An Analysis of Humanist Tradition in Ancient Greece

【Abstract】This paper makes a brief analysis on the humanist tradition in ancient Greece. The analysis involves three aspects： the meaning of humanism， the manifestations of humanist tradition in ancient Greek literature and art， and the reasons why ancient Greece became the origin of humanism.

【Key words】humanism; ancient Greece; manifestations; reasons

【作者簡介】高雅（1988-），女，漢族，成都大學(xué)，碩士研究生，研究方向：英語語言文學(xué)。

The humanist tradition is a distinctive feature of Western civilization. Actually the word “humanism” hadnt been created until the nineteenth century， and it hasnt been clearly defined. Simply put， humanism means the attention and focus on humans. As a movement， it refers to “an educational and cultural program based on the study of ancient Greek and Latin literature” during the Renaissance period （Perry， 53）. It was an expression of the interests of the then rising bourgeoisie， who aimed at breaking the spiritual shackles imposed by the feudal medieval society and gaining human liberty. However， as a cultural tradition and spirit， its origin should be traced back to ancient Greece.

“The starting point and object of the whole Greek civilization is human; it starts from human need， and focuses on human need and human progress” （Han and Shi， 18）. The Greek humanist outlook emphasizes the consciousness， research and reflection on human nature. For instance， the stone inscription of Delphi is the proverb： Know yourself; the answer of the well-known Sphinx riddle is： man. Besides， it is a calling for “the maximum cultivation of human talent， the full development of human personality， and the deliberate pursuit of excellence” （Perry， 23）. The ancient Greek humanists held a fundamental belief that man was the master of himself. He couldnt change the course of nature， but at least he had the freedom of making choices and could be responsible for his own life.

As is known to the world， the Greeks achieved remarkable achievement in almost all fields： myth， epic， historical writing， tragedy， philosophy， sculpture， architecture， etc. The humanist element is reflected in every field of these. The following points are some of the manifestations in Greek literature and art.

Firstly， ancient Greeks respected gods， but they didnt consider human as any inferior to god. Unlike Chinese gods such as Buddha， who lives in celestial world， the gods in Greek myths were never depicted unapproachable; rather， they looked familiar， living in Mount Olympus in human world and sometimes getting married with humans. For instance， the famous warrior Achilles is the son of the mortal Peleus and the Nereid Thetis.

Besides， the image of god in the mind of Greeks was anthropomorphic， which is to say， it was not that god created man， but man created god according to human figure. Ancient Greeks valued the physical beauty of man. For instance， Apollo owned a handsome， strong and vigorous human body， which was a personification of optimism， vigor and vitality; the sculpture of Venus de Milo was an elegant and well-proportioned woman figure， which was considered the embodiment of beauty. In Greek myths， gods were not always good or benevolent. Their conduct， thoughts and personality were just as complicated as humans. They would eat， drink and sleep as normal humans. They might sometimes be brave， righteous and tolerant， or sometimes brutal， jealousy and full of desires. For instance， Zeus， the king of gods， was a man with a lust for woman and could not control his worldly desires. He fell in love with countless beautiful women， and five of his six wives were his sisters. Athena， the goddess of wisdom and art， sometimes might be jealous and revengeful. Another example was the story of the golden apple. Three goddesses quarreled over a golden apple， because on which was carved “to the most beautiful goddess”. Their conflict thus triggered the disastrous War of Troy. Vanity of the goddesses was clearly revealed in the story.

Moreover， in Greek humanist literature， characters were autonomous and self-directed. They could master their own lives. “The heroes of Greek tragedy suffered， not because they were puppets being manipulated by higher powers， but because they possessed the freedom of decision” （Perry， 23）. In Oedipus the King， Oedipus heard the oracle at the Delphi that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He refused to yield to his fate and fought against the fate by running away. But later， because of his insistence to question the truth， he realized that he fulfilled the oracle. Though he failed to change his fate， he showed the courage to be responsible for his crime by stabbing out his eyes. Oedipus suffered because of the decision he made for himself： seeking the truth. Though tragic， his personality was sublime. In his suffering， the nobility of humanity was revealed.

As for the reason why humanist tradition originated in ancient Greece， two important factors are discussed here. First is the advantageous geographical position of Greece. Aegean Sea is located between the Greek peninsula on the west and Asia Minor on the east. It is a main sea route. Since the coastal land of Greece was barren， people could not live on farming. Fortunately numerous islands scattered over the Aegean area， facilitating contacts of people from Greece and other European and Asian states and boosting commerce and trade among them. Commerce and trade became the major economic activity in Greek society. Through extensive communications Greek people came to own a more open， creative and intelligent mind. The second reason is the occurrence and development of polis， together with the system of democracy established in greater poleis like Athens. In a democratic polis， civil rights were emphasized and highly valued. Despite that only male adult citizens had civil rights， the Greek society were more advanced and civilized than others. Citizens could think freely and debate with other people on politics and philosophy. The democratic and free environment in polis fostered the shaping and developing of humanist outlook in various fields. Ancient Greece became the origin of this significant cultural and spiritual tradition.

Humanism is an everlasting spirit in western civilization. It has profound influence on almost every field of human achievement. As Poet W. H. Auden commented， “Had Greek civilization never existed， we would never have become fully conscious， which is to say that we would never have become， for better or worse， fully human” （Perry， 24）.

References：

[1]Perry， Marvin. An Intellectual History of Modern Europe[M]. Boston： Houghton Mifflin Company， 1993.

[2]Han Qiuhong， and Shiwei. The Early Philosophical Humanism Spirit of Ancient Greece”[J]. Journal of Northeast Normal University，2006（5）：18-23.