Eleusis; Athens in the Fifth Century
A. civic morality (Herodotus 6.86)
B. the essence of classical art: The Charioteer from Delphi (ca. 480 B.C.)and the Discus-Thrower (Discobolos) by Myron (ca. 450 B.C.)
II. Eleusis and the chthonic Eleusinian Mysteries
A. Demeter, Persephone (Proserpina), Hades (Pluto); Triptolemos
B. site and ritual: mystes, mystagogos, Telesterion, hierophant
C. 8 days of celebration; epopteia
D. the point of it all
III. Athens in the Fifth Century
A. 50 years of glory: the Pentekontaetia (478-431 B.C.)
B. Pericles; the Delian League; the Peace of Callias (449BC)
C. democratic reforms and abuses; litigation and jury panels; metics; citizenship legislation, Aspasia; foreign expansion
D. the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.); the Plague (427 B.C.); the Sicilian fiasco (414/413 B.C.; the "Battle" of Aigospotamoi (405 B.C.)
Note: Please read Sophocles' Oedipus by Monday and bring texts to class. A few questions: is Oedipus responsible for what he is doing? Is he hybristic? Is he a good ruler? Why do bad things happen to him? Does he have faults? What are examples of tragic irony? How important is the chorus in this play as compared to its role in the Oresteia?