Abstract
A look at the life and work of Aristotle. The author analyzes Aristotle's major philosophies about the human species and metaphysics and describes the major contributions Aristotle's philosophical ideas made for Greek philosophy.

From the Paper
"For Aristotle, the Form of the Good is so mysterious, and can be known by so few people that it is not much good to anyone. Aristotle advocated the alternative path, beginning with what is most immediately known about the thing in question and forming clearer and clearer ideas about it. Aristotle's Metaphysics is a study of what he calls "substance" and what he says are "the principles and causes" of substance which is itself the principle and cause of the substance of each particular thing. In Aristotle's Book VII of his Metaphysics he maintains that the substance of a thing is determined by discovering "the last differentia," of a species."

Tags:theory, human, existence

Abstract
This paper discusses how throughout Greek history the relationship between human beings and divine figures is a noticeable and predominant one, evident in myth, and especially literature. The author examines such literature of the time, in particular, Homer's Iliad and Herodotus' Histories, to better understand this unique and extraordinary relationship between humans and divine powers in the ancient Greek world.

From the Paper
"Throughout Greek history the relationship between human beings and divine figures is a noticeable and predominant one. Evidence of this relationship exists in many forms, such as architecture, art, myth, and especially literature. By examining the literature of the time, we as historians, philosophers and archaeologists, among others, can better understand this unique and extraordinary relationship between humans and divine powers in the ancient Greek world. The "Iliad" of Homer demonstrates many principles of this relationship through the story of the Trojan War. The characters, their actions and the events that take place demonstrate the interaction of humans and gods, the individual relationships, the authority of divine power, and the helplessness of humans. We also see the treachery and deceit of the gods towards humans. We can look at other later literary works such as Herodotus' Histories to examine the human and divine relationship as well."

Tags:antiquity, divinity, gods, heroes, religion, roman, trojan, war, achilleus, zeus, patroklos, croesus, apollo, athene, hektor

Abstract
This paper analyzes Plato's conception of what representation is and what its role in society is. The paper is a review of the work of Plato, "Republic", in which he works to justify the role of the philosopher-king as the ruler of an ideal state. The paper concludes that representational poetry has no place in the Republic and discusses its negative aspects.

From the Paper
"The elaborate argument of Plato's Republic works to justify the role of Philosopher-King as ruler in an ideal state. The citizens of this state have "the calibre not to be distracted by prestige, wealth, political power, or even poetry from applying [themselves] to morality," and they must strive towards knowledge of the Ideal and away from the illusions of representation (80). Citizens must embody self-discipline, "obedience to those in authority - and authority over the pleasures of drink, sex, and food" (59). The Guardians of the Republic - those puts in charge of managing the rest of society - have loftier goals: they must be "as godlike themselves as is humanly possible" (56). Plato seeks to develop his Republic through an authoritarian control on what the citizens may be exposed to, and one of society's traditional arts - representational poetry as found in the epics and tragedies of Homer - finds itself threatened."

Tags:allegory, cave, lies, plato, representation, republic, rhapsodes

Abstract
This paper discusses how in Virgil's "The Aeneid", the character of Dido plays an important role in Aeneas' heroic journey. It looks at how Dido becomes Aeneas' lover, and falls madly in love with him, which ultimately leads to her demise. The paper also discusses whether or not Virgil meant for Dido to evoke the reader's sympathy and contends that through an examination of Book IV, specifically, one can determine through Virgil's use of language and metaphor that Dido is indeed meant to be pitied, perhaps to further illustrate the sacrifices Aeneas has to make to succeed in his quest.

From the Paper
"First of all, it is important to note Virgil's use of diction when referring to the character of Dido. For instance the use of the metaphor, "She feeds the wound within her veins; she is eaten by a secret flame," creates a very vivid and strong image, almost like Dido is being tortured (IV, 2-3). This clearly evokes a sympathetic reaction from the reader, as Vigil makes it clear that Dido's love for Aeneas is causing her extreme pain. Interestingly, the motif of fire comes up quite often in the novel; for instance, "unhappy Dido burns" and "Her mind is helpless; raging frantically, inflamed..." (IV, 90, 402-403). These references to fire or flame in Book IV seem to foreshadow Dido's death as she "mounts in madness that high pyre," and is ultimately consumed by flames (IV, 893). It is also ironic how in Virgil's description, the flame of love seems to cause Dido more pain than the actual fire of her death."

