S.P. Ward�s concern in writing �Reflections on Plato�s Theology� has been to analyse some of the principal features of Plato�s theological beliefs in the middle and late period dialogues. In doing this, he presumes no knowledge of Greek, and although Greek is included for certain terms, all key words are translated. A bibliography and basic index is also supplied. In this respect, therefore, the work is a genuinely useful tool for encouraging further research on these fascinating themes, whilst providing a foundation of knowledge for the undergraduate and curious beginner.

The book focuses primarily on theological issues. These are discussed within the context of the philosophical methods designed to engineer the soul�s salvation, rather than the wider moral and political issues which arise in implementing the ideal state.� This emphasis does, therefore,� tend to focus on Plato�s fundamental beliefs concerning gods, souls, Forms, etc; the problems and inconsistencies that arise as a result, and the consequences for a credible theology. The importance of the work rests chiefly on Ward�s ability to unify the seemingly disparate and sometimes contradictory strands of Plato�s theological beliefs within this relatively narrow context, and then present them as a coherent whole. In respect to this,� it is worth noting that Plato�s philosophy was not a rigid and unchanging ideology, but developed as a flexible collection of theories and ideas. Ward attempts to take this development into account, without blindly assuming Plato�s philosophy emerged as a fully formed philosophical system, which he then slowly chose to reveal to others over time. In doing this, he highlights possible problems as they arise within the context of a single dialogue. He then contrasts these with earlier and later theories by recourse to a number of other dialogues. This rather free mix and match approach invites criticism and speculation, whilst providing a more complete picture for the reader who seeks a more general,� holistic view.

S.P. Ward�s concern in writing �Reflections on Plato�s Theology� has been to analyse some of the principal features of Plato�s theological beliefs in the middle and late period dialogues. In doing this, he presumes no knowledge of Greek, and although Greek is included for certain terms, all key words are translated. A bibliography and basic index is also supplied. In this respect, therefore, the work is a genuinely useful tool for encouraging further research on these fascinating themes, whilst providing a foundation of knowledge for the undergraduate and curious beginner.

The book focuses primarily on theological issues. These are discussed within the context of the philosophical methods designed to engineer the soul�s salvation, rather than the wider moral and political issues which arise in implementing the ideal state.� This emphasis does, therefore,� tend to focus on Plato�s fundamental beliefs concerning gods, souls, Forms, etc; the problems and inconsistencies that arise as a result, and the consequences for a credible theology. The importance of the work rests chiefly on Ward�s ability to unify the seemingly disparate and sometimes contradictory strands of Plato�s theological beliefs within this relatively narrow context, and then present them as a coherent whole. In respect to this,� it is worth noting that Plato�s philosophy was not a rigid and unchanging ideology, but developed as a flexible collection of theories and ideas. Ward attempts to take this development into account, without blindly assuming Plato�s philosophy emerged as a fully formed philosophical system, which he then slowly chose to reveal to others over time. In doing this, he highlights possible problems as they arise within the context of a single dialogue. He then contrasts these with earlier and later theories by recourse to a number of other dialogues. This rather free mix and match approach invites criticism and speculation, whilst providing a more complete picture for the reader who seeks a more general,� holistic view.

S.P. Ward�s concern in writing �Reflections on Plato�s Theology� has been to analyse some of the principal features of Plato�s theological beliefs in the middle and late period dialogues. In doing this, he presumes no knowledge of Greek, and although Greek is included for certain terms, all key words are translated. A bibliography and basic index is also supplied. In this respect, therefore, the work is a genuinely useful tool for encouraging further research on these fascinating themes, whilst providing a foundation of knowledge for the undergraduate and curious beginner.

The book focuses primarily on theological issues. These are discussed within the context of the philosophical methods designed to engineer the soul�s salvation, rather than the wider moral and political issues which arise in implementing the ideal state.� This emphasis does, therefore,� tend to focus on Plato�s fundamental beliefs concerning gods, souls, Forms, etc; the problems and inconsistencies that arise as a result, and the consequences for a credible theology. The importance of the work rests chiefly on Ward�s ability to unify the seemingly disparate and sometimes contradictory strands of Plato�s theological beliefs within this relatively narrow context, and then present them as a coherent whole. In respect to this,� it is worth noting that Plato�s philosophy was not a rigid and unchanging ideology, but developed as a flexible collection of theories and ideas. Ward attempts to take this development into account, without blindly assuming Plato�s philosophy emerged as a fully formed philosophical system, which he then slowly chose to reveal to others over time. In doing this, he highlights possible problems as they arise within the context of a single dialogue. He then contrasts these with earlier and later theories by recourse to a number of other dialogues. This rather free mix and match approach invites criticism and speculation, whilst providing a more complete picture for the reader who seeks a more general,� holistic view.

