Greece As you study Classical Greece you will find that there are many concepts to learn about.

Many people often mix up Classical Greece with Archaic Greece. However, I will analyze some period concepts of Classical Greece. The Classical Greeks valued balance, order, and harmony. Through those values they believe in the concept of The Good Life. The Greeks believe that one is shaped by what one takes to be good, and so the key to a good life is a proper understanding of the good. The concept of endaimonia (the good life; happiness) becomes important in Classical Greece. It is later defined in terms of complete excellence- arte of mind, reason, body, and emotion. The complete excellence is captured through the idea of the kalokagathos (handsome and good) person. The kalos person is seen as always noble and handsome. The agothos person has proper ethical and political ideas. The outer appearance match inner reality, but the inner reality is what becomes important. Another concept adopted in Classical Greece is Rationality. Through this concept we see clear development and importance of rational argument and the value of proper inference and good evidence. It is believed that reason should rule the other parts of the soul, ones sprit, and ones appetites or desires. In The Republic Book VII, a section known as the Allegory of the Cave Socrates addresses Platos older brother in attempt to describe the difficulties the psyche encounters in its attempt to understand the higher forms. The form of Goodness, Socrates says, is the universal author of all things beautiful and right, parent light and of the Lord of light in this visible world, and the immediate source of reason and truth in the intellectual; and this is the power upon which he who would act rationally, either in public or private life must have his eye fixed. The form of Goodness is something akin to God. Through the concept of The Good Life, the key to a good

life is a proper understanding of the good. The problem is that, once having attained an understanding of the Good Life, the wise individual will appear foolish to the people, who understand not at all. Plato believes that their own sense of Goodness will prevail over their despotic position. Moreover, rule by an intellectual King is superior to rule by any person whose desire is to satisfy their own material appetites. This is where the concept rationality is used in the writing of Plato in the Politeia. The Allegory of the Cave attempts to clarify the account of reality and to show how it affects human life. For the Greeks, music was a sensory reflection of the higher order that pervades all things. Its highest forms were believed to affect the moral character in a positive way but, as Plato insisted, music of the wrong sort could be morally and socially destructive. The only complete work of music to have survived from Classical Greece is Skolion, or drinking song, by Seikolos was found chiseled on the 1st century BCE gravestone of his wife Euterpe. We do know something of the theory upon which Greek music was based. The Greeks music is dominated by text. In class we listened to the Epitaph of Seikolos. The Epitaph of Seikolos is the oldest surviving example of a complete musical composition, including musical notation, from anywhere in the world. It is believed that the song is in remembrance of the good life of the wife Eutrpe. All Classical Greece music is seen as a requisite to the good life. In class we discussed that the Epitaph of Seikolos has a melody. The melody is played in an Aulos; an opening timbre. As long as you live be cheerful, do not grieve. For life is short and time collects its tribute. Those are the last two lines in the Seikolos. I would argue that these two lines simply meant for the Greeks not be sad and cry over the lost of loved ones but, instead just continue to live the good life.

Classical Greece portrays a variety of arts through architecture and sculpture. As seen in the Doryphoros or Spear Bearer, there is a version of the contrapposto pose. His weight seems to fall on the forward right leg. This is an idea portrait of a warrior or athlete, originally done in bronze. The Doryphoros is a Roman copy of the work of Polyclitus, one of the great artists of the Golden Age. The sculpture was famous throughout the ancient world as a demonstration of Polyclituss treatise on proportion knows as The Canon meaning measure or rule. The ideal human form was determined by the height of the head from the crown of the chin. The head was one -eighth the total height, the width of the shoulders was one-quarter the total height. For Polyclitus, these relations resulted in the works symmetry, having common measure. I would argue that this figure can be used to identify a person of the good life. This sculpture could be used as the Kalos person, being handsome and noble. And some would also describe it as being the agothos person, who has proper ethical and political ideas: outer appearance matching inner reality. I have made the claim that Classical Greece is strongly about The Good Life and Rationality. In this essay I have analyzed an art, lit, and music piece to assert my claim. How do these three pieces tie in with the concepts of Classical Greece? Platos Allegory of the Cave can be connected to the good Life. The Epitaph of Seikolos can be connected to the concept Good Life as well. This song and text symbolizes Greeks of the dead and constantly remind the live Greeks to focus on the Good Life for life is short. The Doryphoros sculpture makes connections to kalos and agothos person. To tie in all in together the Greeks believed that one is shaped by what one takes to be good, and so the key to a good life is a proper understanding of the good. The art, lit and music is considered to be the good that the Greeks obtained a proper understanding of.