tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495382709151625398.post6449583237459336893..comments2024-02-09T16:13:32.416-08:00Comments on Classical Carousel: Seven Against Thebes by AeschylusCleohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13152128642971612433noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495382709151625398.post-49590494680704325202016-02-11T03:08:22.276-08:002016-02-11T03:08:22.276-08:00I'm basically trying to do that with Euripides...I'm basically trying to do that with Euripides right now. I think, starting off, it did help reading by theme as it were than author, but I've decided to move on a little. For one reason I agree with you, and for another it does open things up even more. That said, I may mix Euripides up a little with Aristophanes - just for the light relief :) Do want to return to Aeschylus as well... These are the three Greeks on my mind right now - Euripides, Aristophanes, and Aeschylus. :)ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01245931629228090133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495382709151625398.post-10270176182653963352016-02-10T14:58:08.201-08:002016-02-10T14:58:08.201-08:00I know that you're trying to read the plays in...I know that you're trying to read the plays in a sort of interconnected schedule, but I do think you benefit from reading one dramatist at a time. You can then pick up certain idiosyncrasies that are unique to them, or certain reoccurring themes or habits. I feel that I have much more of a grasp of him, reading the three in a row. I'm really enjoying seeing the balance between the men and women in the plays and them transferring what I'm reading culturally. It's giving me a better idea of the women's understood place in history.<br /><br />As for reading one dramatist at a time, I'm deviating from my own advice, trying to read some plays along with a group on GR (I'm already behind), so I'll be getting a taste of Aristophanes, Euripides and Sophocles, right in the middle of Aeschylus. Cleohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13152128642971612433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495382709151625398.post-1784816867071349502016-02-10T14:29:11.507-08:002016-02-10T14:29:11.507-08:00This was my first Aeschylus play. I do struggle wi...This was my first Aeschylus play. I do struggle with him, and though I liked reading this well enough it's partly, I have to admit, because I was trying to treat it as a Sophocles spin-off to make it a little easier on myself! Shameful, I know.<br /><br />Looking forward to reading Prometheus Bound fairly soon :)ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01245931629228090133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495382709151625398.post-80078549931025361892016-02-10T12:06:29.908-08:002016-02-10T12:06:29.908-08:00Small doses...that could be the answer. I was over...Small doses...that could be the answer. I was overwhelmed by Iliad...so long, so in tense. It put me off starting anything new. Yes, sharing each others reading experiences is the key issue. 4e Mur was impressive and think the writer suffers from post traumatic stress disorder due to his war corr years. This book was a way of 'writing off' his experiences. Very clever to link it all to Antigone and WW II. Oke, must keep reading...big list to finish this year!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495382709151625398.post-46062820613842560432016-02-10T09:13:33.746-08:002016-02-10T09:13:33.746-08:00I thought that you liked your 'ancient' re...I thought that you liked your 'ancient' reading when you attempted it, you just need it in smaller doses ....??? <br /><br />I wish I could read 'Le Quatrieme Mur" (Is that The Fourth Wall?) Sigh! Your French books are out of my scope, so we both have something the other is well-versed in and from a distance, we learn from each other. So we each get exposure to a era or a language that wouldn't otherwise happen. That's something to celebrate, I think! :-)Cleohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13152128642971612433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495382709151625398.post-59450176377914328832016-02-10T00:25:12.461-08:002016-02-10T00:25:12.461-08:00Just call me a 'back door' ancients reader...Just call me a 'back door' ancients reader! I learned about the themes and storyline of "Antigone' via a French book "Le Quatrieme Mur". It was a wonderful introduction to Sophocles! I'm still following your progress but haven't much to say about your reading choices due to my own lack of 'ancient' reading. Good luck and good reading!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495382709151625398.post-75298724629649044542016-02-08T16:12:23.875-08:002016-02-08T16:12:23.875-08:00If I remember correctly, Sharon, I believe Oedipus...If I remember correctly, Sharon, I believe Oedipus cursed his sons because they did not support him when he was exiled. I know in Oedipus at Colonus, they are only interested in the location of his soon-to-be death, because they were told by the oracle, that the outcome of the brothers' dispute would depend on it. They are obviously completely concerned with power, with little regard for family or simple moral principles. The Greek mindset can seem bleak, but you often can catch a little glimpse of something else shining through. That's why, in spite of the apparent hopelessness, you can often feel uplifted. And you can always feel like you've learned something, or examined an issue that is relevant today. Those are part of the reasons why I like the Greeks so much.Cleohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13152128642971612433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495382709151625398.post-42379909586238957202016-02-08T16:04:54.689-08:002016-02-08T16:04:54.689-08:00The play is sometimes called rather unexciting bec...The play is sometimes called rather unexciting because the scene doesn't change and it's only a number of characters talking, but I found the roles of each of the characters fascinating. The worldview of Eteocles compared with the chorus of Theban women brings up all sorts of questions, and I didn't even get into the pictures on the shields. What do they mean? Is there some sort of pattern to them? Why does shield 2-5 show something to do with war, yet shield 6 has a break (blank) and shield seven is Justice? I don't know yet, but so much to think about! :-)Cleohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13152128642971612433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495382709151625398.post-72477610517399928102016-02-08T11:59:04.244-08:002016-02-08T11:59:04.244-08:00Greek plays are so interesting in that on the one ...Greek plays are so interesting in that on the one hand, they seem to hold to a certain moral code, but on the other, their moral code differs from the Christian one in that they were such believers in fate and no sense of mercy even to their children. I mean why curse your own children and destroy a kingdom. What about the greater good? It's sad. It also makes me grateful to have a Christian paradigm which offers hope.Sharon Wilfonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17466621290140789056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495382709151625398.post-42783696134672504112016-02-08T10:08:24.174-08:002016-02-08T10:08:24.174-08:00You know this drama has been lying in my shelves f...You know this drama has been lying in my shelves for ages...I mean ages..a professor back in my grad school days, gifted some of us some Greek plays before he left for his tenure in England. I received this one and I am ashamed to say it (Hang my head in shame!) that I am yet to get around to it! But your review fortifies me and I will surely read it very soon as part of my read-drama-effort this year! There is something very noble and honorable in the Greek literature...I feel it even more strikingly as we wade through Ovid!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com