Some of you might wonder where I get all that great writing inspiration and word-smithery from. Few know that I was schooled in the Classics, the ancient history of Greece and Rome. Eleven years ago when I set out to start travelling the world, it was some of these authors below that inspired me to get going. In this post I will share with you a few of the ancient authors who’ve influenced my writing style.
Herodotus
Known as the “Father of history” or the “Father of Lies”, depending on who you talk to. What I like most about this guy’s work (he lived between 485 BC and 425 BC) is his writing style. His only known work, The Histories, is a momentous tome that compiles a variety of sources about the source of the conflict between the Persians and the Greeks into one written account. His innocence and curiosity are two things that stand out in his writing, the result of which, however, is that many of his critics say he didn’t take care to sort out the good from the bad info. His main goal was to determine the reason for the Greeks and Persians hating each other so much. It takes him 9 books and I’m not sure we even have the conclusion. At any rate, this man continues to inspire me despite what his critics say.
Livy
If Herodotus couldn’t stop writing or talking and Thucydides couldn’t stand pretenders (see below), then Livy is a combination of both. His momentous history of Rome, Ab Urbe Condita “From the Foundation of the City”, is based on judicial use of written sources (such as a the Fasti Capitolii) and myths to other sources now lost to us. Although he included myths in his works, he did so with a skeptical and cautious approach which set him apart from other historians who relied on the oral and mythical tradition. Placing the founding of Rome sometime around 752 BC, he wrote 128 books documenting Rome’s earliest days until the beginning of the empire. The simple breadth of this guy’s work makes me admire him and, I’ll say, often leads me to write something “for the record”.
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar, often referred to as simply “Caesar”, is one of those guys you like to read about because his own writings are a little on the dry side. Further, the guy did a lot in his life time and, while he was busy conquering the world, didn’t always have the time to dictate his thoughts to his scribe (hmmm, kinda like modern travelog-ists?… travelog writers?… anyway…) Veni, vidi, vici (“I came, I saw, I conquered”) is probably his most famous quote, followed by “the die is cast,” uttered after the Roman politicians demanded he put down his weapons and return to Rome to face some sort of charges. He didn’t and instead turned back and marched against Rome with his army. That was the beginning of his eventual rise in power and influence in Rome as he made friends with Pompey and Crassus (known as a the “First Triumvirate”) and then later with Pompey and Marc Antony (known as the “Second Triumvirate”). Anyway, the one inspiring thing about Caesar is his ambition.
Another author, Plutarch, tells us that when Julius Caesar passed by the statue of Alexander the Great he couldn’t help but break down and cry. At the age of 32 Alexander, when he died, he had left a vast swath of land conquered and subjugated yet Caesar had felt he had done nothing by that same age. Helps keep me in check.
Plato
Plato is one of my favourite authors to read in ancient Greek itself. A lot of his writings, called “dialogues”, are written in a conversational-style and language which makes it a lot easier to read without the aid of a separate book of commentary. Much of his writing was influenced by his teacher, Socrates, who plays the main role in just about all of his dialogues. Playful in nature, Socrates’ wonderment at the world and universe around him is almost nauseating, as depicted, though respected, by many of his conversation partners. It seems no one could escape the Socratic Method once ensnared in a conversation with Socrates.
Plato operated a school in Athens, called the Academy, which may have been where he wrote a lot of his works. He had a wealth of knowledge and what we now call philosophy was, then, considered one of the more important subjects to study and know.
Of course, Socrates would ask, do you really know anything? One of the most memorable statements uttered by Socrates was “The more I learn, the less I know.” How true and is still applicable to this day. One of Socrates main issues with contemporary Athens was the rise of the “Sophists”, people who paraded around Athens offering to teach anyone anything without knowing the slightest thing about the subject they were talking about. In essence, they were good speakers and conversationalists, often relying on petty and circular arguments that never really taught anybody anything other than to be annoying.
As a result of Socrates’ teachings, he was sentenced to death by the Athenian council and was executed by drinking hemlock in 399 BC. Plato continue to write and teach after the death of his teacher. So is this an argument for “Oops. Maybe I shouldn’t debate with everybody” or is this a “stay true to your principles”?
Euripides
Breaking away from history and philosophy is Euripides, a fifth century playwright in Athens. This man’s work is disturbing and I can honestly say I have bizarre dreams after reading his works. Bacchae is one of the most disturbing, followed by Medea, though all of his works offer something to take away. Keep in mind that these plays were done with minimal props and focused much more on the delivery than spectacle, hence the wordiness of the plays. Euripides is one of ancients that is still taught in modern drama classes, not just theatre but film as well. His works are one of the few that, even if you’re not into the drama scene, you’ll still be able to read and appreciate his plays. If you ever get the chance, I suggest you read some of his work.
***
And a special mention to Aristotle and Thucydides, both of whom I appreciate their contributions to literature, history and scientific understanding, but they are a rather dry read and I can’t say I sit down with them in English or Ancient Greek very much, if ever.
Aristotle
Plato’s student, Aristotle, opened his own school, the Lyceum, after parting ways with his old teacher. He is also responsible for tutoring Alexander the Great. The one book I really like by Aristotle is the Poetics because it is the oldest “instruction manual” of sorts for writers. Aimed at ancient Athenian dramatists, Aristotle tried to make it as easy as possible for people to understand what he had to say, the Poetics is his attempt to describe and educate wanna-be dramatists. But his work goes beyond that. Aristotle’s works have been passed down through the ages because of the depth and range of his knowledge.
He’s famous for writing a book called Categories in which he systematically goes through just about every subject available to him at that time. Inspiring, but probably not for the reason you think. I’ve found much of Aristotle’s works to be rather dull and lacking in literary brilliance, though I don’t dispute his thorough approach to his subject matter.
Thucydides
The piercing vigour in this man’s words toward anybody and anything that isn’t verified and double checked a few times over is astounding. Trained in rhetoric and from an affluent background, Thucydides had probably heard enough flowery oratory that he couldn’t stand the sight of it being written down. Thucydides could be seen as the modern day editor who despises independent bloggers. He wanted facts, not “stories”.
Thucydides’ only work that survives discusses the Peloponnesian War, a decades-long war between Athens and Sparta that reduced both to shadows of their former selves. His account of the war stands out because he not only compiled sources but sifted through them to piece together what really happened. Notably, he states that the speeches given in his work are as he heard them or from credible sources who heard them first-hand. Lastly, his focus was on the matters of the state, not myths or anything else, simply what influenced the lives of the citizens of the city-states. What I like most is his attitude to his sources and work, no playing around here.