In April 2023 the Kosmos Society Book Club read Theophrastus’ Characters[1]. Wikipedia says that Theophrastus lived in Athens from 371–280 BCE, and was a pupil of Aristotle. Diogenes Laertius[2] gives us a description of Theophrastus’ life, and also a copy of his will. There is also a bibliography of his writings, although very little has survived. One of the surviving texts is Characters, which consists of thirty descriptions of behaviours… Read more
Mixing bowl (volute krater)Museum of Fine Arts of BostonAccession Number 03.804 He is one of those bit players in Homer who are so unforgettable. Caustic, repulsive, and comedic all at the same time, Thersites has always been the source of controversy. Who was he? And was he intended to be dangerously insurrectionist or only entertaining? It is an often overlooked aspect of the Thersites story that he was said by post-Homeric… Read more
Quite regularly the conversation of the Kosmos community returns to the subjects of astronomy and geography. In this post I will attempt to summarize what has been discussed, while focusing on the work of Anaximander, my favorite physiologos. His approach of understanding the world through rationalization and argumented dialogue [logos] was the logical next step after the period of oral tradition. No less than the messenger of the gods, Hermes,… Read more
A poignant scene in the Homeric Odyssey is when Odysseus’ dog recognizes him upon his arrival in Ithaka in disguise. This faithful dog, now old and sick due to the lack of care by the servants dies shortly after this recognition scene. The bond between Odysseus and Argos still touches us deeply. This was Argos, whom patient-hearted Odysseus had bred before setting out for Troy, but he had never had… Read more
The Odyssey is the hot topic for the summer of 2026. At Kosmos Society we have discussed the epic over the years, so here are just a few of the article posts, videos, and learning resources for those who wish to explore further. You can find a copy of the poem in the Text Library. Articles This is a selection of posts written by community members about aspects of the characters… Read more
In mid-July, Christopher Nolan’s new movie rendition of The Odyssey will be released. The Kosmos Society will host a special Friday Café Social on August 7. 11 a.m. EDT, so we can gather and discuss what we thought of the movie. All Kosmos Society members are invited. The link for café will be posted in the thread Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey a few days before the meeting. In the meantime, please… Read more
The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours[1] is based on a course that Professor Gregory Nagy has been teaching at Harvard University since the late 1970s. The book discusses selected readings of texts, all translated from the original Greek into English. The texts include the Homeric Iliad and Odyssey; selected Homeric Hymns; the Hesiodic Theogony and Works and Days; selected songs of Sappho and Pindar; selections from the Histories of Herodotus;… Read more
We are pleased to share the following video in which Jeffrey Rusten, of Cornell University, provides some suggestions on how to analyze the language of Thucydides, different types of sentence structure, patterns of contrast and comparison, the use of phrases, and word order. He demonstrates a method of visualizing the structure of a sentence through the use of layout. He also discusses the style of Thucydides compared with other Greek… Read more
“Dué argues that the attested multiforms of the Iliad—in ancient quotations, on papyrus, and in the scholia of medieval manuscripts—give us glimpses of the very long history of the text, access to even earlier Iliads, and a greater awareness of the mechanisms by which such a remarkable poem could be composed in performance. Using methodologies grounded in an understanding of Homeric poetry as a system, Achilles Unbound argues for nothing… Read more
The latest Kosmos Book Club Discussion included a passage about a father giving advice to his son. An experienced father was lending his knowledge to his child. Ovid’s story of Phoebus and Phaethon inspired us to look at other passages from antiquity with father figures advising their children. In the production of children both [parents] share alike; but each makes a different contribution to their upbringing. It is the mother… Read more
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