Ancient Art and Ritual - Max Wasilik

When reading the first Chapter of this selection I made note of Plato's definition of art from The Republic being that of "imitation". It appears to me that Plato may have an opposition to Art because a large part of Socrates' trial and execution came from the play "The Clouds" by Aristophanes. This reminds me of the class I took last semester with Dr. Silverman where we analyzed Augustine's Confessions and noted his opposition to the theater as well. Much of Augustine's philosophy came from Neoplatonic writers that influenced his conversion to Christianity, but I would argue that beautiful art is inherently Christian in itself, for it reflects the beauty of God.  

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