Filozofska istraživanja, Vol. 35 No. 1, 2015.
Preliminary communication
The Greek Myth of Kleobis and Biton as a Source of the Early Understanding of Ethos. The Term and Notion of Arete in the Dual Context of Philosophical and Art Historical Interpretation
Vladimir Rismondo
orcid.org/0009-0004-6039-2322
; J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Academy of Arts, Osijek, Croatia
Abstract
Based on an analysis of the myth of Kleobis and Biton this paper considers the Greek term arete and the multiplicity of its meaning. Analysis of the myth’s narrative in the first layer reveals the identity of archaic “ethical” values , while in the second reading it also points to their change in the direction of creating a conceptual definition of ‘good’. Finally, the paper compares the idea of archaic athletic hero – found in Homeric and Hesiodic literature, as well as in the myth of Kleobis and Biton – with its visual version in the sculptural form of kouros. As we can detect the change of values from aristocratic ‘virtue’ towards the general idea of ‘good’ in the example of the myth, likewise we can find change in the sculpture fabric from symbolic towards individualised identity of the human figure.
Keywords
arete; ethics; archaic; kouros; Kleobis and Biton; Solon
Hrčak ID:
153597
URI
Publication date:
17.6.2015.
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