"Hippolytus is an insufferable prig: Theseus an impetuous fool, but both are victims of the gods". To what extent do you agree with this statement?

"Hippolytus is an insufferable prig: Theseus an impetuous fool, but both are victims of the gods" To what extent do you agree with this statement. First the definition of insufferable, is extremely annoying, he would be annoying to the audience because his virginal behaviour would seem rather odd for a young man his age and the levels to which he takes it very extreme. He is very ignorant also, he maintain great amonts of praise towards Artemis, but doesn't do the same for Aphrodite, because he somehow feels his way, or her way of life is better, he doesn't have any real reason for following this and so he does appear self-righteous and ignorant. This is further emphasised by the fact that he doesn't even respect Aphrodite, and shuns her way of life. On the other hand I could take the line that he isn't annoying but rather loyal and determined to follow this way of life. He lives for himself and for no-one else, making him a free and independent spirit with a mind of his own. He doesn't hurt anyone in his puruits, he goes out hunting and, keeps himself busy, and so cant be accused of any evil or wrong doing, or even being idle. So this leaves me to think those who prefer Aphrodite would see him as the prig maybe, but those who prefer Artemis would see him otherwise, so looking at it balanced, on first impressions he just seems commited even if slightly innocent, but not

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Classics
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Pick out two ways in which Plato's ideas might be described as totalitarian. Explain in which way they might be totalitarian. Do you think that they are in fact totalitarian? Argue for your view carefully with reference to both Crito and The Republic

Pick out two ways in which Plato's ideas might be described as totalitarian. Explain in which way they might be totalitarian. Do you think that they are in fact totalitarian? Argue for your view carefully with reference to both Crito and The Republic. Özkan Bugra TELEMEZ 20300347 PHIL241 Sec.09 Sandrine BERGES Telemez 1 Özkan Bugra TELEMEZ 20300347 IR PHIL241. SEC.09 ESSAY QUESTION: Pick out two ways in which Plato's ideas might be described as totalitarian. Explain in which way they might be totalitarian. Do you think that they are in fact totalitarian? Argue for your view carefully with reference to both Crito and The Republic. Plato's "Crito" describes Socrates, an Athenian philosopher who chooses to die for an ideal. In the text, Socrates is condemnded to death and sitting in jail. At this time, Crito, a friend of Socrates comes to rescue him. Socrates has many followers who hope he will agree to escape. When Crito comes to take on this position, Socrates refuses to his arguement and also the plan of escape. In "The Republic", Socrates, visiting Polemarchus' house, enters into a conversation on the nature of justice. Several various definitions are presented by the different guests. After finding each of these incapable, Socrates attempts to define justice himself. This requires that he first describe justice on the scale of the "ideal state". According to

  • Word count: 1530
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Classics
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Fate vs Free Will in Oedipus Rex.

Fate vs Free Will in Oedipus Rex Fate is a crucial facet that plays a dominate role in a man's life. Defined as a "fixed force in which the order of predestined events are defined" (Merriam-Webster, 2003), this paves reason for man to believe that their lives are controlled by a higher power or being. As much as each life is victimized by their predetermined fate, man is still free to choose their course of actions, and is ultimately responsible for his doings. In Sophocles' Oedipus the King, the hero's fate of murder and incest was predetermined by the Gods that controlled him, yet Oedipus' downfall is attributed to the decisions and actions in which he performed. The play Oedipus the King primarily illustrates an underlying relationship of man's free will existing within the cosmic order of fate which guides the tragic hero towards his ruin. In the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus learns of the prophecies that will take place in his life, and flees from Corinth in attempt to escape his fate. Instead, he falls into the trap of meeting his father, in his journey towards Thebes. It was his actions and free will that allowed for the prophecy to come true, as he recalls the murder of the mysterious travelers on his journey to Thebes, "... I killed him. I killed them all" (Sophocles, 819). He prizes his pride, honour, and excellence of his life above all else, yet as a

  • Word count: 900
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Classics
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Who was the real tragic hero of the Agamemnon?

