Law and Courts in Ancient Athens: A Brief Overview
When we investigate how the law and the courts of Classical Greece worked, the law of ancient Athens provides most of our source material. This overview will therefore focus on Athenian law in the fifth and fourth centuries, BCE. Before that time, disputes were adjudicated by officials called archons. The archons may have heard testimony from parties and witnesses, may have questioned them, and perhaps the parties were allowed to question each other. However, by the fifth century BCE., Athens had written statues and a formal court system. Read more…
CHS Online Open House | Chalcidian regionality between Sithonia and Pallene, with Maria G. Xanthou
We are pleased to welcome back Maria G. Xanthou for an Online Open House discussion on the Chalcidian peninsula, from periphery to epichoric identity. Please note that this event will take place on Thursday, September 20, at 11:00 a.m. EDT and will be recorded. Read more…
Core Vocab: ponos
“He was seen and noted by swift-footed radiant Achilles, who was standing on the spacious stern of his ship, watching the sheer pain [ponos] and tearful struggle of the fight.”
This next exploration of Core Vocabulary—taken from terms in H24H and the associated Sourcebook—features ponos [πόνος], glossed as ‘ordeal, labor, pain’. Read more…
Book Club | September 2018: The Anger of Achilles: Mênis in Greek Epic
“The subject of the Iliad is the anger of Achilles, not Achilles himself. But what is this anger of his?”
In this month’s Book Club selection we will be reading how Leonard Muellner uses the insights of Albert Lord on epic themes, and looks at such anger not as a universal feeling but as culture-specific. “Ultimately, a wide-eyed journey into the world of epic and its mightiest feelings stands to benefit both heart and mind.” Read more…
CHS Online Open House | Sparta and its continuing myth, with Paul Cartledge
We are pleased to welcome Professor Paul Cartledge of Clare College, Cambridge, for the first CHS Online Open House of the Fall 2018 session. This event will take place on Thursday, September 6, at 11 a.m. EDT. Read more…
Homeric Greek | Odyssey 1.169–177, part 2: Epiphanies and Athena’s travels
In this segment, Douglas Frame, Leonard Muellner, and Gregory Nagy continue their discussion of Odyssey 1.169–177. Topics include: the power of the conjunction epei to conjure myth; keĩnos in epiphanies; and Athena’s travels. Read more…
Forthcoming Book Club selections | Fall 2018
Here is a foretaste of what is to come during Fall 2018 at the Book Club, in which we will be reading selections from secondary sources and from ancient Greek primary texts. Look out for further announcements in September, October, and November, with details of the selections, links to free online versions, and the hangout dates. We are all looking forward to future conversations. Read more…
The nomination period for the new SCS Forum Prize is open!
The Kosmos Society team is pleased to share news of the first annual nomination period for the Society for Classical Studies (SCS) Forum Prize. This prize recognizes outstanding contributions to public engagement made by non-academic works about the ancient Greek and Roman world. Read more…
