry T. Riley. The Metamorphoses of Ovid, New York: Digireads.com Publishing, 2009. Print.

Ovid. “Metamorphoses.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. A. Ed. Lawall, Sarah. New York: Norton, 2002. 1138-1182. Print.

The problem of suffering of the innocent has long occupied the Babylonians. It found its reflection in the Righteous Sufferer. The poem is preserved in a copy from the Applurian Library of King Ashurbanipal (7th century B.C.), where it was transcribed from the original in the library of the Nippur temple. In this poem, the Babylonian prince Shubshi Meshre-Shakkan, who lived in the 1st half of the 2nd millennium B.C., tells of his sufferings, which afflicted him, although he had committed no sins. He murmurs against the gods in utter despair: “What is kind to us is loathsome to the gods. What is loathsome to the heart is kind to the gods.” (Annus & Lenzi, 2010). The man complains of the misfortunes that have befallen him and claims to be unaware of his sin, which has caused all the trouble.

The torment of the Righteous Sufferer symbolizes the general puzzlement of the inhabitants about why innocent people have to accept responsibility for wrong-doing. Hence the problem of theodicy, or justification of God, is stated as the central theme. The innocent Sufferer is answered by a sincere friend, urging him not to curse the gods in vain and bring upon himself the inevitable punishment of blasphemy. The gods are nevertheless, and the evil observed may be due to one of several causes. The Sufferer still has broken the gods’ requirements without realizing it himself, and they punished him just for this break. So, the hero should not complain against them, but as soon as possible find out what exactly he broke their will, and expiate or correct what he has done. Then his troubles will cease, justice will still be restored, the gods will certainly reward the innocent Sufferer, and the villain, now prosperous, will undoubtedly be overthrown by them. The outcome of the poem leads the reader to the idea that the ways of the Almighty are inscrutable. The poem’s protagonist eventually finds tranquility and prosperity.

Nevertheless, the work’s narrative traces the author’s concern for the suffering of the innocent, which is atypical of the time. The popularity of this poem and its many interpretations are evidence that this religious issue was of concern to Babylonian society. For the historical study, the literary monument may serve as a reflection of an ideological crisis. The poem shows disapproval of the idea of unnecessary suffering, which may indicate the concern in society associated with slavery. The Sufferer’s way is a reference to the life of enslaved people, full of deprivation and unjustified injustice.

For this reason, it can be concluded that this work reflects the loss of popularity of the ideas of slavery in Babylonian society. The poem also reflects the changing attitude of the Babylonians toward religion and the will of God, which, according to the author, often becomes a source of unnecessary suffering. Thus, the critical problem of the work can be considered an indicator of the emergence of ideas of religious skepticism among the inhabitants of the state. Therefore, this historical source testifies to the gradual spread of the concept of gods in the Near East, within which the problem of theodicy does not arise, and speculation on the subject remains the province of a minority of learned men who still regard the gods as profoundly and fundamentally just.

Reference

Annus, A., & Lenzi, A. (2010). The Standard Babylonian Poem of the Righteous Sufferer. Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project.

Introduction

Antigone is an ancient Greek play believed to have been written over two thousand years ago at a place which is considered to be the origin of democratic organizations. One of the greatest Greek authors, Sophocles, wrote about some of the momentous happenings that were experienced during those ancient times.

Traditions and gods were particularly vital in shaping the lives of the Greeks’ lifestyles. This influence is reflected in the themes brought out in this play including pride, tragedy, fate, gender, betrayal, and love and sibling rivalry among others. These issues have made Antigone, a consistent story, to be relevant to the audience of all times, because these issues are remarkably vital for human existence.

Pride

It is obvious that Pride is highly expressed in Antigone as well as many other works by Sophocles. It is apparent in most religions that gods do not like people who are full of pride (De Quincey 364). They, in fact, despise it and the repercussion for this is dealt with mercilessly.

In the play, it is evident that pride is used by people to create laws that challenge the divine law from gods. Antigone is clearly a threat to the status quo since she challenges authorities by invoking the divine law in her defense (De Quincey 364). However, implicit in her stance is the belief in the discerning power of her personal conscience.

Antigone sacrifices her life because of devoting to divine law instead of human law. She adheres to the divine law, the gods for the sentence he imposes on Antigone harshly punish Creon. The need to defeat Antigone seems to be a personal issue that Creon seems to be determined to achieve (Kallendorf 118).

