1. What is the difference between the liberty of the ancients and the liberty of the moderns? What would moderns find lacking in ancient liberty?

The liberty of the ancients includes collective political power exercised through direct participation in public decision-making. Citizens expressed freedom through assemblies, voting, and shared sovereignty, believing liberty meant being an active member of the community. Modern liberty focuses on individual rights, such as freedom of expression, religion, property, and personal independence. It emphasizes private pursuits, personal autonomy, and protection from government intrusion, relying on representative government rather than direct political participation. Modern people would find ancient liberty lacking because it offers little personal freedom or privacy and demands heavy involvement in public life.

2. Plutarch tells about an important episode in Alexander’s life. What characteristics is it intended to show?

Plutarch’s Life of Alexander includes the famous episode of Alexander taming Bucephalus. When the wild horse refused all riders, Alexander realized it feared its own shadow. He turned the horse toward the sun, calmed it, and mounted it successfully. Philip II told him that Macedonia was too small for someone of his greatness. The episode is meant to show Alexander’s intelligence, perception, confidence, courage, and natural authority. It also highlights his emotional control, as he mastered Bucephalus through understanding rather than force. Plutarch uses this story to foreshadow Alexander’s future leadership, ambition, and military brilliance.

What does the fate of Medea and of those who mistreat and oppress her say to its own time?

Medea is an ancient Greek play written by the playwright Euripides and was first performed in 431 BC. The play premiered during a pivotal moment in Greek history: the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, a conflict between Athens—then at the height of its imperial power—and Sparta and its allies. Because of this timing, historians often interpret Medea as reflecting anxieties about imperialism, justice, and the treatment of foreigners within the Athenian empire.

In 431 BC, Athens controlled a wide-ranging maritime empire and dominated numerous allied states through military force. While Athenians celebrated democracy at home, many subject states viewed Athens as authoritarian.

Why was the Peloponnesian War fought? What was its long-term significance? and What points is Pericles trying to make about Athens in his Funeral Oration?

The Peloponnesian War was fought because, after the Persian Wars, Athens became powerful, using its navy to dominate its allies and build an empire. Sparta, fearing Athens’ growing influence, eventually decided to go to war.

The war ended with Sparta’s victory, but all of Greece was left weakened. It destroyed Athenian naval dominance, drained resources, and shattered unity among the Greek city-states.

In Pericles’ Funeral Oration, he praises Athens and its citizens. His speech serves as both a eulogy for the fallen and a celebration of Athenian democracy.

Some key points Pericles makes include:

• Athens is a model city, admired by others.
• Athens is a democracy, giving power to the people.
• Athenians advance based on ability and merit, not birth or social rank.

Aristotle’s Ethics explains how to live a good and fulfilling life. For Aristotle, the ultimate goal of life is happiness. This happiness is not just about feeling good, but about living well by becoming the best version of yourself. He argues that happiness comes from practicing virtue—good character traits such as courage, honesty, and generosity. Virtue, for Aristotle, is a balance between extremes, known as the Golden Mean. For example, courage is the balance between cowardice and recklessness.

My Opinion on:

1. What was the disagreement Socrates had with the Sophists?

2. What was Plato’s point in his allegory of the cave?

The Allegory of the Cave is a theory that if a group of people were chained from birth facing a cave wall, and the only thing they ever saw of the outside world were shadows projected onto it, they would believe that those shadows were the entire reality.
Plato’s point in the Allegory of the Cave was that most people believe only what they see. If someone has seen nothing but shadows their entire life, they will believe that shadows are all that exist.

The disagreement Socrates had with the Sophists was that the Sophists believed truth is relative and that persuasion is most important, while Socrates believed truth is absolute, can be discovered through reason, and that knowledge should aim toward improvement and wisdom.