Tag Archives: Poetry

Lucretius’ Controversial Epic: On the Nature of Things

by Ed Whelan, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom It was one of the most controversial poems ever written. It is a remarkable, philosophical epic written in beautiful language, yet it is also much more. On the Nature of Things by Lucretius was a key text for the many followers of Epicureanism in the Roman Empire, and

Written on January 28, 2022 at 10:04 pm, by Whelan

No Comments

Categories: Philosophy

Tags: Epicurus, Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, Philosophy, Poetry

Wine and Roman Poets

By Visnja Bojovic, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom When we think of wine in the ancient world, the first thing that comes to mind is the Romans and their luxurious banquets. We know that wine was an important part of the Roman culture; there were even precise rules for the way and quantity in which it

Written on January 4, 2022 at 8:05 pm, by Sean Kelly

No Comments

Categories: Literature, Poets

Tags: Alcohol, Bacchus, Horace, Poetry, Propertius, Roman culture, Tibullus, wine

Horace – Poet of the Golden Age

by Ed Whelan, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom “Mediocrity in poets has never been tolerated by either men, or gods, or booksellers.” So wrote Horace, one of the most celebrated of all the Roman poets. He lived during the Golden Age of Latin literature which occurred in the last decades of the Roman Republic, and continued

Written on October 15, 2021 at 7:53 pm, by Whelan

No Comments

Categories: Poets

Tags: Augustus, Brutus, Cassius, Horace, Poetry, Roman empire, Roman Republic

The Nine Lyric Poets of Ancient Greece

By Ed Whelan, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom The Ancient Greeks are famed for their poetry. Even today Ancient Greek poets such as Homer are widely read and remain influential. The Greeks especially revered lyric poetry, which was often performed accompanied by music or sung by choruses. Nine lyric poets became seen as canonical in Hellenistic

Written on September 24, 2021 at 4:21 pm, by Whelan

No Comments

Categories: People, Poets

Tags: Lyric Poetry, Nine Lyric Poets, Pindar, Poetry, Sappho

Mimesis: Aristotle vs. Plato on Poetry

Written by Visnja Bojovic, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom In a previous article, we discussed Aristotle’s inspiration to write the Poetics (a treatise on drama and literary theory), and the notion of catharsis that emerged as a result. As we concluded, it is highly probable that Aristotle’s treatise was written in response to Plato’s criticism of

Written on August 26, 2020 at 6:45 am, by Visnja Bojovic

1 Comment

Categories: Aristotle

Tags: allegory of the cave, Aristotle, Mimesis, Philosophy, Plato, Plato's republic, Poetics, Poetry, The Republic

Catharsis: Aristotle’s Defense of Poetry

Written by Visnja Bojovic, Contributing Writer, Clasical Wisdom Surely, we are all familiar with the term “catharsis.” A significant number of us have probably used it from time to time to describe an experience, such as when we leave a movie saying “That was cathartic!” Yet, how many of us know what it really means,

Written on June 3, 2020 at 8:11 am, by Visnja Bojovic

2 Comments

Categories: Aristotle

Tags: Ancient greek tragedy, Aristotle, Aristotle's Poetics, Aristotle's Politics, emotions, music, Nicomachean Ethics, passions, Plato, Poetry, Tragedy