In this part of our series on marriage in ancient Greek texts, we look at the courtship phase. Benveniste shows that there is no Indo-European term for marriage but a "persistence of usages inherited from a common past and of the same family structure, where the husband “led” the young woman, whom her father has “given” him, to his home." In the ancient Greek tradition, how do fathers reach the… Read more
We were excited to welcome Angela Cinalli of "La Sapienza" University of Rome, for an Online Open House, titled "Itinerant professionals of literature and music in the epigraphic sources of the Hellenistic period. "Poeti Vaganti” in Delphi and Delos." The event took place on Friday, June 12 at 11:00 a.m. EDT, and was recorded. Read more
With the Olympic Games coming up, this month's Core Vocab word is āthlos (aethlos) [ἆθλος/ἄεθλος] ‘contest, ordeal; competition’; and āthlētēs [ἀθλητής], 'athlete'. In HeroesX Gregory Nagy talks about the Labors of Hēraklēs and the founding of the Olympic Games: "Hēraklēs not only founded this major festival: he also competed in every athletic event on the prototypical occasion of the first Olympics. On that occasion, he won first prize in every… Read more
It is odd that a culture that seems to personify most natural features as deities has so few gods of the mountain peaks.There seem to be only ten mountains called “god.” Three of them, Helikon, Cithaeron, and Tmolus, have distinctive myths or personalities. Cithaeron and Tmolus are associated with Dionysus, Helikon more famously with Apollo and the Muses. These three mountains are also associated with musical contests. Read more
