As usual, there will be no Book Club meeting in December, to allow for the holiday season. But here is a preview of what will be coming up in the new year. In keeping with the expansive ideals of Kosmos Society where we have read works from related languages and societies, we will be reading primary sources not only from the ancient Greek world, but also from other premodern cultures,… Read more
During the summer of 2023 the Kosmos book club read Chapter 17 of Diodorus Siculus’s Library[1], which described the career of Alexander the Great. I began to research more widely the women mentioned in the account, which involved researching Alexander’s family, background and contexts. Plutarch was also a useful source for this[2]. The first blogpost told of the sources and methodology I used and described some of the social and… Read more
We were delighted to welcome Andrew Szegedy-Maszak (Wesleyan University) for an Open House discussion entitled “Silver and Stone: The Daguerreotypes of Girault de Prangey.” The event was live-streamed on Friday, November 17, at 11 a.m. EST, and was recorded. You can watch on the Kosmos Society YouTube channel or below. In preparation for the event, you might like to read the following: “Monumental Journey: The Daguerreotypes of Girault de Prangey”… Read more
We have now discussed the physical characteristics of animals and their methods of generation. Their habits and their modes of living vary according to their character and their food…. Opening of Book 8, translation by D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson. For November, we will read selections from Aristotle’s History of Animals. In the Prefatory Note to his translation[1], D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson puts the composition of these studies in Aristotle’s middle age, started… Read more
This series of blogposts originated in the Kosmos Society’s Book Club reading, in the summer of 2023, of Diodorus Siculus’ Library, Book 17, which concerns the campaigns of Alexander the Great[1] in the fourth century BCE. As we read, it became evident that more contextual material was available in Books 16, 18, 19 and 20 of the Library, and also in the works of Plutarch[2] and Arrian[3]. Wikipedia dates Diodorus… Read more
We were pleased to welcome Susan Sauvé Meyer, University of Pennsylvania, for an Open House discussion about her new translation abridged from the Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle. The discussion was streamed live on Friday October 20 at 11 a.m. EDT on the Kosmos Society YouTube channel, and was recorded. In preparation for this event you might like to read: her article ‘Aristotelian virtues for social media‘ an article from the… Read more
We were excited to welcome Robert Garland for an Open House entitled “Dionysus versus Pentheus.” The event took place on Friday, September 8 at 11:00 a.m. EDT and was recorded. To get ready for the event, you might like to read Bacchae and think about the questions Garland is posing: Questions for Bacchae You can watch the recording down below or on the Kosmos Society YouTube channel Robert Garland Robert… Read more
I present you a new Play, which they call “Epidicazomenos,” in Greek: in the Latin, he calls it “Phormio;” because the person that acts the principal part is Phormio, a Parasite, through whom, principally, the plot will be carried on from the Prologue, translated by Henry Thomas Riley For October, we come to our second play of the year: Phormio (“The Scheming Parasite”) by Terence. The Encyclopedia Britannica[1] says that… Read more
In the beginning, especially, married people ought to be on their guard against disagreements and clashes, for they see that such household vessels as are made of sections joined together are at the outset easily pulled apart by any fortuitous cause, but after a time, when their joints have become set, they can hardly be separated by fire and steel. from ‘Advice to Bride and Groom’, translation by F. C.… Read more
Galanthus nivalis, a flower that blooms in January and is native to Greece and the surrounding region. The Kosmos Society’s sponsoring institution, the Harvard University Center for Hellenic Studies, will be phasing out its support during the next two months such that by October 1, 2023, Kosmos will be fully independent of the Center. In practical terms, what this means is that you should watch this space for further information… Read more
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