Student Name: Unit 5 ARISTOPHANES & SOCRATES: THE CLOUDS Due Date Reading Topic S /7 ASG -7 Harrison: Biography of Socrates -- in class -- VIDEO: Harrison: The Greeks ASG 5-7 M /9 Clouds 65-70 Handout: Preface to The Clouds Clouds xv-xviii Handout: Political Background T /0 READ PLAY Aristophanes: The Clouds In Class: Rehearsal of Scenes -- C & E Periods: Report to Graham Theater Rogers / Schill Classes Combined -- W / rehearsal Aristophanes: The Clouds In Class: Performance of Scenes -- C & E Periods: Report to Graham Theater Rogers / Schill Classes Combined -- EXPLANATION: Friday Night, /6: Read and Take Notes on ASG -7: Harrison: Biography of Socrates Saturday Class, /7: View Video & Take Notes: Hughes: Sparta Peloponnesian War (ASG 6-68) Sunday Night, /8: Read and Take Notes on the Preface & Political Background (Handout 65-69 & xv-xviii) Monday Class, /9: Regular Classroom; Discuss the Preface & Political Background; Read assigned scenes Monday Night, /9: Read the full play quickly for homework: Handout 75-9 & 0-07; WW 88-98 Tuesday Class, /0: Report to the Graham Theater for Rehearsal of your scene with your group members Tuesday Night, /0: Actors continue rehearsing individual roles; Directors prepare Introductions Wednesday Class, /: Report to the Graham Theater; Rehearse for 0 minutes before Performance
Scenes from The Clouds ANCIENT STUDIES PERFORMANCE, W / Rogers, Schill, & Leiner The combined Rogers/Schill sections of Ancient Studies will stage a performance of eight scene from Aristophanes The Clouds. Each scene will feature at least two actors and one director. Actors need not memorize their lines, but they should be able to read them fluently, with proper emotion and timing. The director is responsible for staging, helping the actors the convey the meaning of the script through words, tone, and movement. The director will offer a brief introduction to the audience, setting the scene and explaining how the action and ideas fit into the play as a whole. All members of the group will receive a grade on the group s performance. Calendar: Friday Night, /6: Read and Take Notes on ASG -7: Harrison: Biography of Socrates Saturday Class, /7: View Video & Take Notes: Harrison: Empire of the Mind (ASG 5-7) Sunday Night, /8: Read and Take Notes on the Preface & Political Background (Handout 65-69 & xv-xviii) Monday Class, /9: Regular Classroom; Discuss the Preface & Political Background; Read assigned scenes Monday Night, /9: Read the full play quickly for homework: Handout 75-9 & 0-07; WW 88-98 Tuesday Class, /0: Report to the Graham Theater for Rehearsal of your scene with your group members Tuesday Night, /0: Actors continue rehearsing individual roles; Directors prepare Introductions Wednesday Class, /: Report to the Graham Theater; Rehearse for 0 minutes before Performance Scene Assignments: Scene Strepsiades & Pheidippides handout page 75-79, lines -6 C Sarah Abernethy, Maggie Chang, Nicole Alleyne E Sean Bang, Harrison Beye, Nick Albritton Scene Strepsiades & Student handout pages 79-8 lines 7-0 C - Jason Choi, Bella King, Miles Buddy E Sarah Eckerd, Oliver Ferenbach, Sara Caves Scene Strepsiades & Socrates & Chorus handout pages 8-87, lines - C Max Martin, Scout McLemore, Malik McRae, Bella Golden E Uchenna Ikwuakor, Abby Kriegler, Tim Lee, Edgar Collett Scene Strepsiades & Socrates (and Chorus) handout pages 87-9, lines -0 C Titus Morrison, Dave Newman, Claire Hill E Cunthia Li, Ryland Mettee, Anna Kate Enis Scene 5 Strepsiades & Socrates (and Chorus Leader) handout pages 0-0, lines 7-800 C Kera Ramsey, Sam Shealy, Nathan Stickler, Eva Pfeffercorn E Vicky Stroud, Calista van der Vyver, Di Wang, Audrey Gee Scene 6 Strepsiades & Pheidippides handout pages 05-07, lines 85-888 C Olivia Stupp, Tristan Thompson, Rachel Smith E Gabriel Wong, Alex Wu, Kamryn Graham Scene 7 Right & Wrong (and Chorus) WW pages 88-9 C Rahul Sundhar, Grayson Sword, Addie Trivers E - Bo Johnson. Tori Kim, Jack Mulwee, Julia Nolletti Scene 8 Strepsiades & Pheidippides (and Chorus) WW pages 9-98 C Hanna Weber, Miles Wike, Kanoni Wilder, Hannah Chay E Isoken Omoregbee, Andy Park, Will Pettus, Adam Stewart
REAFDING GUIDE: Harrison - Biography of Socrates (ASG -7) Due: Saturday, /7 Socrates parents Socrates military service Socrates pursuit of truth Oracle at Delphi Socrates as the wisest man in Athens Admission of one s ignorance Refusal to answer yes or no Xanthippe Sophists Aristophanes The Clouds Plato The Symposium Socrates as President of the Assembly Socrates s denunciation of the trial of the generals Spartan victory in 0 The Thirty Tyrants The majority is always wrong Socrates as an enemy of democracy Charges against Socrates Vote against Socrates Socrates death wish Socrates request for highest honors Socrates refusal to be rescued Hemlock Unexamined life is not worth living New way to live, new way to die
