Stories in Greek mythology on the cycle of nature showing youth, death and rejuvenation can have lessons for us today on how grief changes over time and transforms who we are as people.
A painting showing Odysseus recognizing Achilles, who is disguised as a woman.
Paris, Musée Du Louvre. DeAgostini/Getty Images
A classics scholar reflects on Greek myths and what they can help us understand about recreating relationships – as a bridge from our past to present selves.
The witty one-liner is a calling card of the James Bond film franchise.
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Epic poetry tends to be seen as highbrow, while action films are regarded as puerile and brutish. But the two share an affinity for dressing up brutal deaths with rhetorical flair.
What, more depressing news?
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Rachel Hadas says that despite the cascade of scary news, humans will adapt, as they always have – and provides evidence of that resilience in the literature she loves and teaches.
Odysseus reuniting with his father, Laertes.
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On Father’s Day, a scholar of ancient Greek poetry explains how he came to understand the father-son relationship and his journey of loss and yearning through reading the epics.
Greek hero Achilles with the body of Hector, his main opponent in the Trojan War.
Jean-Joseph Taillasson/Krannert Art Museum
Families who lost their loved ones during the pandemic could not even properly grieve. Greek epics show why lamentation and memorial are so important and what we can learn in these times.