The Bacchae was written by the Athenian playwright Euripides. (small blast of trumpets) It won first place in a city’s playwriting competition called the Dionysia. It is a tragedy, based on a myth of King Pentheus who slanders a god. In those days, you never slander a god. Do that, and bad things happen. To doubt that…
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(Editor’s Note: The painting above is titled “The Procession of the Trojan Horse” by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo. I had to look up the meaning of the words “Paladi Votum” written on the flank. It means: “An offering to Pallas Athena.”) (Small burst of trumpets) TROY. (pause) Illium (pause) An ancient city at Hissarlik, in present day Turkey. A powerful…
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Above Painting: The Oracle, 1880, Camillo Miola (Biacca). Oil on canvas, 42 1/2 x 56 1/4 in. The J. Paul Getty Museum Magi tool box found in Pompeii As my father always said, “Always have the right tools for the job.” Smithsonian Magazine had a great posting on a sorceress box found in a garden…
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Classical Mythology Too Triggering for Columbia Students Roman and Greek mythology “contains triggering and offensive material that marginalizes student identities in the classroom,” students say. “Sigh!” It seems that a teacher at Columbia was approached by students who wanted a SAFE ZONE, or at least deserved a TRIGGER WARNING when taking a mythology class and…
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Classic Podcast I like to talk to you about a statue that I saw when I was in Rome, but first…see below. The Myth: The God Apollo sees Eros, the Greek god of love playing with his arrows and laughs at the young man pretending to be a warrior. Those of you that want to substitute the Roman Cupid in…
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Yelda Khorsabad CourtVisit King Sargon II of Assyria The entrance of the Oriental Institute Over the door, THE PAST hands knowledge to the present day. Oriental Institute MuseumSearch the displays for the pastVisit the Bull!Talk to the guardian bull of Persepolis. A breath taking campus on Chicago’s southside. Take a cab.A museum where Indiana Jones…
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(Editor’s note – First published 2013/09/21. I am quite proud of this post. If you look below I composed a course description for taking the classics in college. I suppose reading Rush Limbaugh’s response to a person that obtained a classics degree got me a bit angry. So I typed in revenge mode and the…
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A Rob Cain Rant (editorial, first published 2015/04/18) I’m the type of guy that tears out an article out of the newspaper, folds it up, and carries it about in my wallet. It has to be special. The subject has to be something that pricks on some unexplainable level. The Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Edition, Saturday/Sunday, March 21-22 2015…
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