I was very struck by the sentence “οἱ νεηνίαι οὐκέτι ἀνέστησαν” in section 1.31 and the profound narrative blank afterwards. We will never know how their mother felt when she saw their cold bodies the next day, so I chose to imitate the multi-layered emotions through a blurry dreamlike style that is open for interpretation.… Continue reading Creative Adaptation by Jie
Tiger’s Literary Analysis 2
This Ergon is a literary analysis of 3.84-3.88 in Herodotus’s Histories. In this portion of the Histories, Herodotus tells the story of how Darius ascended to the throne. In previous lines, Herodotus tells us that Cambyses, the second king of the Persian Empire, died from a wound. His brother Smerdis inherited the throne, but according… Continue reading Tiger’s Literary Analysis 2
Audrey’s Literary Analysis: Lucian’s “Praise of the Fly”
Maggots are creatures born in death. They evolve around decay to later breed upon rot; multiplying by the hundreds in the most decrepit of places. Yet beauty can always be found in the macabre. In his work Μυίας Ἐγκώμιον, Lucian eloquently makes a case for the neutrality and beauty of the most common household pest:… Continue reading Audrey’s Literary Analysis: Lucian’s “Praise of the Fly”
Cutting Edge Classics Simone
Dr. Robin Osborne of King’s College delved into the ways in which history can be extrapolated from archaeology. Specifically, Dr. Osborne focused on the implications associated with the discovery of a mass grave of 79 supposedly male bodies that were chained and seemed to have all been executed by a blow to the head. This… Continue reading Cutting Edge Classics Simone
Creative Adaptation – Francis
For this ergon, I decided to make a zine! I am in the zine club at Bryn Mawr, and during the meeting I was struck with inspiration to draw a (very) pared down version of our first Herodotus reading. I found this reading really funny, so I wanted to write from the perspective of Solon… Continue reading Creative Adaptation – Francis
Literary Analysis Ergon by Jie
In his article “Of Sacrifice” (De Sacrificiis), Lucian presents a sharp satirical critique of the religious practices of the ancient Greeks, particularly the ritual of sacrifice. Through a series of poignant observations, he highlights some of the ironies inherent in the way people worshipped their gods. At the onset, Lucian underscores the anthropomorphism of Greek… Continue reading Literary Analysis Ergon by Jie
Ana’s Literary Analysis Ergon
Lucian’s On Sacrifice Satire is a complicated genre; and it is extremely hard to write effectively. Often satirical works today fail to get their message across by being too offensive and/or angry, the jokes and jabs simply do not land as intended. Which is why it is so amazing when you are able to… Continue reading Ana’s Literary Analysis Ergon
Tiger’s Literary Analysis Ergon
This Ergon is a Literary Analysis of Herodotus’ Histories, 1.205-1.216. The theme of this excerpt is Cyrus’ campaign against the Massagetai, which, according to Herodotus, was the last expedition Cyrus undertook. The Massagetai were a neighboring people of the expanding Persian empire ruled by Cyrus, who, after conquering Lydia and harnessing the support of Croesus,… Continue reading Tiger’s Literary Analysis Ergon
Cutting-Edge Classics Ergon – Ellie
Dr. Robin Osborne of King’s College began his lecture with an excerpt from James Whitley which discusses the burial practices of different ancient cultures through the years. He explains that though this passage can seem merely descriptive, it has embedded in it mountains of assumptions on which archaeologists and historians alike have been operating for… Continue reading Cutting-Edge Classics Ergon – Ellie
Forum
Use this post as an ongoing forum to share questions and discuss readings and assignments! I won’t be monitoring the forum very closely, so if you have questions for me, please email me or bring them up in class.
