Lysistrata was the third and final of the peace plays written by the great Greek comic playwright Aristophanes (c. 445 - c. 386 BCE). Shown in 411 BCE at the Lenaea festival in Athens, it was written during the final years of the war between Athens and Sparta. The play is essentially a dream about peace. Many Greeks believed the war was bringing nothing but ruin to Greece, making it susceptible to Persian attack. So, in Aristophanes’ play, the wives and mothers of the warring cities, led by the Athenian Lysistrata, came together with an ingenious solution. In order to force peace, the women decided to go on strike. This was not a typical work stoppage. Instead, there was to be no romantic relations of any kind with their husbands. Further, by occupying the Acropolis, home of the Athenian treasury, the women controlled access to the money necessary to finance the war. Together with the withholding of sex, both sides would soon be begging for peace.
As the author of at least forty plays, only eleven of which have survived, Aristophanes is considered by many to be the greatest poet of Greek comedy. Unfortunately, his works are the only examples to remain intact. By the time Aristophanes began to write, Greek theatre was in serious decline. However, much of the presentation of drama remained the same. There was the usual chorus of 24 as well as three actors who wore grotesque masks and costumes.
Greek
settlers living in ancient Egyptian cities ‘translated’ Egyptian gods into
their own familiar deities. The ancient Greek Ptolemies, who ruled Egypt for
over 300 years, introduced Greek versions of Egyptian gods to encourage
cultural integration in their kingdom. They also sought the support of
Egyptian priests in order to be recognised as legitimate pharaohs, and
renovated temples and built magnificent new ones. After
30 BC, aspects of this Greco-Egyptian religion also spread across the Roman Empire.
Religious life played an
important role in the ancient Egyptian cities of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus. Greeks and
Egyptians lived and worshipped side by side, acknowledging similarities and
differences in their practices. Underwater finds at Thonis-Heracleion include
religious offerings from across the Mediterranean world, reflecting diverse
beliefs.
Discover more about the deep
connections between the ancient civilisations of Egypt and Greece in the
BP exhibition Sunken cities: Egypt’s lost worlds (19 May – 27
November 2016).
ACTUALLY. This myth gets more interesting. These original “double humans” were comprised of two parts—either both parts male, one part male and one female, or both female. This myth is used to explain why some people are homosexual and why some are straight. Yay Classics. I’M LEARNING SO MUCH IN COLLEGE GUYS
This gets better each time it scrolls through my dash.
The Greeks had their flaws but they always had a tolerant and practical way of seeing the world.
Like how they explained why the different people of the world have different skin colors. Instead of the Abrahamic “Mark of Cain”, they believed that Apollo, the sun god, who’s chariot was the sun, allowed his son to drive the chariot. The boy could not control it and the sun came too close the the Earth. And, some people got exposed to the sun more than others and tanned various colors. That is how they explained the difference between people of different colors.
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