Identity appears first. Between roughly 700 and 500 BCE, something kindles in the Greek world before it bursts into flame. The later blaze is short lived. Very short. If one is severe with dates, it runs from the Persian victory in 480 BCE to the Spartan demolition of the Long Walls in 404 BCE. AboutContinue reading “The Lyric Poets”
Tag Archives: hoplite
The Use of Myth
Hesiod stands at the beginning. He is the first to write down stories that had been circulating for centuries. His account is not a moral arc in the way the Hebrew tradition would later tell its story. Hesiod is part farmer’s almanac and part chronicler. This is how the seasons work, and this is whoContinue reading “The Use of Myth”
ATHLETICISM
A recent (re)post from the excellent Art of Manliness covered The Insanely Difficult Standards of Histories Hardest P.E. Program. Brett is not typically prone to hyperbole but compared with the current physical education provided students – which is a travesty! – the observation is correct. But he has written about the Spartans, so he knowsContinue reading “ATHLETICISM”