Who was the real tragic hero of the Agamemnon? This essay shall explore the reasons why Agamemnon was the tragic hero in the Agamemnon. A tragic hero, as stated by Aristotle, must fall into the following criteria: "good or fine" meaning high stature, their "fitness of character", they must be "true to life", they must be consistent, "necessary or probable" to the plot, they must be "true to life but yet more beautiful", they must have hamartia or an error of judgement, there must be a "periperteia" where there is a change of fortune, they must have an "anagnorisis" where they realise their faults and we must have "pity and awe" over the character . In this essay, these criteria will be used to determine whether the following characters are the tragic hero of the play: Agamemnon, Clytemnestra or Cassandra. The context of this play is quite simple, it has a simple plot. Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter, Iphigenia, before the play and this is for the war at Troy and this is his tragic flaw. After the war has ended he returns and this leads to his and Cassandra's death. I shall firstly look at the reasons why Agamemnon is the tragic hero. Agamemnon is "good or fine"; he is the king of Mycene and united Greece so he is a very important figure throughout this. Agamemnon in some ways has a good fitness of character; he is noble through his status but constantly proud and

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Classics
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How do the characters of Antigone in Anouilh's play Antigone and Medea from Euripides's play Medea cope with the competition from other more beautiful and socially successful women?

¨ How do the characters of Antigone in Anouilh's play Antigone and Medea from Euripides's play Medea cope with the competition from other more beautiful and socially successful women? Both of the plays Medea and Antigone have tragic themes and their main characters are women who find themselves unhappy and so decide to act on behalf of these feelings. In both cases the result is a climax at the end of the play in the form of several deaths. One of the main reasons they decide to act is because they find it difficult to cope with competition of other women. Both Jean Anouilh in his play Antigone and Euripides in his play Medea have based their tragic plots on the roles of jealousy and spite and the extremes they can make a person go to. In my analysis I will first look at the effects competition has on both Medea and Antigone, in particular jealousy. After this, I will discus the aspirations both women have as a result of feeling jealous and how other characters in the play see them. Finally I will look at how the two characters act on impulse of their jealousy and compare what it leads to in each play. When talking about the character's jealousy it is important to first determine who is the cause of these feelings. In both cases, we could say it is other, in the characters opinion 'rival', women. In Antigone's case, the jealousy is aimed mainly at her "radiant" and

  • Word count: 1801
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Classics
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What qualities of character does Odysseus show in facing the dangers of Books Nine to Twelve of the Odyssey?

What qualities of character does Odysseus show in facing the dangers of Books Nine to Twelve of the Odyssey? Odysseus narrates books Nine to Twelve to the Phaeacians. Odysseus' character is greatly revealed here and the evidence taken from his actions supports attributes that the audience has been previously told exist. From the very start of the poem we are old that Odysseus is 'resourceful' and in these four books, we are clearly shown how. Odysseus demonstrates his resourcefulness when he uses what is lying around in Polyphemus' cave - an olive tree branch- to save his comrades and himself. This story also shows Odysseus' resourceful attribute when he uses the rams for concealment. In the story of the Sirens he uses the wax from the ship to block the ears of his comrades, which shows resourcefulness. Additionally, the story of the Sirens shows that Odysseus is unable to endure the temptations of the sirens, as he struggles and calls to be released. From surviving this ultimate test of forbearance, Odysseus learns endurance and later, when he returns to Ithaca he will need this skill. His temper during these four books can be ungovernable, as he says: 'Now when Eurylochus said that, I considered drawing the long sword from my sturdy side and lopping his head off to roll in the dust, but my men held me back and calmed me down'1. Nevertheless he has shown his patience

  • Word count: 1693
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Classics
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BOOK 5 - The Odyssey.

BOOK 5 - The Odyssey . The chapter opens up with the Gods sat down in assembly, and Athene feeling bad for Odysseus, because he is imprisoned in Nymph Calypso's home, so Athene recalls Odysseus' misfortunes to the God's minds. Athene reminds the God's what Odysseus has suffered, how he longs to be home and how his son Telemachus has gone to sacred Pylos and Lacedaemon for news of his father, risking being murdered by his mother's suitors. Zeus agrees Odysseus should be set free and sends his son Hermes, the messenger to tell Calypso his decision. Hermes tells Calypso the news, and although Calypso is not happy with this decision, she agrees to let Odysseus go, but she informs Hermes, she will not help Odysseus. Calypso takes Odysseus to the place on the island were the trees grow and tells him to make himself a raft; Calypso gives Odysseus an axe, adze, some other tools, and cloth to make his sail. It took Odysseus 4 days to complete his raft and on the 5th day Calypso packed his raft with wine, water, leather sacks if grain and meat, dressed him in sweet smelling clothes and saw him off the island. On the seventeenth day, Poseidon, who was on his way back from Ethiopians, caught sight of Odysseus from mountains of Solymi. Seeing Odysseus made him angry because he had a grudge with Odysseus because he had blinded Poseidon's Cyclops son. Poseidon gathered the clouds and

