Helen's Exile Summary and Analysis

Modern European culture has lots it appreciation for beauty and can look to ancient Greece as an example to imitate in order to reclaim that beauty. The Greeks differed from modern Europeans first of all in their values: For the modern European, value is understood as an object which is gradually revealed in the progress of history, whereas the Greeks understood value as the necessary prerequisite to any action. Second, the Greeks were humble enough to admit the things which they did not know, whereas modern Europe claims to have a total mastery of knowledge. As a result, Europe has preferred mindless conflict to reasoned debate—for if Germany or France already knows everything, there is no reason to debate with the other.