Classics: Difference between revisions

'''Classics''', also '''classical studies''' or '''Ancient Greek and Roman studies''', is the study of [[classical antiquity]]. In the [[Western world]], ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of [[Ancient Greek literature|Ancient Greek]] and [[Roman literature]] and their original languages, [[Ancient Greek]] and [[Latin]]. Classics may also include as secondary subjects Greco-Roman [[Ancient philosophy|philosophy]], [[Ancient history|history]], [[archaeology]], [[anthropology]], [[classical architecture|architecture]], [[Ancient art|art]], [[Classical mythology|mythology]], and society.

In [[Western culture|Western civilization]], the study of the Ancient Greek and Roman classics was considered the foundation of the [[humanities]], and they traditionally have been the cornerstone of an elite [[higher education]].

The late 17th and 18th centuries are the period in Western European literary history which is most associated with the classical tradition, as writers consciously adapted classical models.<ref name="Kaminski 2007 57">{{harvnb|Kaminski|2007|p=57}}</ref> Classical models were so highly prized that the plays of [[William Shakespeare]] were rewritten along [[Neoclassicism|neoclassical]] lines, and these "improved" versions were performed throughout the 18th century.<ref>{{harvnb|Kaminski|2007|p=65}}</ref> In the [[United States]], the nation's [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founders]] were strongly influenced by the classics, and they looked in particular to the [[Roman Republic]] for their form of government.<ref>Mortimer N.S. Sellers, ''Founding Fathers in America'' in ''The Classical Tradition'' pp. 367, 368 (Anthony Grafton, Glenn W. Most, & Salvatore Settis, eds. 2010).</ref>

{{Main|Ancient Greek|Mycenaean Greek language|Koine Greek}}

Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of classical Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to the vocabulary of English and many other European languages, and has been a standard subject of study in Western educational institutions since the Renaissance. Latinized forms of Ancient Greek roots are used in many of the scientific names of species and in other scientific terminology.

The earliest surviving philosophy from ancient Greece dates back to the 6th century BC, when according to Aristotle [[Thales of Miletus]] was considered to have been the first Greek philosopher.<ref>Aristotle, Metaphysics Alpha, 983b18.</ref> Other influential pre-Socratic philosophers include [[Pythagoras]] and [[Heraclitus]]. The most famous and significant figures in classical Athenian philosophy, from the 5th to the 3rd centuries BC, are [[Socrates]], his student [[Plato]], and [[Aristotle]], who studied at [[Plato's Academy]] before founding his own school, known as the [[Lyceum (classical)|Lyceum]]. Later Greek schools of philosophy, including the [[Cynicism (philosophy)|Cynics]], [[Stoics]], and [[Epicureans]], continued to be influential after the Roman annexation of Greece, and into the post-Classical world.

The legacy of the classical world is not confined to the influence of classical languages. The Roman Empire was taken as a model by later European empires, such as the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] and [[British Empire|British empires]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ostler|2009|p=xii}}</ref> Classical art has been taken as a model in later periods – medieval Romanesque architecture<ref>{{harvnb|Ziolkowski|2007|p=26}}</ref> and Enlightenment-era neoclassical literature<ref name="Kaminski 2007 57"/> were both influenced by classical models, to take but two examples, while [[James Joyce]]'s ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]'' is one of the most influential works of twentieth-century literature.<ref>{{harvnb|Martindale|2007|p=310}}</ref>

;;General

;;Art and archaeology

; History, Greek

;;History, Roman

;;Literature

;;Philology