Ancient Wisdom Atlas

Motif

Decline from cultural flowering into waste and decay

decline_from_cultural_flowering_into_waste_and_decay

A motif of the Pride, Hubris, and Downfall family, within the sub-family Fallen Power and Ruined Splendor. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.

1 occurrences

1 traditions


greek

  • Phaedrus Phaedrus / PHAEDRUS / INTRODUCTION. / ON THE DECLINE OF GREEK LITERATURE.; lines 1210-1298 confidence: medium

    The spirit of rhetoric is said to overspread Hellas; Plato is imagined as foreseeing a literary waste or marsh, Aristophanes is said to have a similar vision in Frogs, and the genius of Hellas is said to cease flowering or blossoming.

    Greek literary genius is described as ceasing to flower or blossom, followed by a waste or marsh and by later signs of decay in poetry, history, language, philosophy, and mind.

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