The title of Euripides's Iphigenia in Tauris can literally be translated as 'Iphigenia Among the Taurians'. The term Tauris is not actually a place, but it refers to the Greek word for the Crimean Peninsula (Taurike). The Iphigenia story has fascinated and horrified artists since antiquity. Several later versions of the Iphigenia story were created, including one … Continue reading Thoughts on Iphigenia in Tauris
Tag: creative writing
Swing Time
Swing Time (1936) Director: George Stevens ★★★★★ Swing Time is a wonderful film, and may be Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers's finest movie. Together they made ten Hollywood films, and nine of which were musicals for RKO. Six of them were the top money-makers for RKO. As Katherine Hepburn once said, "He gives her class, and … Continue reading Swing Time
The Gorgias, A Dialogue of War and Battle
The Gorgias, a dialogue of "war and battle," has been called the natural introduction to the Republic. Why is this the case? The Gorgias shows us a unique drama - a pupil of a foreign rhetorician versus a pupil of an Athenian philosopher. It is a dialogue in battle, perhaps the dialogue in battle, as Callicles's opening … Continue reading The Gorgias, A Dialogue of War and Battle
Morning Glory
Morning Glory (1933) Director: Lowell Sherman "Youth has its hour of glory... but too often it's only a morning glory, the flower that fades before the sun is very high." ★★★★☆ Morning Glory is an excellent film starring Katharine Hepburn, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Adolphe Menjou. The whimsical music is composed by the brilliant Max Steiner. … Continue reading Morning Glory
Cratylus: Plato’s Dialogue on Language
In the character of Cratylus, we find a Platonic figure most closely mirroring contemporary philosophers, namely the challenges posed by the Analytic philosophers. The Cratylus dialogue is a dramatic piece, rather than a recounted story by either Socrates or another story-teller. The dialogue is about a conversation between Hermogenes and Cratylus. Hermogenes (not Cratylus) invites … Continue reading Cratylus: Plato’s Dialogue on Language
Euthydemus’s Form of Relativism
Beginning at 293B in Plato's Euthydemus, Crito asks Socrates if Euthydemus was able to reveal anything to him yesterday at the Lyceum when they spoke in front of a rowdy crowd of Euthydemus's supporters. Socrates exclaims 'of course!' Euthydemus had shown him things. What is it that Euthydemus has shown Socrates? Euthydemus asks Socrates whether he knows … Continue reading Euthydemus’s Form of Relativism
