Book 2 from On the Nature of the Universe by Lucretius, was a good read but very difficult to follow along when I was reading. One part that really stuck out to me was when he was preaching that wealth does not make a man happy but its nature that provides happiness to people. He states that, “Nature does not miss these luxuries when men recline in company on the soft grass by running stream under the branches of a tall tree and refresh their bodies pleasurably at small expense.” In today’s society, it may seem like that is not the case. Being wealthy is almost everyone goal and they are striving to have good amount of money every day. Also because of how our daily lives are constructed, there are people that do not appreciate nature like they should. People forget how beautiful and peaceful nature is and this can be from work and from all the technology upgrades that we have in our lives. So, I want to agree with Lucretius about how happiness is not from wealth but from nature, but I am a victim of thinking wealth is the way to happiness. I truly believe it is because of the competitive society we know live in and also how celebrities portray to everyone how life is being rich. Most people believe that in order to live a great life and a happy one, they need to have money in order to achieve that goal. But there are some that are happy with what they have which should be everyone because not living a happy life might be the worst way to go about your life.

In the speech, we realize that it is Pericles uses the speeches at funerals to show the value of what a democracy has. This relates to the real world because the United States of America is based off of a democracy. The people get to choose who their next leader will be but usually it is between two candidates. I found a quote that was interesting to me but did not fully understand the true meaning behind it. He stated, “Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.”. I feel like he is trying to say that politics will forever be around you, especially in a democracy. As Americans, everyone should participate in voting for their city, state and for their nation because that is the right thing to do. It may have been interpreting that quote wrong but that’s what I believe he meant because from experience, I know people who do not vote which ruins the democracy in a way. For example, this past election with Trump and Hilary, there was a lot of people that I knew that sad they were not going to vote because both candidates where not right to lead for our country. That ruined a lot more than they thought because it wasn’t only those two running for president or simply just pick the best one out of the two. So, now with all the drama and conflicts happening in this nation it makes you wonder if the people who didn’t vote could have made a change in the voting and something else could have resulted. That’s why the quote I used relates because politics will always be around us even though we don’t want it to be.

I really enjoyed the reading of Aristotle book two because it could be relatable to today’s society and our personal life. Book two was mainly about virtue and Aristotle explains all different types of virtue and provides us examples of these situations for better understandings. What really stood out to me and I also spoke about this in class was how Aristotle states that it is easier to go the evil direction rather than going the right/good way. This really stood out to me because from personal experience and understanding about right and wrong. Now everyone knows this but some people don’t realize how easy it really is to go the wrong way and not be a good person. I have picked the wrong path a few times in my life and now looking back I realize how that moment was a test to see which path I would choose. Now I believe everyone should experience this in their life because, personally, it is the only way to learn and understand the way a good person handles situations. That’s why this sentence really stood out for me. Understanding that it is easier to pick the evil way allows us to do the right thing even though it will be harder to do.

Another thing that Aristotle stated which was interesting to me was how there are certain events that everyone knows are bad. Everyone understands that murder is bad and has known this from a very young age.  So, we are already succeeding as a society with the understand of how certain things are automatically bad.

I really enjoyed reading this text because the topic was on something that we can relate in our lives. Happiness to me is the key to a good life. If one is not happy, they are going to have a rough life because of their negative attitude towards life. For example, if your profession is something you don’t enjoy doing, you will hate going to work which will make everything and anyone around you will suffer because of the attitude towards life. That’s why I believe one should pursue a career that they enjoy and would not mind working for years. Not only are jobs the only thing that show happiness in someone’s life but as well what you do morally. In this reading, we read about virtue and how that is a component into someone’s happiness. Aristotle states, ““Moral experience—the actual possession and exercise of good character—is necessary truly to understand moral principles and profitably to apply them.”. Here he is talking about how moral experience is key because we all as humans need to apply them to real life in order to be happy. I agree with this idea because virtue is defined as behavior showing high moral standards and if one has good moral standards, I believe they will live a happy life because having moral is something that will give you happiness personally and to others around you. Something Aristotle bring into conversation is how if one was alone, even though they had everything they wanted, they would live a miserable life. So, having friends is very important because as humans, we are supposed to have someone to interact with and share emotions, and experience life. Therefore, personally I believe this was the best reading because I could relate it to my life.

After reading Crito, the theme of justice popped up once again like every other Greek text we have read in this class. So, we see the theme of justice when Socrates gets provided with two options and does not know what to do until he ultimately picks the right option.  Socrates’ two options are that people will be upset with him and would see him unjust or if he stays, he will not be able to see his sons, end up leaving them without a father.

When read how Socrates ends up deciding to stay in prison because of the Laws of Athens. Which it seems like the Laws of Athens is the laws that people need to follow because they are just. Therefore, knowing that he would break the laws, he decided to stay and not escape which shows the justice enforced in this text. Socrates states “For he who is a corrupter of the laws is more than likely to be a corrupter of the young and foolish portion of mankind.” This quote, I believe, explains why he is not escaping because of the image of an unjust person to the people who see him after his escape. This is something he does not want therefore deciding not to leave.

