MISQUOTING SOPHOCLES’ OEDIPVS TYRANNVS. A NEW PROOF OF THE INAUTHENTICITY OF PS.-ARISTOTLE, ON THE COSMOS

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 733-735
Author(s):  
Manuel Galzerano
Keyword(s):  
Capital Punishment ◽  
Latin Translation ◽  
Greek City ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Perfect Order ◽  
The World ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The City ◽  
The Universe

Chapters 6 and 7 of the pseudo-Aristotelian treatise On the Cosmos (Περὶ κόσμου = De mundo) display ‘a series of well-crafted and carefully organized analogies’ in order to represent the power of god pervading the whole universe. The last analogy (400b14–28), which is by far the most important in this section, compares the rule of god over the world to the rule of the law in a Greek city (ὁ τῆς πόλεως νόμος). As shown by the author in the previous analogies, the perfect order of the universe is the result of the continuous creation and dissolution of single things: this process—based upon the harmony of opposites—is the keystone of the eternity and equilibrium of our world. Similarly, the law is the unmoved (ἀκίνητος) mover of every activity and experience in the city: both positive and negative situations involving single citizens contribute to the supreme order and stability of the city. Positive examples include the activity of rulers, officials and members of the assemblies (ἄρχοντες, θεσμοθέται, βουλευταί, ἐκκλησιασταί), whereas negative examples include those who go to trial defending themselves (ὁ δὲ πρὸς τοὺς δικαστὰς ἀπολογησόμενος) and those who are imprisoned and destined to capital punishment (ὁ δὲ εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἀποθανούμενος). In spite of their difference, all of these actions are due to one single order (κατὰ μίαν πρόσταξιν), that is, the civic law, which ensures the stability of the city. To stress and illustrate this concordia discors, which characterizes both the city and the universe, the author of the treatise closes the passage with a quotation from Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus (lines 4–5):πόλις δ' ὁμοῦ μὲν θυμιαμάτων γέμει,ὁμοῦ δὲ παιάνων τε καὶ στεναγμάτωνThe author reads these verses as a perfect example of a context characterized by opposite situations: in fact, the city is full of paeans (παιάνων), which are interpreted as ‘songs of joy and relief’, and, at the same time, it is also full of laments and mourns (στεναγμάτων). The same interpretation can be found in the Latin translation of the treatise, which gives even more emphasis to the opposition between life and death: uideasque illam ciuitatem pariter spirantem Panchaeis odoribus et graueolentibus caenis, resonantem hymnis et carminibus et canticis, eandem etiam lamentis et ploratibus heiulantem.

Pilsēta Jāņa Hvoinska dzejā

2021 ◽  
pp. 233-242
Author(s):  
Anda Kuduma
Keyword(s):  
Concept Formation ◽  
Edmund Husserl ◽  
Artistic Style ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Jean Paul ◽  
The World ◽  
Depth Dimension ◽  
Symbolic Images ◽  
Main Ideas ◽  
The City

The article is dedicated to the evaluation of creative work by poet and translator Jānis Hvoinskis, and it characterises the content and artistic qualities of Hvoinskis’s poetry process. The main focus is on the representation of the phenomenon of the city as an essential and characteristic poetic chronotope segment in Hvoinskis’s poetry. The study aims to identify and assess the characteristic kinds of city concept formation and their importance in building Hvoinskis’s artistic style. The article highlights and evaluates the techniques for designing the artistic structure of the indivisible chronotope in Hvoinskis’s poetry. This view is based on the fundamental principles of phenomenology, i.e., an individual phenomenon (phainómeno) is crucial in the reflection of consciousness, inner temporality, intentionality, intersubjectivity, and lifeworld. In turn, the highlight of poetry subject’s primary condition and existential motifs is logically linked to the main ideas of existentialism in their attitude towards the reason of an individual’s existence, relationships to life and death, freedom of will and choice, determinism. The study’s theoretical and methodological basis includes the ideas of phenomenology theoreticians (Edmund Husserl, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and others) and the theories of existentialism philosophers (Søren Kierkegaard, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre). Hvoinskis’s poetry allows us to speak about a city as a concept, i.e., as a universal and capacious generalising notion (which includes images, notions, symbols) from which its associative components – poetry themes, motifs, images – derive. Thus, it is possible to speak about the depth dimension of the city phenomenon. The city phenomenon in Hvoinskis’s poetry is the landscape that has been adopted as the centre of the world of the lyric subject in both poetry collections that have come out to date: “Lietus pār kanālu e” (Rain over the Channel e, 2009) and “Mūza no pilsētas N” (Muse from City N, 2019). The depth dimension in Hvoinskis’s poetry appears in the natural synthesis of mythical and real chronotope, associatively impressive and plastic imagery, expressive style kindred to surrealism poetics. The city appears as a modernism project created by the logic of industrialisation, simultaneously revealing a metaphysical dimension where symbolic images as constituents of a myth preserve the memory of wholeness of the world. The emotional atmosphere of Hvoinskis’s poetry is defined by the highly existential atmosphere – despite the harsh indifference created by the city, the sadness of existential loneliness, social distance, and aversion towards life, the poet makes the tragic and ugly strangely appealing without losing the feeling of lightness and hope. The poet’s intense intuition and imagination exhibit the congeniality with the 20th-century French modernists. Hvoinskis’s poetry muse is death, which implies life.

