Each of our tragedians tackled the story of Orestes and Electra. In today’s episode, we get Euripides’s take, and as one should expect from the most depressing of the three, it is bloody. Discussion Prompts Which version of this story do you like best? Why? What does Klytaemestra tells us about motherhood? AP Credit: DiscussContinue reading “Greek Tragedy XXIV: Euripides’s Electra, or An Ancient Greek Rashoman?”
Category Archives: The Greeks
Greek Myth XVI: Hymn to Askelpios, or I Guess We Know Who His Parents Are Now
Today we have another short Homeric Hymn in #16: Hymn to Asklepios. Discussion Prompts AP Credit: Asklepios is a healer. He is also the son of a god and a mortal and was originally mortal. How do all of these details work together in a logical way? When you think of Asklepios, what do youContinue reading “Greek Myth XVI: Hymn to Askelpios, or I Guess We Know Who His Parents Are Now”
Greek Epics XXXIV: Odyssey Book 9, or Vizzini Told Me to Go Back to the Beginning
In Book 8, Alkinoös asks Odysseus to tell his tale, and in Book 9, that tale finally starts. This is probably what you were thinking The Odyssey would be about. Discussion Prompts AP Credit: The mistake Odysseus’s men make with the Kikonês is not the original plunder; it is that they are too greedy. WhatContinue reading “Greek Epics XXXIV: Odyssey Book 9, or Vizzini Told Me to Go Back to the Beginning”
Greek Epics XXXIII: Odyssey Book 8, or I Have a Song to Sing-O!
The Phaiakians play some games and sing some songs and still don’t know Odysseus’s name. Discussion Prompts AP Credit: Compare and contrast Athena’s actions as they relate to Telemakhos and Odysseus. What do you think happens in the rest of the first song, the one about the fight between Achilles and Odysseus? AP Credit: DiscussContinue reading “Greek Epics XXXIII: Odyssey Book 8, or I Have a Song to Sing-O!”
Greek Tragedy XXIII: Euripides’s The Suppliants, or How the Other Half Mourns
In today’s play, we learn what happens to the rest of the seven men who make up the famous Seven Against Thebes. Discussion Prompts Why would the suppliants be assembled at a temple of Demeter instead of some other god? If you were directing this today, how would you cast your chorus? How many mothersContinue reading “Greek Tragedy XXIII: Euripides’s The Suppliants, or How the Other Half Mourns”
Greek Myth XV: Hymn to Herakles the Lion-Hearted, or A Hymn to the OG GOAT
Today’s episode looks at Homeric Hymn #15, about the original greatest of all time. Discussion Prompts What does Herakles’s ultimate marriage to Hebe say about youthfulness, death, and the afterlife? Why do you think this poem glosses over so many of the details of Herakles’s life? What other thoughts do you have about this poem?
Greek Epics XXXII: Odyssey Book 7, or Meet the Phaiakians
Odysseus meets the Phaiakians. He’s getting closer to home, but we still have a long way to go before he gets there. Discussion Prompts What do you think about the utopia that Phaiakia is supposed to represent? Do you think Athena’s actions are necessary? Why or why not? Who is really in charge: Alkinoös orContinue reading “Greek Epics XXXII: Odyssey Book 7, or Meet the Phaiakians”
Greek Epics XXXI: Odyssey Book 6, or The Princess and the Frog
Meet the Phaiakhians. And their princess Nausikaa. And watch Nausikaa meet Odysseus. Discussion Prompts The poet describes Nausikaa as being like Artemis. Then Odysseus calls her Artemis. Is Odysseus being sincere? What do you like to do to celebrate laundry day? What would be wrong with Nausikaa bringing Odysseus home? Why does Nausikaa tell OdysseusContinue reading “Greek Epics XXXI: Odyssey Book 6, or The Princess and the Frog”
Greek Myth XIV: Hymn to Mother of the Gods, or Your Guess Is As Good As Mine
In this episode, we review #14 of the Homeric Hymns: Hymn to the Mother of the Gods. Discussion Prompts AP Credit: Which goddess is this hymn dedicated to? Why? What does the Mother of the Gods’s association with nature and wild animals say about the role of women and mortal mothers?
Greek Epics XXX: Odyssey Book 5, or It Turns Out the Odyssey Really IS About Odysseus
We finally join Odysseus as he tries to get home from Troy. Discussion Prompts How consensual do you think the relationship between Kalypso and Odysseus is? Why? Why is death in battle preferable to death at sea? AP Credit: Liminality. Discuss. How legitimate is Kalypso’s complaint about the double-standard when it comes to immortals sleepingContinue reading “Greek Epics XXX: Odyssey Book 5, or It Turns Out the Odyssey Really IS About Odysseus”
Triumvir Clio's School of Classical Civilization 