This was very interesting to me because it made me think about all the justice topics in these Greek texts that we have read. Was they’re always the strive to be justified in this civilization or was it the violence that made them think they were justifying everything they thought was good for their people. Justice is a big topic today with the judicial court system and the laws we have. So, it makes me wonder if today’s society was the same as it was in these Greek worlds, just more violent?

The second section of our readings in The Eumenides, the trail of the Furies versus Orestes and Apollo takes place with the judges and Athena. This trial was very interesting because we find out about what they think about women in this play. For example, Apollo states that “The woman you call the mother of the child is not the parent, just a nurse to the seed, the new-sown seed that grows and swells inside her”.  This was amazing to read because before this statement, they were arguing that a mother is not blood related to the child. This shows the inequality of the views between men and women in this play. I found this very interesting because Apollo also states after his woman statement that “The man is the source of life – the on who mounts” giving the knowledge that the only parent in this roman world is the father which Athena can relate too because she did not have a mother but only a father. Personally, this was the best part to read in this section because of the details of how they view women and simply saying that their only worth is to hold the child in their womb. Also, very intriguing in the reading was when Athena states that “[She] honour[s] the male, in all things…” Which also shows the power the men have even though she is a goddess. I always thought it was crazy how uneven the power was between women and men in the ancient stories we have read.

At the end, we also see a theme that showed up in this part of the play which is trust. We see it in the beginning with Apollo and Orestes. We also see it between Apollo, Orestes, and Athena when Apollo grants Athena that she will have an alliance with Orestes once he wins the trial. So, I think it is very interesting how once there are interactions between the gods and characters, there is trust being witnessed in the play.

In the Eumenides, we read and see many new and different interactions between the characters throughout this play. This is very significant because we finally see interaction between the people and the gods, in this case Orestes has interactions with Apollo and Athens. Up to this point, the gods did not communicate with the people and just watched what they did in certain situations but now Athens and Apollo are on Orestes side with the trial about him killing his mother, Clytemnestra. In the beginning of the play, Apollo tells Orestes that he will “never fail you, through to the end your guardian standing by your side or worlds away!”. This significant because this is the first time we see a god promising to guide someone until their death and will never fail them. Later on, when Orestes is praying to the god Athens, the Furies are trying to capture Orestes, she answers his prayers “From another world” because she “heard a call for help”. The audience is seeing interaction between people and gods and she is even answering his prayer which we have not seen anybody pray to this point of the play. Personally, I enjoy this part of the play the most because I like to see the relationship between the gods and characters. It makes the play more interesting and more enjoyable to read.

This is probably the most significant interactions throughout the whole play because in the beginning we noticed that the gods did not interact with any of the characters and simply just watched. Now we are starting to see action by the gods in the play.

Going with my first response, we read how Clytemnestra finds out that Agamemnon sacrificed her daughter to the god of the winds. Therefore, she is seeking justice. I have noticed that justice in this world is revenge. They believe getting revenge is getting the justice that they wanted. So, when finds out about what happened to her daughter, she wants revenge on her husband. I believe this is the best and most significant part of the play because the climax has finally approached. The Trojan Princess, Cassandra, creates some foreshadowing when she starts to speak about the curse on Agamemnon’s house. Cassandra says how “it [her] turn to die” before entering the house. This is significant because reading this, it created some suspense in the play. Questioning what was going to happen next in the play. Then finding out that She was killed, along with Agamemnon, was the best part of the play. What was interesting to me was the idea of how they see justice as revenge. I had some deep thought and figured that it was about how everything during this time was violent. So when they are personally seeking for justice, they think violence is the answer. Another example about it the violent times, is if one dies during a war, they are an honorable death and the others that die of old age are not honorable deaths. It really shows how big war was during these times. I really enjoyed this read, even though the beginning was a bit slow, because of the ending and the significant event that happened.

Reading the first half of the play seemed boring because of the story telling and there was not enough action to help my experience with the first part. One part did intrigue me because of the event that happened. On Page 110, the Chorus states, “Yes, he had the heart to sacrifice his daughter”. In this section of the story, we are informed about Agamemnon’s sacrifice, which was his daughter, to the god Artemis who is the god of the wind. He had to do this so his fleet would have favorable winds because there was a storm headed his direction which would cause likely death to everyone on the ship. Personally, this was the best part of the reading because of the detail and imagery presented in this event. It showed how he felt about the situation. For example, the conversation between Agamemnon and Artemis showed Agamemnon’s emotions towards the sacrificing he had to do. Agamemnon says “Obey, obey, or a heavy doom will crush me! Oh but doom will crush me once I rend my child.” Showing how he will be doomed no matter what he does. He understands how sacrificing one is better than losing his whole ship which will still include his daughter and himself. This is definitely a tough position he is in but he just won a war and wants to go back to troy to see his wife therefore he sacrifices his daughter to be granted a safe travel to Troy.

Regarding the reading as a whole, it was a boring and semi-difficult to get through because of the lack of events. Even though there were a few parts that were interesting, I am hoping it get better throughout the play and get a better understanding of what is happening in this play.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton