The Return of the Ancient Greeks

Summary

PDF Version

Audio

Table of Contents

Names

Timeline

Search this Text

The Return of the Ancient Greeks

In the first decade of the twenty-first century, our species was confronted with a series of unfortunate events. A global financial crisis plunged humanity into a new period of anxiety and fear for the forthcoming changes. At the same time the results of global warming and environmental damage started to become widely apparent, leading many scientists to warn about dramatic changes in our environment in the years to come. Moreover, they now foresee that cities and civilizations will disappear. If this is true, Plato’s Atlantis will not be that mythical any more for future generations. An individual watches this situation in a rather strange manner: he starts with anxiety and fear for future generations, which gradually leads him to accept the inevitable. He then quickly adopts a passive attitude, and he eventually develops a sense of depression. A similar disappointment forced the characters of Aristophanes’ Birds to search for another world and make a new start.

Although this is just an observation which might not be objective enough, there is still a question concerning both the cause and the effect of this reaction. This paper was inspired by an essay of Prof. R.Seaford entitled “Ancient Greece and Global Warming,” [1] which made me realise that the present-day quality of life is so financially driven that we are literally dependent on money. The independence that our ancestors gave their lives for is lost, replaced by our commitment to money and material things.[2] At the same time technological achievements, which represent the material world itself, have invaded our lives, with an obvious impact on contemporary culture. This culture has ostracized every link to the past, and as a consequence also its vehicle, literature. Hence, any connection to the arts and spiritual life has become of secondary importance, and both are being manipulated by their financial aspects, supporting what is generally named “popular culture.”

The fact that people nowadays suffer so much because of economic changes, along with their overdependence on material things, indicates the urgent need to direct their lives to something else. The reliance on money and the material world proves futile, basically because of their inability to maintain a stable condition. Individuals have to realise that progress in their spiritual lives and making a priority of their spiritual world are what really matters, and what gives them the strength to cope with all their fears. Ancient Greece has left us a literature that can light our way. Writers from the past have provided us with ideas that are astonishingly valuable for our era, so much that one might even say that they predicted our current problems and tried to work them out for us! In the past, classical studies were of high importance, and thus it is easy for the present-day reader to identify the impact they had on many artists’ and writers’ work. What has changed in the mean time? This essay aims to illustrate the importance of ancient Greek literature, as the fundamental part of classical culture, for the positive impact it can have on our lives. Furthermore, its significance will be proven as soon as we recognize the necessity of establishing a spiritual world, which we can gain from our contact with ancient Greek thought.

Plato is perhaps the most loved philosopher and one of the most prolific writers of ancient Greece, and his works are fascinating for every reader, even those less familiar with classical civilization. His theory of forms is the best example of the distinction between the material and the spiritual world. Plato believed that the material world that one can recognise through his senses is not the real world but an illusion, a copy of the real world.In his Republic , the famous allegory of the cave [3] is connected to his political ideology, presenting in the most charming way his suggestion for how to choose the best ruler. The man who knows the truth and is capable of collaborating with others on the world’s prosperity is the only one who has reached the true world, and the road to the truth is allegorically described as a difficult climb from the cave’s bottom to the sun’s light. More than that, the allegory portrays one’s growth from the futile material world to the real one through spiritual improvement.

The unrivalled value of the spiritual world, as opposed to the futile character of the material one, is also advocated in Isocrates’ Demonicus , a letter addressed to a young man as useful guidance for his future life on his own. It was a text notably appreciated in the sixteenth century, demonstrating the Greek culture’s constant impact on western culture through the ages.[4] Isocrates urges the youth to appreciate the meaning of his spiritual improvement as a greater achievement than any material one, for it is steady and capable of providing real prosperity, while money may easily disappear.[5] His ideas are but a part of what the ancient Greeks called paideia , meaning ‘education’ in a wider sense, which includes spiritual improvement at every level. It was a matter of such importance at this time that every writer devotes some lines to its description or definition. Aristotle took the opportunity to talk about it in his Politics , suggesting a whole educational system in which theoria , a life of contemplation, comes first, and the Roman Seneca came to argue for it years later in his De otio ( On Leisure ).

