There is nothing sweeter than to fly [petesthai]. Aristophanes Birds 1343 Flying has often been one of our challenges as humans. We like to watch birds fly and we have been trying to copy them. And in myth gods and other entities are able to fly. Here are some passages from the ancient world about flight that is not by birds. Actors representing birds. Black-figured wine-jug, c 510–490BCE. © The… Read more
In this Open House discussion, we welcomed Ryan Platte (Northwestern University) for a discussion on Equine Poetics, with particular attention on comparisons of the chariot race in bridal contests. Update: you can now find his book Equine Poetics, part of the Hellenic Studies Series, online. You can view the event in the frame below, or on our YouTube channel. Selected references mentioned in the discussion: Pindar Olympian 1 (on Perseus)… Read more
Terracotta funerary plaque (520–510BCE) This gallery displays different means of transportation used by the Ancient Greeks: chariots, horses, ships. Some pictures also show other ways of traveling in myths: dolphins and rams. The photographs were taken in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In this passage from the Odyssey, Homer compares ships to horses drawing a chariot. When they [= the Phaeacian seafarers] began rowing out to sea,… Read more