Sophocles, Antigone;Let her bury her brother

Long Easter weekend is here. It's nice to have a bit of a break. training has been brutal but its nearly over. Now it's just onto racking up the on the job learning.

The Story

Antigone is set after the fight at Thebes that we see in Seven Against Thebes, and deals with the aftermath of this fight. Both brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, are dead but the new king Creon has only buried Eteocles and has banned anyone from burying Polyneices. The play starts with Antigone speaking with her sister about burying her brother Polyneices and that she can not bear to see him stay unburied. Her sister washes her hands of it and will have no part in the burial.

Antigone goes and buries her brother in secret but the guards uncover him. Antigone is caught reburying her brother and is executed for disobeying the king. Her fiance, saddened by the news, kills himself. Her mother on learning of this, also kills herself.

Reflections
Antigone is a dutiful sister and sees her tie to her brother as more important than her tie to the king. By contrast, her sister wants to please the king, this is her highest want, even at her own brothers expense. This contrast is rather stark and makes the reader or viewer think about their own allegiances. The suicides in the play feel a little melodramatic, but then this is Greek tragedy, I guess.
The first especially, I know he was her fiancee, but it still seems a little extreme and quite abrupt as we do not see a huge amount of him in the play.

Comparisons
In the sense that all things end in death we can compare it to any other Greek tragedy like Seven Against Thebes. In fact, it's the deaths at the end of Seven Against Thebes that are the catalyst for the drama of this play. In some ways we see a lot of modern stories similar to Antigone with the  protagonist deciding to do what they believe is right over what has been set out by authority.

Have you read Antigone? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read Antigone but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
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Sun Tzu, The Art of War; In death ground, fight

I'm half way through my training for the call center job. It's going really well I'm passing all the tests. In some ways, I can't see how we will be reading in another 3 weeks and yet at times, I'm like "I've got this".

The Art of War is a rather pithy and to the point. It was a joy to reread and is the first book that I have reread in order to blog about it.

Synopsis
The Art of War outlines Master Sun's lessons on how to run a military, mainly at the tactical level but parts do suit the strategic level as well.
Master Sun breaks it down into 13 chapters ranging from assessment and planning, to intelligence and espionage. Over all, it consists of short bites of what a good general needs to be thinking about to make war to his own advantage. Master Sun likes to give both the positive and the negative of each idea. The 'what to do' and 'what not to do'. He breaks down things like 'what sort of ground' into types, then expounds exactly on what to do on those terrains. He is not afraid to say, 'do not engage with the enemy' or even, 'retreat'. We see over the course of the work that he is dedicated to making war in the way that is both of your own choosing as well as to your advantage.

Reflections
The Art of war is so short and yet so much goes on inside it. It is also a book that still gets quoted a lot in military circles, as well as high flying business. It is interesting how it transcends cultures and military styles. I think, this is because it focuses on what the General can do in advance, rather than once the army's get to grips with each other. It also contains many pithy quotes like; "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." 

Comparisons
There is not a lot to compare the Art of War to yet, as we do not see preserved European texts about war at this period. We do see stylistic similarities with the Analects and the Tao Te Ching.

Have you read The Art of War? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read The Art of War but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
Get a copy of The Art of War.

Aeschylus, The Persians; Xerxes overreaches

The Story
The Persians centres around a chorus of old men of Susa, the Persian capital. As they wait to hear about the Persian invasion of Greece. Atossa, Xerxes mother, has a vision that suggests that the Persians will be defeated. She then sacrifices to the Gods for their safe return and sees another bad omen.
A messenger enters, and tells of the Persians defeat at Salamis, and of the death of many great and mighty Persians, which he takes the time to name. He then reveals that Xerxes survived but that the force was scattered and that he does not know where he or any of the others are.
Atossa, with the chorus, then summons the shade of Darius. Who, when told of Xerxes defeat, condemns his son's decision to go to war and to build a bridge across the Hellespont; that the bridge angered the gods and that's why he was defeated. He also prophesise another major defeat for the Persians.
Xerxes arrives in tattered clothes and, with the chorus, laments over the defeat of the Persians.

Reflections
This is the first work that has mentioned the Persians but I expect to see them again as they were a major player in the region.
Atossa's vision/dream is the source of all the tension in the play, as it gives the characters present a reason to be worried about the outcome of the fighting, in a present manor. Without it, there would, of course, be general worry and not knowing but these visions bring it to a head.

