Allegory of the Cave

       We can see Plato's view of the structure reality through his Allegory of the Cave. In his allegory, the main characters are looking at shadows of replicas of true beings. We can infer from this that Plato believes that what we as common people perceive about reality is really just many layers of falsity. He believes that we have grown accustomed to seeing ghosts of reality, and that we can see the truth by ascending into the realm of the mind. After becoming accustomed to this level, we can see the truth in its true form. This allows him to reconcile the arguments of Parmenides and Heraclitus. The premise for the argument of Parmenides is that reality is ultimately permanent and characterized by unity. Heraclitus' argument is that reality is defined by change and multiplicity. He reconciles these two seemingly opposing views because his view has both changing reality and constant reality. Plato's view says that there are many levels of reality that we can reach- the original being looking at shadows on the wall, then escalating to looking at the fire that makes the shadows, and so forth. All of these levels are a reality to us, and we must be accustomed to each as we go up or down in the levels because they all change how we see. However, there is one ultimate reality that branches off into all the other perceived realities. This reconciles the views Parmenides and Heraclitus.

Choral leader and Aegisthus

       The dialogue between the Leader and Aegisthus starts out with Aegithsus talking to himself; saying how justice has finally come, and he has killed the king. The Leader then confronts him about this, to which he does not pay attention, saying, "I'll make you dance, I'll bring you all to heel." The men of Aegisthus and the Leader draw swords and are ready to duel. Aegisthus says he is not afraid of death, and the Leader says, "It's death you want and death you'll have- we'll make that word your last." Clytemnestra intervenes however, then Aeigisthus says he will stalk the Leader the rest of his days. Aegisthus seems to be a corrupt and not an honorable leader. He says, "But I will use his riches, stop at nothing to civilize his people."  The Leader says that his wish is, "Orestes- If he still sees the light of day, bring him home, good Fates, home to kill this pair at last." This will be fulfilled by the spirit bringing him home.

Iliad Chapter 16 questions

8. In book 16 there is a massive fight over Sarpedon's body. This is because it became a focal point for both sides. The Achaeans were fighting over it because Sarpedon was their general, and when he died, they all were overcome with grief, so it gave them motive to fight for him. The Trojans on the other hand wanted to defame Sarpedon's body so as to tear down the morale of the other side. Zeus however intervened by first making Hector a coward which made him call for retreat, then the Achaeans take his armor back to the ships, and Sarpedon is brought to a river by Phoebus who washes him, and anoints him in deathless oils.

9. The responsibility Patroclus has for his own death is not much. He had the choice to go into battle and fight with Achilles armor, but that was a choice that had to be made because the armies were being beaten back, and they needed a hero. I think that Apollo was very responsible for his death because he fought Patroclus himself, then he changed forms, and persuaded Hector to kill him. I think that Hector did not have as much to do with his death in that regard, since he was debating whether or not to fight him, and it was a god who told him to. It seems that Zeus also has much to do with Patroclus' death, because he was the one who ultimately decided that he wanted Patroclus to die. He was turning over ideas on how to kill him, and he made Patroclus disobey Achilles, in that he struck fury in his heart and made him attack the wall. That is why I think that Zeus was the most responsible for the death of Patroclus. It seems that Zeus controls fate, so I think that fate cannot be held as responsible. Finally, I think Achilles is very responsible because he was the one that made it so that Patroclus had to go to fight in the first place. he was the cause of his death.

Reflections On Debate

       The Sparta vs. Athens debate was a great first experience in the realm of formal debate. I think that having a debate is an excellent way to learn about something, because it forces you to research both sides of an issue, which merits deeper understanding, and it gives you more motivation to learn. I always thought of debating as being something that would come naturally when you argue a point, but being in a formal debate, I learned that there is so much more to it, and it does not come naturally.  It was a great experience having to think on your feet in order to produce arguments and counter arguments on the fly- while in front of many important people. This being our first time, I think we had a lot of room for improvement, but that will come naturally with practice, and I think this was a great first experience overall.

Solon, Themistocles, Pericles

       I think that Plutarch, while he is very skilled at giving information about people without inputting his bias, holds Pericles in highest esteem compared to Solon and Themistocles. I think that this is the case because of how much praise he gives to Pericles, and how little he stresses he negative traits. Plutarch treats Solon in a similar way, but he seems to give more praise and affection to Pericles. Themistocles however, he seems to stress his negative sides more than the others, and still describes him as respectable, but does not praise him as much as he does Solon and Pericles.

       An example we see of Plutarch praising Pericles is when he talks about how he spoke. He says that Pericles spoke very carefully, and had a guarded tongue. He even prayed to the gods that he nothing would slip from his mouth that was not appropriate, or irrelevant (pg 71). This is a very respectable attribute, as Pericles points out, and one that I think should still be sought after today. Another attribute we see Plutarch commending was Pericles' care for the people. He describes him as "caressing the people", and "Having secured his power in the interest of the populace" (pg 72). Finally, at the end of his telling, Plutarch says, "He was indeed a character deserving our high admiration, not only for equitable and mild temper, which all along in many affairs of his life, and great animosities which he incurred, he constantly maintained." This shows that Plutarch help Pericles in very high esteem; higher ( I think) than Solon and Themistocles.

Lycurgus

       I think that Plutarch has written this biography of Lycurgus because he wanted to illustrate how Sparta's government was set up, and he is getting at the backstory of where it came from. He tells the stories of Lycurgus' travels to different countries (e.g. Crete, Asia, Egypt) and he extracts from these travels the principles, customs, and ideas that these cultures had. the next part of the biography that Plutarch shares is Lycurgus' strategy to achieve his goal of creating a political system. He starts by bringing an oracle to Sparta which he claimed had the new political system. He then secretly gathers supporters until he is ready to make his entrance into the city. After winning the favor of the kings he makes his reforms to the government and political system, and made a mixed constitution. Plutarch then goes into the story briefly of Lycurgus' later life. I think that Plutarch did all of this because Lycurgus was the single person who reformed Sparta's structure and life, and he wanted to explain how these reforms happened, so he traces it through the whole life of Lycurgus.
       I think that Plutarch was in favor of the Spartan constitution. He describes how Sparta started to plummet into chaos when the constitution was not followed, and his own words are, "-thus proving what a truly divine piece of good fortune it was for the Spartiates to have had someone to construct a mixed constitution.(pg 17)" This clearly indicates that Plutarch is in favor of the constitution that Lycurgus constructed. Also, at the end of his biography he shows his view of the reforms of Lycurgus when he says, "Lycurgus however created left no mere words and ideas, but created an acutal and unrivaled system of government. (pg 40)" Though Plutarch was very good at telling the story without his own bias, he shows us glimpses of his feelings which are that the constitution was very good.

Achilles and the Embassy

       I think that Achilles should have gone back to battle following the Embassy for Achilles. The Achaeans had broken morale, and needed a figure to look up to. this might have turned the battle in their favor, since the men were losing their vigor in battle. By letting his anger overcome him, he was letting down his nation, because he could do something to help them, but he refused. Also, Agamemnon offered him a lot of gifts to drop his anger and fight so I think that it was foolish not to take those and fight.