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ATHENA
Neither anarchy nor tyranny, my people
Worship the Mean, I urge you,
shore it up with reverance and never
banish terror from the gates, not outright.

The Eumenides, Aeschylus

<<add a quote>>

A while back I had wanted to start on an intellectual adventure that would probably last me several lifetimes. That adventure is to get myself acquainted with the roots of Western thought and history. I wasn't really sure how to go about doing it, so I looked for guides online from people, professionals and amateurs, who have taken the time to share their ideas, progress, and journey.

With this space, I will document my own progress but I also invite anyone to turn this guide into a useful one for someone like me who is interested in committing serious effort in learning about a massive topic like this and who isn't content with "idiot guide" type books (although they can be useful as a starting point).

As I'm reading, I'm also taking notes to reflect on my thinking or to remember potentially important names, dates, and concepts. Some of these will be in the study page of this article.

Aaron Hung 22:41, 17 April 2008 (EDT)

Reading list

Reading progress

I'm listing this in the order I actually read them. There was a lot of groping about in the beginning before I found a format that made sense. In some cases I broke things up or went on detours whenever I got too lost or needed a break.

The Oresteia by Aeschylus ISBN 0140443339
The Greeks by H. D. F. Kitto ISBN 0140135219
The Iliad by Homer ISBN 0140275363
Theogony and Work and Days by Hesiod ISBN 0192839411
Mythology by Edith Hamilton ISBN 0316341517
The Odyssey by Homer ISBN 0143039954
Prometheus Bound and Other Plays by Aeschylus ISBN 0140441123
Sophocles I: Oedipus The King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone by Sophocles ISBN 0226307921
Sophocles II: Ajax, The Women of Trachis, Electra & Philoctetes by Sophocles ISBN 0226307867

Essential reading guide

Literature			Histories	Philosophy
Epics/Poetry	Plays			Plato
Homer The Iliad The Odyssey	Aeschylus Oresteia Agamemnon The Libation Bearers The Eumenides Prometheus Bound The Persians Seven Against Thebes The Suppliants		Herodotus The Histories	Apology Charmides Crito Ion Euthyphro Laches Lesser Hippias Lysis Menexenus Protagoras Euthydemus Gorgias Meno	Cratylus Paramenides Phaedo Phaedrus Republic Symposium Theaetetus Critias Laws Philebus Sophist Statesman Timaeus
Hesiod	Sophocles		Thucydides	Aristotle
Theogony Work and Days	Oedipus Rex Antigone Oedipus at Colonus Ajax The Women of Trachis Electra Philoctetes		The History of the Peloponnesian War
	Euripides		Xenophon
	Alcestis Medea Heracleidae Cyclops Hippolytus Andromache Hecuba The Suppliants Electra	Heracles The Trojan Women Iphigenia in Tauris Ion Helen Phoenician Women Orestes Bacchae Iphegenia at Aulis	Anabasis Cyropaedia Hellenica	Memorabilia Oeconomicus Symposium Apology Hiero
	Aristophanes The Frogs The Clouds The Achamians The Knights The Wasps The Birds Peace Lysistrata Ecclesiazusae		Plutarch Parallel Lives Life of Alexander

Notes

Greek mythology

Concept-mapping of Greek mythology (work-in-progress)

Ancient Greek mythology is generally subdivided into the titans (e.g. Cronus, Atlas), the gods (e.g. Zeus, Poseidon), and the heroes (e.g. Heracles, Perseus). There are often several versions of these stories, which were often influenced by or adapted from pre-existing mythologies (such as the Egyptians, Babylonians, or Mesopotamians). In a nutshell, the ancestry of the gods can be traced back to Uranus and Gaia, who gave birth to the titans as well as other odd creatures. For fear of being overpowered by his children. Uranus was overthrow by Cronus, his youngest son, who castrated his father and chucked the genitals (I'm not kidding) into the sea, from which came Aphrodite. Fearing the same fate as his father, Cronus swallowed all his children, but once again, the youngest escaped with the help of Rhea and gave a rock wrapped in baby clothing for Cronus to consume. Rhea hid her child in a save and raised her with the help of goats and/or nymphs. When Zeus grew up, he waged war against Cronus and the titans, finally defeating them to become the king of the gods.

