Women

Women’s empowerment: Sparta. Gorgo’s world

Throughout human history (sadly up until the 20th century) women have been denied fundamental rights. The right to gain property, the right to vote, reproductive rights, the right to speak, etc, etc. There are very few exceptions. One of the most famous ones: the ancient city-state of Sparta. Spartan women received education, they trained in sports, were free to share their opinion (even on military … Continue reading Women’s empowerment: Sparta. Gorgo’s world

George Kokkos
History, Politics

Ostracism & Aristides

The most honorable man of Athens according to Herodotus: Aristides. His sense of morality, justice, and prudence, made him famous all over the Greek world.  He was reputed to be so fair-minded, that he was known to everyone as Aristides ‘the Just’ (dikaios). He was so scrupulously honest that, in spite of the wealth that passed through his hands, he remained poor. Now, sometime in … Continue reading Ostracism & Aristides

George Kokkos2 Comments
Philosophy

Ten Ancient Greek Philosophers you should definitely know

 THALES (624-546 BC) Born in Miletus. One of the ‘Seven Sages’. He is considered to be no less than the father of Philosophy. He believed that all natural phenomena should be explained using scientific methods, and even managed -using astronomical observations- to predict a solar eclipse! PYTHAGORAS (570-496 BC) Born in Samos island. He believed that the only way to discover the secrets of the … Continue reading Ten Ancient Greek Philosophers you should definitely know

George Kokkos
Politics

Influencing the vote

Our democracies today are representative. We elect politicians, politicians govern us. In Ancient Athens, you were ruling yourself. Participation was seen as a fundamental element of Democracy. Athenians that behaved as ‘private citizens’ were seen through a negative eye and actually the Greek word for private citizen is “idiotes”, which is where the word ‘idiot’ comes from!   Plato wrote that ‘one of the penalties … Continue reading Influencing the vote

George Kokkos
Art, Mythology

The Nine Muses

Have you ever wondered where does the word ‘museum’ come from? No? Ok… I’ll tell you anyway: It’s connected with the Muses! The Nine Muses were deities who ruled over the arts and sciences and gave humans the necessary inspiration for creation. According to Hesiod, Zeus slept with the young and beautiful Mnemosyne. Mnemosyne (the Greek word for ‘memory’) held a special importance in ancient … Continue reading The Nine Muses

George Kokkos
Religion

What makes us moral? (The Euthyphro Dilemma)

In a lesser known book of Plato, we find Socrates in the Athenian Agora coming across Euthypro – a soothsayer he knew well – and the two men engage in a short conversation just outside the Royal Stoa. After sharing their news, the two men engage in an argument about morality. Their conversation ended abruptly after Euthyphro felt a bit cornered and found an excuse … Continue reading What makes us moral? (The Euthyphro Dilemma)

George Kokkos