Closely related to spiritual life in classical culture are the ideas of morality and responsibility. The ideal Athenian democracy is described by Pericles, in his funeral oration, recorded by Thucydides, as the necessity of the individual’s contribution to social activities.[6] This concept survives in later philosophers’ political works. In Plato’s Republic , the one who has reached the truth and has understood the depth of the real world is obligated to be beneficial to his community. He is now responsible for the common good; the individual is recognised only as an integral part of the whole, and his skills must have a significant impact on the society.Aristotle, in his Nicomachean Ethics, identifies the meaning of eudaimonia as the optimum activity of the soul, based on the moral virtue of a good character; [7] therefore he draws a link between an individual’s morality and the whole in his Politics .

Obviously, all these ideas suggest a pedagogical lecture, and constitute a worthy lesson for the present-day youth as well. Technological achievements and the power of money have established a competitive world which prevents him from achieving any personal improvement or sense of creativity, leading to an isolated and homogenised path. Spiritual life is abandoned, and the body is always put before the spirit. Isocrates does not overlook the moral level in his advice: he urges young Demonicus to keep his distance from money, and never to put money before the gods.[8] It is the high spiritual level which helps the individual to develop a highly moral attitude as well. Thanks to his spirit he is able to understand the world in the most proper way: he does not feel obligated to help his community and to benefit the common wealth; it has become an internal need . Both Plato and Aristotle imply this association of the spirit with morality. To a present-day youth, who has been seized by the aspiration toward financial progress at any cost and manipulated by the futile needs of the material world, these beliefs can be a redeemer. He can then become an active member of his society of his own free will, and enjoy the advantages of the things that really matter.

One might still raise an objection to our argument, based on the necessity of the material world for human life. Admittedly, money and the material world are crucial for our needs, and in no case should we renounce the capabilities that modern technology has endowed us with. At this point let me recall once more Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics . In his attempt to define the meaning of virtue, the philosopher proceeds to the definition of the middle ( to meson ) and its exceptional significance as it is related to us .[9] He argues that the middle, the mean state, has to be the guiding principle in the choices we make.[10]

The same mean state has to be maintained in our attitude toward the material world. Material things, along with money, are necessary but not sufficient: there is also another part of human nature, the spirit, which needs our consideration. Classical culture teaches us to use the material world for our own good, but it prevents us from greed.Isocrates makes it clear to Demonicus: “of material goods, be content not with excess possession, but with moderate pleasure.” [11] From this perspective, embracing the mean state in one’s life constitutes the proper way of handling the material world. And it is spiritual improvement that will assist the young soul to develop the requirements for a life settled on the mean state.

One might think that the principle of a spiritual life is nothing but a utopia, for it is deficient in practical and immediate results. On the other hand, a development which may gain financial profit is praised for its success. This thought is merely another effect of the power of money. Everything is judged according to its impact in financial terms. Money, as stated above, has proved to be an essential aspect of current culture. Literature, and especially the old-fashioned classical kind, is a less effective instrument for making money and therefore it is undervalued. Under these circumstances it is unlikely that any field of scientific research will be concerned about what ancient Greek authors might have said. Hence we are all becoming witnesses of the establishment of elitism in the research community; only what favours potential wealth merits reward.

A fortunate event helped me to argue against this last observation. During a workshop on the impact of arts and humanities research on the modern world, my team had to argue for the practical impact of classical studies. For this purpose we decided to examine the Oresteia of Aeschylus, and to the surprise of everyone it proved to be a very effective choice. Besides its apparent impact on the development of theatrical directing and performing, it turned out to be a useful instrument for anthropology, sociology, psychology, law, and economics. In his trilogy, Aeschylus includes human judicial and political progress, the role of the two genders, and the power of money over human behaviour. In addition to this single example, one may also consider the outstanding figure in the world of medicine, also referred as the father of western medicine, Hippocrates. The Corpus Hippocraticum is even today motivating a group of ambitious scientists to attempt to cure diseases based on natural products. Nevertheless, his work is of significant importance for western medicine.

