Tag Archives: pericles

War and Greek Tragedy (Part Two: Sophocles)

by Andrew Aulner, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom The next of the three great tragedians to be born was Sophocles, who, like Aeschylus before him, served in the Greek military. Sophocles was a general during the war against the island of Samos and later lived through the Peloponnesian War. Both of these events exposed Sophocles to

Written on April 24, 2022 at 2:59 pm, by Sean Kelly

No Comments

Categories: Culture

Tags: Antigone, Greek Tragedy, Oedipus Rex, pericles, Philoctetes, Sophocles, war

High Classical Greek Art: Political Patrons

Few things impact a budding art scene like an imperial power showing off. The ruling class often invest heavily in propaganda and self grandeur, paid into the hands of the artistically gifted. They might even commission a few temples, as thanks to the gods for their new found positions. The artists, as long as they

Written on April 13, 2022 at 3:09 pm, by Sean Kelly

No Comments

Categories: Sculpture

Tags: Acropolis, Alexander the Great, High Classical Greek Art, pericles, Sculptures

What Makes a Republic? The Evolution of a Political System.

By Ed Whelan, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom In the contemporary world, republics are the most common form of government, yet few of us take the time to consider what a republic actually is. If we want to more deeply understand the nature of republics, we need to look back to the ancient examples of Rome,

Written on July 30, 2021 at 2:49 pm, by Whelan

No Comments

Categories: Politics

Tags: Aristotle, Athens, pericles, Republic, Republics, Rome, Sparta

Do you need to be Good to be a Good leader?

“Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.” I find myself quoting Pericles quite often these days… Not only because the above sentence is so repeatedly (and tragically) apt, but it also goes to show that many elements of human nature haven’t changed at

Written on March 2, 2020 at 6:17 pm, by plato

No Comments

Categories: Dialectics

Tags: Good leader, Lord Acton, pericles, Politics

Reflections on the Brevity of Life

By David Hooker, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom Weekly “Life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” So said the 17th Century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes in his magnum opus, Leviathan. It is a stark and negative statement, to be sure. Of course, Hobbes had in mind that the life of ordinary people would go much better under

Written on November 15, 2019 at 6:00 am, by David Hooker

2 Comments

Categories: Philosophy

Tags: Aristotle, death of socrates, Peloponessian War, pericles, Pericles Funeral Oration, socrates, Thomas Hobbes, Thucydides

Athens

Athens and Sparta were two of the most influential city-states in the ancient world. They both held sway over the history of ancient Greece and to this day have spawned much comparison and analysis. And as we wrote in a previous article, Sparta was known for their militaristic civilization and for their affinity for war. Conversely,

Written on July 19, 2019 at 9:01 am, by Van Bryan

No Comments

Categories: Places

Tags: Ancient Athens, Ancient Greek Women, pericles, socrates, Sparta, Themistocles

« Older Entries