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Classics
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What qualities does Odysseus show in the episodes he relates in Books 9-12? Does he appear to learn anything as these adventures progress?

What qualities does Odysseus show in the episodes he relates in Books 9-12? Does he appear to learn anything as these adventures progress? Books 9-12 are a tale of a journey in which the protagonist does not remain the same throughout. He changes due to the places he has been, people he has met and things he has done. These four books are almost entirely spoken by Odysseus and thus we are able to receive a first hand report. At the start his wanderings, Odysseus leaves Troy with his Ithacan fleet and in a short time they come to Ismarus, the city of the Cicones. Odysseus states simply that he "sacked this place" and there they took "vast plunder". Here we see the hero of the Iliad doing what a hero does. At the end of this book, Odysseus declares his identity to Polyphemus, in which he describes himself as a "sacker of cities". This is because he is only a short time into his travels and only recently he has sacked Troy and Ismarus. However, when Odysseus tells the Phaeacians who he is, he attributes his 'kleos' (everlasting fame on the lips of men) to his "stratagems". In Book 8, Odysseus asked the bard Demodocus to sing of "the stratagem of the Wooden Horse", which he considers to be his most memorable and greatest feat - not the sacking of the city but the inventiveness of his idea. This is because, in Scherie and at the near end of his journey, Odysseus has just come

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Classics
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The Effects of Pride and Power

Sarah Pathammavong October 9, 2003 World Lit. 1A Dr. Smith The Effects of Pride and Power Power and pride can be seen as a companionship of ideas, such as spaghetti and meatballs. When you have one there is most likely the other there with it. Wherever there is a base of power or source of power, that base or source come with a feeling of pride with the power package. The pride of having that power, the pride of accomplishing things that in return earned that power. Pride in return for power can help gain power or too much pride can lead to the diminishing of power and blindness of power in truth. All of these relationships between power and pride listed before can be seen in the tragic play by Sopohcles, "Oedipus Rex", through the characters Oedipus and Kreon. Sophocles exemplifies how Oedipus and Kreon both had power and pride that influenced their actions and clarified their values. Also how the power and pride of Oedipus lead him to doom and the power and pride of Kreon led him to more power and pride. The title of the play Oedipus Rex, which is originally in Greek means Oedipus the King refers to the fact that Oedipus, the main character of the play, is a king of high stature and much authority. In the beginning of the play Oedipus is seen to have the most power over any other character in the play, he is the King of Thebes and whatever he says or does the people of

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Classics
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inagurual Comparisson

Unite: a response to Kennedy's, Clinton's, and Obama's Inaugural Poems Through the past five decades our society has endured change in all aspects of life. We witnessed the fall of the fifties' white picket fences, and the rise of dope smoking hippies. We watched Clinton instill a "don't ask, don't tell policy" for the army and we watched California ban gay marriage. In my two decades I have seen a time of peace, and a time of war. Society has greatly changed from the era of Kennedy to the era of Obama. Each president leads a different America than the one before, because American society continuously changes. When we read the poems by Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, and, Elizabeth Alexander for the inaugurations of Kennedy, Clinton and Obama we witness societies' change from uniting people with land, people with people, and lastly people with the future. President John F. Kennedy was elected in 1961. Kennedy chose "the Gift Outright" by Robert Frost as his inaugural poem. Whether by default or by direct choice it is appropriate for his era. This poem reflects America's finally having country. Although it had been over 200 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Kennedy's choice of poetry was symbolic of being freed from the oppression that long lingered over the new America. In "the Gift Outright" Frost writes, "Possessing what we still were

  • Word count: 819
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Classics
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