Lesson plan
Echthroi
Echthroi (ἐχθροί) is a Greek plural meaning "the enemy" (literally "enemies"). The singular form of the word, echthros (ἐχθρός), is used in many versions and translations of the Bible for "enemy". The words echthros and echthroi occur mainly in connection with biblical studies and in literary criticism of classical literature, specifically Greek tragedy. Aristotle and others classified people encountered by characters in tragedy into "philoi" (friends and loved ones), "echthroi" (enemies), and "medetoeroi" (neither enemy or friend), with the characters and their audience seeking a positive outcome for the first group and the downfall of the second. The term also appears in Canto XII of the little-known epic The Purple Island by seventeenth-century poet and rector Phineas Fletcher, apparently in the general meaning of enemies.
Article summary
Echthroi (ἐχθροί) is a Greek plural meaning "the enemy" (literally "enemies"). The singular form of the word, echthros (ἐχθρός), is used in many versions and translations of the Bible for "enemy". The words echthros and echthroi occur mainly in connection with biblical studies and in literary criticism of classical literature, specifically Greek tragedy. Aristotle and others classified people encountered by characters in tragedy into "philoi" (friends and loved ones), "echthroi" (enemies), and "medetoeroi" (neither enemy or friend), with the characters and their audience seeking a positive outcome for the first group and the downfall of the second. The term also appears in Canto XII of the little-known epic The Purple Island by seventeenth-century poet and rector Phineas Fletcher, apparently in the general meaning of enemies.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.