Beauty: a concept of the mind that is intangible, culturally influenced, and fluid. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, say many. The realm of beauty is as old as humanity. The topic canvasses from philosophy to religion from natural to man-made. This is a huge topic, from which I will focus on the Homeric Iliad and Odyssey, and explore how people in antiquity thought about beauty. I have… Read more
Following the exploration of Aphrodite and Artemis in the shorter Homeric Hymns, it’s Athena’s turn. There are two hymns: 11 and 28. I start with the shorter one: Homeric Hymn (11) to Athena [1] Of Pallas Athene, city-protector [erusi-ptolis], I begin to sing. Terrible [deinos] is she, and with Ares she loves deeds of war [polemēios], the sacking [perthesthai] of cities [polis] and the shouting [aütē] and wars [ptolemos]. It… Read more
To tie in with this month’s Book Club readings which include the Epinician Odes of Bacchylides, this Gallery features some ancient Greek artworks featuring the kinds of athletic contests celebrated in the poems. These contests seem to have been a favorite subject in the visual as well as the verbal arts from the earliest periods. Chariot race According to Britannica “From four to six chariots competed in a single race, normally… Read more
In part 1 of this series on trees and wood, I found examples of their being used for practical purposes in Homer and Hesiod, and a more detailed analysis by Theophrastus and others in part 2. I also found that Homer and Hesiod also include references to myths, rituals, and sacred spaces associated with trees and wood, including nymphs, so for part 3, this current post, I looked for further… Read more
I became intrigued in the subject of androgyny after some of our Book Club readings. Plato, in the Symposium, reveals a myth on the origin of mankind through the speech of Aristophanes (starting at 189d). The Symposium is a series of amusing speeches on the subject of love, supposedly composed during a meal given by the young poet Agathon. Aristophanes decides to demonstrate the origin of love. In the beginning, he says,… Read more