Who Instigated Violence: A Rebelling Devil or a Vengeful God?

2015 ◽  
pp. 93-106
Author(s):  
István T. Kristó-Nagy*
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Universe

The contrast between the attitude towards violence of the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament was already explored by Marcion (d. c. 160 ad) before the advent of Islam and has been rediscovered again and again since.1 Marcion saw the former as the creator of the world and God of the law and the latter as the good God, the God of love.2 The character of the former reflects a community’s need for sanctified social norms, while the character of the latter shows the community’s and the individual’s longing for the hope of salvation.3 The God of the Qurʾān is also one of punishment and pardon. This chapter investigates the former aspect and focuses on: (1) the appearance of evil and violence in the universe as described in the Qurʾān; (2) the philosophical-theological questions revealed by this myth; and (3) its social implications.

scholarly journals PRÁTICAS DE LEITURA NA CONTEMPORANEIDADE: EXPERIÊNCIAS EM BIBLIOTECAS NA CIDADE DO RIO DE JANEIRO

2017 ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Marisa Schincariol De Mello
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Reading Practices ◽  
Major Purpose ◽  
Palabras Clave ◽  
The World ◽  
And Function ◽  
The City ◽  
The Universe

Resumo O presente artigo tem por objetivo principal apresentar uma investigação acerca das múltiplas práticas de leitura em bibliotecas localizadas na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Para a realização deste estudo, buscamos delimitar o universo de frequentadores, suas práticas de leitura na biblioteca, os mediadores entre os textos, sons, imagens e a leitura, bem como as relações entre os espaços das bibliotecas e os territórios onde estão inseridos. Investiga-se ainda qual a importância e a função da leitura para os que a praticam, nos níveis objetivo, subjetivo, simbólico e imaginário. Através de entrevistas e da observação participante, procuramos trazer à tona a relação dos usuários com os livros, outros conteúdos, mídias e suportes. Cada vez mais, observamos práticas que combinam leitura, oralidade e escrita em um cenário transmidiático. Com os resultados, procura-se também contribuir com informações sobre a experiência dos usuários para a formulação e avaliação das políticas públicas de leitura e aquelas voltadas para as bibliotecas.   Palavras-chave: Rio de Janeiro, bibliotecas, práticas de leitura, leitura do mundo, experiências.   Resumen El presente artículo tiene por objetivo principal presentar una investigación acerca de las múltiples prácticas de lectura en bibliotecas ubicadas en la ciudad de Rio de Janeiro. Para la realización de este estudio, buscamos delimitar el universo de sus frecuentadores, sus prácticas en la biblioteca, los mediadores entre los textos, sonidos, imágenes y la lectura, además de las relaciones entre los espacios de las bibliotecas y los territorios que las abarcan. Investigamos además cual es la importancia y función de la lectura para sus practicantes, en los niveles objetivo, subjetivo, simbólico e imaginario. A través de entrevistas y de la observación participante, buscamos recuperar la relación del público con los libros y otras formas de lectura del mundo, a través de otros suportes, como el audiovisual, la música, etc. Cada vez más, observamos prácticas que combinan lectura, oralidad y escrita en un escenario transmediático. A partir de los resultados se pretende contribuir para la formulación y evaluación de las políticas públicas de lectura y bibliotecas.   Palabras clave: Rio de Janeiro, bibliotecas, prácticas de lectura, lectura de mundo, experiencias.     Abstract The major purpose of this article is to present a research on the multiple reading practices in libraries in the city of Rio de Janeiro. We attempted, firstly, to define the universe of its users, their reading practices at the library, the mediators between the texts, sounds, images and reading, as well as the relationships between the libraries´ venues and the territory in which they are set in. It is also analyzed what is the importance and function of the reading for those who practice it, in objective, subjective, symbolic and imaginary levels. Through interviews and participant observation, we tried to highlight the users´ relationship with books, other contents, medias and formats. We increasingly observe practices that combine reading, orality and writing in a transmedia scenery. Thus, we hope to contribute with information on the experience of the users for the formulation and evaluation of public reading and libraries´ policies.   Key words: Rio de Janeiro, libraries, reading practices, reading the world, experiences.