As a result, he puts the order of the state at stake as well as his position as king (Sophocles, “Literature” 605). In other words, the laws created by Creon are put in place because he feels his law should also be divine. Because of pride, Tiresias is sent to bring the message claiming that the king will suffer.

Besides realizing that he made a mistake, Creon still refuses to admit and correct it because of pride (Kallendorf 118). He then alters the prophet’s summon to preserve the status quo, his life, but not because he is sorry. Therefore, he has to suffer punishment for that.

While talking to his son Haemon, Creon is seen to question him, “Should I stand here and listen to your lecture? A highly experienced man, at my age…” (Sourvinou-Inwood 134). This situation shows that, pride stood in the way of Creon’s actions, and as a result, he ends up losing everything he loved and cherished.

Tragedy

About halfway down the play, a tragedy is announced. The tragedy comes as a perfect machine, which moves automatically and has been around since the beginning of time. At this point, there is panic. The chaotic occasion caused an inexorable protest that was just waiting for a catalyst (Sophocles, “Literature” 605).

Tragedy in this case is from somehow supernatural forces hence it realizes itself despite who is involved or any attempts to stop it. Anouilh and Freeman comment on the paradox in the suspense of this play, “…what was beautiful and still beautiful in the ancient Greek is coming to know what it means to end” (65). The chorus shows that everything that was to happen already happened.

Gender and Femininity

Antigone, being a woman, causes some intriguing developments in the story as this fact has some profound implication of her actions. Even King of Thebes, Creon, admits that he needed to defeat Antigone, because she was a woman (Johnston 12).

Greek women had limited freedoms and capabilities because of the rules and strictures that restrict them (Sophocles, “Literature” 605). Antigone rebels from these traditional mindsets especially threats as they offend gender roles and societal hierarchy. Antigone decides to be active and overturns vital rules of her traditions (Anouilh and Freeman 65).

The exact opposite of Antigone is Ismene who is extremely cowed by the domination of men. She also believes women needed to be subservient to men or risk facing their rage (Kallendorf 119). She argues that men are stronger, hence, they should be respected and followed. Eventually she just brings in the problematic ideas adopted by Creon.

We see that even when Creon discovers he s is wrong he changes his defense because if he would be proven wrong, he would not agree to be defeated by a woman (Sophocles, “Commentary” 234). This would be like contravening a divine law. Sophocles tries to correct this notion by allowing punishment on Creon because of this simple-minded misogynistic thought.

Another aspect of gender is sacrificing as portrayed in this play. The sacrificial suicide leading to the death of Antigone is chiefly associated with being feminine. It is also seen that Creon’s wife also commits suicide following news of her son’s death. Antique sensibility is naturally connected to femininity (Sophocles, “Commentary” 314).

Rivalry

The main actors in this play are able to create the sense of conflict because of their difference viewpoints in life. Antigone seems to challenge the equilibrium so that human beings can be able openly question authority. Creon, on the other hand, thinks that since he is already king, he cannot be subject to any form of punishments (Anouilh and Freeman 65). According to antigen, Creon is violating divine law.

When she is arrested and brought to the king, she does not say to him “Nor did I think your edict did have such energy, which supersedes gods’ (Sophocles, “Literature” 503-504). Antigone’s strong arguments support obedience of the gods and adherence to the laws from high above. Her sentiments are built by what she believes. For instance, when an individual dies, he or she deserves a proper burial. This is what would cause that individual to be accepted in religion (Johnston 12).

Antigone was truly religious, and she strongly wanted the gods to accept her brother. Antigone explains to Ismene that, “this is the martial law Creon despised for you and me” (Johnston 38). According to Antigone, the order issued by Creon was personally targeting her and, hence, his statute was an invasion of her family life and the gods, too.

In ancient Greek, it was commonly believed that even though the government was indispensable, it had limited control when it came to religious practices. Therefore, Creon has betrayed this concept by restricting her from burying her brother, Polynices in a proper manner. Burial was a religious practice, therefore, Creon did not have the powers to deny the dead the right to a decent burial (Johnston 38).

Since Antigone was unusually persistent, with her beliefs, this resulted in her death in the hands of Creon. She once embarrassed Creon by claiming in front of him that “these citizens would support and would praise me as well if their mouths were not locked by fear you instilled in them” (Sophocles, “Literature” 565). Clearly, she never stopped fighting for what she believed in.

