Reaction Paper of the Four Readings

Homer The Odyssey
The Odyssey by Homer is one of the greatest works of the ancient Greek literature which marks the transition in the philosophy and vision of the world of ancient Greeks. To put it more precisely, Homer shows the transition in the relationship between people and gods in ancient Greece. The main character of The Odyssey struggles against gods, Poseidon. Ulysses challenged the will of gods and neglected Poseidon. In this regard, the main character rebels against gods and attempts to prove that human is capable to reach the set goals. The return of the main character to his home is the hard way but this is the way of the human, who resists to gods, and wins. In such a way, Homer shows that humans are capable to prove that they can live independently of gods. This is one of the main points of the book, which proves that humans are strong enough and independent enough to live independently of gods.
Sophocles Oedipus the King

Sophocles reveals the complexity of social relations and norms in the ancient Greek society. The author reveals the problem of incest and the attitude of ancient Greeks to this problem. The author shows that the ancient Greek society condemned the incest. At the same time, the author stresses the role of fate in the life of people. He shows that people cannot change their life and they live it according to their fate. In this regard, Sophocles contradicts to Homer, who showed humans as capable to act independently of their fate and will of gods. On the other hand, Sophocles shows that humans have a set of moral and ethical norms which cannot be violated even by kings and queens.
Plato Phaedo

Plato’s Phaedo is one of the most remarkable and influential works of ancient Greek philosophy. This work paved the way to the emergence of the dualism of body and soul, mind and spirit, reason and emotion. Phaedo contains consideration of Plato on the afterlife and the author develops the concept of dualism of body and soul, which persists throughout centuries. This dualism was influential in western philosophy and many philosophers took this dualism for granted. This work contributed to the development of western views on the concept of afterlife and the nature of human beings and their dualism in terms of body and soul.

Aristotle Poetics
Aristotle’s Poetics is a fundamental work focusing on the dramatic theory and uncovering the art of drama and written language at large. Poetics depicts the art of writing and uncovers secrets of successful writing. The author conducts the detailed analysis and uncovers numerous artistic details and stylistic devices, which were used by ancient Greek writers. In this regard, the book is very important because it reveals the early efforts of Aristotle to make literature a sort of art and Aristotle helps to lay the theoretical ground for the development of ancient Greek and western literature. His Poetics helped to develop a systematic approach and develop the drama theory that contributed to the development of ancient Greek literature, theater and art at large. In this regard, this work by Aristotle is a valuable masterpiece that helps to understand the theoretical background of ancient Greek literature.

Works Cited
The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. 2009.