alter ego:

a second self; a perfect substitute or deputy; an inseparable friend; another aspect of one's self.  

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[Spengler proceeds to give 10 examples which by analogy link the Classical & Western cultures.  Analogy is a key methodology for him and he claims the Classical world contains “the complete counter-part of our own Western development….” ]

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“Trojan War” and the Crusades:

the first analogy, Homer’s Iliad- the Trojan War- was based on a real war between Troy & the Greeks; usually dated 12th or 11th century BC (1194-1184 BC, Eratosthenes) which corresponds to archaeological evidence of a catastrophic burning of Troy VIIa.  It corresponds to the series of religious wars, the Crusades, which were sanctioned by the Latin Church, aimed at recovering the Holy Land from Islamic rule.  In 1095 AD Pope Urban II called for military support for the Byzantines; the 2 century attempt to recover the Holy Land ended in failure in 1291.

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Homer and The Nibelungenlied:

Homer’s 2 epics, the Iliad and Odyssey, written circa 710-690 BC; initially transmitted orally, then composed in Epic Greek, correspond to The Song of the Nibelungs, another epic poem in Middle High German.  It tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, his murder & his wife Kriemhild's revenge.  Historical roots are in the 5th & 6th centuries AD, initially an oral tradition based on historic events and individuals.

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Doric and Gothic:

The Doric Column (see glossary page 9) corresponds to the Gothic style (see glossary page 19).

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Dionysian movement and Renaissance: *see Endnotes 43 and 44

The Dionysian movement was a large festival in Athens honoring the god Dionysus; the central events were the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies (the first in 534 BC) and later comedies.  These festivals were maintained until 154 BC.  It corresponds to the Renaissance, a period in European history from the 14th to 17th century, started as cultural movement in Florence where it was promoted by Medici patronage and benefited from fall of Constantinople (1453) which led to migration of Greek scholars & texts into Italy.

 

Polycletus and John Sebastian Bach:*see Endnotes 45 and 46

A 5th century BC  Greek sculptor in bronze, placed with the greatest Athenian sculptors; the 4th century BC "Xenocratic catalogue" ranked him between Phidias and Myron; his most famous works include the bronze male nude the Doryphores ("Spear carrier"), which survives in Roman marble copies and the Discophoros ("Discus bearer") & Diadumenos ("Youth tying a headband").  The Western counterpart is JS Bach (1685- 1750), a German composer & musician of the Baroque period.  Now regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time; established German styles through his mastery of counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation; known for instrumental compositions (the Brandenburg Concertos & the Goldberg Variations), and vocal music (the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor).

 

Athens and Paris:

Athens was the major polis in Attica; led Delian League against Spartan League in Peloponnesian War; developed democracy in 508 BC (under Cleisthenes) which persisted until 322 BC; the Age of Pericles (440s-430s BC) saw Athenian hegemony in Greece; centre for the arts, learning & philosophy, home of Plato's Akademia & Aristotle's Lyceum, birthplace of Socrates, Pericles, Sophocles & other prominent philosophers, writers & politicians of the Greek world.  The corresponding city in the West is Paris.  Under the Capetians (987-1328 AD) became major commercial & religious centre & seat of royal administration, its Île de la Cité became the site of a royal palace & in 1163 the new Gothic cathedral Notre-Dame; the Left Bank was home to the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés & Abbey of St Genevieve and in the 12th century its collection of colleges on the Left Bank became the leading European universities; her Right Bank- the commercial centre- housed ports & central markets, home to artisans & merchants; Paris was a cultural centre, home of the illuminated manuscript, birthplace of Gothic Architecture & the most populous city in the West.

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Aristotle and Kant:

Aristotle (see glossary page 9) corresponds in the West to Kant (see glossary page 7)

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Alexander and Napoleon:

The Greek Alexander (see glossary page 4) corresponds to the Frenchman Napoleon (see glossary page 4).