When Creon orders her death, Antigone cries out feeling that she feels she is his prisoner… ‘And now, he takes me away as a captive in his hands’ (Sophocles, “Literature” 1008). She takes this personally as if the king is trying to abuse his powers by going too personal in dealing with her.

Creon’s actions are driven by his ego and belief that man is the determinant of everything as the chorus puts it, ‘Man [is] the master, ingenious past all measure/past all dreams (Sophocles, “Literature” 407). Accordingly, he believed that, the good of a man preceded the gods. He asserts to himself that, “never in his hand will a traitor be dignified” when referring to Polynices’ unburied body (Sophocles, “Literature” 407).

Conclusion

Antigone has endured many centuries as relevant literature. The story has undergone numerous interpretations and adaptations since it has addressed difference cultural resonances over time. It is, hence, constantly reinterpreted when addressing humanity, existence and the theme of death.

In the end, it appears that all the themes in the play help bring out the play as timeless and highly sensitive attracting attention of a great audience. Everything in the play seemed to happen because of destiny or action and subsequent consequence of those actions. In the play, the uppermost argument is a moral law. Man should reconcile his obligations with room for compromise and social contract. This would allow harmonious existence with everyone in the society getting some justice.

Works Cited

Anouilh, Jean, and Ted Freeman. Antigone. New York: Bloomsbury A&C Black. Print.

De Quincey, Thomas. The Antigone of Sophocles, as represented on the Edinburgh stage (1845): The Collected Writings of Thomas De Quincey. New York: A. & C. Black, 1897. Print.

Johnston, Ian. Sophocles Antigone 442 BC, Nd. Web.

Kallendorf, Craig. A Companion to the Classical Tradition. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, 2007. Print.

Sophocles. Antigone. Trans. David Franklin, Commentary John Harrison. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Print.

Sophocles. Antigone. Trans. Robert Fagles, Literature and the Writing Process. 6^th ed. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice, 2002. Print.

Sourvinou-Inwood, Christiane. “Assumptions and the Creation of Meaning: Reading Sophocles’ Antigone.” JHS 109.6 (1989): 134-48. Print.

Persian Letters by Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu is an epistolary novel that presents a wide range of themes discussed by a couple of Persian visitors to France. From one letter to the next Usbek and Rica shares their impressions from being in France, making the work in part a travel guide, in part a political satire and often a mere narrative of domestic life inside a seraglio. Being written in the eighteenth century the Persian Letters remain interesting to the contemporary reader due to the topics covered and, I believe, the manner in which the author managed to do it. I chose the 24th letter from the collection to demonstrate the peculiarities of the author’s style that contributed significantly to the book’s unfading success.

Letter 24 is Rica’s recount on their staying in Paris. The traveler shares his thoughts that the European capital evoked in him. With extreme lightness that cannot but attract the reader’s attention Montesquieu renders Rica’s views on different aspects of every day life. Rica admits that the life Europeans live is much more complicated if compared to the Asian way of living. Citizens of Paris are always in a hurry to somewhere, slow Asian carriages and the regular pace of the camels will never suit them. The author resorts to brilliant metaphors when he discusses the rapid tempo of Parisians’ life: “There are no people in the world who get so much out of their carcasses as the French: they run; they fly.” (Montesquieu Letter 24) The metaphor “they fly” is extremely interesting, as one can hardly imagine flying in its common sense in the eighteenth century. I should also admit that the use of asyndeton helps the author to create some kind of tension in Rica’s narrative. This seeming tension makes the reader anticipate some interesting denouement in Rica’s story, but the traveler, instead, radically changes the theme of his narrative.

Now Rica comes to discuss the King Louis XIV: because of his interpreting the things Rica sees him as a “great magician”: “He exercises his empire over the very minds of his subjects and makes them think as he likes.” (Montesquieu Letter 24) The paragraph where Rica describes the king’s strength and magnificence is one of examples of how the author resorts to the device of innocent eyes which the whole work is full of. This device helps the author to satirize European social, political, religious, and literary customs throughout the work.

