Orestes

Gallery

The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours | Gallery: Part 5

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

Classical Reception

The Oresteia gets a facelift

A review of Colm Tóibín’s new novel, House of Names House of Names chronicles disturbed people performing disturbing acts. The novel is based on the story of Orestes as dramatized by three playwrights of ancient Greece: Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. But wielding a heavy editor’s pencil, acclaimed novelist Colm Tóibín radically revised the story and its structure. As well, he invented new characters and made the attributes of existing ones… Read more

Gallery

Gallery: Tragedy in Visual Art

Melpomene, Muse of Tragedy, Louvre I have been reading The Death of Tragedy by George Steiner (available on Kobo). At the beginning of his book, Steiner writes: The Iliad is the root of Tragedy The life of a hero is short Murders inhuman and cruel actions occur The disappearance of Troy The Fall The destruction The vulnerability of men Fatality Men are powerless in front of gods It all ends badly… In… Read more