Comparisons
 Again, as in Seven against Thebes all the action happens off stage and we only hear about it through the mouths of the messengers. This seems to be done for simplicity and it allows the plot to move quickly without cumbersome fight sequences.

Have you read The Persians? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read The Persians but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
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Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes; Sharing power goes awry

The Story
Oedipus steps down from the Throne of Thebes and gives shared power to his two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, with them alternating the throne once a year. Eteocles does not follow through with this arrangement and keeps the crown. Polynices goes to Argos and raises an army to take Thebes by force.
Seven Against Thebes starts as the army from Argos arrives. Eteocles calls the people of the city to arms and to the defense of the city. Eteocles then names seven commanders, for the seven gates of Thebes. Polynices, splits his force to meet the defenders, and chooses to command one of them himself. When Eteocles hears this, he comes to meet him in single combat. We hear through a herald that the two brothers have killed each other and that the attack has been beaten back. We see the brothers body's being brought together as the family grieves around them.

Reflections
It is worth noting that this is the last play of a set of three focused around Oedipus but that it is the only one that survives.
Oedipus is stepping down, due to being dishonoured, but you have to wonder what he was thinking, setting both the brothers up as ruling Kings. It seems, to a modern reader, a rather unwise thing to do but I guess it is examples like this that make us think so...

Comparisons
To hear that the brothers mutually die seems fitting of a Greek tragedy: like that of the Prometheus Bound and, by contrast, to the anticlimax of The Suppliants, with the sisters safety inside the city.
We also see Argos in a different light than Agamemnon, as the supplier of the men to right a wrong, rather than the power struggles for the top job.

Have you read Seven Against Thebes? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read Seven Against Thebes but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
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Dante Alighieri, Purgatorio; An uphill climb

The Story
Dante ascends through the 9 stages of Purgatory. The first two are before the main gate of purgatory. These are the excommunicated, but repentant, and the late repentant, those who waited till their dying breath to repent. At the gate of Purgatory, an angel etches seven P's on Dante's forehead.
The other seven, follow the seven deadly sins and Shades must spend time in the levels that they are guilty of, for an unspecified amount of time.  Each of these levels has its own punishment, related to the sin to be Atoned for. At the end of each level, an angle removes one of the P's from Dante's forehead.
The third level is Pride and Shades are forced to walk, bent, under huge stones, never getting a chance to see the motif on humility that dominates the wall.
The Fourth level is Envy. The penetant wear gray robes and have their eyes sewn shut with wire, so that they can no longer look on the things of others, with want.
The Fifth level is Wrath. Here the Shades proceed around in a cloud of smoke, so that they can not see.
The Sixth level is Sloth. Here the Shades run endlessly around the level, in such zeal that they did not have in life.
The Seventh level is Avarice (Greed, ambition etc.). Here the shades are bound, hand and foot, and must lie facing downwards, so that they can not want more of every good thing.
The Eight level is Gluttony. Here Shades are perpetually hungry and thirsty, and water and food is visible but out of reach.
The Ninth level is Lust. Here Shades must leap through flames while reciting chased stories. Dante too, must leap through the fire. Though he is scared, he wants to see Beatrice.
Beyond the Levels, there is Earthly Paradise or the garden of Eden, at this point Virgil leaves Dante's side and he progresses alone. He spends some time talking with a young woman, until Beatrice arrives with a large entourage, that includes the four winged beast and the 24 elders.

Reflections
This time, we see the seven deadly sins. Not being to familiar with the concept of Purgatory, I had expected to see these in the Inferno, but I guess they are the sins that the repentant get caught in, not the sins of the unrepentant.
It is interesting how Dante has paired the sins with their respective penitence, it is rather logical. While the church still has and uses the seven deadly sins, the idea of purgatory has been removed and replaced with the more biblical: Jesus died for all sins even those of the Christian.

Comparisons
The levels of Purgatory are far more distinct than the circles of the Inferno, which makes it a bit easier to follow. I still find it odd that this is where the seven deadly sins are used, if they are deadly surely they would be sent to hell.
Like the Inferno, Virgil continues to guide Dante through purgatory, as he did with hell. But, we do see this end as he reaches the Earthly Paradise in the Purgatorio.

Have you read Purgatorio? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read Purgatorio but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
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