scholarly journals Transitional Rites in Pre-Dynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 387-407
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
World Order ◽  
Marital Relations ◽  
High Position ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Ancient Egyptian ◽  
Early Dynastic ◽  
The World ◽  
Egyptian Culture ◽  
The Universe

Mythopoetic thinking operates on a binary principle, classifying all the phenomena of the macro- and microcosm. The opposition between cosmos and chaos, in other words, between life and non-being, was fundamental. Spaces assimilated by culture, an ordered world, symbolized by various images: a pillar, a mountain, a temple, a dwelling, was conceived as the center of the universe, which was opposed by chaos that threatened order. These ideas about the world order were actualized in the sphere of ritual, designed to preserve the order created in the first times by the ancestors and gods. The repetition of the original myth in the ritual was supposed to restore, renew the world order in the cyclical movement of time. This applied both to the general Egyptian holidays, such as the New Year, and to the initiations that members of society took place at one stage or another of the development of Ancient Egyptian culture. Transitional rites had two aspects: age and social. When passing the initiation, the members of the collective increased their social status, became initiated, moving from adolescence to marital relations, increasing their status in the collective. A special position was occupied by leaders and kings, who confirmed their high position in society during the holiday sd. Funerals were also considered transitional rites. Transitional rituals united ideas about such opposites as life and death, which was equated with the loss of a person's previous social status. An indispensable attribute of rituals was sacrifice, and not only bloody of animals, but also sacrifice with ancient ritual objects during the construction of temples on the site of ancient sanctuaries. Notable examples have been associated with the kings in charge of the prosperity of Egypt.

Augustine: De Civitate Dei The City of God Books XI and XII

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Latin Text ◽  
City Of God ◽  
Holy Trinity ◽  
The World ◽  
Two Cities ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The City ◽  
The Universe

In books I–V of De Civitate Dei, St. Augustine rejects the claim that worship of the pagan gods had brought success in this life, and in books VI–X, the prospect of a happy afterlife. In books XI–XII, Augustine turns from attack to defence, for at this point he initiates his apology for the Christian faith. Books XI and XII document the initial phase of the rise of the two cities, the city of God and the city of this world, beginning with the Creation of the world and the human race. In Book XI, Augustine rejects the theories of Aristotle, Plato and the Epicureans on the creation of the universe and addresses the creation of angels, Satan, the role of the holy Trinity and the importance of numerology in the Genesis account. In Book XII, Augustine is chiefly concerned with refuting standard objections to the Christian tradition, returning to discussion of the Creation, including his calculation, based on the scriptures, that the world was created less than 6,000 years ago. This book is the only edition in English to provide not only a text but also a detailed commentary on one of the most influential documents in the history of western Christianity. It presents Latin text, with facing-page English translation, introduction, notes and commentary.

Mărul, funcții și valențe simbolice

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 76-92
Author(s):  
Marius Ciprian Pop ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Culture ◽  
Greek Mythology ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
The World ◽  
The One ◽  
Folk Tradition ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Axis Mundi

In the universal beliefs, there are over twenty species of sacred trees considered as the center of the universe, ‘axis mundi’, and the apple is among the trees of these species. In our traditional culture, the apple has a bivalent symbolism magically and Christian religiously, representing the aspect of interdiction and only of reward. As a reflection of the influence of the Greek mythology, one also could find it as a symbol of love, ecstasy, fertility and abundance. According to the belief that each man has a correspondent in the vegetal world, the apple becomes “tree of destiny” accompanying the terrestrial existence in the following stages: birth, marriage, death. From birth the baby accompanies his life with its planting tree in the farmstead yard, and it will support the good way of his life, the one of passing to the world beyond. The multitude and the diversity of the customs and of the passage rituals clearly support the showed statements. It is also necessary to mention the symbolic, juridical valence that apple has in understanding the ancient mythology found in the dispute on the theme of beauty of the Gods Hera, Aphrodite and Athens, known as ‘the marriage of discord’, which defines this aspect. The complementarity of the apple with the fir tree, which is always seconded, is specific to our folk tradition in the context in which both trees have important roles in the mythology of life and death. The space of carols is often marked by the existence of a cosmic tree, the apple of the fir tree, which sums up much of the spiritual activities of our people. Like the fir tree, which is evergreen, the apple, which is preserved as a fruit over the winter, it becomes a symbol of the eternal longing seen in the wishes of passing between years, and as a symbol of fertility, one can find the apple ‘in the breast’ or in the incantation ‘White Apple Flowers’. Therefore, as a reflection of the solar cult, the apple is a landmark in the millennial existence of our nation.

The Necessity of Myth in Updike's The Centaur

PMLA ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 452-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward P. Vargo
Keyword(s):  
Life And Death ◽  
The Future ◽  
Heaven And Earth ◽  
The City ◽  
The Universe

The Centaur is a complete ritual, a patterned ceremony of word and action in which Peter Caldwell celebrates his former experiences with his father. The explicit use of the Greek Chiron-myth serves the functions of comedy, a sign of Caldwell's estrangement from the Olinger aristocrats, and a quality of Peter's memories. What sustained Peter during the three days that he spent in town with his father was his adolescent myth of Art, the City, and the Future, by which he hoped to answer the tyranny of time and the inevitability of death. Now, in his atheist maturity, with that myth tarnished, he must depend upon a reenactment of his father's sacrifices for him, another myth that enables him to face the transcendent questions of time, life, and death. Man is presented as a creature in the middle, a participant in the conceivable and the inconceivable, a mediator between heaven and earth. The ritual actions of The Centaur—notably the lectures on the universe by Caldwell and Chiron, the obituary, and George's acceptance of life in the final chapter— serve as actions of communion or as actions against death in an atmosphere of the Barthian visibilia et itwisibilia.

scholarly journals SPACE AND TIME RELATIONSHIP IN METAPHYSICAL PAINTINGS OF THE 20TH CENTURY

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (71) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Space Time ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Social Events ◽  
Time Space ◽  
The World ◽  
The Universe

Metaphysics, which deals with concepts such as existence, existentialism, space and god in its general content, is a branch of philosophy. It sought answers to questions related to these concepts through methods and perspectives different from science. The reason for all these questions is the effort to define the universe. Metaphysical philosophy has been the search for a solution to helplessness caused by the uncertainties caused throughout the history by life and death. Perspectives developed in parallel with the perception of the period have also shaped the questions and propositions. All these metaphysical approaches do not contain a definition that is independent of time and space. Time and space, as one of the most fundamental problematics of metaphysics, are accepted as the most important elements in placing and making sense of the human into the universe. In this context, metaphysics, which has a transphysical perspective as well as the accepted scientific expansions of real and reality, was mostly visible in the field of art rather than science. The aim of this article is to analyze the role of metaphysical philosophy in the emergence of metaphysical art in the context of the effects of social events, especially the destructions and disappointments caused by the world wars in the 20th century, on the artists and the reflections of the existential inquiries related to this. Furthermore this study includes definitions and processes of metaphysics. The works of Giorgio de Chirico and Carlo Carra have been interpreted in terms of form and content within the scope of metaphysics by considering the concepts of time-space. Keywords: Metaphysics, Space, Time, Metaphysical Art

scholarly journals Legal Stability from International Theories and Experiences: Lessons Learnt for Vietnam

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tran Kien
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Comparative Law ◽  
Lessons Learnt ◽  
The World ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Stability

Stability has become one of the basic requirements for the law from both theoretical and practical perspectives, especially for developing countries where laws are often changed and reformed with large scale and intensity. Despite its importance, the stability of the law has never had a thorough analysis as well as a consensus on the concepts, functions and roles in comparative law theories. This led to the application and development of criteria and methods to ensure the stability of the law in practice, ineffective, even failed. In this context, this article contributes to the analysis of the theory of legal stability in the world to provide a unified understanding. Thereby, initially proposing criteria and ways to ensure the stability of law in reality for Vietnam.

scholarly journals Kai hea kai hea te pū o te mate? Reclaiming the power of pūrākau

Te Kaharoa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Pouwhare
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
The World ◽  
The Universe

The pūrākau our ancestors told about the universe and our place within it have been bowdlerised through the process of colonisation. These narratives, as they were transmitted over generations, were transformed by the European settlers, missionaries and educators, from ‘myths’ – oral traditions imbued with the power of the sacred – into ‘fables’ and ‘folktales’. As such, they have largely been neutered of their epistemological power, and their role in sustaining our culture has been substantially diminished. For example, in its original iterations, the ancient story of Māui in which his quest for immortality was foiled by the Tīrairaka contained a fundamental lesson: Māui dies in the act of penetrating Hine-nui-te-pō; from the sex act comes both new life and the sure knowledge of mortality; women are a source of power, life and death. In translation, this story was sanitised; in particular, the description of Māui’s fatal entrance as a lizard into Hine-nui-te-pō’s vagina, were euphemised and displaced, shifted to less controversial body parts. In my paper and presentation, I propose strategies for restoring the power of performance of our pūrākau through the reclamation of the act of storytelling in diverse media. In making new platforms for performing these old stories, we can revitalise the Reo and tikanga, and in so doing reconnect ourselves and our young people to the world that our tīpuna created.

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