Classical Political Thought 12/15/10 Examining Plato and Aristotle’s Political Regimes Structures Plato and Aristotle both understood the importance of wisdom and virtue in founding a good regime. In their writings‚ they suggest the effect they felt a ruler had on a regime and vice versa. Where Plato saw a linear slope of five increasingly misguided and degenerating regimes‚ Aristotle saw six regimes: three true and three corrupt. Each regime has a ruling political good. This will be more apparent
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the sightless prophet Teiresias all but paints the entire tragic story of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King‚ one of the most prominent pieces of Greek literary heritage. Greeks knew and loved the story of Oedipus from childhood‚ just as children today cherish the story of Cinderella. In his version of the beloved tale‚ Sophocles concentrates his attention on the events directly leading to Oedipus’ destruction‚ portraying Oedipus as a helpless pawn of fate. The most prominent literary device is dramatic
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throughout Oedipus‚ stemming from Oedipus’ vehement quest to find out Lauis’s murderer‚ and his fate that is foreseen by the seer Tiresias. In addition‚ Oedipus’s constant search for the truth‚ and his unwavering to ability to not heed to the warnings constantly given to him by Tiresias and Creon. Oedipus’ supposed “sight” in the play and his coexisting “blindness” are both inherent to the development of Oedipus throughout the play. Sight and blindness are important themes in the play Oedipus the King
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Throughout his life‚ Aristotle paid particularly close attention to the notion of happiness. In Aristotle’s opinion‚ happiness is achieved by obtaining the highest good by living a good life. However‚ living a good life in accordance with Aristotle’s views can be difficult. He believes that in order to live a good life‚ one must constantly seek to fulfill the bodily needs. To do so‚ one must live with moral and intellectual virtues at all times. Aristotle believed that living with moral and intellectual
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Oedipus and Hyppolitus Misfortune “The most tragic of plays is witnessing a good man come to a bad end through a peripeteia” Aristotle. Sophocles and Euripides present in their plays two main characters that after a sudden and unexpected reverse of circumstances‚ their lives completely change‚ arousing a sense of pity from the reader. Oedipus‚ originate more pity from the reader than Hippolytus‚ because of the actions they make and their reaction to the occurrence of events that causes the dramatically
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pedestal not worrying about a care in the world. While women on the other hand were treated very poorly. They had little to no rights‚ and were confined to the limitations of their household. You can see this unfair treatment of women in the tragedy Sophocles play Antigone. Ismene in Antigone shows and shares all of the characteristics that an Ancient Greek women possesses. Contrary to Antigone who stands against the rule and tries to break free from this stereotype. Women of ancient greece were fearful
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Aristotle – Nicomachean Ethics Book I 1. What does it mean to say Aristotle’s ethical theory is “teleological?” In Aristotle’s world‚ nature‚ which is made up of matter and form‚ is teleological‚ meaning it has an end or goal. For example‚ the telos of an acorn is to turn into an oak tree. At first something has its potential and then it makes the choice in life to actualize that potential‚ by virtue‚ and be the best it can be. There is an aim and purpose to everything and a purpose to everything
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Cited: . "Aristotle ." Internaet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. IEP ‚ 21 2005. Web. 3 Nov 2012. Gill‚ N. S.. "Plato - Greek Philosopher." Ancient / Classical History. About.com. Web. 3 Nov 2012. . "Greek Philosopher Plato." AllAboutPhilosophy.org. AllAboutPhilosophy.org
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of text that could date back thousands of years. Many times‚ because of the different dialects and time periods‚ the style of writing can confuse modern audiences and the main message authors wanted their audience to understand may not get across. Oedipus Rex and Endgame are two completely different types of plays that were written more than 2000 years apart. While many people may not see a correlation between the two types of plays‚ they both have one thing in common- the importance of understanding
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How does Sophocles explore the use of contrast in his play King Oedipus? ¬The use of contrast by Sophocles in his play King Oedipus allows the audience the ability to see into the multifaceted layers that possess his characters. Being both physically and metaphorically blind is a motif that is both ironic and somewhat cruel in nature‚ due to the circumstances to which this physical blindness is acquired‚ and the latter is bygone. The contrast between the piety and god fearing nature of Creon and
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