A guest post by Sarah Scott Gold: a precious metal that seems to shine like the sun, and does not tarnish or rust. No wonder it is associated with the gods. We see this when the gods meet: Now the gods were sitting with Zeus in council upon the golden floor while the goddess Hebe went round pouring out nectar for them to drink, and as they pledged one another… Read more
This is the display of the inquiry of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, so that things done by man not be forgotten in time, and that great and marvelous deeds, some displayed by the Hellenes, some by the barbarians, not lose their glory, including among others what was the cause of their waging war on each other. (Herodotus Histories 1.1.0) Our next Book Club will feature selections from Herodotus Histories: Book 1… Read more
“The Argo,” Konstantinos Volanakis (1837–1907), [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Classical Inquiries has published an article by Gregory Nagy asking, “What is on Homer’s mind?” In that posting, Nagy argues that “all humans have on their minds both the ship Argo and the hero Odysseus.” A key word for Nagy’s argument is merimna, which he defines as a ‘care, concern, a troubled thought’, or even ‘a song that is on one’s mind’. We are happy to… Read more
We were pleased to welcome Timothy Power (Rutgers University) for an Open House discussion on ‘Rhapsodes, Kitharôidia, and Performance in Ancient Greece’. For additional reading associated with this event, you might like to read the Introduction and Chapter 1 of Timothy Power’s book The Culture of Kitharôidia, available for free online. You can watch the event on our YouTube channel, or below. Members can start and continue discussion in this… Read more
To celebrate Valentine’s day, I chose Ovid for this Gallery about Love. He was the first to write about the art of love and gallantry. Ovid was born in 43 BCE. He was a talented poet. He was educated in Rome and traveled in Greece. He composed many beautiful works. Ovid’s Metamorphoses was written during the Augustan period. He lived during the same period as Virgil and Horace. He was very popular,… Read more