200917 pages
Topic overview
In the Iliad, the legendary Greek poet Homer describes the athletic contests held in honor of the recently deceased Patroclus. Achilles, as sponsor of the games, presides over the running of the various events. The first...
200911 pages
Topic overview
In his Metamorphoses, the Roman poet Ovid (43 B.C.—A.D. 17) recounts the following story from Greek mythology about Actaeon, a hunter devoured by his own hunting dogs. One of the grandsons [of the Theban king Cadmus]...
20094 pages
Topic overview
The first important civilization in the Greek world arose not on the Greek mainland but on the Mediterranean island of Crete to the south. Around 2000 B.C., the Minoans—named for the legendary Cretan king Minos—developed...
20095 pages
Topic overview
In this excerpt from his famous book on the ideal state, The Republic, the Greek philosopher Plato (428–347 B.C.) discusses the role of literature, especially poetry. “And so, Glaucon,” I continued, “when you meet...
20096 pages
Topic overview
The fourth-century B.C. Greek philosopher Aristotle traces below the origins of trade and commerce, and the eventual necessity of coined money to replace commodity trading. But there is another kind of acquisition that...
20093 pages
Topic overview
Slavery was a fact of life in both ancient Greece and Rome. At least five castes of slaves can be identified in Greek society: (1) state-owned slaves who served the public good as law enforcement officials, or clerks in...
20095 pages
Topic overview
In 480 B.C., the Persians and their allies, under the leadership of King Xerxes, attempted to invade Greece with a huge navy and army. In the following passages from Book Seven of his Histories, the fifth-century B.C....
20094 pages
Topic overview
In Antigone, a play by the fifth-century B.C. Athenian playwright Sophocles, Creon has assumed the kingship of Thebes. In this excerpt, he announces to an assemblage of elders his governing philosophies. Gentlemen: I...
20097 pages
Topic overview
In his biography of Alexander the Great, the Greek biographer Plutarch (A.D. c. 45—c. 120) provides the following details about Alexander's eating and drinking habits. He had the most complete mastery over his appetite...
20095 pages
Topic overview
Almost from its earliest days, ancient Athens was embroiled in civil disputes, lawsuits, discord, and wrangling of all kinds. By the early sixth century B.C., the situation there had become so chaotic that the Athenians...
20093 pages
Topic overview
One of the most famous soothsayers in Greek literature and mythology was the blind prophet Tiresias. In this excerpt from the play Bacchae by the Athenian playwright Euripides (c. 480–406 B.C.), the elderly Tiresias...
20094 pages
Topic overview
Widely believed to have been written by the Greek physician Hippocrates in the fourth century B.C., the Hippocratic Oath, the oath traditionally taken by physicians as a promise of ethical practice, is perhaps the most...
20094 pages
Topic overview
In this excerpt from The Art of Rhetoric, the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) describes the essential characteristics of a successful orator. Now the proofs furnished by the speech are of three kinds. The...
20093 pages
Topic overview
In this excerpt from his Attic Nights, the Roman writer Aulus Gellius (A.D. c. 125-c. 180) offers a brief comparison of Draco and Solon, two of the most famous Athenian lawgivers, of the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.,...
20093 pages
Topic overview
In his treatise entitled Politics, the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) provided a survey of the essentials for a well-run and prosperous city. These factors included a favorable location, a strong family...
20093 pages
Topic overview
“Work with work upon work.” With those words, the eighth-century B.C. Greek poet Hesiod summed up the nature of life on the farm in ancient Greece. And farming was undoubtedly the primary occupation. Since most ancient...
20093 pages
Topic overview
The eighth-century B.C. Greek poet Hesiod, in this excerpt from his lengthy poem “Theogony,” tells the tale of the birth of the god Zeus. Rhea, overpowered by Cronus, bore him splendid children: Hestia, Demeter, and...
20094 pages
Topic overview
When he was a young man, Odysseus, the hero of the Odyssey by the legendary Greek poet Homer, built a special bed for himself and his wife Penelope. The bed was unique because one of the bedposts was fashioned from a...
20095 pages
Topic overview
In Book XI of Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus makes a fearsome voyage to the Underworld, where he encounters the spirits of relatives and friends. The following is excerpted from the account of his meeting with his deceased...
20092 pages
Topic overview
In this passage, the Greek biographer Plutarch (A.D. c. 45—c. 120) describes the annual festivities held in the town of Plataea to commemorate the Battle of Plataea, a victory over the mighty Persian army fought in 478...
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In the Iliad, the legendary Greek poet Homer describes the athletic contests held in honor of the recently deceased Patroclus. Achilles, as sponsor of the games, presides over the running of the various events. The first...