Tag Archives: classics

God made Man: On Euripides’ Bacchae

Unless otherwise indicated, numbers in parentheses are line numbers. SUMMARY Dionysus, god of wine, returns with an Asian following to the place of his conception: Thebes. His mother was one of Cadmus’ daughters (Cadmus being Thebes’ legendary founder). Asia now understands his creed and dances accordingly. Thebes still rejects him. Its current ruler, Pentheus, will …

January 1, 2012 – 6:37 pm | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, politics | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

The Origin of Politics: Sophocles, “Oedipus at Colonus”

Nearly all the observations in this post are adapted from Seth Benardete’s essay “On Greek Tragedy,” cited below. Parenthetical references that are only numbers are line numbers. 1. Oedipus’ crimes of incest and parricide have been revealed. His eyes are gone, he has been exiled from the city. With his daughter Antigone, he trespasses on …

November 6, 2010 – 5:55 pm | By ashok | Posted in politics | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

Posts on Greek Drama and History

A bit of blog housekeeping is coming up – 500 a day hasn’t been hit yet, but I’m in shooting distance. Part of the strategy has to be to post a bit more, and get more links built to my older posts. Without further ado, here are some posts on Greek tragedy and history. I …

July 19, 2010 – 3:44 am | By ashok | Posted in blogging | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Nature and Law, Woman and Man: On Xenophon’s Oeconomicus, Book VII

Socrates discusses part of an encounter with a perfect [noble and good] gentleman in Oeconomicus VII. The gentleman’s name is Ischomachos; Socrates is relating his discussion with him for the sake of moderating the ambitions of the primary interlocutor of the Oeconomicus, Crito’s son Critoboulus. One of Critoboulos’ problems is moderation (cf. Memorabilia I.3.8-10; Symposium …

June 6, 2009 – 9:47 pm | By ashok | Posted in politics, xenophon | Tagged | Comments (0)

On the Relevance of Euripides’ “Hippolytus”

1. Theseus, the hero who became king of Athens, by an Amazon had an illegitimate child named Hippolytus. Hippolytus stayed chaste while practicing hunting, tending to horses, and other affairs of “manly men.” When Hippolytus had grown, Theseus took another, younger wife, Phaedra, who bore him several children. Phaedra fell in love with Hippolytus; the …

May 19, 2009 – 5:08 am | By ashok | Posted in poetry, politics | Tagged | Comments (1)

Political Literacy: What do you need to know about the classics that’s relevant today?

Too much blather, not enough specifics. Memo to all conservative writers and bloggers: until you treat people like they’re intelligent, we’re doomed. Here’s what you need to get started if you’re interested in what the Founders and those who influenced them knew. I’m sticking to contrasts, because I want you to see how different this …

December 17, 2008 – 3:20 pm | By ashok | Posted in education | Tagged | Comments (4)

Just finished a Straussian ritual, Aristophanes’ “Clouds:” Preliminary Notes on the Limits of Comedy

1. Consideration of comedians: they use laughter to make everything ridiculous. The good things, while made ridiculous, still are essentially good and cannot be dismissed. They are necessary no matter how much we laugh. The bad things, made ridiculous, fall away quickly. All comedians – including those who believe all is spin, such as Jon …

November 11, 2008 – 8:30 am | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, plato, xenophon | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Running into a Professor on the Internet feels Weird: On Sophocles’ Antigone, 334-375, the “Ode to Man”

Karl Maurer is a professor of mine, so it is with an especial pride I present to you these lines. I ran into him accidentally on the Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Brainstorm” blog, and the passage he cited by Nietzsche there is well worth your time. The comment below was left on the blog by …

September 30, 2008 – 3:35 am | By ashok | Posted in poetry | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Creating Statesmen, Part 2: Democracy, Oligarchy and Xenophon’s Depiction of Charmides

for David Sullivan and Joe Connole, with many thanks Background: The Pelopennesian War, 431-404 BC, pit the Athenian democracy against the Spartan republic. Now Athens had not always been a democracy; once it was a kingship, and there were traces of noble lineage among the Athenians. One of the people of such descent was Plato …

September 5, 2008 – 10:12 am | By ashok | Posted in philosophy, politics, xenophon | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

Why Read The Classics? Because They Take the Problem of Happiness Seriously

Very rough, nowhere near complete. For new readers. Comedy is harder than tragedy, and you would think someone nowadays was up to the challenge of explaining how we can be happy without glibly telling us “it’s just a matter of attitude.” Sorry, but we know better – we know we need things; we know providing …

July 3, 2008 – 1:37 am | By ashok | Posted in education, philosophy, politics | Tagged , | Comments (2)