The Price of Wisdom: Community and the Individual in Greek and Roman Poetry
Short Definition
The aim of this investigation is to contribute to the broader interdisciplinary conversation of the Defining Wisdom Project by considering how wisdom pertains to the way in which an individual interacts with his or her surrounding society. The proposed research project will focus on four characters from Greek and Latin poetry.
Summary Points
- The aim of this investigation is to contribute to the broader interdisciplinary conversation of the Defining Wisdom Project by considering how wisdom pertains to the way in which an individual interacts with his or her surrounding society.
- Dr. McNeill proposes to explore ancient Greek and Roman conceptions of what might be termed the “civic wisdom” that results when one successfully reconciles one’s personal impulses and desires with the expectations, needs, and demands of one’s community
- The proposed research project will focus on four characters from Greek and Latin poetry
- This investigation is intended to encourage members of the Defining Wisdom Project and others to consider at greater length those issues of individuality and society that must play a role in any discussion of the nature and role of wisdom in the contemporary world.
Text from Wisdom Institute
The Price of Wisdom: Community and the Individual in Greek and Roman Poetry
The aim of this investigation is to contribute to the broader interdisciplinary conversation of the Defining Wisdom Project by considering how wisdom pertains to the way in which an individual interacts with his or her surrounding society. Dr. McNeill proposes to explore ancient Greek and Roman conceptions of what might be termed the “civic wisdom” that results when one successfully reconciles one’s personal impulses and desires with the expectations, needs, and demands of one’s community. He plans to undertake an extended study of specific literary representations of individuals who struggle to achieve this form of wisdom, with the expectation that this analysis will help to shed new light on broader Greek and Roman cultural attitudes concerning the relationship of the individual to society. The proposed research project will focus on four characters from Greek and Latin poetry whose personal travails as they participate in or withdraw from the public life of their societies exemplify the tensions that often exist between individual interest and the common good: Achilles in the Iliad of Homer, Oedipus in the Oedipus Rex of Sophocles, Catullus as he presents himself in his poetry, and Aeneas in the Aeneid of Vergil. In different ways, each of these figures offers a vivid illustration of the ethical and psychological challenges inherent in negotiating the conflicting demands of civic duty and personal identity: pride, desire, and one’s sense of self-worth versus the cultural and behavioral imperatives that are imposed by one’s social position or societal role. Ultimately, this investigation is intended to encourage members of the Defining Wisdom Project and others to consider at greater length those issues of individuality and society that must play a role in any discussion of the nature and role of wisdom in the contemporary world. By exploring the cultural attitudes of the ancient Greeks and Romans regarding the proper relationship of the individual to his or her society, we may gain a valuable perspective on what could be required of each of us as we move forward into the 21st century. McNeill has completed his preliminary investigation of the four literary figures that represent the main subject of his research project: Achilles, Aeneas, Oedipus, and Catullus. His conceptual schema of community engagement has proven very helpful. Dr. McNeill has therefore reorganized the chapters of his book manuscript to reflect the oppositional pairings of this framework: Achilles the warrior versus Aeneas the captain, followed by Oedipus the collaborator versus Catullus the resister. This preserves the implicit contrast between Greek and Roman representations of individuality and civic participation which constitutes one of the interpretive threads of the project. Dr. McNeill is currently considering the possibility that Catullus does not simply uphold established forms of social rivalry in his private affairs, but directly transfers contemporary practices of political competition into his personal relationships, thereby undercutting his claims of civic disengagement.
https://wisdomcenter.uchicago.edu/about/project-1-defining-wisdom