This then is a summary of what very little we know of the Greeks down to the time of the Trojan War and its aftermath. Since writing disappeared with the rest of Mycenaean civilization, a poet would have to rely on traditions handed down to him over a period of 4 centuries—10 or 12 generations.
Christopher Nolan’s new film “version” is out, and although I have not yet seen it, I am going to put up some sections of a long-promised but never delivered set of lectures on the Ancient Greek Mind. This first section takes up the question of “who were the Greeks?”, though I have eliminated most of the historical details of the lectures.
I have been completely tied up the past few weeks with our Summer School. Besides, a little vacation from time to time refreshes the brain and the appetite to learn.
One thread connecting Renaissance magic with our own New Age magic is the belief in secret brotherhoods and perfect societies, such as the lost continent of Atlantis.
Continuing last week’s ruminations about things that endure and are to be celebrated for their virtue…
On other occasions I have shared with the gentle reader my experience of the precariousness characteristic of an unemployed writer’s life…
For all the social forces and political and cultural battles contributing to what Christianity has taught about sex and marriage, what seems undeniable is that the religion Christ founded lifted family life onto an entirely new plane, through the teaching that marriage is sacred and that the bond between husband and wife is indissoluble until death.
It is time to work on the subjunctive. This is taken up by Olga Ragusa on p. 109. Plus a poem of Carducci.
I am a little puzzled by the Conservatives’ reaction to the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold birthright citizenship.
I analyzed the “Twitter herd” instinct in this space before, but the heat has now made it truly Gadarene. The swine, in fact, quite possibly leapt into the Sea of Galilee because they wanted to cool off.
