A priestess, a woman with magical powers, a mother, a lover, a woman abandoned by her husband, and a murderer. There are many faces of Medea. Being a priestess of Hecate, Medea has knowledge of magic and witchcraft. Medea boiling the ram before Pelias She will use this knowledge against her enemies. |395 By that mistress whom I revere before all others and have chosen to share my task, Hekate… Read more
Hereupon Jason snatched the golden fleece from the oak, at the maiden bidding; and she, standing firm, smeared with the charm the monster’s head, till Jason himself bade her turn back towards their ship, and she left the grove of Ares, dusky with shade. And as a maiden catches on her finely wrought robe the gleam of the moon at the full, as it rises above her high-roofed chamber; and… Read more
Beginning with thee, O Phoebus, I will recount the famous deeds of men of old, who, at the behest of King Pelias, down through the mouth of Pontus and between the Cyanean rocks, sped well-benched Argo in quest of the golden fleece. In July and August we will be reading the complete Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes. This month we will read Books 1 and 2. Discussion will start in… Read more
“The Argo,” Konstantinos Volanakis (1837–1907), [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Classical Inquiries has published an article by Gregory Nagy asking, “What is on Homer’s mind?” In that posting, Nagy argues that “all humans have on their minds both the ship Argo and the hero Odysseus.” A key word for Nagy’s argument is merimna, which he defines as a ‘care, concern, a troubled thought’, or even ‘a song that is on one’s mind’. We are happy to… Read more
To celebrate Valentine’s day, I chose Ovid for this Gallery about Love. He was the first to write about the art of love and gallantry. Ovid was born in 43 BCE. He was a talented poet. He was educated in Rome and traveled in Greece. He composed many beautiful works. Ovid’s Metamorphoses was written during the Augustan period. He lived during the same period as Virgil and Horace. He was very popular,… Read more