Twelve gods and goddesses form the Olympians. From what I know, there was some variation in who exactly made up the twelve, especially in the ancient world. Below are some of the main characters in Greek mythology. This is far from being a complete list, as the full list would number to the hundreds. These just happen to be ones that are most often cited in literature. As noted, many of these stories have their own variations, which I will try to highlight.

The Titans
Greek name (Roman)	Father	Mother	Characteristics
Cronus (Saturn)	Uranus	Gaia	youngest son of Uranus overthrew his father by castrating him with a sickle overthrew by Zeus and imprisoned in Tartarus
Prometheus	Iapetus	Themis/Clymene	name means "forethought" brother of Epimetheus, which means "afterthought" (see "Pandora") fought on the side of the gods against the other Titans deceived Zeus by wrapping bones of a sacrificed ox in fat and hiding the meat in the stomach so that humans need only sacrifice bones to the gods Zeus reacted by hiding fire from humans, but Prometheus stole it for the humans imprisoned and cursed to have his liver pecked out every day by a eagle eventually rescued by Hercules, who killed the eagle
Atlas	Iapetus	Clymene	forced by Zeus to hold up the sky on his shoulders later helped (tricked by) Heracles in one of his twelve labors father of the Pleiades (seven sisters)
The Olympians (* denotes possible variations)
Name	Father	Mother	Characteristics
Zeus (Jupiter)	Cronus	Rhea	king of the gods controls the sky and weather, hospitality, sends omens fathered many gods, goddesses and heroes
Hera (Juno)	Cronus	Rhea	sister and wife to Zeus usually at odds with Zeus and his illegitimate offsprings
Poseidon (Neptune)	Cronus	Rhea	brother of Zeus guardian of the seas and earthquakes
Demeter (Ceres)	Cronus	Rhea	goddess of the crops and seasons mother of Persephone (with Zeus) when Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, she was so angry she caused the crops to die Zeus arranged it so that Persephone could spend some time with Demeter, some time in the underworld, hence creating seasonal changes
Ares (Mars)	Zeus	Hera	God of war
Aphrodite (Venus)	Zeus	Dione	born when Zeus threw Cronus's genitals into the sea in The Iliad, she is identified as daughter of Zeus and Dione; goddess of love
Pallas Athena (Minerva)	Zeus	Metis	goddess of war and wisdom patron of the city Athens
Hermes (Mercury)	Zeus	Maia	messenger god patron of travelers
Hephaestus (Vulcan)	Unknown	Hera	god of blacksmiths and fire often makes weapons, armors, and other equipment for gods and heroes
Apollo (Apollo)	Zeus	Leto	god of archery, light, sun, truth, and prophecy twin brother to Artemis
Artemis (Diana)	Zeus	Leto	goddess of hunting, hills and arrows twin sister to Apollo
Dionysus* (Bacchus)	Zeus	Semele	god of wine and masculine fertility many ancient Greek festivals were held in his honor
Hestia* (Vesta)	Cronus	Rhea	goddess and protector of the home more important in Roman culture as Vesta
Hades* (Pluto)	Cronus	Rhea	brother of Zeus and Poseidon guardian of the underworld
Non-Olympians
Name	Father	Mother	Characteristics
Hebe	Zeus	Hera	goddess of youth cupbearer to the gods
Persephone	Zeus	Demeter	kidnapped by Hades into the underworld Demeter's sorrow is believed to be responsible for the changing of the seasons
Eros (Cupid)	Ares	Aphrodite	god of love falls in love with the mortal Psyche
Other mythological characters
Name	Father	Mother	Characteristics
Pandora	N/A	N/A	mentioned first by Hesiod supposedly the first woman created created under direction of Zeus as punishment after Prometheus stole fire for mankind given to Epimetheus as a wedding gift, who forgot that he was not to accept gifts from Zeus opened the jar that released the sorrows of the world to mankind only Hope remained in the jar
Muses	Zeus	Mnemosyne	inspire humans in their songs and work Kleio, Euterpe, Thaleia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Ourania, Kalliope often invoked by poets such as Homer and Hesiod
Furies	Cronus's blood	Gaia	born when the blood the dripped after Cronos castrated Uranus in charge of asserting justice or vengeance appear in the form of winged females in art in Oresteia, Athena transforms them into Euminedes, representing a more positive, lawful form of justice
Giants	Cronus's blood	Gaia	known for being massive, violent beings
Fates		Night	created temptation and transgressions in deities and humans three Fates were: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos
Pegasus		Medusa's blood	born from the blood spilled when Perseus beheaded Medusa depicted as a winged horse who becomes a companion to Zeus
Cerberus	Typhaon	Echidna	three-headed dog of Hades who guards the underworld (fifty-headed according to Hesiod) encountered by heroes such as Heracles, Orpheus and Aeneus in their adventures
Hydra	Typhaon	Echidna	brought up by Hera to fight against Heracles
Chimera	Typhaon	Echidna	fire-breathing monster with head of lion, goat, and snake killed by Pegasus and Bellerophon

