Time, alternation, and the failure of reason : Sophoclean tragedy and Archaic Greek thought
This thesis examines the place, influence, and deployment of archaic Greek thought in Sophoclesâ extant tragedies, paying close attention to the ethical and theological content of the plays as well as to their dramatic and literary fabric. I use archaic thought as an umbrella term for a constellation of ideas on the human condition and the gods which is first attested, in Greece, in Homeric epic, but has a long and variegated existence in other contexts and after the archaic period. The thesis consists of six chapters, divided in two parts. The first part provides a general conceptual framework, which is then applied in the detailed readings of Sophocles constituting the second part. The first chapter examines some of the main texts of archaic Greek thought, and offers an interpretation of it as a coherent nexus of ideas gravitating around the core notions of human vulnerability, short-sightedness, and the principle of alternation. Using the examples of Homerâs Iliad and Solonâs Elegy to the Muses, I argue that the narrative structure of archaic poetry can be used to formulate and âperformâ archaic ideas. The second chapter formulates the principal argument of the thesis: that archaic thought is
Johnston, Alexandre Charles
Sophocles ; Archaic Greek thought ; Greek tragedy ; intellectual history ; Greek religion
Time, alternation, and the failure of reason : Sophoclean tragedy and Archaic Greek thought. This thesis examines the place, influence, and deployment of archaic Greek thought in Sophoclesâ extant tragedies, paying close attention to the ethical and theological content of the plays as well as to their dramatic and literary fabric. I use archaic thought as an umbrella term for a constellation of ideas on the human condition and the gods which is first attested, in Greece, in Homeric epic, but has a long and variegated existence in other contexts and after the archaic period. The thesis consists of six chapters, divided in two parts. The first part provides a general conceptual framework, which is then applied in the detailed readings of Sophocles constituting the second part. The first chapter examines some of the main texts of archaic Greek thought, and offers an interpretation of it as a coherent nexus of ideas gravitating around the core notions of human vulnerability, short-sightedness, and the principle of alternation. Using the examples of Homerâs Iliad and Solonâs Elegy to the Muses, I argue that the narrative structure of archaic poetry can be used to formulate and âperformâ archaic ideas. The second chapter formulates the principal argument of the thesis: that archaic thought is
time alternation failure reason tragedy archaic greek thought examines place influence deployment archaic greek think sophocles extant tragedy pay_close attention ethical theological content play well dramatic literary fabric use archaic think umbrella term constellation idea human condition god first attest greece homeric epic long variegated existence context archaic_period consists divide_two_part first_part provide_general conceptual_framework apply detailed reading sophocles constitute second_part first_examine main_text archaic greek thought offer_interpretation coherent nexus idea around core notion human vulnerability short principle alternation using_example homer argue narrative structure archaic poetry use formulate perform archaic idea second formulates principal argument archaic thought