There have been many books on the origin of astronomy some good and some very poorly address the issues of ancient mans interests in the stars. The ancient Sumer and Egyptian notions of music mostly confirms how ancient this notion is in their chorded progressions of tone. This notion is more an Upper Paleolithic celestial idea. In a sense man during this time man was beginning to have a concept of north, south, east and west in spatial terms. It involves the curvature of the ribs of Nut the Egyptian Sky Goddess as a ribbed vaulted sky, and sometimes in a horizon sense of a bowing arch of a stars path, or the curve of a bone in the stars moving path. The half way point of this fall for say our Nut, Adam and Eve would thus be about 27,000 BC which falls in a significant period Ice Age re-emergence and a deserts expanding in equator regions. These are only a small part of what had to addressed in origins of night sky studies. The point being this piece as fake or not is that the components of the animals, man, plants and man’s artifacts were very early on displayed. We might ask in such a condition what was their night sky? If we look at all of these constellations they fall below the Celestial Equator in the South Pole region mostly. It would seem that all these birds to them being placed in the night sky like the stars and as they watched what directions the birds along with stars as to where they went in order to ascertain their relations to dusk or dawn night sky. What caused the South Africa plight of 80,000 BC? The Antarctica had been growing ice forms from 170,000 BC to 80,000 BC towards the north, and then around 70,000 BC there seemed to be a melting trend back south. In an astronomy sense we can thank him for larger game entering in the pantheon of the constellations, or the leaf, otter, and some constellations lost to time like the mammoths. What does this have to do with constellations, taboos, or the advent of Cro-Magnon man well in the depictions of constellation images? Slowly from east to west the stars move, but then it did not take man not long after 70,000 BC to note that some planets or stars seemed to move retrograde in the night sky? This book address what ideas did they show or have before or after these earth changes. As ideas such as: "Maybe, it was a ‘lasso’ constellation for some animals capture as a God of Capture." And, "Somewhere around the time of 50,000 BC in the region of northern England to the region above the Black Sea there occurred a melting phase between the ice ages and cultures began to spread". The evidence of this is found by different locations in Europe and Central Europe of the use of rock shadows, stars noted by hands in movement, and certain hand symbols by star images or dots as stars not just stab marks. Ironic again that Man beside Woman on the pole treetop does not have strong reminders of the Adam-Eve Tree and the Serpent as maybe Draco? The symbol anciently always shows the snake at the foot of the tree or ascended the tree at the apex of the trunk which if astronomy wise would mean an ascended constellation to the Zenith or the Pole! Draco thus deposed Adam and Eve from their own constellation garden and domain by it ascending as an ancient Pole Axis Mundi? Thus the smoke screen really is a tied between this local area of France and Late Paleolithic Mans ideas of that region in the night sky of a certain year or month period of hunting. Although we have jumped forward in the time of ancient astronomy beginnings in a way really in this sense we have not. To the real beginnings of little known ancient astronomy.

