Arrian takes pride in his work, most notably in the two prologues in Book One. In these passages he directly addresses the reader, stressing the greatness of his subject and, by association as his chronicler, of himself. I think it’s worth taking a minute to look at Arrian’s claims in these prefaces or prologues. The […]
Month: 13 years ago
Alexander’s shrewdness when choosing the appropriate action to advance short- and long-term goals lies in his ability to take differing positions when necessary. This post looks at a few of his different approaches to battles in Book One of The Landmark Arrian: The Campaigns of Alexander, translation by Pamela Mensch (source for all quotes). Alexander […]
Part of Alexander’s greatness or shrewdness derived from his ability to choose an action that advanced his short- and long-term goals. The next couple of posts will look at Book I of Arrian’s history and highlight a few of these choices and how they furthered his objectives even though his actions can appear inconstant and […]
Picture sourceOne great thing about the Landmark editions is the support provided within each book: maps, indexes, annotations, appendices help make reading the work more rewarding and enjoyable. Providing an online resource post for a book from the series seems unnecessary but I like to do it anyway. The Internet Ancient History Sourcebook links related […]
Envoys now visited Alexander from all the other autonomous tribes settled near the Danube and from Syrmos, the king of the the Triballoi. Envoys also arrived from the Celts who dwelt on the Ionian Gulf. Men of enormous stature, the Celts had a high opinion of themselves. All the envoys had come desiring Alexander’s friendship, […]
So what to think of Socrates’ defense and Plato’s presentation of it? There are a few points I want to get down on paper (I wrote this at a Easter family get-together) while the dialogue still rattles around in my thoughts. Having read Thucydides a few months ago, Socrates’ dialogue with the city of Athens […]
I have linked to a few resources during my posts on Plato’s Apology but I thought it might be helpful to have all of them in one place. As I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, a simple internet search will turn up a wealth of information but these are a few I thought looked helpful […]
This post looks at Plato’s Apology from 38b to the end at 42a. The jury returns with Socrates’ sentence of death and he gives his last speech in the Apology following a three-part construction, similar to many other parts in the work. In this instance he speaks to those that condemned him to death and/or […]
This post looks at Plato’s Apology from 35e to 38b, Socrates’ response to his conviction and his offers for punishment. I’m going to quote and paraphrase Plato’s presentation based on G.M.A. Grube’s translation. Socrates begins his speech after the jury has returned with a verdict of guilty and Meletus has asked for a penalty of […]
This post looks at Plato’s Apology from 34b to 35e which encompasses Socrates’ closing defense statement. I’m going to quote and paraphrase Plato’s presentation based on G.M.A. Grube’s translation unless otherwise noted. Socrates says he will not beg the jury for acquittal, nor will he bring family and friends to arouse all possible pity. But […]