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Articles on Greek literature

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The love story of Psyche and Eros − also known as Cupid − has survived since the days of Rome and Greece. Bettman via Getty Images

Love may be timeless, but the way we talk about it isn’t − the ancient Greeks’ ideas about desire challenge modern-day readers, lovers and even philosophers

Conventional stereotypes about romance portray it as a passionate, irrational game. Ancient philosophers, on the other hand, viewed love as something dangerous − but also enlightening.
In Montréal theatre company Scapegoat Carnivale’s literal translation and adaptation of the play, Oedipus (Marcel Jeannin) interrogates Teiresias (Leni Parker) as chorus leader (Mike Payette) looks on. (Emilio Espinosa/Scapegoat Carnivale Theatre)

Why we’ll keep finding meaning in the ‘Oedipus Rex’ plague drama far beyond COVID-19

During COVID-19, the world remembered Oedipus was not just a psycho-sexual drama. Such is the richness of a play enfolded in rich layers of myth.
Fear about women’s power was an essential part of ancient anxiety about witchcraft. Vinicius Rafael / EyeEm via Getty Images

What Greek myth tells us about modern witchcraft

From ancient Greece to modern-day TikTok witchcraft, the world of witches has been a changing one.
William Etty’s Candaules, King of Lydia, Shews his Wife by Stealth to Gyges, One of his Ministers, as She Goes to Bed. The painting illustrates Herodotus’s version of the tale of Gyges. Wikimedia Commons

Guide to the classics: The Histories, by Herodotus

Herodotus’ Histories has it all: tales of war, eyewitness travel writing, notes on flora and fauna and accounts of fantastic creatures such as winged snakes. His stories share a common humanity that speaks to us, 2500 years on.

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