This study seeks to ascertain European views concerning the nature of the indigenous population of Peru by employing contemporary works of Spanish chroniclers. Major focus is on the ideological background of the conquest with elaborations on Iberian philosophies held by conquistadors. Equally important are evaluations of Indian religion and social customs based on such sources as Aristotelian and Thomist doctrines as understood by Spanish writers. Political organization and the hierarchy of rulers play vital roles in determining why the Spaniards overwhelmed the Indians. Conquest destroyed the socio-economic structure of the Inca Empire, and the bonds holding communities together were lost as the Incas accepted Catholicism as their cult.

This thesis was written to examine Goethe's efforts to emulate the Greeks and write in their spirit. Works most helpful in the study were Humphry Trevelyan's Goethe and the Greeks, Kenry Hatfield's Aesthetic Paganism in German Literature, Eliza Butler's The Tyranny of Greece over Germany, and the works of Goethe which show his relationship with the Greeks.