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Book Club | February 2019: Plutarch at Delphi

Note also these inscriptions here, ‘Know thyself’ and ‘Avoid extremes,’ how many philosophic inquiries have they set on foot, and what a horde of discourses has sprung up from each, as from a seed ! And no less productive of discourse than any one of them, as I think, is the present subject of inquiry. This month the Book Club readings are by Plutarch. According to the Oxford Classical Dictionary[1]… Read more

The Idealized Ship | Part 1: Curved, crowned, and garlanded

Both the Iliad and the Odyssey play a key role in our understanding of the ancient Greek ship, in her physical and her metonymic appearance. In this section we will consider the epithet korōnis [κορωνίς] that describes the form of the ancient Greek ship. The word in Greek that we translate as ‘form’ is ideā [ἰδέα]. There is also the word eidos [εἶδος]. In Plato there is no real difference… Read more

Open House | Metus hostilis and fear appeals in 4th c. BCE rhetoric, with Maria G. Xanthou

We are pleased to welcome back Maria G. Xanthou for an Open House discussion on Metus hostilis: rhetorical configurations of fear in 4th century BCE rhetoric, focusing on Isocrates and Demosthenes. The event was streamed live on Thursday, January 31st 2019 at 11 a.m. EST, and was recorded. To prepare for the event, you might like to read the focus passages in this PDF handout: Xanthou Open House Fear Appeals… Read more

Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.194–202: Wild men holding Odysseus back

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 dreamed of reading Homer in the original, here is your chance to do so with teachers who have spent a lifetime thinking about this poetry. With their guidance even new… Read more

Open House | The Social Networks of Athenian Potters, with Eleni Hasaki and Diane Harris Cline

We were pleased to welcome Eleni Hasaki, Associate Professor at the School of Anthropology and Department of Religious Studies and Classics of University of Arizona and Diane Harris Cline Associate Professor of History of George Washington University for a discussion on The Social Networks of Athenian Potters. The event was recorded. You can watch the event on our YouTube channel or in the frame below. For further videos please visit… Read more