First of all, the pursuit of rationality is an important spirit of Greek culture. In ancient times, when irrationality played an important role, Greek intellectuals stepped onto the historical stage as pioneers of advocating rationality. The deepening of Greek rational spirit is a thorough reflection and doubt. They go to heaven and earth to seek the ultimate truth of things. It is this thorough spirit of seeking truth that gave birth to Greek philosophy, literature and natural science. It is this spirit of reflection that makes the Greeks have a deeper understanding of death. The Greeks thought that death was a beautiful dream. Death is not terrible and sad for them, so they live a carefree life like children. This reminds me of the great Greek philosopher Socrates.
Socrates once said: "I believe there is only one kind of real misfortune, that is, doing evil, and there is only one kind of real happiness, that is, doing good." Later, Socrates was accused of denying the Greek god and trying to replace it with a new one, thus corrupting the young people. As a result, he was found guilty by a narrow majority. He rejected those suggestions that suggested him to escape, thinking it was illegal, so he drank hemlock wine with philosophical peace. Socrates' death not only shows us a Greek philosopher's profound understanding and knowledge of death, but also shows us his precious rationalism spirit: legal dignity is inviolable, even if it is not completely reasonable.
I also thought of Shakespeare's comedy The Merchant of Venice. No matter Shylock's vicious plot or Portia's final use of wit to save Antonio, their actions did not go beyond the boundaries of the law. Another example is the novel Edinburgh Prison by Scott, the "father of European historical novels": My sister's life is in her hands. As long as she lies in court, her sister can be spared the death penalty. Sisterhood or legal dignity? In the solemn court, my sister resolutely told the truth. From these, we can easily see that once the law is formed, it has supreme dignity and no one can violate it. In fact, the Greeks' maintenance of legal dignity is permeated with a strong rational spirit: emotion is not the standard of personal action. The spirit of rationalism in the Renaissance originated from ancient Greece.
On the other hand, the rational spirit in Greek culture is also reflected in their objective and calm treatment of life tragedies. Tragedy always happens, and the key is how to deal with it. It can be said that it is this rational spirit that makes the Greek tragedy unprecedented.
The tragic conflicts described or expressed in Greek tragic works are very intense and sharp. It not only shows the external conflict between man and nature, man and society, but also goes deep into the inner world of the characters. Such a fierce and sharp conflict often leads people into a dilemma that they can't get rid of and have no choice. Achilles in the Iliad is faced with two choices: either die generously for the warrior or drag out an ignoble existence, both of which are devastating to him; Medea of euripides betrayed his father and clan and helped Jason steal to golden fleece, but he liked the new and hated the old. Medea is faced with two choices: either endure the pain of being abandoned or fight for herself and kill her own flesh and blood to get back at him. The conflicts faced by these tragic characters are all opposite to each other, and such fierce conflicts are common conflict patterns in Greek tragedies. However, on the other hand, the characters in Greek tragedies all have strong tragic spirit, so the tragedy of Greek tragedies is particularly concentrated. These characters have a strong spirit of tragic struggle. No matter how much misfortune fate makes them suffer, they dare to fight to the death and take responsibility for the consequences of their actions. Compared with ordinary people, they are more independent and have the courage to transcend death, which conforms to the theme of tragic aesthetics.
Finally, the end of Greek tragedy almost always ends in the cruel way that one or both sides of the conflict are destroyed. Aesthetic feeling is sublime, because it is full of vitality and passion, and the degree of shock is immeasurable. In the process of their struggle against destruction and their persistence in life, their personality strength has been highly improved, their spiritual realm has been sublimated, and their values have been fully displayed, which makes people awe, calm, admire and admire. From the beginning to the end, Greek tragedies are permeated with a high spirit of heroic sorrow.
Another manifestation of Greek humanism is the pursuit of personal and spiritual freedom and the resistance to fate. The tragedy of Oedipus is that he paved the way for destiny determinism with free will. Although he could not escape the clutches of fate in the end, his spirit of daring to fight against fate never died out. It is the freedom-loving nature of the Greeks that gives them endless imagination and courage to fight against fate.
No matter Prometheus who is bound by Aeschylus, King Oedipus who is written by Sophocles, or Medea who is written by euripides, what they convey is an indomitable spirit of struggle and unremitting pursuit of human freedom. When ideals meet reality, they will inevitably have a strong sense of disillusionment. However, this sense of disillusionment did not stop them from moving forward, but aroused their stronger desire for freedom and ideals.
Taking antigone, another work of Sophocles, as an example, it is further emphasized that although people do not have the freedom to choose their destiny, they have the freedom to challenge their destiny, that is, they have completely independent free will and are in their own hands. Princess antigone is caught in the paradox trap of fate: either bury her relatives, but this violates the "human law" and will be sentenced to death, or stand idly by, but this violates the "divine law" and she must choose what to do. Princess angone is a strong-willed woman. She chose to make self-sacrifice for brotherhood, which can't help but say that free will triumphed over fate.
Nietzsche said, "Tragedy just proves that Greeks are not pessimists." He also said: "Affirming life, even on the most unusual and difficult issues, the will of life rejoices and encourages itself in the highest form of sacrifice-I call it Dionysian spirit, and I think it is a bridge to the soul of the tragic poet."
When the inevitable destruction came, the attitude of resistance and dedication to free will fully reflected the indelible spirit of freedom of the Greeks. It is this free and independent will in the Greek national spirit that leads to a strong struggle against inevitable and unreasonable destruction or death, and also gives the Greek tragedy a shocking heroic tone.
In a word, it is the humanistic spirit of the Greeks who consciously pursue freedom and rationality that makes Greek culture present a noble and quiet state, just like placing Apollo, the god of poetry, on the top of a blue mountain overlooking the disturbance of all beings, but his brow is often like a sweet dream, without showing a trace of being disturbed. It is this humanistic spirit that makes us see hope and love, life and existence in Greek culture. Maybe this is what Greek culture will eventually tell us.
As the temple of Delphi in Greece showed-know yourself.