The best kind of friend makes you think, and one of mine made me think about my love of ancient Greek writers. My friend asked whether I was making a case for exceptionalism.
The claims of American exceptionalism are riddled with bad thinking. And, as my friend pointed out, the claim of Greek exceptionalism is a claim of European exceptionalism. We’d be mired in the rut of venerating old dead white males, as if no one else could do admirable work. That claim is obviously false.
The problem is the presumption that one group of people has a monopoly on things that deserve attention and admiration. That’s preposterous. And it’s also a tragedy.
It’s a great joy to know there are so many good things that I’ll never get to them all.
But I still think the Greek Classical period was extraordinary. One really good playwright can set Broadway on fire. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to have Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides offering competing plays.
The Ancient Athenians had heartbreaking faults. They made a mess of democracy, killed Socrates and lost the Peloponnesian War because the majority supported talentless demagogues who made bad decisions sound appealing. When the Athenians lost their democracy, the tyrants had their day and the blood ran.
Losing a democracy is real, human tragedy. It’s not just an argument about politics.
Still, I’m an admirer — mostly. If I’m going to read something from the ancient world, I’ll usually read Herodotus, Archilochos, Sophocles and the gang.
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