 

the world-city:

a phenomenon of the Civilization age, Winter period; Spengler refers to Syracuse, Athens & Alexandria, all eclipsed by Rome; in the West we see Paris, Madrid, London similarly eclipsed by Berlin & New York.  Large areas outside the “radiation” of these world cities are turned into provinces.  He notes that the Culture cites (such as Florence, Bruges, Nurnberg, Salamanca, Prag) which had successfully dominated the older rural Cultures, are in turn reduced by the world cities, with its masses & money and spirit of cosmopolitanism.

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imperialism:

the final analogy; common phenomenon to both Classic & Western history; emerging in the age of Civilization, during the late Winter period; the Roman Empire (27 BC to 476 AD) is the prime example for the Classic Age, although Alexander’s empire would also qualify.  For the West, the British (1607-1956) & French Empires (1605-1962) appear to be the first emanations of this stage.

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Apollo:

one of the most important & complex of the Olympian deities; inspired the ideal of the kouros (a beardless, athletic youth); recognized as a god of music, truth & prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry; son of Zeus and Leto, has a twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis.  As the patron of Delphi (Pythian Apollo), he was an oracular god.

 

Caesarism:

a form of political rule (emulating Roman dictator Julius Caesar) led by a charismatic strongman using a cult of personality, advocating rule by force, establishing a violent social order, and the involvement of the military in the government.

 

Mexican gods:

gods associated with the culture of Mexico; Spengler he identifies it as a higher culture; two of the main gods were Quetzalcoatl, god of wisdom, life, knowledge, morning star, patron of the winds and light, the lord of the West; and Mictlantecuhtli, god of death, the lord of the Underworld; together they symbolize life and death.

 

Indian architecture:

architecture of the Indo-Aryan higher culture & civilization, the originators of the Hindu religion, emerged circa 1500 BC and disappeared circa 600 BC; our knowledge of this civilization is cursory.

 

Greco-Roman culture:

The higher Culture & Civilization Spengler calls Classical (sometime Apollonian), emerging 1100 BC and ending 200 BC onwards.

 

Cleon:

(460-422 BC) Athenian general during the Peloponnesian War; although an aristocrat himself he was the first prominent representative of the commercial class in Athenian politics; portrayed by contemporaries as a warmongering demagogue.

 

Marius:

(157- 86 BC) Roman general & statesman; significant in Rome's transformation from Republic to Empire; held office of consul an unprecedented 7 times; implemented important reforms on Roman armies (allowed recruitment of landless citizens, eliminated the manipular military formation, reorganized the legions into separate cohorts); defeated invading Germanic tribes, called "the third founder of Rome."

 

Catiline:

(108–62 BC) Roman Senator known for the second Catilinarian conspiracy (an attempt to overthrow the power of the aristocratic Senate).  He is also known for several acquittals in court, including one for the charge of adultery with a Vestal Virgin.  The second Catilinarian conspiracy was a plot, devised by Catiline in 63 BC.  Cicero exposed the plot, Catiline fled Rome.  His army was forced into battle near Pistoia &he was killed in battle.

 

Gracchi:

Tiberius & Gaius, brothers, Romans who served as tribunes; Tiberius elected Tribune of the Plebs in 133 BC, murdered at the hands of the Senate same year; in 123 BC, Gaius took the same office and like his brother also murdered by the senate, 121 BC.  Both attempted to pass land reform legislation to redistribute aristocratic landholdings among the urban poor and veterans in addition to other reform measures.  After achieving some early success, both were assassinated.

 

Faust:

Faust is a scholar, highly successful yet dissatisfied and prefers human to divine knowledge; this leads him to make a pact with the Devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures.  This legend is the basis for many literary works, especially Goethe’s Faustus.  “Faust" and the adjective "Faustian" imply a situation where an ambitious person surrenders moral integrity to achieve power & success for a limited term. Spengler refers to “the two souls of Faust” and uses this dichotomy (divine knowledge versus worldly power) to portray the materialist historians as against the ideological historians.