What does 5th century BC mean?
Does it mean the 600 BC or 400 BC? It really confused me because I was reading my AP European History textbook and it said 5th century BC. I know if it had said 5th century AD, it would've meant 400s. But since BC goes backwards, is it in the 600s? (sorry if its confusing!)
If you were born in fifth century Greece, how old would you be today?
1500-1600 years old roughly 5th century is between 400 and 499a.d.
Upon what physical material (in lieu of paper) did the 5th century Greeks write?
Unlike our culture, which relies on one all purpose medium for all needs, yesterday paper, today pixels and digits, the narrower technological basis of ancient society demanded that texts should be inscribed on expensive and long lasting media only if official, permanent, and valuable. Thus, official decrees were always inscribed on the most durable and expensive medium: metal tablets and stone. Official records, such as tax receipts, governmental records (deeds, books of account, official lists, rule books) were recorded on parchment and/or papyrus. More of the former, than later, if price was not an issue. If it was, papyrus would do. Books and publications were universally copied and kept on papyrus, typically scrolled up and kept in leather containers. For everyday correspondence, notes and information exchanges, wooden tablets or some tree bark codices would do. They were typically inscribed with carbon based ink. The collection of letters written on wax tablets found in Britannia and Dacia are a great example for such correspondence.Roman tablet recording some ordinary transactions in a border fort in BritanniaText of a tablet found in Dacia, in a mine shaft... Maximus son of Bato bought from Dasius son of Verzo the Pirust from Kavieretium a child slave named Passia, aged around 6, who was found abandoned as a baby (sportellaria), for the price of 250 denarii. It is waranteed that the child is healthy, is not a thief, does no damages and is not a runaway. If anyone else whould want the child, he would have to pay to Maximus son of Bato the same amount that he is going to pay to Dasius son of Verzo the Pirust from Kavieretium. Dasius son of Verzo testifies that he received 250 denarii from the buyer. Sealed in Kartum, on the 17th of March, when Titus Aelius Caesar Antoninus Pius for the 2nd time and Bruttius Praesens for the 2nd time, were consuls.Finally, wax tablets, although perishable, were widely used for all reasons, including contracts. They were preferred, however, for messaging, especially for quick, personal letters. They were the equivalent of our contemporary emails.
When was Medusa born?
Well, let’s figure this out….She was daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, sea-gods who who predate Poseidon who helped Zeus seize Olympus around 1700 BC.Phorcys had two brothers, Thaumes and Nereus who took wives from Oceanus, one of the Titans. This tells me they were either subordinate or almost equal to Oceanus in power.The Achaeans invaded Greece around 2200 and 1800 BC; this would have been when Evenor founded “Atlantis” at Thera (modern Santorini )near Crete. His grandson Atlas named it Atlantis and Poseidon was their patron god. Poseidon took his wife from the daughters of Nereus.Poseidon seducing Medusa isn’t so much a romance, but an effort to develop relations with the Family of Phorcys.It’s really hard to date a mythological deity, but if you treat them like a semi-historical character, you can speculate from the mythology.She could have been born between 1800 and 1700.
Why do we study greek tragedy?
The tragedies were written to be performed before the public. They weren't prayers as such. So they have to have been intended to instruct the audience or at least make it think. The feat that Aristotle said tragedy should arouse was not the kind of fear we experience when we see a horror film--it was more a kind of "There but for the grace of God go I" fear, something that would move the viewer to take stock of his own soul. Just for the record, although most Greek tragedies do take place in one spot on one day, Aristotle never said that they should. Aristotle wrote about the importance of unity of plot and character. If you haven't actually read the Poetics, I advise you to do so. It isn't very long. Much of what he said about the features of good tragedy can be seen in the tragedies of Shakespeare and even, on a less lofty level, in much more recent plays as well as some novels, such as Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge. (Perhaps I'm simply telling you what you already know.) Finally, one reason we still study Greek tragedy today is that those works are masterpieces of literature. If you've read Oedipus Rex, you know that almost every line is significant and artistic. Some of those plays present us with favorite characters from other works we may have read, such as the Iliad and the Odyssey; some present us with concerns that we still deal with nearly 2500 years later. Many do both. One in particular presents us with a dilemma that we often face, though not with such dire consequences. Have you read Antigone?
Who is the father of history?
Herodotus, an Athenian historian who wrote the first complete account of an historical event (at least in the Western world). He covered the Greek-Persian war, from the original hostility (the Trojan War) down to his own time. The title "The Father of History" is traditionally given to him.