Monday, November 23, 2009

The School of Athens


Raphael's The School of Athens is a mirror of renaissance society. During the renaissance many ideas were changing and people began to study the ideas of Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. In The School of Athens, Raphael paints the greatest scientists, mathematicians and philosophers of the classical world in one hall. Although this could never have happened, it shows us that Raphael was reflecting the humanist ideas that were being accepted by everywhere except the in the Church. Ironically the The School of Athens is a fresco found in the papal palace, the center of the Catholic Church. The School of Athens is a mirror that accurately reflects the beliefs and ideas of the Renaissance.




If I could choose to be anyone in The School of Athens I would choose to be Pythagoras. Pythagoras was a Greek mathematician who is famous for his work with geometry, particularly with triangles. He if also famous for his Pythagorean Theorem. In The School of Athens he is shown in the bottom left corner. He is writing in a book. We are similar in several ways. I am good at math and enjoy it. I also enjoy reading and writing. I think that Pythagoras is the character that would best represent me in The School of Athens.