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I see where you're coming from, but poems, plays, and sculpture are "the fruits of the ancient world." A work like the Iliad only comes around once every few mi

I see where you're coming from, but poems, plays, and sculpture are "the fruits of the ancient world." A work like the Iliad only comes around once every few millennia, and no synopsis will frame its ideas so starkly. The Iliad and The Odyssey are two of the most thrilling pieces of literature available to a reader today, and they both pose difficult moral questions. I just can't imagine a sociology textbook writer formulating a "What do you think: Glory, or Contentedness?" segment as compelling as the entire arc of Achilles' role in the battle for Troy. So yes, the lessons of the ancient world are applicable to a broad range of subjects, but the art is also valuable in and of itself.

ZenoArrow 11y ago
"So yes, the lessons of the ancient world are applicable to a broad range of subjects, but the art is also valuable in and of itself." True, but I did mention studying these works through Literature courses, would this not be a suitable way to approach The Iliad and The Odyssey? I guess I'd rather have a greater amount of flexibility in the education system for bringing together both old and new ideas. Whilst there's certainly plenty of material worthy of study from the activity of the ancient Greeks, what about other periods of time? If we have a separate course on the classics, should we have a course on the Renaissance as well (for example)?