A close up of the sculpture ‘Medusa with the head of Perseus,’ by Luciano Garbati. Image courtesy of the artist.
Luciano Garbati
Female characters in Greek mythology lived under strict patriarchal rules, but they spoke truth to power and resisted injustice.
Fear about women’s power was an essential part of ancient anxiety about witchcraft.
Vinicius Rafael / EyeEm via Getty Images
From ancient Greece to modern-day TikTok witchcraft, the world of witches has been a changing one.
The modern Olympics share many things with the ancient games.
Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images
A scholar of ancient Greek literature explains what the Olympics of modern day have in common with the 776 B.C. games at Olympia.
In ancient Greece, the heart and soul of the festival was the experience shared by all who attended.
AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama
Athletes and spectators were lured to Olympia by a longing for contact with their compatriots and their gods.
Free SVG
COVID-19 is a plague not merely on the happiness that comes with health and wealth, but also on the meaning in our lives.
A 14th-century Last Judgment relief from a facade of Orvieto cathedral in Umbria. Italy.
De Agostini via Getty Images
Some people are comparing current times with the apocalypse. In ancient texts, apocalyptic messages cultivated endurance and encouragement through dire circumstances.
A scene from a 1911 staging of the ancient Greek classic ‘Oedipus Rex.’
Imagno/Getty Images
Greek epics remind audiences that leaders need to be able to plan for the future based on what has happened in the past. They need to understand cause and effect.
Heintz Joseph the Elder, The Rape of Persephone, circa 1595.
Wikimedia Commons
Like many Greek myths, the story of Persephone’s descent into the realm of Hades, and her emergence from it, has resonances in contemporary arts, most especially the notion of death and rebirth.
shutterstock.
Romantic love is seen as the answer to life’s problems, when it could often be the start of many headaches and heartaches. So, what is true love?
In a world where few believed in an afterlife, this-worldly glory mattered immensely.
Shutterstock
There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that attempts to manipulate the outcome of the competitions are as old as the Games themselves.
Jim Thorpe and Ben Johnson were both banned from the Olympics. But if each had played at different points in history, they would have been allowed to compete.
Nick Lehr/The Conversation
In sports, what’s considered fair play has changed throughout history. At one point, even looking ‘too poor’ was grounds for exclusion.
Hulk who?
Drinks Machine
Dig into the details of the ancient Olympics and you find a lot of misinformation, but also a surprising amount in common with the modern games.
The summit of Mt Zagaras north of Athens.
Jason König
In ancient times, they were the shrines and ritual sites to the Greek gods. These days, they’re astonishingly unloved and neglected.