Ostracism in the Ancient World. In The Politics, Aristotle tells us that ostracism was originally instituted as a means to allow the common people to check the power of the political players who had grown too powerful too fast and were abusing their position. It was a way to give claws to the hare when he was going up against a lion.
“Democratic states have instituted ostracism; equality is above all things their aim, and therefore they ostracise and banish from the city for a time those who seem to predominate too much through their wealth, or the number of their friends, or through any other political influence.” –Aristotle (The Politics, Book III)
The procedure was rather simple. … (Classical Wisdom)
Go ahead, speak for yourself. “As a white man,” Joe begins, prefacing an insight, revelation, objection or confirmation he’s eager to share — but let’s stop him right there. Aside from the fact that he’s white, and a man, what’s his point? What does it signify when people use this now ubiquitous formula (“As a such-and-such, I …”) to affix an identity to an observation?
Typically, it’s an assertion of authority: As a member of this or that social group, I have experiences that lend my remarks special weight. The experiences, being representative of that group, might even qualify me to represent that group. Occasionally, the formula is an avowal of humility. It can be both at once. (“As a working-class woman, I’m struggling to understand Virginia Woolf’s blithe assumptions of privilege.”) The incantation seems indispensable. But it can also be — to use another much-loved formula — problematic. … (New York Times)
Inner dialogue… and the inner citadel. “What are you thinking?” This infamous question has torpedoed many a new romantic relationship. People famously hate answering it. It feels like someone else is trying to get into our mind when we’re lost in thought.
But here’s a different take on it: I think we should be asking ourselves this question, frequently, to get a sense for how we are actually using our mental energy. And, in a Stoic sense, this question can help us practice some home improvement on our inner citadels—the place we can retreat to inside our minds, as described by Marcus Aurelius.
Marcus also reminds that “the soul becomes dyed by the color of its thoughts.” In other words, to some extent, “you are what you think.” … (The Stoic Mom)
The Antikythera Mechanism: The Greek Computer of Science and Reason. In 1900, Greek sponge divers discovered a sunken ship off the coast of the island of Antikythera. The ship was full of Greek treasures, including the remnants of a computer dubbed the Antikythera Mechanism. Scientists have been studying this geared device ever since. Their consensus is that this tooth-geared bronze astronomical computer is a machine of science and reason, most likely designed and built on the island of Rhodes under the supervision of Hipparchos, the great Greek astronomer of the second century BCE. The Antikythera device was a predictive computer of natural phenomena and human events. … (Skeptical Inquirer)
How Does Fate Fit in the Iliad? My late teacher David Grene used to say that fate in ancient Greek usage was only ever about 95% certain. That is to say, there was always that little bit of wiggle room, and hence a feeling of possibility and choice. Without this 5%, it would not be humanly possible to conceive of a worthy life or a meaningful, interesting narrative.
Hence it is absurd to say that we cannot discuss a character’s choices simply because everything was fated for ‘the Greeks’. What then, considering the above, is the role of fate in Homer the poet’s plotting and in the lives of his protagonists?
It is quite clear that Zeus is the most powerful figure in the world, but not even the father of gods and men is free to alter fate. … (Classical Wisdom)
Thanks very much for these recommendations!
I am puzzled by the absence of any description of the Antikythera device in what survives of ancient literature