Cultures around the world call the Pleiades constellation 'seven sisters', even though we can only see six stars today. But things looked quite different 100,000 years ago
Increasingly, Americans seem to have irreconcilable differences over the pandemic, the economy – even the result of the 2020 election.
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Homer and Aeschylus turned to the divine to write their happy endings. But no gods are conspiring above the US, ready to swoop down and save humankind from itself.
Superstition or wishful thinking could trick you into thinking you saw one of these mythical creatures.
AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez
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.
Understandings of truth may be found in the Muses’ words.
Jacopo Tintoretto's The Muses/Wikpedia
Is making sense of a story more important than getting at its truth? Looking at the treatment of myth in ancient Greece may help us navigate what is true, and whether that matters.
Statuette of a female vulve called Baubo, terracotta, from Priene, Asia Minor, 4th century BC.
Reddit
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.
Under director Yaron Lifschitz, this version of Orpheus and Eurydice is interested in exploring the tragedy implicit in this story.
Jade Ferguson/Opera Queensland
A new play tells the story of George Johnston and Charmian Clift's time on the Greek island of Hydra, which ultimately led to the novel My Brother Jack - but not without sacrifices.
Jason Momoa as Aquaman in the forthcoming film.
IMDB
A new BBC series has put Troy back on the map. But how much do we know about this city of legend?
A central convention of Greek mythological narratives called katabasis, the hero’s journey to the underworld or land of the dead.
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Journeys to the Underworld – Greek myth, film and American anxiety.
The Conversation36.9 MB(download)
Our new podcast, Essays On Air, features the most beautiful writing from Australian researchers. Today, classics expert Paul Salmond explores how modern cinema directors borrow from Greek legends.
Our first episode is from Paul Salmond, an expert on the Classics and Ancient History at La Trobe University, reading his essay ‘Journeys to the underworld – Greek myth, film and American anxiety’.
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The Conversation is launching a new podcast, Essays On Air. It's the audio version of our Friday essays, where we bring you the best and most beautiful writing from Australian researchers.
The ancient Greeks knew what made a good leader. Why does it seem we have forgotten their lessons?
Gil Birmingham (Cory) and Jeremy Renner (Martin) in Wind River: grieving fathers who come together in the realm of the dead.
Production Co: Acacia Filmed Entertainment, Film 44, Ingenious Media
American cinema mines Greek myth most strongly at times of profound social anxiety. In the age of Trump, we are already seeing key political battlegrounds framed as underworld quests in film.
Odysseus and his crew escape the cyclops, as painted by Arnold Böcklin in 1896.
Wikimedia
The story of the Odyssey is a quintessential quest that relates to the passage through life and the importance of love, family and home. Odysseus's adventures have influenced everyone from Batman to Bob Dylan.
The modern marathon distance comes from the 1908 London Olympics.
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Calls for accountability at a time of tragedy or crisis are understandable - but scapegoats can distract attention away from the true lessons that need to be learned.