The author’s opinion in this very letter is that “the same earth “carries European and Asian worlds but people living there are quite different (Montesquieu Letter 24). Though his character confesses that he is not empowered to speak seriously of European usages and customs, as he only has a faint idea of them himself, the reader willingly believes the descriptions suggested by the author and does not want to check their reliability. I believe that this happens due to the lightness of Montesquieu’s narration. The authors of the letters directly address their readers and this creates an atmosphere of confidence that cannot but involve us into reading of the novel.

The 24th letter ends with the author’s promise to continue his description of the differences between the two worlds thus making the reader turn on a new page of the letters collection. Realizing that the two worlds do differ, the reader finds a lot of bright examples of this difference from the narrator’s point of view. I believe that the elements of the author’s style I talked of above worked and, as a result, the author managed to create a collection of really effective essays that will never stop teaching and fascinating their readers.

Works Cited

Montesquieu. Persian Letters. Web.

Ancient Greece has always been associated with heroes and heroic deeds, especially when it comes to literature. Homer depicted numerous heroes in his timeless Iliad, and people still refer to this work as a set of stories of glory and heroism. However, it is also important to note that human society has been changing throughout centuries. Importantly, people’s values and perceptions have been changing alongside society. It is possible to trace this change while looking at Homer’s Iliad and Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale with a specific focus on heroes depicted in the two works. It is rather tempting to see the later work as a reflection of the ancient Greek story, but Chaucer’s work is rather a re-evaluation of the old story.

In the first place, it is necessary to note that the two stories are set in Ancient Greece. This makes the two works quite similar, but, at the same time, very different as quite different topics are central to the stories. Importantly, for ancient Greeks, the glory was the most important in their fight. Thus, when Achilles is talking to his closest friend he stresses, “do not fight the Trojans further in my absence, or you will rob me of glory that should be mine” (Homer 161).

Clearly, Achilles is fighting to win glory, and he does not care much about love or even wealth and trophies. Therefore, one of the major characters and key heroes of the literary work focuses on reflecting glory on his name and his deeds. At the same time, Chaucer’s heroes care little about glory as they focus on other things. Arcita, one of the heroes, strives for victory only to glorify the name of the god of war. Arcita addresses Mars and exclaims, “And grant, tomorrow, I have victory. / Mine be the toil, and thine the whole glory!” (Chaucer 767). Of course, these heroes attitude towards glory sheds light on the way people saw glory at different periods.

It is also important to add that there is another reason for the battle in the two stories. This reason is love. Nonetheless, in Iliad, love is not put to the fore while in The Knight’s Tale, love seems to be central. In Iliad, one of the heroes contemplates, “Any man of common right feeling will love and cherish her who is his own” (Homer 155). It seems that it is not about love but about the property and the right to defend a man’s possessions. In Chaucer’s story, love is seen as the greatest meaning, and the reason to live or to die as Palamon exclaims, “To love my lady, whom I love and serve, / And shall while life my heart’s blood may preserve” (744). Remarkably, the one who truly loves wins his fair lady’s heart.

Thus, the very idea of love is re-evaluated in the times of knights. Even though the story is set in Ancient Greece, the hero focuses on love and serving his beloved rather than on fighting to retain his possessions. The change in values is apparent, and Chaucer’s heroes (even though one of them is not such a devout servant to his fairy lady) fight to win their beloved. It is also important to note that in Chaucer’s story, the format of the fight seems almost more important than its reason. In Iliad, there is a whole war with numerous battles and quite a few rules as there can be time for mourning and killing.

However, knights have to follow numerous rules and procedures to fight for their love, and the fairy lady’s father sets the rule, “… each with a hundred knights, / Armed for the lists, who stoutly for your rights / Will ready be to battle, to maintain / our claim to love” (Chaucer 757). Obviously, at the times of knights, warfare for the sake of love was seen as a ritual. It was something similar to an effective tool to win the woman’s heart. It bore some traces of ‘glamour’ valour.

In conclusion, it is possible to state that Chaucer’s knights are not a mere reflection of Homer’s heroes. Chaucer’s story cannot be regarded as a reflection either. The story written by Chaucer is a certain kind of re-evaluation of the idea of heroes. Ancient heroes fought for glory, and they were ready to fight to protect their belongings. Whereas, knights could fight for love (or victory) to win the woman they loved. Clearly, some values of human society changed considerably, and the change is entailed in the two stories. Heroism had different tinges in the times of Homer and Chaucer. For Homer’s heroes, glory and heroic deeds were the sense of their life. For Chaucer’s knights, heroic deeds were a part of the necessary ritual. More so, for knights, fighting and a chance to die was a part of courtship while it was a means to live, to glorify their names and protect their ways for ancient Greek heroes.

