Polis

Section A Apodexis, Aitiai, Istoria Herodotus histories were considered as the founding work of history in the western literature era. There are many aspects that are recurred to understand history. Apodexis is needed when a demonstration revolves into proof. Aitiai coincided with Istoria, whereas Aitiai is greek for cause and the ability to find out a reason for something. While Istoria focuses on the written accounts of others and their varied histories. Cleon, Diodotus, Mytilenian The…

“It is hard for a city composed in this way to change, but everything that comes into being must decay” (Republic 546a). Both Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Politics present frameworks of governance where regimes inevitably change forms. Neither a dynastic kingship nor a classless democracy can possibly survive indefinitely. Plato and Aristotle analyze this change in depth, each providing a distinct view: Plato’s cycle of regime corruption and Aristotle’s web of possible regime transitions. In…

Chronicling the fate of the House of Atreus - a bloodline destined to beget suffering and bleed until it is bled dry - the closing moments of Aeschylus’ Oresteia depict, more optimistically, the very best of what Aeschylus hoped society could be. Yet to ignore the issues of gender and sexuality - the binary opposition and conflicting gendering of its two female ‘heroines’ and their subsequent inversion of societal norms, for example - is to confine the text and its characters unnecessarily. It…

history, partly due to their foot soldiers being superior to any other soldiers in all of Greece. Spartan warriors were known for their bravery, professionalism, and skill on the battlefield (Spartan Military). At any point in time, Sparta was the only polis able to maintain a large army at all times, despite hardships that they were facing (Military Innovations). This is because while the warriors were off at war the slaves took care of the household chores, day-to-day task, and anything that…

The ancient Greek polis, or city states, of Athens and Sparta were prominent powers during the Classical Era from c. 750 BCE – 400 BCE. The two emerged around the same time, but grew into vastly different cities. One became a powerful military state, while the other became the birthplace of democracy. Both Athens and Sparta helped to shape civilization in the ancient western world, but they were often rivals, and polar opposites in the aspects of government, militarism, and culture. Originally…

“Freedom, tolerance, generosity, intelligence, hopefulness, and bravery” are the values which we espouse (Carnes et al., p. 37). Removing freedom of speech, a cornerstone of our polis, would lead to instability in our polis and the downfall of Athens. No respectable citizen in their right mind should dare to endanger our democracy by supporting the censorship of any of our fellow Athenian brothers, even if we disagree with what they say. As Pericles…

alleviate population increases as well as environmental pressures. In effect, Sparta created a warrior class that was dedicated to the defense of the state, and polis from the threat of the helots. According to Pomeroy, “The Spartan economic system was designed to enable citizens to devote all their time and energy to the welfare of the polis.” Furthermore,…

Virginia Held is a well-known philosopher who studies the ethics of care and the role women have historically played in philosophy and religion. Held takes the works of philosophers in the past that seem to favor a male-dominated public realm, and utilizes them to show how some of them may promote the interests of women. In her work Feminist Transformations of Moral Theory, Held critiques the presumed male biases in philosophy and prompts readers to read philosophy in a different light. She…

According to Aristotle, this is where the polis finds purpose; in taking away the stress of survival by allocating the basic necessities for life, citizens will have the opportunity to achieve their telos. Furthermore, the state would function to secure the hierarchy amongst men that Aristotle believes…

lost in translation. In ancient Greece, the point of comedy was to empower and serve as ‘parrhesia’ or free speech. The structure and patterns of comedy correlate with Spike Lee’s 2015 film Chiraq. It is based on ‘Old Comedy’ which touches upon the ‘polis’ or public life and ideas. ‘Old Comedy’ was meant to be intensely…