There have been many books on the origin of astronomy some good and some very poorly address the issues of ancient mans interests in the stars. The ancient Sumer and Egyptian notions of music mostly confirms how ancient this notion is in their chorded progressions of tone. This notion is more an Upper Paleolithic celestial idea. In a sense man during this time man was beginning to have a concept of north, south, east and west in spatial terms. It involves the curvature of the ribs of Nut the Egyptian Sky Goddess as a ribbed vaulted sky, and sometimes in a horizon sense of a bowing arch of a stars path, or the curve of a bone in the stars moving path. The half way point of this fall for say our Nut, Adam and Eve would thus be about 27,000 BC which falls in a significant period Ice Age re-emergence and a deserts expanding in equator regions. These are only a small part of what had to addressed in origins of night sky studies. The point being this piece as fake or not is that the components of the animals, man, plants and man’s artifacts were very early on displayed. We might ask in such a condition what was their night sky? If we look at all of these constellations they fall below the Celestial Equator in the South Pole region mostly. It would seem that all these birds to them being placed in the night sky like the stars and as they watched what directions the birds along with stars as to where they went in order to ascertain their relations to dusk or dawn night sky. What caused the South Africa plight of 80,000 BC? The Antarctica had been growing ice forms from 170,000 BC to 80,000 BC towards the north, and then around 70,000 BC there seemed to be a melting trend back south. In an astronomy sense we can thank him for larger game entering in the pantheon of the constellations, or the leaf, otter, and some constellations lost to time like the mammoths. What does this have to do with constellations, taboos, or the advent of Cro-Magnon man well in the depictions of constellation images? Slowly from east to west the stars move, but then it did not take man not long after 70,000 BC to note that some planets or stars seemed to move retrograde in the night sky? This book address what ideas did they show or have before or after these earth changes. As ideas such as: "Maybe, it was a ‘lasso’ constellation for some animals capture as a God of Capture." And, "Somewhere around the time of 50,000 BC in the region of northern England to the region above the Black Sea there occurred a melting phase between the ice ages and cultures began to spread". The evidence of this is found by different locations in Europe and Central Europe of the use of rock shadows, stars noted by hands in movement, and certain hand symbols by star images or dots as stars not just stab marks. Ironic again that Man beside Woman on the pole treetop does not have strong reminders of the Adam-Eve Tree and the Serpent as maybe Draco? The symbol anciently always shows the snake at the foot of the tree or ascended the tree at the apex of the trunk which if astronomy wise would mean an ascended constellation to the Zenith or the Pole! Draco thus deposed Adam and Eve from their own constellation garden and domain by it ascending as an ancient Pole Axis Mundi? Thus the smoke screen really is a tied between this local area of France and Late Paleolithic Mans ideas of that region in the night sky of a certain year or month period of hunting. Although we have jumped forward in the time of ancient astronomy beginnings in a way really in this sense we have not. To the real beginnings of little known ancient astronomy.

There have been many books on the origin of astronomy some good and some very poorly address the issues of ancient mans interests in the stars. The ancient Sumer and Egyptian notions of music mostly confirms how ancient this notion is in their chorded progressions of tone. This notion is more an Upper Paleolithic celestial idea. In a sense man during this time man was beginning to have a concept of north, south, east and west in spatial terms. It involves the curvature of the ribs of Nut the Egyptian Sky Goddess as a ribbed vaulted sky, and sometimes in a horizon sense of a bowing arch of a stars path, or the curve of a bone in the stars moving path. The half way point of this fall for say our Nut, Adam and Eve would thus be about 27,000 BC which falls in a significant period Ice Age re-emergence and a deserts expanding in equator regions. These are only a small part of what had to addressed in origins of night sky studies. The point being this piece as fake or not is that the components of the animals, man, plants and man’s artifacts were very early on displayed. We might ask in such a condition what was their night sky? If we look at all of these constellations they fall below the Celestial Equator in the South Pole region mostly. It would seem that all these birds to them being placed in the night sky like the stars and as they watched what directions the birds along with stars as to where they went in order to ascertain their relations to dusk or dawn night sky. What caused the South Africa plight of 80,000 BC? The Antarctica had been growing ice forms from 170,000 BC to 80,000 BC towards the north, and then around 70,000 BC there seemed to be a melting trend back south. In an astronomy sense we can thank him for larger game entering in the pantheon of the constellations, or the leaf, otter, and some constellations lost to time like the mammoths. What does this have to do with constellations, taboos, or the advent of Cro-Magnon man well in the depictions of constellation images? Slowly from east to west the stars move, but then it did not take man not long after 70,000 BC to note that some planets or stars seemed to move retrograde in the night sky? This book address what ideas did they show or have before or after these earth changes. As ideas such as: "Maybe, it was a ‘lasso’ constellation for some animals capture as a God of Capture." And, "Somewhere around the time of 50,000 BC in the region of northern England to the region above the Black Sea there occurred a melting phase between the ice ages and cultures began to spread". The evidence of this is found by different locations in Europe and Central Europe of the use of rock shadows, stars noted by hands in movement, and certain hand symbols by star images or dots as stars not just stab marks. Ironic again that Man beside Woman on the pole treetop does not have strong reminders of the Adam-Eve Tree and the Serpent as maybe Draco? The symbol anciently always shows the snake at the foot of the tree or ascended the tree at the apex of the trunk which if astronomy wise would mean an ascended constellation to the Zenith or the Pole! Draco thus deposed Adam and Eve from their own constellation garden and domain by it ascending as an ancient Pole Axis Mundi? Thus the smoke screen really is a tied between this local area of France and Late Paleolithic Mans ideas of that region in the night sky of a certain year or month period of hunting. Although we have jumped forward in the time of ancient astronomy beginnings in a way really in this sense we have not. To the real beginnings of little known ancient astronomy.

