CliffsNotes on Greek Classics

Book excerpt: CliffsNotes on Greek Classics is the only reference book you need to understand the ideological and literary influence of the Greek civilization. A fully-indexed guide designed for students of: English Literature World Literature Classical Literature and Languages Philosophy History Theater and Drama Women's Studies Music and Art Religion Use for concise overviews of Greek playwrights, poets, prose writers, historians and philosophers. Find term paper ideas and essay topics. Check facts, dates, spelling and pronunciation. Identify major Greek literary movements. Understand the origins of Western drama. Discover the genesis of such ideas as the Oedipus Complex, the Golden Mean, the Golden Fleece, the Trojan Horse, the Socratic Method and Platonic Love. Recognize literary allusions to people and events such as the Olympic Games, the Bronze Age, the Fates, Medea, Electra and the Muses. Comprehend, through example, such literary terms as medias res, hubris and nemesis. Place Greek authors in historical context and chronological relationship to one another. Review major events of Greek civil wars as discussed by such writers as Herodotus, Xenophon and Thucydides. Recognize the roots of Western thought and philosophy in such writers as Plato, Aristotle and Socrates. For comprehensive, in-depth treatment of the following works, see the Cliffs Notes on each title: Iliad; Odyssey; Agamemnon; Oedipus Rex; Electra & Medea; Lysistrata; Plato's Euthyphro, Apology, Crito and Phaedo; Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Ethics.