... since gods and heroes are by definition better than men, they cannot perform such atrocious acts as shown for example in Homer and Aeschylus (the examples in Republic 26-29). Such portrayals provide justification for men to commit such acts themselves, and therefore these misrepresentations of gods and heroes are ... ; under Plato's scheme the poet is "an imitator of what he knows nothing about, a mere appearance" (Republic, X, p48). As with painting, so with poetry, says Plato; he does not treat poetry on its own terms. Indeed, there are several crucial differences between the arts of...

• Word Count: 5585
• Approx Pages: 22
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

What is religion? According to an Oxford dictionary, religion is the belief in the existence of a supernatural ruling power, the creator and the controller of the universe, who has ... divine. The course of philosophical assumption concerning the divine was transformed from as early as the first century through that of Judaism and then in turn with Christianity. Beginning with the fourth or fifth century AD, no longer was "philosophy of religion" a separate entity but a part of religion. After roughly 500 AD, ... religious beliefs and practices that have been determined by local circumstanc...

• Word Count: 4041
• Approx Pages: 16
• Grade Level: Undergraduate