Another ideal that I feel has been fairly consistent throughout literary and philosophical history is the exploration and criticism of materialism. Take Antigone by Sophocles for example. In the end, it was never about what she had. The most important part of life for her was knowing her beliefs and standing for them, a completely internal value. Another example is The Allegory of the Cave by Plato. Here, Plato criticizes anyone who values anything but truth and discovering truth. Anything of this world is a lie according to him. Ideals from both pieces of literature are philosophies that have been manifest throughout the rest of history.
Antigone by Frederic Leighton, 1882
You make a good point, Caitlyn. It is interesting to me that after all of these centuries there really are so many themes that still have bearing in our day and, as you showed through your examples, how much of that has been carried over from antiquity.
ReplyDeleteI love the wisdom of those such as Socrates and Plato. Sayings like, “Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others. ” ― Plato. Truth is truth no matter what century. Thank you for the post!
I believe it was Isaac Newton who said, "if I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Certainly, if we do not or will not use the wisdom passed down from those who have traveled this earth before us, we are foolish.
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