Pindar

Poetry is a form of art. It is used to convey emotion. There are over fifty types of poetry. Epic, Haiku, Cinquain, Ballad, Sonnet, Limerick, Verse Drama, Elegy Cento, and Ode are just a few of them. Poetry has also changed over the years. “Epic of Gilgamesh” is one of the earliest poetic works. It dates back to 2000 B.C. and was a tradition of the Sumerians. The ancient Greeks were also known for epic poetry that dates back as early as 1200 B.C. and A.D. 455. Homer and Hesiod were two of the…

Cannibalism is one of the strongest food taboos instilled in modern western culture. Today, people all over the world face the idea of cannibalism with derision and claims of “I would never do that!” For example, people viewed the case of Austin Harrouff, a college student from Florida who recently killed an elderly couple and was found “biting the face of the male victim,” with fear and disgust (Newsome). Although the motive for the attack was not known, Austin became someone many people viewed…

George Steiner’s book, The Death of Tragedy, written in 1961, defines tragedy as something that is uniquely Greek in the sense that no other culture really embodies it. Steiner says that, “Tragedy is irreparable,” and that “Tragic drama tells us that the spheres of reason, order, and justice are terribly limited and that no progress in our science or technical resources will enlarge their relevance (8).” These statements clarify what makes Greek tragedy so unlike any other type of tragedy…

Alexander spent a great deal of his life in the company of his army, inherited from his father, Philip. With so many years shared between the troops and Alexander, it was crucial to Alexander’s success that his men trust him, follow him, and fight for him without question. In the early years of Alexander’s career as ruler of Macedonia and leader of the army, his determination for conquest was shared by his men. Alexander led his troops into many successful battles and triumphs, such as the…

In the Phaedo, Socrates argues that practicing philosophy is practicing for death. In the paper that follows, I will explain why Socrates argues that philosophy is to learning to die based on the theory of anamnesis and how this connects with the present day theory of biocentrism where the soul takes a central part in understanding the universe. First, I will detail the theory of anamnesis in the Meno. Then, I will show how based on the theory that philosophy is learning to die as outlined in…

MacDowell explores the concept of hybris as not being solely defined as a human quality, but also that of an animalistic trait. “In Euripides angry bulls show hybris, and so in Pindar do the snakes attacking the infant Herakles. Hybris in an animal is an aggressive spirit as well as the noise that goes with it.” This is just another way which the concept of hybris is treated in Greek Tragedy. MacDowell also explains that in humans…