Historical Periods

Historians of ancient Greek civilization generally divide it into the following five periods. The history of the region extends further into the past, but these are usually the ones mentioned. These divisions are meant to mark out important developments in the history (e.g. collapse of the Mycenaean civilization, rediscovery of literacy, etc.) Much of ancient history, especially in the period of the Dark Ages and before, is based mostly on archaeological evidence. Fragments of an ancient language (called Linear A), which was believed to have been used prior to the Mycenaean Age, has yet to be fully decoded; Linear B, used by the Mycanaeans up till the loss of the language, was decoded only in 1952 by Michael Ventris. As such, much of ancient Greek history remains unknown, so the following should only be used as a rough guide that remain debated by historians.

Age	Time Period	Key Events	Historical figures
Mycenaean Age	1600 BCE-1100 BCE	Cultural achievements form backdrop of Greek mythology Developed writing system (syllabic) Supposed time when Trojan War happens Ended with mysterious destruction of Mycenaean civilization
End of Greek Bronze Age
Dark Ages	1100 BCE-750 BCE	Loss of literacy First Olympic games held in 776 BCE
Archaic Age	750 BCE-500 BCE	Rediscovery of writing from Phoenicians (alphabetic) Rise of democracy Ends with the establishment of the polis (city-state)	Philosophers Anaximander Thales Anaximenes Pythagoras Statesmen Solon Pisistratus Poets Homer Hesiod Sappho
Classical Age	500 BCE-336 BCE	Ionian Revolt First Greco-Persian Wars (499 - 448 BCE) Persians sack Athens Greeks defeat Persians at Battle of Salamis Parthenon built on the Acropolis War with the Spartans (The Peloponnesian war) Defeat by Spartans in 404 BCE	Philosophers Socrates Plato Aristotle Statesmen Cleisthenes Pericles Philip II Dramatists Aeschylus Sophocles Euripides Aristophanes Historians Herodotus Thucydides Xenophon
Hellenistic Age	336 BCE-146 BCE	Spread of Hellenistic empire Rise of Roman empire Fall of Greek civilization around 200 BCE	Statesmen Alexander the Great Cassander Antigonus Ptolemy Philosophers Archimedes Euclid

Friends and Neighbors

Ancient Greece did not, of course, live in a vacuum. It was surrounded by many other civilizations in the region that had a political, cultural, and social impact on the Greeks. Note that these days are extremely rough and, in some cases, arbitrary since civilizations usually do not simply end abruptly but get conquered or integrated into other civilizations.

