Calling something a ‘tragedy’ serves to minimize human responsibility for its causes, which can be convenient for the people who are causing the ‘tragedy.’
The season opener expertly seeds the plot points that will unravel throughout the final series, culminating in the resolution of the core storyline: who will succeed Logan Roy as CEO?
A classics scholar looks at Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony and says only a rare few are able to summon courage. For others, the drive to maintain power produces cowardice and willful blindness.
A classics scholar and poet turns to Greek mythology, especially the story of Oedipus the King, to explain the drama – or perhaps tragedy – that is taking place in the highest office in the land.
Perceptions about coronavirus “only killing old people” highlight the ageist way we sometimes refer to death and dying. Greek myth shows this isn’t new and ancient plays laid out the distinction.
Ancient Greek philosophers including Plato likened civic leaders to doctors, creating a healthy society through balance and moderation. Those ideas feed into what we expect from leaders today.
Thucydides’ description of the plague that struck Athens in 430 BC is one of the great passages of Greek literature. It focusses on the social response, both of those who died and those who survived.
Heroes and heroines of Classical Greek tragedy used to get all the glory. Today scholars, and theatre and film directors are looking to what the minor players can tell us about the zeitgeist.
A play written in the fifth century B.C. mirrors America’s current disunion: Political and moral views are framed in terms of a fight between patriot and traitor, law and conscience, and chaos and order.