In this post we are going to examine some aspects of marriage, and its music which come traditionally with singing and dancing. In today’s marriages music, singing and dancing play an essential role in rituals and traditions. Music is played at the beginning of the ceremony, carefully chosen songs are sung during the ceremony, and people dance and sing during the feast. Were rituals and traditions related to music in… Read more
Solon "was spending ten years abroad after having made laws [nomoi] for the Athenians ... the real reason was not to have to repeal any of the laws [nomoi] he had made. The Athenians could not do this on their own, having sworn by the strongest oaths to observe for ten years whatever laws [nomoi] Solon gave them." Our next Core Vocab term is nomos [νόμος], glossed in H24H and… Read more
The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours is based on a course that Professor Gregory Nagy has been teaching at Harvard University since the late 1970s. The book discusses selected readings of texts, all translated from the original Greek into English. This series of galleries attempts to illustrate each Hour with visual art. This first gallery covers Hours 1–4. 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
Aristotle, Plato, SocratesMarble (100−200CE) Louvre We don’t have to wait until after we die to meet Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece. We may read poetry, prose, tragedy, or admire sculptures, vases or paintings. I’ll quote Aristotle and Plato from the Sourcebook[1]: Both understanding and wonder… Read more
