In other words, the Greeks did not merely triumph in the dominance of history books, but their teachings still culturally resonate with simple, human questions and concerns that we ask ourselves as a society -- why do we love, why do we fight our family members, why does fate seem so inexorable? The Greeks do not just leave a legacy of myths and learning, they have created the intellectual and intuitive way we approach the world, and their narratives affect us in an invisible fashion, even people who try to reject them and create a new culture out of a blend of different civilizations or whole cloth are always responding to Greek ideals and ideas.
Thomas Cahill also stresses that we must study the ancient Greeks, not simply because of the strengths of their civilization's gifts, but also because of its weaknesses. The Greeks were also a highly militaristic society that embraced and trumpeted its victories when it was the underdog, as the Greeks triumphed over the Persians, but the warning Greek city-states also showed cruelty against one another during the civil, Peloponnesian wars. The ideal of Achilles, a brilliant and selfish warrior embodies the two-sided nature of the Greek ideal that continues to affect our own ideas of...
As Richard Polidoro and Uriel Simri (1996) write, " Most of the athletes participating in the Games of 676 BC probably came from various Peloponnesian districts and had a relatively short distance to travel. Some participants, however, may have traveled from communities located outside the immediate vicinity. Under the sacred truce, or ekecheiria, the athletes, officials, and spectators were guaranteed safe passage to and from Olympia." Another important factor to note
"The Greeks studied the movement of the body, how weight is carried, and how a shift in stance could affect the placement of limbs, torso, and head. After 480 BCE, the first marble sculpture displaying the qualities of 'contrapposto," or weight shift, appeared in the Kritios Boy" ("Classical Greek Sculpture: Background," Greek Sculpture, 1998). This is why classical sculptures are more atomically naturalistic. This is particularly evident in the
The skene or 'tent' was the building that was directly behind the stage, and this was where the actors of the drama could enter or exit from. It would usually be decorated as a temple or a palace, and it would have at least one set of doors from where actors could enter the stage. At times, there would be access to the skene form the roof, so that
Greek History Ancient Greek History As the leader of Athens during the Peloponnesian War, it was Pericles' responsibility to develop an overall strategy for the waging of the war. The strategy he developed played on Athens' strengths and the weaknesses of the Spartans. Thucydides, in The Peloponnesian War, praised Pericles' strategic ability stating "when war broke out, he also he seems to have rightly gauged the power of his country." (Strassler 1996,
Herodotus is called first historian, as he was the first known author of the historical book called the Histories, which contained various myths, legends and also many important historical events that were commented by this great Greek. Herodotus was a very smart man but when reading his book I have to mention that we have to treat him as ancient man who sincerely believed different myths (for example he was sure
In ancient Greek culture, homosexuality was generally accepted between males and, depending on the location, only partially accepted between females. These relationships existed because the modern concept of marriage between loving partners was not the norm, and men and women generally remained segregated from each other in society. Marriages became social and political alliances which were made primarily for the creation of legitimate offspring. Love and emotional fulfillment were mostly
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