Book III begins as Archidamus, King of Sparta, invades Attica. This triggers a revolt, notably on the island of Lesbos, because of Athens's enslavement of its allies, which causes a proxy war for Athens with the Mytilenians. The Plataeans were attacked by Thebes and retreat to Athens, and Athens defeats the revolt of the Mytilenians, … Continue reading The Peloponnesian War, Book III: Invasion and Revolution
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The Peloponnesian War, Book II: Proxy Wars and Pericles’s Funeral Oration
Book II begins the rise of the war chronologically. The thirty years peace ends when Thebes (allied with the Peloponnesians) attacks Plataea (allied with Athens) and the Thebans surrender. Both cities are loctaed borth of Athens in Boetia. Plataea executes its 180 vaptured prisoners in the country before Athenian emissaries could arrive to instruct them … Continue reading The Peloponnesian War, Book II: Proxy Wars and Pericles’s Funeral Oration
The Dangers of the Poets in The Bacchae
The Bacchae (Bacchantes) is Euripides's greatest play. It tells the story of Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry, as he jealously rebukes Pentheus, ruler of Thebes (the latter city of Oedipus), for his lack of faith in Dionysus's sovereignty. Pentheus's impiety ultimately costs his city and family their nobility -Dionysus, in disguise, persuades Pentheus … Continue reading The Dangers of the Poets in The Bacchae
What is the Chorus in Greek Tragedy?
In Classical Greek drama, the existence of a Chorus strikes the modern audience as odd. Why is there a Chorus? What role does it play? Where did the Chorus come from? The origin of the word "khoros" is cloaked in mystery, however it has been suggested by modern scholars that the word references an open dance … Continue reading What is the Chorus in Greek Tragedy?
The Seven Against Thebes and The Phoenician Women Considered
Aeschylus's Seven Against Thebes is an odd, archaic play. The bulk of the play a long reflection and recital of the blazonry on a champion's shield, during the backdrop of the impending duel between Oedipus's two sons, Polynices and Eteocles, with Eteocles playing the main role. As David Grene (the play's translator) notes, the play … Continue reading The Seven Against Thebes and The Phoenician Women Considered
Thoughts on The Phoenician Women
Euripides's Phoenician Women comes down to us as a heavily edited dialogue. Some have suggested it was performed during Euripides's lifetime, while others have suggested it remained unfinished and was expanded upon by later Greek writers. The play is an interpretation of Aeschylus's Seven Against Thebes - in which Oedipus's two sons, Polynices and Eteocles battle for the kingship of Thebes. Recall … Continue reading Thoughts on The Phoenician Women
Electra in Aeschylus vs. Euripides
In Euripides's Electra he draws swords with Aeschylus's much earlier and superior version of the same Orestes story, in The Libation Bearers. In Aeschylus, there is a kind of hero-worship in which Orestes triumphantly returns to Mycenae and he kills his parents, only to be troubled by the Furies. In Euripides's version, the story is told … Continue reading Electra in Aeschylus vs. Euripides
Thoughts on His Family
Published in 1917, Ernest Poole's winner of the first ever Pulitzer Prize in 1918, His Family, is a surprisingly delightful read. The book has been largely out of print in recent years, and much like other early winners of the Pulitzer Prize, including Booth Tarkington's The Magnificent Ambersons, His Family is largely overlooked by modern … Continue reading Thoughts on His Family
Daniel: A Book of Dreams and Dark Prophecy
The Book of Daniel is an odd book in the Hebrew Bible - it is believed to have been the last or most recent book written that was later included in the Biblical corpus, though its contents take place many hundreds of years earlier during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. In the deutero-canon, … Continue reading Daniel: A Book of Dreams and Dark Prophecy
Further Consideration of Jonah
Though we know almost nothing about the author of the Book of Jonah, it has been suggested that the book emerged after the Babylonian exile due to its universalist monotheistic message which came about with Second Isaiah, the anonymous sixth-century prophet of Babylonian exile. This global conception of God is a wholly different than the … Continue reading Further Consideration of Jonah