Tags:Aeneid, love, quest

Abstract
In Sophocles's "Antigone" and William Shakespeare's "The Tempest", two very different, yet similar, displays of power on the parts of Creon and Prospero are the basis of the plots of their respective stories. This paper explains how both Creon and Prospero use their power relations to impose their own ideals on the societies in which they live. Creon uses his power on the throne to impose his own laws and beliefs on the people, while Prospero uses his supernatural powers, ultimately, for the good of his community, as well as personal gain. It explains that these examples of power relations, as shown by Sophocles and Shakespeare, serve the purpose of demonstrating to the readers that authority figures and government are capable of imposing whatever they wish on the people, in some cases causing unnecessary grief for many.

From the Paper
"Traditionally, authority figures tend to flaunt their power in search of personal gain and intimidation. In The Tempest, Prospero uses his magical powers to employ the use of a servant and a spirit to assist him in his personal chores and to keep the island running smoothly. In Antigone, Creon uses his royal power, more or less, to his personal advantage, with no obvious benefit to society. Prospero's supernatural abilities are made evident when Miranda accuses him, "by your art thy dearest father, you have / put the wild waters in this roar."(Shakespeare, I. ii. 1-2). In light of this, one may be led to believe that Prospero is trying to hurt those on the ship who have hurt him in the past but, in fact, Prospero only creates this storm out of love for his daughter who is in search of a mate, and Ferdinand, who is on board the ship seems to be a logical candidate. Prospero ensures that no one is harmed by the storm by sending his spirit, Aerial, to keep watch over the ship."

Tags:authoritative, ferdinand, grief, law, moral, power

Abstract
This paper explains how, through analysis of Caesar's "The Conquest of Gaul", among other works, one may begin to put together an explanation as to why and how Julius Caesar was so successful in defeating his enemies in such a routine fashion. It shows that, although Caesar has been subject to many subsequent criticisms about the embellishments of his campaigns in his own work, and even his military abilities at the tactical level, his feats are simply too astounding and too well-documented and praised to go unnoticed.

From the Paper
"Caesar's campaigns in Gaul began in fifty-eight BC when the Helvetii, among other peoples, began a mass migration from their homes in Switzerland. Caesar declined their request to pass through Roman territory due to the fact that the Helvetii had killed Roman consul, Lucius Visutskie 2 Cassius, years previous. For this reason, Caesar viewed the Helvetii as a threat to the well-being of their allies, the Sequani and the Aedui, who had been loyal to Rome in the past, and whose territory the Helvetii wished to pass through.3 Since the Helvetii had burned their own towns and villages to the ground, Caesar viewed them as even more dangerous since they had nowhere to retreat to, thus, they would be more willing to face the consequences that resulted from any of their actions.4 Despite Caesar's refusal for the Helvetii to travel through Roman territory, they marched anyway. Caesar reacted to this manoeuver posthaste. By the time Caesar's army had reached the Helvetii army, they had already pillaged the towns and fields of the Aedui and the Sequani, and taken all of their children into slavery.5 This infuriated Caesar, he planned a careful attack on the Helvetii, determined to make them pay. Caesar first attacked a small portion of the Helvetii, whom had not yet crossed the Saone River with the rest of the army, and ravaged them, making somewhat of an example of them. Caesar caught up with the rest of the Helvetii tribe days later and damaged them more in a grueling battle which ended with the retreat of a hundred and thirty thousand Helvetii soldiers. Caesar intelligently sent messages to other allied settlements where the Helvetii could surface, warning them not to provide the Helvetii with food or shelter as they would become the enemy of the Romans if they did. Due to lack of food and nutrition, the Helvetii surrendered within three days and were divided into several groups in accordance with Caesar's wishes.6 Thus, the first campaign of Caesar's conquest into Gaul was not really intended to be a victory for Caesar, and a step in expanding the Roman Empire, but more or less a gesture of assistance to a group who had remained loyal to Rome over many years(as understood by the writings of Caesar himself). Besides being successful in getting the Helvetii out of Rome, Caesar also was quite successful in removing Ariovistus from Roman territory."