Works Cited

Chaucer, Geoffrey. “The Knight’s Tale.” World Literature Through the Renaissance. Ed. Linda Silva and William Overton. Charles Town, WV: American Public University System, 2011. 738-780. Print.

Homer. “Iliad.” World Literature Through the Renaissance. Ed. Linda Silva and William Overton. Charles Town, WV: American Public University System, 2011. 127-194. Print.

Introduction

According to Greek mythology, the world was inhabited by monsters and giants. Ancient Greeks explained human nature through gods and goddesses of the universe.

Hera

Hera is the goddess of air and sky, women and marriage, a daughter of Cronus and Rhea, and the wife of Zeus and one of his sisters. She is often portrayed as sitting on a throne, wearing a polo (a type of crown). Hera is considered to be jealous and vindictive. The event of her being wooed by Zeus in the form of a cuckoo is mentioned in Pausanias’ Description of Greece (Pausanias 445-447). According to the story of Hera, the goddess took the cuckoo in her hands, and the bird turned into Zeus who then raped her; Hera became the wife of Zeus in order to avoid the shame. It is interesting that jealous and cruel Hera, the goddess of women and marriage, shows the attitude of the Ancient Greek culture towards women; but, at the same time, steps that Hera takes are aimed at preserving the marriage.

Hades

Hades is the eldest son of Kronos and Rhea, the god and the guardian of the Underworld, the realm of the dead (which is also called “Hades”). He is usually depicted with his “hellhound”, a multi-headed dog Cerberus; the god often wears the Helm of Darkness and carries a bident in his hand. The history of Hades’ birth is depicted e.g. by Apollodorus (or pseudo-Apollodorus) in his Bibliotheca, book 1 (Apollodorus n.pag.). Interestingly, the god Hades was also called Pluto, or Plouton, since approximately the 5th century BCE; Apollodorus, who created his texts approximately in the 1st or 2nd century CE, also uses this name. This name is related to the word “wealth”; perhaps it was used due to the fact that the ancient Greeks feared death and were cautious not to anger the god of the Underworld. This name also reflects the fact that much of people’s wealth comes from the ground, deep inside which there is the world of the dead.

Dionysus

Dionysus, the son of Zeus and mortal Semele, is the god of grapes and winemaking, fertility, theater, and ritual madness. The last god who was accepted to Olympus, he was first portrayed as a mature man; later, he was depicted as an androgynous young man, naked, accompanied by maenads or satyrs. Euripides tells a story of Dionysus acting in the city of Thebes in his The Bacchae; but here Dionysus acts in an unusual way, as an angry, vindictive god (Euripides n.pag.). It is said that Dionysus acquired his femininity/androgyny while traveling in Asia. It might be possible to assume that worshipping Dionysus, the god who possessed such features, was eternally young, and represented such things as pleasure, was connected to the Ancient Greek bisexual culture, where the love between a mature man and a very young one was considered one of the highest forms of love.

Prometheus

Prometheus was one of the Titans; he was responsible for the creation of mankind and helping it profoundly. He is perhaps best known as the one to steal fire for the men; for that, Zeus punished him by chaining him in the mountains and having a bird daily eat his liver for long years and centuries. One of the stories about Prometheus is told in Hesiod’s Works and Days (“Hesiod: Works and Days” 1-2). It is also noteworthy that Zeus had his revenge not only on Prometheus but also on mankind; he initiated the creation of Pandora, the first human woman, who is known for unleashing numerous disasters on humanity. Clearly, Pandora might serve as a symbol of Ancient Greek attitude towards women, where they were considered significantly inferior to men and possessed a number of adverse traits of character (such as excessive curiosity that led to Pandora’s opening the box).

History of Titans

Titans were divine creatures; the first generation came from the primordial gods, the first deities to come into existence, Gaea and Uranus. Large and strong beings, they lived on Mount Othrys and came into power by overthrowing the primordial gods. However, they were in turn overthrown by the next generation of gods, the Olympians. The story of Titans’ birth is, among other versions, described in Hesiod’s Theogony (Hesiod 6). It appears that Titans represent the violent force of nature; they overthrow their parents, and Cronus swallows his children so that they do not overthrow him when they grow. Similarly, nature can in some cases be so “cruel” and harm its children with various storms, natural disasters, etc.

