The Greeks Flashcards
Means the worship gods of nature; identifies deity with the universe and it’s phenomena.
pantheism
A system of philosophy that teaches that the greatest good is to seek modest pleasures in order to attain a state of tranquillity, freedom from fear (“ataraxia”) and absence from bodily pain (“aponia”).
Epicureanism, which was based on a Greek philosopher, Epicurus.
This philosophy teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions; the philosophy holds that becoming a clear and unbiased thinker allows one to understand the universal reason (logos).
Stoicism
A Greek philosophy that teaches that inclination to believe that people are motivated purely by self-interest; skepticism.
Cynicism
One of the most famous and celebrated writers of tragedy plays in ancient Greece and his surviving works, written throughout the 5th century BCE, include such classics as “Oedipus the King”, “Oedipus at Colonus” “Antigone”, and “Women of Trachis”. He helped establish the standard formula for Greek Tragedy,
His innovations in theatre presentation would provide the foundations for all future western dramatic performance, and his plays continue to be performed today in theatres around the world.
Sophocles
One of the greatest authors of Greek tragedy, who wrote some 90 plays and was also famous for posing awkward questions, unsettling his audience with a thought-provoking treatment of common themes, and spicing up the story with thoroughly immoral characters
Without doubt the most famous play is “Medeia”, while critics most esteem his “Bacchae”.
Euripides
Summarize “Antigone”.
the lead character pays the ultimate price for burying her brother Polynices against the wishes of King Kreon of Thebes. It is a classic situation of tragedy - the political right of having the traitor Polynices denied burial rites is contrasted against the moral right of a sister seeking to lay to rest her brother.
Summarize “Medeia”
where Jason, of the Golden Fleece fame, abandons the title character for the daughter of the King of Corinth with the consequence that Medeia kills her own children in revenge
He was one of the great writers of Greek Tragedy in 5th century BCE Classical Athens. Known as ‘the father of tragedy’, the playwright wrote up to 90 plays, winning with half of them at the great Athenian festivals of Greek drama. His most famous work is “Prometheus Bound”.
responsible for adding a second actor for minor parts and, by including more dialogue into his plays, he squeezed more drama from the age-old stories so familiar to his audience. He is also credited as the first to use the ekkyklema, a wheeled platform used to change stage scenery, and the mechane, a crane device used to lift actors. He was also noted for his extravagant costume designs and use of striking imagery.
Aeschylus
had a reputation as being something of a clever trickster and he famously gave the human race the gift of fire and the skill of metalwork, an action for which he was punished by Zeus, who ensured everyday that an eagle ate the liver of the Titan as he was bound to a rock; also said to have made the first man from clay
Prometheus
What does the Greek work “ekkyklema” refer to?
wheeled platform used to change stage scenery
What does the Greek work “mechane” refer to?
a crane device used to lift actors
One of the greatest poets of the early Roman Empire who was so highly regarded by those authors who followed him that the early 14th-century Italian author Dante Alighieri chose him as his guide through the nine levels of hell in “The Inferno”.
Excerpts of his poems were even found on the excavated walls of Pompeii
Virgil
Perhaps the greatest of all epic poets and the earliest poet in Western culture whose works have survived intact. He composed the two major works, “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey”
His work was hugely influential on Greek culture, and scenes from his works appeared in Greek sculpture, on Greek pottery, and in Greek tragedy and comedy. He was studied as part of Greek education, and the legends within his work would influence Hellenistic culture, Roman culture, and far beyond, so that his lasting legacy is that his works are still studied to this day.
Homer
Summarize “Aeneid”
told of a Trojan prince, Aeneas, who escaped the burning of Troy in the final days of the Trojan War to eventually make his way across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy (Latium) where his descendants Romulus and Remus would ultimately found the city of Rome.
Summarize “Iliad”
A poem that traces the anger of Achilles and takes place over 51 days during the tenth and final year of the Trojan War. I was a poem composed of 15,693 hexameters (lines of verse), and is divided into 24 books corresponding to each letter of the Greek alphabet - alpha to omega.
Summarize “Odyssey”
Poem concerned with the nostos (journey) of the Greek hero Odysseus (the protagonist after whom the poem is named) and the troubles that he faces on his way home from Troy, foiled on his way by godly interventions, especially those of Poseidon. Highlights include Odysseus’ famous encounters with the Sirens, with the Cyclops Polyphemus, and the slaying of his wife Penelope’s suitors upon his return to Ithaca.