Tags:ancient, army, battle, history, imperial, roman, rome, triumvirate

From the Paper
"At the risk or resorting to cliches, it is generally accepted that beauty means different things to different people. How did Socrates know that the attendees of the banquet would judge him based primarily on physical appearance? Perhaps he believed similar people with similar beliefs, such as pederasty, share similar views of beauty and love. Socrates is acknowledging the fact that the pederasts judge and value physical beauty above other forms. Apollodorus is not unprepared to tell us this story, if it is what he must do; but why is he prepared to tell it? What have we to learn from this? Each is free to take from The Symposium what they choose, to filter out the verbose eulogies and determine the true nature of eros for ones self. However, Socrates and Diotima's fascinating interpretation on the evolution of the perception of beauty is arguably the most compelling and revealing concept that should be extracted from this reading."

Tags:alcibiades, aristophanes, banquet, greek, pederasty, socrates, classics

Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts beliefs about life and death and the possibility of existence beyond death. The author examines these beliefs as exemplified in several philosophical frameworks: Plato's Republic, The Phaedo, The Apology, and as illustrated in Taoism as indicated in Wandering on the Way: Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu.

From the paper:

"The Chunag Tzu's idea of life after death is very different than Plato's in the absolute sense, but they share similar details. One shared detail is that death may not be a bad thing. In The Phaedo, one has Plato arguing that all true philosophers must join him in death. If they truly love wisdom, then they should shed off this illness that is mortal life and venture into the immortal where true wisdom can be actualized, where true knowledge exists. Chunag Tzu holds a bit differently...one just cannot know. Knowledge about death cannot be actualized. It is an unknown. In fact all things are unknown. The only knowledge one can really have is that the Tao exists. In Platonism, truth exists through logic and reason. In Taoism, it is through contradiction. In Taoism, A is not A, because this world is flux, one thing is never the same thing."

Tags:absolute, chuang, forms, plato, socrates, taosim, tzu

Abstract
This paper examines how Socrates, born in 470 or 469 BC and executed at the age of 70, presents how one can act solely on the grounds of his belief and dedicate the life for the ultimate values. It discusses whether his refusal to obey the city's orders were contradictory to his idea of obedience to the laws. Contrary to the view that sees Socrates as a defender of civil disobedience, it also argues that Socrates is a true defender of the laws who has dedicated the life for the active practice of the citizenship, using his acute reason and knowledge. It also shows how Socrates is different from conventional civil disobedients, such as Ghandi, and Martin Luther King Jr.

From the Paper
"Socrates' refusals to participate in the trial of the ten generals, and the arrest of Leon the Salaminian are in fact clear examples of Socrates' use of reason in political decision. During the time when Socrates served as a member of the Council because it was his tribe's turn, the city ordered the presiding committee to form the body of the ten generals to rescue Athenian survivors in the naval battle (Apology 32a-b). Socrates reasoned that the city's order was illegal, so voted against it (Apology 32b). The orators were ready to prosecute him, but he argued that he would risk the death, rather than follow the city's order (Apology 32c). He also refused to obey the city's order to bring Leon from Salamis in order to prosecute him. He reasoned that prosecuting Leon is illegal because his guilt was manipulated by the city. Some people might think that it is ironical to disobey the city's order for the sake of the laws."

Tags:athens, citizenship, politics, reason, roles, gandhi, martin, luther

From the Paper
"Within Homer's Odyssey, many situations present a prevailing moral code within the ancient society. However, the heroes seem to be pushed to do good by ulterior, selfish motives. Yet, if one looks closely at the text one can see the beginnings of an ingrained moral code already in place within the society. This over-riding code affects Odysseus in his trials in trying to return home. Every decision made has a consequence, especially in relation to the gods. This is not conventional morality, in that it does not base itself on one's own inner conscience, but on an exterior moral code which all are pushed to believe in, or suffer the consequences of their actions through the wrath of the gods."

Tags:classical, greek, mythology, studies