How were the Greeks of the sixth century BC able to invent philosophy and tragedy? In this book Richard Seaford argues that a large part of the answer can be found in another momentous development, the invention and rapid spread of coinage, which produced the first ever thoroughly monetised society. By transforming social relations monetisation contributed to the ideas of the universe as an impersonal system, fundamental to Presocratic philosophy, and of the individual alienated from his own kin and from the gods, as found in tragedy.

Reveals the shaping influence of money and ritual on Greek tragedy, the New Testament, Indian philosophy, and Wagner.

Recent work on Ancient Greece sheds light on the origins of money and its effects on economy and society. This review essay analyzes such work and relates it to themes familiar to economists. It examines monetary functions in the heroic world and the effects of introducing coinage in Classical Athens. It attends to the role of the state in the development of money and to the form which money took. It also considers the role of money in the administration of justice. In conclusion, the author asks whether money in the Near East pre-dates Greek money.

Explains for the first time the genesis and early form of both Indian and Greek philosophy, and their striking similarities.

"Wonderful…a thoughtful discussion of what made [the Greeks] so important, in their own time and in ours." —Natalie Haynes, Independent The ancient Greeks invented democracy, theater, rational science, and philosophy. They built the Parthenon and the Library of Alexandria. Yet this accomplished people never formed a single unified social or political identity. In Introducing the Ancient Greeks, acclaimed classics scholar Edith Hall offers a bold synthesis of the full 2,000 years of Hellenic history to show how the ancient Greeks were the right people, at the right time, to take up the baton of human progress. Hall portrays a uniquely rebellious, inquisitive, individualistic people whose ideas and creations continue to enthrall thinkers centuries after the Greek world was conquered by Rome. These are the Greeks as you’ve never seen them before.

Contemporary preoccupation with the self and the rise of comparative anthropology have renewed scholarly interest in the forms of personhood current in Ancient Greece. However the word which translates “self” most literally, the intensive adjective and reflexive morpheme αὐτός, and its critical role in the construction of human being have for the most part been neglected. This monograph rights the imbalance by redirecting attention to the diachronic development of the heavily marked reflexive system and its exploitation by thinkers to articulate an increasingly reflexive and non-dialogical understanding of the human subject and its world. It argues that these two developmental trajectories are connected and provides new insight into the intellectual history of subjectivity in the West.

A 1999 Companion to Greek philosophy, invaluable for new readers, and for specialists.

Coinage appeared at a moment when it fulfilled an essential need in Greek society and brought with it rationalization and social leveling in some respects, while simultaneously producing new illusions, paradoxes, and new elites. In a book that will encourage scholarly discussion for some time, David M. Schaps addresses a range of important coinage topics, among them money, exchange, and economic organization in the Near East and in Greece before the introduction of coinage; the invention of coinage and the reasons for its adoption; and the developing use of money to make more money.

Caves and the Ancient Greek Mind analyses techniques of searching for ultimate wisdom in ancient Greece. The Greeks perceived mental experiences of exceptional intensity as resulting from divine intervention. They believed that to share in the immortals' knowledge, one had to liberate the soul from the burden of the mortal body by attaining an altered state of consciousness, that is, by merging with a superhuman being or through possession by a deity. These states were often attained by inspired mediums, `impresarios of the gods' - prophets, poets, and sages - who descended into caves or underground chambers. Yulia Ustinova juxtaposes ancient testimonies with the results of modern neuropsychological research. This novel approach enables an examination of religious phenomena not only from the outside, but also from the inside: it penetrates the consciousness of people who were engaged in the vision quest, and demonstrates that the darkness of the caves provided conditions vital for their activities.

"Philosophy begins in wonder." —Plato Have you ever wondered about the development of civilization? What topics were discussed in the days of Ancient Greece? This collection of thoughts from Plato, Aristotle, and other masters of philosophy will lead your mind on a journey of enlightened exploration into ethics, morality, law, medicine, and more. With an introduction by a distinguished scholar of classic literature, this Canterbury Classics volume is sure to be a favorite.