Tag: Ancient Greece

If we explore the literature of Heroism, we shall quickly come to Plutarch, who is its Doctor and historian. ... I must think we are more deeply indebted to him than to all the ancient writers. Each of his "Lives" is a refutation to the despondency and cowardice of our religious and political theori...

From Plutarch's Lives, still inspirational after 19 centuries: 15 Ancient Greek Heroes from Plutarch's Lives Ploutarcou A modern English edition, abridged and annotated by Wilmot H. McCutchen Preface It's brief, so start here, then read these biographies in chronological order: Theseus The Athenian...

The Temple of Diana was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and a symbol of the city of Ephesus' power and wealth. It was built in the 6th century BC and was dedicated to the Greek goddess Diana, who was also known as Artemis. The temple was massive, measuring 120 meters long and 69 meter...

The Athenian Adventurer (circa 1300 B.C.) QHSEUS by Plutarch Theseus suppressed crime and brought the natives of Attica together into the first democracy. He saved the Athenian children from the Minotaur, but his kidnap of the queen of the Amazons brought trouble, and he ended his days in disgrace. ...

The Lawmaker of Athens (died 559 B.C.) SOLWN by Plutarch Athens, unlike Sparta, was a money-mad commercial city. The constitution written by Solon mitigated the class struggle between rich and poor, and allowed for the growth of democratic institutions. Solon was born into a well-to-do family of Ath...

The Reformer of Sparta (reigned 245 - 241 B.C.) AGIS by Plutarch The love of money had virtually destroyed the laws of Lycurgus in Sparta by the time Agis became king. This idealistic young man tried to restore the old way of life that had made Sparta great, but he was defeated by the power of greed...

The Slave of Fear (died 413 B.C.) N I K I A S by Plutarch The turning point of the war with Sparta was the disastrous Sicilian Expedition, eagerly undertaken by the greedy Athenians. Superstitious old Nicias was their reluctant leader in this debacle. After the death of Pericles, the democracy of At...

The Lame King of Sparta (444 - 360 B.C.) AGESILAOS by Plutarch Agesilaus inherited the Spartan throne after Sparta had defeated Athens in the Peloponnesian War. At that time, Sparta was the undisputed master of Greece and the Aegean. Because of his stubborn lust for conquest, Agesilaus violated the ...

PLOUTARXOS (circa 45 - 125 A.D.) Priest of the Delphic Oracle Greece, by the turn of the first millenium, was a sad ruin of its former glory. Mighty Rome had looted its statues and reduced Greece to conquered territory. 1 Despite these circumstances, Mestrius Plutarchus (known to history as Plutarch...

The Greeks were the first to formulate many of the Western world's fundamental concepts in politics, philosophy, science, and art. How was itthat a relative handful of people could bequeath such a legacy tocivilization? The definitive answer may always elude the historian, but a goodpart of the expl...

Surviving Greek and Roman texts reveal the remarkable level of mathematical and engineering skill that went into the development of these early ballistic-missile launchers by Werner Soedel and Vernard Foley Scientific American, March 1979, pp. 150 - 160 Web version made available with additional dia...

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