Archive

Apobatics in Karachi

A guest post by Safdar Mandviwala I submit that the moment when a fully-armed warrior or contestant in an apobatic[1] chariot race releases his firm right-hand grip on the left handle bar of a speeding chariot and leaps into mid-air, he is daimoni īsos[2], equal to a super-human force. Just as when the hero warrior is confronted with death in battle he is equal to an unspecified super-human force, usually… Read more

Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.80–92: Epithets of gods, of cattle, of Achaeans, and of Odysseus

We are pleased to share this segment in the series on reading Homeric epic in ancient Greek. In each installment we read, translate, and discuss a small passage in the original Greek in the most accessible way. If you’ve ever wanted to read Homer in ancient Greek, here is your chance to do so with teachers who have spent a lifetime studying these works. Together they help even new readers… Read more

Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.63–79: Polyphemus, traditions of the Cyclopes, Poseidon and Zeus

We are pleased to share this segment in the series on reading Homeric epic in ancient Greek. In each installment we read, translate, and discuss a small passage in the original Greek in the most accessible way. If you’ve ever wanted to read Homer in ancient Greek, here is your chance to do so with teachers who have spent a lifetime studying these works. Together they help even new readers… Read more

Nafplio, Argos and Mycenea: Travel-study, Leg 1

CHS Greece A guest post by Janet M. Ozsolak I had the opportunity to travel to Greece with Harvard Alumni Association’s travel-study program which was led by Gregory Nagy. I came back with great memories. The first leg of the travel-study program focused on Nafplio and its environs, namely Argos and Mycenae. Nafplio was the capital of the First Hellenic Republic and of the Kingdom of Greece, from the start… Read more

Prototypical Art

Image 1: Minoan larnax c 14th–12th century BCE   In the discussion forum, we observed that Doric and Mycenaean elements came back quite openly in the geometric art of the Homeric age. The decorative band of alternating “triglyphs” [τρίγλυφος] and “metopes” [μετόπη] on the sides of the Middle Geometric kraters were recognized as a memory of the wooden constructions in ancient Doric temples. In a similar way the Mycenaean elements… Read more