The examples cited above are presented merely to attest that the written works we have inherited from classical culture are capable of providing development in practical issues as well as in the spirit. New ideas can emerge and different approaches can be achieved in fields where solutions are appealing enough for present-day concerns. Like every hypothesis, it is doubtful whether their use will yield results, but it is still within the bounds of possibility. However, classical culture’s significance is obvious, for its results in the whole of human life. Moreover, what an individual may gain through his contact with ancient Greek literature is a balance between the material and the spiritual world, and thus the critical quality of life. A reconsideration of his targets consistent with the principles of the classical culture discussed above can indicate independence from money, progress in his social life, and moral improvement. Thereafter, present and future cultures need to recognise the value of these principles and to embrace them in their pedagogical methods.

At this point it is worth remembering that classical culture does not come straight to us from antiquity: it has gradually influenced and shaped western culture throughout its history. This is merely due to the survival of the Latin language long after the end of antiquity. Later on, the intellectual movement of Renaissance humanism was crucial for classical culture’s revival, for its hope was based on the wisdom of antiquity. Besides that, modern scholars have linked outstanding figures of western literature like Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Goethe to the classical culture in various ways. It is only in the last decades that antiquity has been abandoned, for the reasons we discussed above. An optimistic interpretation of this change would suggest that it is a matter of evolution, that the world is developing by looking toward the future and leaving the past behind. It sounds appealing, but we need to reconsider the subsequent cost of this change. Aristotle’s mean state has to be a factor also in this case; human development presupposes the abandonment of the past’s faults, but not at all of its beneficial principles. Our discussion so far has supplied us with aspects of classical culture that are vital for our quality of life. These implications from the past must be the foundation stone of a constructive development for the future.

To summarize, the individual of our era is faced with overwhelming difficulties: he is manipulated by the power of money and captivated by the material world. The solution may come from a turn toward his spiritual world and its improvement, based on the classical literature. Ancient Greek writers have supplied us with thoughts that last through time, but their work is abandoned due to their lack of financial impact. On the other hand, essential principles of ancient Greek thought, like the importance of spiritual improvement and the mean state as the ideal way of living, can have a significant impact on the quality of one’s life. Moreover, they can prove to be useful for several fields of research. Unfortunately, present-day educational systems are concerned merely with young people’s induction into the technocracy, and there does not seem to be room for their spiritual improvement. However, this process has been shown to enhance the present-day complexity and therefore, the need for change is urgent. Classical literature may be the solution.This is the idea with which Virginia Woolf concludes her essay On Not Knowing Greek : “… there they endure, and it is to the Greeks that we turn when we are sick of the vagueness, of the confusion … of our own age.” [12]

The loss of any link to the bright figures of the past would be a rather pessimistic conclusion. Despite the appealing financial profits promised by fields of study such as business or engineering, there are still students around the world who decide to get involved in classics. Either disappointed with their technocratic education or rebelling against the conventions of the current social system, these people seek their “mentors” in the ancient Greek texts from more than two thousand years ago. One quickly remembers Sophocles’ popular tragedy Antigone : after the battle, which can be interpreted as the victory of the material world over the spirit, a new voice rises with the very first light of the next morning. Like the young Antigone, there are people who recognise the significance of their spiritual improvement, and aim for a better world based on this belief. Young people with dreams defend their beliefs and dare to change the world. Money for them is just the means to fulfil their needs, and the spirit is the key to their improvement. Due to the distinctive choice made by these young people, we can hope that future culture will include the principles of classical culture for establishing a better quality of life.

Bibliography

Beardsley, T. S., Jr. 1974. “Isocrates, Shakespeare, and Calderón: Advice to a Young Man.” Hispanic Review 42:185–198.

McNeillie, A., ed. 1994. The Essays of Virginia Woolf. Vol. 4, 1925–1928. London.

Seaford, R. 2009. “Ancient Greece and Global Warming.” Presidential address to the Classical Association, London.

Footnotes

Note 1
Seaford 2009.

Note 2
It is easy to recall Seneca’s (first century AD) thoughts on the lack of freedom one has to suffer when one is granted material (as opposed to spiritual) wealth.

Note 3
Republic 7:514–517.

Note 4
See Beardsley 1974.

Note 5
To Demonicus 19:33.

Note 6
Thucydides History 2.35–46.

Note 7
Nicomachean Ethics 1.13.1102a–1103a.

Note 8
To Demonicus 22.

Note 9
Nicomachean Ethics 2.6.4–8.

Note 10
Nicomachean Ethics 2.6.14–17.

Note 11
To Demonicus 27.

Note 12
McNeillie 1994:38–53.