While the ancient world may seem remote and quite divorced from the problems of the present, the study of Ancient History can help students make sense of the world as it is today. The nature and impact of various cultural and religious developments, the responses of societies to complex social and economic challenges, the issues of justice, discrimination and violence were as much part of the ancient world as they are of ours.
University of Sydney: Why Do History? (www.arts.usyd.edu.au/Arts/departs/anchistory)
- Eye Opening
Sometimes we wear blinders that prevent us from seeing what goes on around us. A parable or fable can gently pry open our eyes. So can a story from history.
- Comparisons
When we read about the ancient customs, we can't help but compare our responses to those exhibited by our ancestors. In seeing the ancient reactions we learn how society has evolved.Pater Familias and Slavery
Slaves were part of the general familia, could earn money to buy their freedom, and like everyone else, subject to the will of the head of the family (pater familias).
Imagine a father of today ordering his son to marry the woman of his father's choice or adopting out his son for the sake of political ambition.
Every child needs to learn a foreign language, and thus gain a slightly different view of the world, and Greek and Latin have two advantages. They are both close to and distant from English, and some of the greatest stories ever told were written in them -- the myths, still powerful in the bastardised form as Hercules and Xena on TV.Values
Ancient / Classical History Forum
- Religion and Philosophy
Until recently in the West, Christianity provided a moral rubber band holding everyone in place. Today the principles of Christianity are challenged. Just because it says so in the Ten Commandments is no longer enough. Where should we now hunt for unalterable truths? The ancient philosophers who fretted over the same questions that plague us today and reached answers that should hold sway with even the most devout atheists. Not only do they provide lucid ethical arguments, but many of the self-improvement, pop-psychology books are based on Stoic and Epicurean philosophy.
- Psychoanalysis and Greek Tragedy
For more serious, psychoanalytical problems, what better source than the original Oedipus?
- Business Ethics
For those in a family business, Hammurabi's law code tells what should happen to a shortchanging shopkeeper. Many principles of today's law come from antiquity. The Greeks had jury trials. The Romans had defenders.
Politics
- Democracy
Politics, too, has changed little. Democracy was an experiment in Athens. The Romans saw its flaws and adopted a Republican form. The founders of the United States took elements from each. Monarchy is still alive and has been for millennia. Tyrants still wield too much power.
- Corruption
To stave off political corruption, property qualifications were required of politicians in antiquity. Today, to stave off corruption, property qualifications are disallowed. Regardless of property qualifications, bribery has had a time-honored underhand in the political process.