Gaea

Gaea, the great All-Mother, was one of the primeval gods. She produced the Earth and the whole Universe and was the goddess of the Earth. She was humanoid in form. Her coming into existence is described in Hesiod’s Theogony; Gaea was the first god to come into existence, born only after Chaos (Hesiod 3). It is interesting that the Earth was the first deity to emerge; it is very likely that e.g. the property of the earth which allows it to produce food for all the living creatures is reflected here. It is also worth pointing out that in some other texts Gaea was born along with Tartarus and Eros, which represented three “layers of existence”: Earth, the Underworld, and Heaven.

References

Apollodorus. The Library 1. n.d. Web. 2015.

Euripides. The Bacchae. 2014. Web.

Hesiod. n.d. Theogony. 2015. Web.

Hesiod: Works and Days. Trans. Hugh G. Evelyn-White. 1914. PDF file. 2015. Web.

Pausanias. Pausanias Description of Greece. n.d. PDF file. 2015. Web.

Outline

Enuma Elis and the Holy Bible are very similar to each other. In fact, leading researchers across the globe are of the opinion that the New Testament was written on the basis of the Enuma Elis. While not all the text is similar, there are instances wherein the Holy Bible has contents, especially pertaining to the creation of the universe, which clearly showcase its similarity to Enuma Elis, which in turn was written several years earlier.

Introduction

Enuma Elis is a Babylonian myth which was created by an anonymous writer and recovered in 1849 by Henry Layard in the ruined library of Ashurbanipal, which in turn is located in Mosul Iraq. It was published in 1876 by George Smith. The Enuma Elis is recorded in The Old Babylonian and it contains thousands of lines that are written on seven clay tablets. Each tablet holds approximately 115 to 170 lines of text and out of the seven tablets, the fifth tablet is incomplete. Nonetheless, researchers found a duplicate copy of Tablet V in Sanlurfa, a town which lies in Turkey. The epic has been centered around the supremacy of Murduke and it has been written to understand the view of the Babylonian culture. It also states that humankind has been created to serve Gods. Nonetheless, the primary purpose of Enuma Elish is not to expose theology but it is centered on elevating the status of Marduke, who happens to be the chief God of the Babylonians over other Mesopotamian Gods. The text exists in various copies and has extracts from Babylonia and Assyria. The library statistics reveal that the story was found in 7^th century BC, whereas the story was apparently created in the 18^th century BC, when Marduke had achieved prominent status.

The epic has named two prominent Gods, namely Apsu and Timat. Numerous other Gods are created as the story progresses and are present within the body of Timat. Now, the Gods present within Timat’s body are quite boisterous and they create so much noise that the babble irritates both Timat as well as Apsu. Annoyed at the daily commotion, Apsu expresses his desire to kill all the Gods but Timat disagrees. Nonetheless, the vizir Mumu agrees to help Apsu and together the two contemplate a plan to annihilate all the Gods. Timat comes to know of the plan and warns the most powerful god named, Ea. Ea uses her magical power and kills Apsu after putting him in coma. Thereafter, Ea banishes Mumu. Thereafter, Ea becomes the chief of Gods and rules along with her consort Damkina. They have a son named Marduk, who is allowed to play with wind. Marduk creates tornadoes and dust storms and disrupts Timat’s body and stops the other Gods from sleeping in peace. This prompts the Gods to help Timat take the revenge on her husband’s death. As more and more Gods join force with her, Timmat increases her powers and creates 11 monsters to help her win the battle against Ea. Thereafter, Timat crowns Kingu, her new husband as the king of all Gods. Then, the defeated Gods select Marduke to seek revenge against the slain Gods and he also becomes very powerful. Soon, he defeats Timmat and creates Earth from her corpse. Thereafter, the subsequent 100 lines are lost in the tablet V.

The Gods who had sided Timmat are forced into labor in the service of the loyal Gods and later released when Narduke agrees to create mankind from the blood of the slain body of Kingu. In this episode Marduke is held in higher esteem when compared to Enlin, the earlier king of Gods in the Mesopotamian civilization. The Genesis 1 and Enuma Elish describe the creation of the world in a similar manner.

