Before I start with the ideas of Socrates, I need to discuss the ideas of his primary opponents. As the power of Athens spread, and Athenian ideas flowed out while the wealth of imperial subjects flowed in (voluntarily or not), the ability engage in persuasion gained in importance. As something of a democracy, the ability to persuade Athenian juries and assemblies of the benefits of […]
The Rise and Fall of Athens
After the victorious battles against the Persians at Thermopylae, Artemisium, Marathon, Salamis, Plataea and Mycale, Athens lay in ruins and the Greeks understood, in no uncertain terms, that they’d have to work together to keep the Persian Empire away from colonies in Ionia (what is, today, the Anatolian Peninsula and its coastal islands) and even mainland Greece. Once the initial Persian attacks had been rebuffed, […]
Go tell the Spartans
The works of the Seven Sages (regardless of the exact names on the list) inspired Greek thinkers for centuries, afterwards, and some of those most inspired appeared in Classical Athens. However, the greatest works of the Athenian philosophers, ironically, took place during one of the city’s darkest periods, following a defeat by a league of enemies led by the city-state of Sparta. So, before we […]
The Sages
A lot of cultures in the world have had “Seven Wise Men” who supposedly taught the early people, there, basic lessons upon which they built civilizations. The Greeks were no different and, as with many members of the other cultures, they argued about whose names should appear on the list. Of the all the different suggestions made, four names seem pretty universal, so I’ll stick […]
The Historian
Before I jump into posts about other old, dead Greek guys who I think are important, I should probably discuss my sources – especially since I promised to stick to the best ones I could. Most of those who lived in Rome and Classical Greece recognized Herodotus, a man of Greek heritage likely born to a wealthy family in or near the city of Halicarnassus […]
The Wellspring
Years ago, even before I went to college, I stumbled upon the notion of cultural “hearths.” The term refers to the places where a particular idea – such as a religion, or idea, or type of art, or some sort of technology – originated. From that “hearth,” the religion or idea or art or whatever spread to other areas, adopted more or less successfully by […]
What’s it all about?
Welcome to Downtown Discourses, a blog dedicated to a world-view based on the application of reason. I want to create a safe place to discuss history, science, philosophy, technology, art, travel and, yes, politics and world events. I also intend for this site to act as a means by which I discuss how I formed my own perspectives about the world, and the special role […]