Final Flashcards
Plato
An Athenian poet whose nickname means broad shouldered
Authored The Republic
Follower of Socrates
The Republic
Written by Plato about the musings of Socrates on justice
Seeks to define justice in overly complicated ways
Contains the theory of the forms
Metaphor or manifesto?
Homer
May have been blind
Compiled and unified different stories
May have been a stage name
Authored The Iliad and The Odyssey
The Iliad
Epic poem written by Homer
Starts in the middle of things
Chronicles 50 days of a 10 year war between the Greeks and Trojans
The Greeks wanted to bring back Helen, a Greek queen, back to the king
The Odyssey
Epic poem written by Homer
Series of adventures usually marked by various changes of fortune
Odysseus was a minor character in The Iliad, but is the main character here
Is about:
Home
Hospitality
The Sufferings of Life (one man against the world)
Thucydides
Grew up during the Peloponnesian War
Wrote The Peloponnesian War
Gathered info from both sides to see more accurately what happened
The Peloponnesian War
Written by Thucydides
Takes a critical, unbiased view on the conflict
Broken up into 8 sections, the 8th being possibly unfinished
Herodotus
Author of The Histories
Known as the father of history, as he pioneered the systematic investigation of historical events
Was a product of the unprecedented unification and enlightenment of polises that came about once the Persians were defeated
The Histories
Written by Herodotus
Chronicles the war between Persia and Greece
Focuses on Croesus, Solon, and Cyrus
Most boring Great Work
Sophocles
Known as the greatest dramatist
Wrote Oedipus Rex and Antigone
Easy going, peaceful, reserved, saw life steadily and whole
Credited with 123 plays, only 7 of which survive today
Oedipus Rex
Greek Tragedy readapted by Sophocles
Oedipus prophetically kills his father and marries his mother
Is centered on human limitation, Athenian identity, the Divine, Fate and free will, and the fact that ignorance is bliss
The Romans
Had 2 main foundation myths:
Romulus and Remus
The Aeneid
Saw themselves as divine conquerors, much like their perceived ancestor (the god of war) as well as a blood-guilty people because Romulus killed Remus
The Rape of the Sabeans also contributed to Roman identity
Welcomed all cultures, similar to the USA
Practical, aggressive, pragmatic
Anti-monarchists/anti-tyranny
Feared the Gallic tribes and resolved themselves to never be sacked again
Cicero
Lived at the height of the Roman Republic around the time of Julius Caesar and before Octavian
Was an idealist who loved the Roman Republic
Boastful politician and lawyer; clever, quick, witty
Spoke out against Mark Anthony, a member of the Second Triumvirate, and was executed for it
Amazing orator
Author of On Duties/Obligations and The First Oration Against Catiline
On Duties/Obligations
Written by Cicero
Letter to his son on how to live (wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation)
Very pragmatic
Impacted Luther and Calvin
The First Oration Against Catiline
Speech given by Cicero
Tried to persuade the council that Catiline was orchestrating a coup, organizing assassination attempts and raising a secret army
Cicero was ultimately successful
Julius Caesar
Bold, brilliant, and brutal
The product of two esteemed bloodlines
Formed the First Triumvirate
Took Gall for himself, despite it being a wild and dangerous place (this is why he wrote The Gallic Wars)
Assassinated by the entire senate in an effort to preserve the Republic
The Gallic Wars
Written by Julius Caesar
Perfect, beautiful, standard Latin
Details his political and military campaign (this is when he became Caesar of Rome)
Virgil
Greatest Roman poet
His poetry was oral rather than written
Witnessed the death of the Republic and the birth of the Empire
Was friends with Octavian, which may have tainted his writing
His epic poem was The Aeneid; he also wrote The Eclogues and The Georgics
The Aeneid
Written by Virgil
Aeneas is a demigod from Troy
About wars, gods, and a man
Was one of Rome’s foundation myths that gathered a religious following even as late as the English civil war
Was left unfinished
The Eclogues
Written by Virgil
Selections of poetry
Homeric pexometer is utilized to establish pastoral themes in the Fourth Eclogue
Appreciates simple, natural facts about life
The Georgics
Dryden said it was the best poem by the best poet
About farming and nature
Split up into 4 sections:
Growing Crops
Trees
Herds
Bees (honey)
Tacitus
Roman historian/Latin linguist
Wrote The Annals (Roman emperors)
Dark pessimist
First commentator on Christianity
The Annals
Written by Tacitus
Chronicles the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, painting very dark portraits
Seneca
Tutor of Nero
One of the most famous stoics
Writer, thinker, philosopher
Involved in government
Caligula and Claudius hated him, but he flourished under Nero
Wrote Letters to Lucilius in his peaceful retirement
Was later executed by Nero out of suspicion
Letters to Lucilius
Written by Seneca
Lucilius may or may not have been a real person
Promotes the stoic lifestyle
Plutarch
First modern biographer
Authored The Lives
The Lives/The Parallel Lives
Plutarch
Compares and contrasts different heroic lives (Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar)
Influenced many great men throughout history
Focuses on birth, youth, character, and achievements in that order
Combines fiction and non-fiction
Written to inspire