Enuma Elish and the English Bible

The Hebrews as well as the ancient Mesopotamians always believed that earth was a flat circular disk that was filled with salt water. The Mesopotamian Myth is considered to be older as it is older than the Hebrew Bible. In fact, researchers claim that Enuma Elis was used to create the Hebrew Bible. Here, earth was a habitable land which was inside a sea and it floated on a second sea called the freshwater apsu. The freshwater apsu provided drinking water from the wells, springs and the rivers and was connected to the vast ocean of saltwater. The sky was a circular disk that was located above the earth and touched the surface of the earth with its rims. The gods resided in solid ground which was located right above the sky and at times the Gods also dwelled somewhere between sky and the earth. If we are to compare Mathews’s testament with Enuma Elsih, we would notice that the geography was identical of both works of art, wherein the sea was a flat circular ground floating on freshwater that was surrounded by saltwater and the sky was a circular dome which housed the Gods and was located directly above the earth’s surface. In both the Genesis as well as Enuma Elish, the creation was the result of a divine speech. The sequence of creation is also very similar in both Genesis and Enuma Elis-light, the firament, the dry land, luminaries and finally man (the tohu wa bohu of Genesis 1:2),. In both Enuma Elis and Genesis, the primordial land is formless and empty. (Genesis 1:6-7, Enuma Elis4 137:40). The firement is also similar and is perceived as a solid inverted bowl which is created in the midst of the water so as to separate earth from the skies (Genesis 1:6–7, Enûma Eliš 4:137–40). Similarly, the creation of luminous bodies is preceded with days and nights (Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, and 14ff.; Enûma Eliš 1:38), the main function of which is provide light and regulate the time(Gen. 1:14; Enuma Elish 5:12–13). Gods always consult before creating man in Enuma Elish (6:4), while the Genesis clearly states that “Let us make man in our own image…” (Genesis 1:26). The creation of man in both is followed by divine rest. It can therefore be stated that English Bible has content which is seemingly similar to its earlier Mesopotamian creation (Kings James Version, Genesis.20.11- 12).

The Topic of Creation

When we compare the creation f mankind in both Enuma Elis and the Hole Bible, we come to a conclusion that both have very similar content and they both approach the manner pertaining to the creation of universe in much a similar manner. The only difference lies in the fact that Enuma Elis was written and documented prior to the Hole Bible. A few similarities in the creation are that it was indeed God who created heaven and earth. The earth at that time was devoid of any life form or light and it was the spirit of the God which moved upon the face of the waters. When God said ‘let there be light’, there was light. The light was considered good and was separated from darkness. God called the light as day and darkness as night. God allowed firemament within the water which separated salt water from fresh water. God termed firmament as heaven and God separated the water and land and made them into two separate entities. The land was called earth and the water was termed as the sea. God also made two lights, wherein the greater light ruled the day and the lesser light ruled the night. This happened in the fourth day. The next day, God allowed life to survive on water and graze on fields and permitted fowls to fly in the skies. Then God created whales and all sorts of winged creatures that were considered good for humanity and allowed them to multiply. Thereafter, God created man and woman and he created living beings in his own image. Then, god blessed them and permitted them to multiply and fill the earth’s surface and he also stated that the greatest meat on earth would be trees. As per God, the trees and plants were the green herbs for meat. Thereafter, on the sixth day, God saw to it that everything was good and in working order (History, Christianity and ancient texts, “The Bible, Moses, Sumerian, Enuma Elish, Gilamesh Epics”)

Conclusion

Although there are numerous similarities between the Hebrew Bible and Enuma Elis, we cannot clearly state that the Holy Bible was entirely based upon Enuma Elis. Nonetheless, numerous texts are fairly similar and this forces us to acknowledge the fact that the Mesopotamian myth was in reality the content provider in the formation of the Holy Bible. When we discuss the creation of the universe, then both the texts are symbolic to each other and apart from slight changes in certain areas, the overall concept remains more or less the same. Scholars have yet to ascertain the fact that how Enuma Elis wrote an account of a flood that was later reenacted in Noha’s episode, although the Mesopotamian text was written many years before the Holy Bible was even created.

Works Cited

“History, Christianity and ancient texts”. The Bible, Moses, Sumerian, Enuma Elish, Gilamesh Epics (2009): n.pag. Web.

The Holy Bible: Kings James Version. New York: American Bible Society, 1999. Print.