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What is your favorite moment in Greek history?

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efhernandez_

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Drop them in the thread below!! Mine is Oxi day of course!!
 
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Oxi Day is a great one! I would say the Greek War of Independence, I love learning about it
 
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I agree 100% OXI Day has to be the best moment in Greek history!

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Of course OXI day❤️???
 
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efhernandez_ said:
Drop them in the thread below!! Mine is Oxi day of course!!
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There are so many important moments! As I take "history" as "Universal (not simply Political) History", my favorite moment is the moment when the Ionian Anaximander started thinking Peri Physeis (About Physis), these words being the title of a book he wrote and were later translated into Latin as De Natura, Natura (Nature) being the realm of whatever is born, emerges, or develops. This was the moment when philosophy was born, namely the search for true knowledge, whose history will include science (or Galileo's "Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences" -- bodies of true knowledge -- today known as Physics and Science of Materials). The Anaximandrian Physics, which was not experimental, is rather a cosmo-genesis that was prompted by his teacher Thales. Thales held that things are born from water [the fertile Sea] but held that the world is full of [causative] gods, whereas Anaximander's world is autonomous -- a concept that will held by all the Greek philosophical physicists. // Anax. did not invent Physis, which was already in his language! SO, my view: philosophy cannot arise in any culture, since it is pursued through language, rather than in a vacuum or by contact with that which is being investigated. The entities of a language make a whole difference. [This is Value # 1 of the Greek Language; I'm omitting the other values, besides the normal/obvious Communication.] [Sorry, Aristotle: Anax., not Thales. is the first philosopher. You, too, are a physicist.]
 
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amygdalE said:
There are so many important moments! As I take "history" as "Universal (not simply Political) History", my favorite moment is the moment when the Ionian Anaximander started thinking Peri Physeis (About Physis), these words being the title of a book he wrote and were later translated into Latin as De Natura, Natura (Nature) being the realm of whatever is born, emerges, or develops. This was the moment when philosophy was born, namely the search for true knowledge, whose history will include science (or Galileo's "Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences" -- bodies of true knowledge -- today known as Physics and Science of Materials). The Anaximandrian Physics, which was not experimental, is rather a cosmo-genesis that was prompted by his teacher Thales. Thales held that things are born from water [the fertile Sea] but held that the world is full of [causative] gods, whereas Anaximander's world is autonomous -- a concept that will held by all the Greek philosophical physicists. // Anax. did not invent Physis, which was already in his language! SO, my view: philosophy cannot arise in any culture, since it is pursued through language, rather than in a vacuum or by contact with that which is being investigated. The entities of a language make a whole difference. [This is Value # 1 of the Greek Language; I'm omitting the other values, besides the normal/obvious Communication.] [Sorry, Aristotle: Anax., not Thales. is the first philosopher. You, too, are a physicist.]
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A philosophy fan I see, which Greek philosophers do you recommend reading?
 
cf_fraiser said:
A philosophy fan I see, which Greek philosophers do you recommend reading?
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More than a fan, I spent years studying it (and more time on my own). What I liked most was a graduate course on the ancient Greek philosophy. I recommend "The Presocratics", a collection of the fragments of the philosophical writings before Socrates, which are mostly quotations by other authors, It includes Anaximander, the Pythagoreans, Heraclitus, Parmenides, etc.) Then: any or all of Plato's "Dialogues", some of which are called Socratic since they are conversations in the style of the historic Socrates (who never wrote anything) and inquiries about subjects [virtues, love (in the "Symposium"), the soul, etc.] dear to him, while others represent Plato's own inquiries: the "Republic" [Politeia] and, in addition to others, my favorite, the "Theaetetus" (on perception and true knowledge). I love also many works written by the Stoics and their Roman followers, especially Cicero. Aristotle and the Stoics for the creation of Logic! [Logic is he art or science of correct/rational reasoning and argumentation. Related: the study of fallacies -- blunders of the mind, many of which, says Aristotle, are due to the misuse of... guess: language.]
 
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Period of Greek History You Find the Most Fascinating?

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So far, I’ve been especially drawn to Minoan history, places like Knossos really stayed with me, and also sites connected to the New Testament. Visiting locations tied to early Christianity adds a whole different dimension to travel for me.

Lately I’ve been thinking about planning future trips around specific historical periods, but Greece has so many that it’s hard to know where to focus next. Ancient classical sites, Byzantine monasteries, Ottoman-era towns, Venetian fortresses, it’s almost overwhelming in a good way.

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Why does the Battle of Thermopylae still capture so much attention?

The Battle of Thermopylae is one of those moments in Greek history that still seems to capture people's attention thousands of years later. The story of Leonidas and the small Greek force standing against the much larger Persian army has become a symbol of courage, sacrifice, and resistance against overwhelming odds.

Of course, the real history is more complicated than the legend, and Thermopylae was only one part of the larger Greco-Persian Wars. Still, there is something powerful about the idea of people choosing to hold their ground even when they know the outcome may not be in their favor.

I also think modern books, movies, and popular culture have helped keep the story alive, sometimes blending history with mythology. Why do you think the Battle of Thermopylae still fascinates people so much? Is it the history itself, the symbolism, or the legend that grew around it?

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I’ve been studying the democracy of Athens lately, and I find it fascinating that such an influential system didn’t actually last very long in its original form. It’s often described as the birthplace of democracy, and yet when you look closely, it seems both groundbreaking and limited at the same time.

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