Polis

For in this play, revenge emerges as something problematic, something which, rather than upholding and restoring the polis (city), is threatening to engulf it in an unending cycle of destruction, until the most powerful city in the Greek world is full of corpses and vultures. Consequently, one of the principal purposes of the first play is to force us to recognize that…

They made themselves to become one of the most renowned and feared Greek ‘nations’, but at what cost? In order to foster a stronger soldiers who were bound by nothing but their loyalty to their polis, the Spartans underwent a massive amount of effort to indoctrinate individuals to the state, as children, the spartan boys and girls were taken and are placed under the guidance and control of a public servant, the “paidonomos”2 who bore a whip and…

voyage across an immense sea to a ‘foreign land’ known as Australia. She still remembers the sound of the wind, hitting the sails of the ship, Kirina. My γιαγιά was brought up on the Dodecanese Island of Rhodes, Greece, in the town called ‘Palia Poli’ which translates to the ‘Old Town’. Her Mother, Sarah, was from an upscale family on the nearby island of Symi. Symi is very famous for its beautiful monastery of the Archangel Michael and is only a twenty-five minute boat ride from the island of…

During the time of the Athenians back in the fifth century, stereotypes were prominent amongst men and women, specifically amongst time of war. Aristophanes’ Lysistrata is a comedic play during the Peloponnesian War that is ripe with these stereotypes, providing further insight into the timeliness of human sexuality, desire, and the war of the sexes. The traditional role of women and their appetites during this time period was humorous compared to the duties of men. Women enjoyed parties,…

selected few to govern their city, free Athenian men were able to accept of decline laws that were proposed by a council of 500 members that also supervised major governmental committees. While citizens were able to vote, ten archons regulated the polis and handled all military and legal controversies. To secure themselves from Persian Empire, Athens formed the Delian League (477 B.C.E.). Since there was no danger of Persia after the Greco-Persian war, the collaboration between the two…

The Greek philosopher Socrates once said "The unexamined life is not worth living." Without examining life, no change will ever come to people or cultures. Western Culture has developed over centuries, drawing on many archaic civilization’s qualities. Perhaps the most important influencer was that of Ancient Greece; a society that sought a balance, order, and harmony that people have emulated for thousands of years. The Greeks laid the foundations for Western Civilization with their formation of…

program on the Acropolis of Athens, which was meant to proclaim the glory of the city of Athens to the world. This is why the Acropolis of Athens was built on a high elevation. The word “Acropolis” comes from the Greek word Akro (meaning high) and Polis (meaning city). The background of the sky had a significant impact on how the architects chose to design the Parthenon; They designed the columns that appear at the corners of the temple to be about 6 centimeters larger in diameter than all the…

Popular culture, or Pop Art was a time when simple objects of everyday life were made into fine art, but more often Pop art is a statement on mass advertising and the customer culture after WWII. It also was a means to demonstrate against future conflicts as well. During the world’s recovery of WWII magazines and newspapers were full of advertisements of what to buy, and how the perfect house hold should look like. People tried to live above their means in order to fulfil what they thought they…

Socrates was born in the year 470 BC. in Athens, Greece. His father was a sculptor and his mother was a midwife. Socrates was the first Greek philosophers who died unjustly condemned by the Athenian justice. Socrates was a classic philosopher, stood out for his human qualities, spiritual integrity, social pedagogy and moral greatness; he devoted his life to the education of young people, without earning a penny. His wise teachings, who opposed the Sophists of the time, help to shape ethical…

tragic hero. Honig would argue that Antigone is more of a political actor when she writes “She is a lamenting sister and she does die for her cause, but she is, more fundamentally, a political actor embroiled in fifth-century burial, kinship, and polis politics” (2). This would show that Antigone is not the Greek tragic hero but rather more of a political actor or hero instead. Antigone is seen as more of a hero because of the way she seems to rally the people around her. Antigone even had the…