Archive

Visiting Scholars

Open House | Achilles and Aeneas ‘beyond fate’: An exploration of Iliad 20 and the Multiformity of the Iliad, with Casey Dué

We were pleased to welcome Casey Dué of University of Houston for an Open House discussion about multiformity of the Iliad with special focus on Iliad 20. It took place on Thursday, May 3, at 11:00 a.m. EDT, and was recorded. In preparation, you might like to read: Iliad 20 this blog post at The Homer Multitext. You can view the event on our YouTube channel or in the frame… Read more

History

Phalanx Warfare Transformed: Innovation in Ancient Greek Warfare 431–331 BCE | Part 2: Leuctra and Gaugamela

Previously, Part 1 of this post discussed hoplite warfare and how the battle of Mantinea demonstrated the advantage of professionalism. Part 2 considers how the battles of Leuctra and Gaugamela continued the development of Greek and Macedonian warfare. Concentration of Force—Leuctra 371 BCE Location of Leuctra (Google maps) The end of the Peloponnesian War did not bring the promised “…beginning of freedom for all of Greece.”[1] Instead, Sparta provoked a… Read more

Visiting Scholars

Open House | Beautiful Bodies or Beautiful Minds: Disability Studies in Homer, with Joel Christensen

We were pleased to welcome Joel Christensen of Brandeis University, Department of Classics for an Open House discussion about Disability in Homer. It took place on Thursday, April 19, at 11:00 a.m. EDT, and was recorded. In preparation, you might like to read these focus passages (PDF handout): Beautiful Bodies or Beautiful Minds: Disability Studies in Homer—Readings Watch the recording on the screen below or on our YouTube channel For… Read more

History

The Theoretical Ship

By the second part of the Bronze Age the Mediterranean was a vibrant place, full of maritime activity, enabling exchange in knowledge and materials. The Greek art of building ships and knowing how to operate them was at the basis of western civilization. The natural drive to look beyond the horizon resulted in cultural growth, wealth, trade and migration.[1] The ancient Greeks explored new coastlines and envisaged to enter into… Read more

Book Club

Book Club | April 2018: The Tears of Achilles

In an epic text, how were poets able to represent emotion? How can we understand today their way of speaking? Did Achilles “copy” the behavior of warriors from those distant times? Or might it be the reverse: did the epic influence certain real behaviors? Our Book Club selection for April is taken from Hélène Monsacré: The Tears of Achilles, available online at CHS. This book, originally published in French as… Read more