Civilization	Time Period	Characteristics/Influences	Historical figures
Minoan	2700 BCE - 1450 BCE	Arose on island of Crete Characterized by palace culture Used Linear A script	King Minos (of Minotaur fame)
Mycenaean	1600 BCE - 1100 BCE	Historical setting of Homer's epics Replaced Linear A with Linear B script
Phoenician	1200 BCE - 900 BCE	Organized by city-states Language used to develop alphabetic Greek script May be roots of Greek mythology system
Babylonian	~2000 BCE - 539 BCE
Egyptian	3150 BCE - 31 BCE
Spartan	1100 BCE - 146 BCE
Persian	550 BCE - 330 BCE
Roman	800 BCE - 400 AD

Resources

Websites

Perseus Digital Library: A digital library collection of original Greek works as well as essays and commentaries.

MIT OpenCourseWare: Open Source course syllabus to undergraduate class taught by Professor William Broadhead. I didn't use this directly but more as a reference.

Core Curriculum at Columbia University: The core curriculum reading for the undergraduates at Columbia University also serves as a guide.

History of Communication: This is a course offered at Teachers College by Professor Frank Moretti. I never had the chance to take this course and I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to.

Great Books Lists: I stumbled upon this many years ago. It could be said that this list really got me interested in this massive study, especially since he had started on his journey with the same goals in mind. On this website he compiles all the reading lists on various historical subjects and civilizations. I've been using his reading list for the ancient Greeks as a rough guide.

Wikipedia: I do use Wikipedia to look up quick information, but sparingly.

Maps of Ancient Greece: This website seems to contain some fairly beautiful drawn and satellite maps of modern and ancient Greece, as well as floor plans on ancient buildings.

Books

On Mythology

The main source of these particular stories are found in Homer, Hesiod, and a later Greek writer, Apollodorus. Many of the Greek dramatists such as Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides also wrote stories centered in Greek mythologies. There are also other retellings, adaptations and extensions by the Romans, in particular Ovid and Vergil.

Original Greek sources
Author	Works
Homer (~800 BCE)	The Iliad Tells the story of the Trojan War, focusing on a specific episode towards the latter part of the war. The two main characters of this epic is the Trojan Hector and the Greek Achilles. The Odyssey
Hesiod (~700 BCE)	Theogony Tells the stories of the origins of the cosmos, the ages that came before the dawn of humanity, and outlines the genealogies of the gods. Works and Days An almanac-like poem that is written as Hesiod's guide to his brother on how to live a successful life. Includes some references to how to please the gods and goddesses.
Original Roman sources
Author	Works
Vergil (70-19 BCE)	The Aenied
Ovid (43 BCE-17 AD)	Metamorphoses
Secondary sources
Author	Works
Edith Hamilton	Mythology Perhaps the most well-known popular modern guide to mythology. Her focus is largely on the Greek and Roman mythologies. I found her writing a bit dry, almost like reading a dictionary, and rather too sanitized, although it would work for younger, PG audiences. She usually prefaces her retelling with a note on where she got the story from, so that helps redirect audiences back to the original source. ISBN 0316341517
Robert Graves	The Greek Myths Another well-known poet, historian and scholar of Greek mythology and legends. Comes in two volumes. Several other collections also seem to exist. ISBN 0140171991
Thomas Bulfinch	The Age of Fable Another comprehensive guide that includes not only Greek and Roman mythologies but also the legends of King Arthur and Charlemagne. ISBN 0679600469
Kenneth Davis	Don't Know Much About Mythology This is basically an idiot's guide to world mythology. It's somewhat useful and he writes in a humorous and understandable way. It also includes other mythologies from other cultures such as the Norse, Celtic, Chinese, Japanese, African, and Native Americans. ISBN 006019460X

Reading Now

Prometheus Bound and Other Plays by Aeschylus

Guide to Greek History

From Studyplace

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