Yale Classics (Vol. 1)

Yale Classics (Vol. 1)

by AristotleTheocritus Euripides and others
Epub (Kobo), Epub (Adobe)
Publication Date: 14/09/2023

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Yale Classics (Vol. 1) is an evocative journey through the rich and varied landscapes of ancient Greek literature, bringing together a mélange of works that span genres and centuries. From the poetic elegance of hymn and epic to the philosophical discourses and dramatic tragedies, this anthology encapsulates the wide-ranging styles that have shaped Western thought and culture. The collection spotlights pivotal themes of human nature, morality, and the essence of the divine, without tying them to a singular voice, allowing the diversity of these literary masterpieces to shine. Amongst them, the reverberations of poignant introspection and social commentary are particularly noteworthy, embodying a timeless quest for truth and understanding. This anthology curates works from illustrious authors whose collective contributions laid the foundational stones of classical literature. Including philosophical inquiries from the likes of Aristotle and Plato, to the lyrical beauty of Sappho and the epic storytelling of Homer, these authors bring forth perspectives that echo the intellectual tempest of the Hellenistic period and beyond. Aligning with cultural movements such as the Athenian enlightenment, these diverse voices collectively enhance our appreciation of classical antiquity, offering insights that are as profound today as they were millennia ago. Offering an unparalleled literary voyage, Yale Classics (Vol. 1) presents readers with a rare opportunity to engage with a cornucopia of perspectives, styles, and timeless themes. This anthology not only serves an educational purpose, inviting readers to explore the philosophical and artistic tapestry of ancient Greece but also encourages a rich dialogue between the profound minds featured within. Whether as a guide for scholars or as a captivating exploration for the curious reader, this volume promises a transformative journey into the ancient past, endowed with wisdom that continues to resonate through the ages.

ISBN:
9788028316518
9788028316518
Category:
Classical history / classical civilisation
Format:
Epub (Kobo), Epub (Adobe)
Publication Date:
14-09-2023
Language:
English
Publisher:
Sharp Ink
Aristotle

Aristotle was born in the Macedonian city of Stagira in 384 BC, and died in 322. He studied in Plato's Academy in Athens and later became tutor to Alexander the Great, before establishing his own school in Athens, called the Lyceum. His writings, which were of extraordinary range, profoundly affected the whole course of ancient, medieval and modern philosophy. Many of them have survived, including The Nicomachean Ethics, The Politics and Poetics, among others.

Euripides

Euripides (c.485-07 BC) was an Athenian born into a family of considerable rank. Disdaining the public duties expected of him, Euripides spent a life of quiet introspection, spending much of his life in a cave on Salamis.

Late in life he voluntarily exiled himself to the court of Archelaus, King of Macedon, where he wrote The Bacchae, regarded by many as his greatest work. Euripides is thought to have written 92 plays, only 18 of which survive.

Plato

Plato ranks among the most familiar ancient philosophers, along with his teacher, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle.

In addition to writing philosophical dialogues - used to teach logic, ethics, rhetoric, religion, and mathematics as well as philosophy - he founded Athens' Academy, the Western world's first institution of higher learning.

Homer

We know very little about the author of The Odyssey and its companion tale, The Iliad. Most scholars agree that Homer was Greek; those who try to identify his origin on the basis of dialect forms in the poems tend to choose as his homeland either Smyrna, now the Turkish city known as Izmir, or Chios, an island in the eastern Aegean Sea. According to legend, Homer was blind, though scholarly evidence can neither confirm nor contradict the point.

The ongoing debate about who Homer was, when he lived, and even if he wrote The Odyssey and The Iliad is known as the "Homeric question." Classicists do agree that these tales of the fall of the city of Troy (Ilium) in the Trojan War (The Iliad) and the aftermath of that ten-year battle (The Odyssey) coincide with the ending of the Mycenaean period around 1200 BCE (a date that corresponds with the end of the Bronze Age throughout the Eastern Mediterranean). The Mycenaeans were a society of warriors and traders; beginning around 1600 BCE, they became a major power in the Mediterranean. Brilliant potters and architects, they also developed a system of writing known as Linear B, based on a syllabary, writing in which each symbol stands for a syllable.

Scholars disagree on when Homer lived or when he might have written The Odyssey. Some have placed Homer in the late-Mycenaean period, which means he would have written about the Trojan War as recent history. Close study of the texts, however, reveals aspects of political, material, religious, and military life of the Bronze Age and of the so-called Dark Age, as the period of domination by the less-advanced Dorian invaders who usurped the Mycenaeans is known. But how, other scholars argue, could Homer have created works of such magnitude in the Dark Age, when there was no system of writing? Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian, placed Homer sometime around the ninth century BCE, at the beginning of the Archaic period, in which the Greeks adopted a system of writing from the Phoenicians and widely colonized the Mediterranean. And modern scholarship shows that the most recent details in the poems are datable to the period between 750 and 700 BCE.

No one, however, disputes the fact that The Odyssey (and The Iliad as well) arose from oral tradition. Stock phrases, types of episodes, and repeated phrases such as "early, rose-fingered dawn" bear the mark of epic storytelling. Scholars agree, too, that this tale of the Greek hero Odysseus's journey and adventures as he returned home from Troy to Ithaca is a work of the greatest historical significance and, indeed, one of the foundations of Western literature.

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