Philosophy, as seen by the ancient Greek philosophers, was an attempt to understand our world and the cosmos in a rational manner, without reference to gods or to religion in general. They had recognized from the outset, that faith based systems of religion were irreconcilable with philosophical thinking. This approach to living contrasted with everything preceding it in the world. The philosopher encouraged discussion of his theories and of their pertinence — their ideas, are still today worthy of our closest attention.

After putting the ancient Greeks in a fl eeting historical context, by considering the period called the “Age of Pericles and Alexander” and its monumental flowering in philosophy, architecture, literature, democracy, etc, we look briefl y at the progression and teaching of the founders of the main schools of philosophy. We fi nd that their teachings had also a practical orientation in that they provided a basis for a “way of living”, aiming at social harmony. It is high time that this be re-discovered.

Philosophy, as seen by the ancient Greek philosophers, was an attempt to understand our world and the cosmos in a rational manner, without reference to gods or to religion in general. They had recognized from the outset, that faith based systems of religion were irreconcilable with philosophical thinking. This approach to living contrasted with everything preceding it in the world. The philosopher encouraged discussion of his theories and of their pertinence — their ideas, are still today worthy of our closest attention.

After putting the ancient Greeks in a fl eeting historical context, by considering the period called the “Age of Pericles and Alexander” and its monumental flowering in philosophy, architecture, literature, democracy, etc, we look briefl y at the progression and teaching of the founders of the main schools of philosophy. We fi nd that their teachings had also a practical orientation in that they provided a basis for a “way of living”, aiming at social harmony. It is high time that this be re-discovered.

Books One and Two, of the "Tales Of The Man Da’oud" might best be thought of as folk tales from bronze age Mesopotamia. Taken from the oral apocrypha of the Ha’piru, the ‘Tales’ primarily concern the relationship between the Man Da’oud and ´the great judge of all things´. They first appear in Hebraic script during the eighth century before the Common Era, now retold and rewritten in a modern readable idiom. The ´Tales´ were carried by the itinerate story tellers of the time from camp to camp of the herders and gatherers, from the hills and valleys of the Levant, across the slopes of the Caucasus, to the ´Lands Between the Rivers´. The ´Tales´ lay dormant, lost and unknown until the liberation of Jerusalem in 1967.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK is - To answer the question “what kind of realism fits and explains the ancient Greek mentality?”. - to find out to what extent ancient Greek Realism involves at least the claim that there is a reality independent of us and our minds, and that what we think understand and recognize does not necessarily exhaust what that reality involves (chapter 1). - to show that ancient Greek realism is compatible a). with a modern non-linguistic, non-analytical philosophical realism, b). with a direct realist causal theory of perception and knowledge (ch. 1), and c). with commonsense realism (ch. 1.2.1 and 3.2.1.)- to show that this kind of realism is the most influential way in which ancient Greeks view the world and their life (ch.1 and 2).- to examine the ethics of ancient Greek realism and to see how modern readers and specifically twenty three (23) American students interpret (and respond to) ancient Greek realism as a way of life (ch. 2)- to examine the anti-realist sceptical trends in ancient Greek thought and the relationship between skepticism and anti-realism (ch. 1 and 3) - to see what is the modern version of Ancient Greek Realism according to the Radical Academy, Center for Applied Philosophy, Oregon , USA (ch. 1).; the author is a consulting fellow in Greek Philosophy at the RADICAL ACADEMY, which substantiates, defines and defends realism as one of the most positive ways to live and philosophize. This book began as a series of papers on ancient Greek and modern philosophy written in 1995-97 while I was a Ph.D. student at the Philosophy Department of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. I am indebted to my supervisors Prof. Theodore Scaltsas and Basileios Kyrkos for their valuable instruction. Some of the material of this book is drawn also from papers and short studies I have published in the past.

The "TALES OF THE MAN DA´OUD" (Book One) is a collection of what might be termed folk tales from bronze age Mesopotamia. Taken from the oral apocrypha of the Ha´piru, the ´Tales´ primarily concern the relationship between the man Da´oud and ´the great judge of all things´. They first appear in written form during the eighth century before the common era, now retold and rewritten in a modern readable idiom. These ´Tales´ were carried by the itinerate story tellers of the time from camp to camp of the herders and gatherers, from the hills and valleys of the Levant, across the slopes of the Caucasus, to the lands between the rivers. The ´Tales´ lay dormant, lost and unknown until the liberation of Jerusalem in 1967.