VIEWING GUIDE: Harrison Empire of the Mind (ASG 5-7) In Class: Saturday, /7 The Search for a Scapegoat and the Trial of Socrates, 99 BC Socrates as a scapegoat Charges against Socrates Athenian legal system Socrates as a stinging fly Verdict against Socrates Socrates reaction Hemlock Socrates as a new hero Lesson of Socrates life Plato Aristotle
READING GUIDE: Preface to The Clouds (65-70) & Political Background (xv-xviii) Due: Monday, /9 Preface to The Clouds What are five (5) ways Greece was in intellectual ferment in the 0s BC? (65) 5 Who were the sophists? How did the young and impressionable tend to view them? And how, in contrast, did their fathers view the sophists? (65) Did Aristophanes tend to favor the new learning or the traditionalist point of view? (65) What is the basic conflict of The Clouds? (66) What are four things for which Socrates was known in Athens before the production of The Clouds in? (66) What are four things for which there is no good evidence? (67)
What are two reasons why Aristophanes attributes the characteristics of other intellectuals to Socrates? (67) For what two charges was Socrates prosecuted in 99 BC? And what in reality was the trial actually about? (68) ( in reality ) What characters other than Socrates does Aristophanes portray unsympathetically in The Clouds? (68) How did the The Clouds fare in the drama competition in BC? (69) The Political Background (xv-xviii) What are three significant features of the radical form of Athenian democracy? (xv) What were three major achievements of Athens under Pericles eadership? (xvi)
Despite what four factors was the conflict between Athens and Sparta indecisive? (xvi) What were the major developments in each of the following years? (xvi-xvii) 5 0 07 05 0 0 What transformation of Athens took place after the Peloponnesian War? (xviii)
Aristophanes Absurd Philosophers (WW 77-80) Scenes,, A father (Strepsiades) tries to enroll his son (Pheidippides) in The Thinkery, a school of philosophy, in order to learn how to talk his way out of paying back his debts from losing bets on horse races. Socrates can teach how to make the weaker argument appear to be the stronger, but Pheidippides refuses to enroll, so Strepsiades attends himself. A philosophy student provides three absurd examples of philosophic reasoning about fleas, gnats and lizards. How does Aristophanes mock philosophers such as Socrates? Why does Pheidippides refuse to join the school? What do the jokes about the flea, the gnats and the lizard all have in common? Aristophanes Socrates in the Clouds (WW 8-87) Scenes, 5, 6 Socrates appears suspended in a gondola so that he may better investigate the weather and the gods. Strepisades asks for help in dodging his creditors. A Chorus of Clouds appears. Socrates explains that the Clouds are goddesses who provide wisdom to philosophers. Strepisades can t understand why the Clouds look like women. How does Socrates explain his presence in the gondola? How does Strepsiades explain his desire to avoid paying debts? How do the Clouds in this passage differ from the traditional ideas about the gods? What is the connection between the Clouds and anyone who doesn t do any useful work? Aristophanes Old Virtue, New Learning (WW 88-9) Scene 7 An argument takes place between Right and Wrong as Pheidippides has finally joined the Thinkery. Right explains what education was like back in the good old days, for the generation that won the battle of Marathon. Right laments the lack of discipline in the new generation and stresses the importance of obedience and shame. Wrong declares that the ability to win even when one has a bad case is worth millions. Wrong uses clever arguments about Heracles and Homer and shows how much fun Pheidippides can have with him. Wrong points out that whole audience is full of buggers. How did the new learning differ from the old in Athens? To which system of education is Asheville School closer? Which system do you think Aristophanes really supports? Why? Aristophanes Carrying Logic to an Extreme (WW 9-98) Scene 8 Aristophanes portrays the clever new learning as allowing a boy to justify beating up his own father. Strepisades had objected to Pheidippides behavior at a dinner, when he recited a modern song. The father warmly recalls his tender care for his son. Pheidippides proudly claims to be beating his father for his own good, just as Strepisades had done to him. What had started the argument between father and son? How does Pheidippides justify his actions? What, in the end, does Strepisades want to do with his son and with Socrates and his precious Argument?