The Discovery of the Mind

No other civilization possessed a concept of the individual human being with such clarity and breadth as did that of Ancient Greece. Here is a study of how that conception developed in literature, as seen in works such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Sappho's lyrics, Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, and Aeschylus's Prometheus Bound. In these classic essays, the noted German scholar Bruno Snell shows how the growing emphasis on individuality — especially reflective thinking — during this period led to a new sense of values and morality which has been an integral part of European culture ever since.