Around 500 BC the Greeks began to move away from the mythos, relying on the gods and myths to explain the unknown, to logos or logic, where an explanation was formed through sound thought or reason. Reason is exemplified in Greek culture through various avenues. Famous philosopher and student of Plato, Aristotle developed theories that were very rational. Aristotle encouraged notions of moving toward a more rational deduction of the unknown, called Empiricism, the idea that what you see is what you get. Art created before 500BC was also based much more heavily on the gods and the idea of the mythos. Statues depicted Greek gods and myths, not the everyday man, which started around 500BC (1260 BC of the Four Seated Figures of Ramses II). An example of moving away from the mythos into the logos, or reason, would be the statue of Doryphores, the spearbearer, which moves away from depiction of gods and exhibits a new face of reason and rationality. The public during this time was erecting statues of common citizens, li

The idea of order in Greek society was important in the sense that without it there would be disunity in the universe and thus the society was bound to fall. Order was symbolized through literature, sculpture, and architecture and maintained through ritual, which appeased the gods. The ritual in remembrance of Dionysus was highly organized, where the people would follow a priest or king around the city, and would drink and become intoxicated with enthusio (the spirit of the god) then a sacrifice of the old priest or king would be the gift to the god. This not only brought structure to the citizens’ lives but also kept order with the gods. The citizens of this time understood that they were on a lower plane than the gods, that the gods preceded them and would be there long after they had passed. This is probably why early statues depicted the gods, such as the neck amphora with Dionysus and maenads; it was a way to symbolize the permanence of the gods and be humble before them. When looking at the Parthenon it is obvious how heavily ordered it is, ionic columns bring a static order to it while the elaborate idea of the golden rectangle is shown in it, further displaying the importance of the Parthenon. It is kind of the “center piece” for Athens, it shows that all order is based at the Parthenon and thus with the gods. In literature, Oedipus can be examined through its ordered sequence of events. The play is based on the original oracle from Apollo, which said that Oedipus would marry his mother, kill his father, and live in shame and misery because of it. Then the story follows from this until the end where the audience sees that th

Some topics in this essay:
Plague Oedipus, Erictheum Ionic, Apollo Oedipus, Ramses II, Plato Aristotle, BC Greeks, , Oedipus Oedipus, greek culture, reason moderation, Likewise Athens, ionic columns, greek society, structure citizens’ lives, 500 bc, priest king, structure citizens’, gods humble, citizens’ lives, gods play,