"[In this book]…believers in the value of reasoning will find themselves in very hospitable territory, where they will have the pleasure on confronting ideas that are defined with argument, and to which, should they on occasion disagree with one or the other of them, they will always feel that nothing less than a carefully reasoned response is called for. And that is the highest praise that I can think of for its author. Like Socrates, he is in love with reason; and like Socrates, he finds that other lovers of reason sense a kindred spirit and engage." Thomas M. Robinson, University of Toronto.

"[In this book]…believers in the value of reasoning will find themselves in very hospitable territory, where they will have the pleasure on confronting ideas that are defined with argument, and to which, should they on occasion disagree with one or the other of them, they will always feel that nothing less than a carefully reasoned response is called for. And that is the highest praise that I can think of for its author. Like Socrates, he is in love with reason; and like Socrates, he finds that other lovers of reason sense a kindred spirit and engage." Thomas M. Robinson, University of Toronto.

Conversations With Socrates is set in the Isles of the Blest, where shortly after his death Plato searches for Socrates to rediscuss the issues that inspired their intellectual endeavors on Earth. Along with an Orphic priest, a young mother and her son, Socrates and Plato discuss the nature of virtue, happiness, justice, the absolute, love, the soul, education and idealism.

In Conversations With Socrates Plato explains a new version of his Eternal Ideas theory: �that there is an unchanging ideational structure to life. �In addition to the continual reorganization of matter that proceeds in conformity with the law of gravity and similar laws, Plato argues that all the changes in our emotions, our desires and our personalities also proceed in conformity with inviolable laws: the Eternal Ideas.

Plato�s clarification of this inherent order also reveals the theoretical weaknesses in other conceptions about the justice of life and leads to a new fundamental principle: that the quality of our happiness is directly related to the quality of our desires.

The main aim in these philosophical dialogues, as in Plato�s own, is to stimulate thought about the most important issues of life. �But they are also designed to recapture the Socratic atmosphere: mathematical analogies, humorous examples, ironic comments, the occasional sarcastic question, linguistic digressions, capitalized Ideas, word-play, mystically-tinged, but rationally argued, concepts, an overwhelming enthusiasm for philosophy, friendship and Platonic love, an almost religious desire to become emotionally pure and innocent (while remaining intellectually ironic), setting up faulty concepts for an easy fall, being prejudiced against non-philosophical desires and the human race in general, complimenting each other, agreeing too often with each other, being flippant about death, and taking the gods, the Isles of the Blest and reincarnation for granted. �Which is precisely the way one should converse with Socrates.

Conversations With Socrates is set in the Isles of the Blest, where shortly after his death Plato searches for Socrates to rediscuss the issues that inspired their intellectual endeavors on Earth. Along with an Orphic priest, a young mother and her son, Socrates and Plato discuss the nature of virtue, happiness, justice, the absolute, love, the soul, education and idealism.

In Conversations With Socrates Plato explains a new version of his Eternal Ideas theory: �that there is an unchanging ideational structure to life. �In addition to the continual reorganization of matter that proceeds in conformity with the law of gravity and similar laws, Plato argues that all the changes in our emotions, our desires and our personalities also proceed in conformity with inviolable laws: the Eternal Ideas.

Plato�s clarification of this inherent order also reveals the theoretical weaknesses in other conceptions about the justice of life and leads to a new fundamental principle: that the quality of our happiness is directly related to the quality of our desires.

The main aim in these philosophical dialogues, as in Plato�s own, is to stimulate thought about the most important issues of life. �But they are also designed to recapture the Socratic atmosphere: mathematical analogies, humorous examples, ironic comments, the occasional sarcastic question, linguistic digressions, capitalized Ideas, word-play, mystically-tinged, but rationally argued, concepts, an overwhelming enthusiasm for philosophy, friendship and Platonic love, an almost religious desire to become emotionally pure and innocent (while remaining intellectually ironic), setting up faulty concepts for an easy fall, being prejudiced against non-philosophical desires and the human race in general, complimenting each other, agreeing too often with each other, being flippant about death, and taking the gods, the Isles of the Blest and reincarnation for granted. �Which is precisely the way one should converse with Socrates.