The first volume of The Humanistic Tradition guides students from the paleolithic through classical Greek culture and through the art and music of Han China. It is an exciting introduction to any humanities course but it can also serve as a colorful and informative supplement in courses on prehistory, classical history, or Greek and Roman literature.
BOOK 1: THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS AND THE CLASSICAL LEGACY
Part I: Prehistory and the First Civilizations
Chapter 1: Prehistory and the Birth of Civilization: People and Nature
Prehistory / 1.1 The Story of Rock Picture Research/ The Birth of Civilization / Myth and the Quest for Beginnings / 1.2 Creation Tales
Chapter 2: Ancient Civilizations: People and the Gods
Ancient Africa / 1.3 From "The Hymn to the Aten" / Mesopotamia / 1.4 From the Epic of Gilgamesh / The Hebrews / 1.5a From The Hebrew Bible : Genesis/ 1.5b From The Hebrew Bible: Exodus/ 1.5c From The Hebrew Bible:Jeremiah/ 1.5d From The Hebrew Bible: Job/ Ancient India / 1.6 From the Bhagavad-Gita
Chapter 3: Ancient Civilizations: People and the Social Order
Ancient Africa: The Social Order / 1.7 From The Autobiography of Rekh-mi-Re / Law and the Social Order in Babylon / 1.8 From the Code of Hammurabi / The Hebrew Social Order / 1.9 The Book of the Covenant/ The Iron Age / China / 1.10 From The Teachings of Confucius / 1.11 From the Dao De Qing
Part II: The Classical Legacy
Chapter 4: Humanism, Individualism, and the Greek Community
The Bronze Age Civilizations of the Aegean (ca. 2500-1200 B.C.E) / The Heroic Age (ca.1200-750 B.C.E.) / 1.12 From the Iliad / The Greek City-State and the Persian Wars (ca.750-480 B.C.E.) / Athens and the Golden Age of Greece (ca.480-430 B.C.E.) / 1.13 From Thucydides: Peloponnesian Wars: Pericles Funeral Speech / The Individual and the Community / 1.14 From Sophocles: Antigone / 1.15 From Plato: Crito
Chapter 5: Greek Philosophy: The Speculative Leap
Naturalist Philosophy: The Pre-Socratics / Humanist Philosophy / 1.16 The "Allegory of the Cave" from Plato: Republic / 1.17 From Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics
Chapter 6: The Classical Style
The Defining Features of the Classical Style / 1.18 From Vitruvius: Principles of Symmetry / The Evolution of the Classical Style / The Classical Style in Drama / 1.19 From Aristotle: Poetics / The Classical Style in Poetry/ 1.20 Sappho's Poems / 1.21 From Pindar: Nemean Ode VI and Pythian Ode VIII / The Classical Style in Music and Dance / The Diffusion of the Classical Style: The Hellenistic Age (323-30 B.C.E.)
Chapter 7: Bipolar Empires: Rome and Han China
The Roman Rise to Empire / 1.22 Josephus: Description of the Roman Army / The Roman Contribution to Literature / 1.23 From Seneca: On Tranquility of Mind / 1.24 from Cicero: On Duty / 1.25 From Tacitus: Dialogue on Oratory / 1.26 From Virgil: Aeneid (Books Four and Six) / 1.27 Horace's Poems / 1.28a From Juvenal: "Against the City of Rome" / 1.28b From Juvenal: "Against Women" / The Arts of the Roman Empire / The Chinese Rise to Empire / The Literary Contributions of Imperial China / 1.29 From Sima Qian: Records of the Grand Historian / 1.30 A Selection of Han Poems / The Visual Arts and Music in Han China
