
Can Greek Tragedy Get Us Through the Pandemic? - diodorus
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/can-greek-tragedy-get-us-through-the-pandemic
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mplanchard
It’s crazy to me how dismissive the comments here have been. This is an
impressively researched, well-written article that presents a very earnest
attempt to help people work through difficult times through the medium of
theater. The theater group is founded by someone with extensive knowledge of
classics and antiquity, and it seems like it tries to draw a direct parallel
between the very human experiences in Greek tragedy to those experienced by
people today. This seems no more unreasonable to me than learning about the
human condition from Shakespeare.

Art is and has always been one of the most well-used means for us to connect
with and contemplate our own humanity. The approach outlined in the article is
a really interesting take on the active use of art to drive psychological
catharsis. I for one really enjoyed it, and I’m inspired to see that these
actors, directors, and playwrights are trying to use what they know to help
others.

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082349872349872
Which is the one with Cassandra? Maybe they should do that one.

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082349872349872
Aeschylus, _Agamemnon_

The Cassandra connection being:

Those who don't study epidemics are doomed to repeat them.

Those who do study epidemics are doomed to watch reservoirs repeat them.

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coldtea
Ah, good old New Yorker. As if people, including its own readership, ever
bother to read Greek Tragedy (aside a statistically insignificant minority).

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twirlip
Not very long ago, as time is reckoned, one needed to read Greek and Latin to
be considered educated. One was expected to be familiar with certain cultural
idioms of Western Civilization relearned from antiquity during the
Renaissance. The classical ideas of virtue, rhetoric, politics, mathematics,
and natural philosophy still hold value. To ignore this tradition and relegate
it to a "statistically insignificant minority" is, I believe, a mistake.

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coldtea
I'm in favor of a fundamental knowledge of the classics.

Regarding the "statistically insignificant minority", I'm just stating facts,
not saying it's a good development.

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blfr
The essence of tragedy is a conflict between two equal values. Despite some
superficial similarities, we generally don't share ancient Greek values and so
we cannot properly experience this conflict. These are beautiful works of art
but they won't resonate with us like they did with the original audiences.

The example they use is _Antigone_. However, the unburied body goes deeply
against the ancestor worship common for early societies. While we honour our
ancestors, worship is largely gone not just for ancestors but from our daily
lives in general with the lessening or religious practices.

There's no debating with results, and if it helps, go for it, but I doubt
moderns can feel catharsis when watching a performance of ancient plays like
Greeks did.

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heavenlyblue
That play isn’t about burial, it’s about the difference between the private
and public. The difference between the story we tell to the public and in
person.

