"Sparta, though among the most thinly populated of states, was evidently the most powerful and most celebrated city in Greece." For July we will be reading Xenophon's Constitution of the Lacedaemonians. Discussion starts and continues in the Forum, and we will meet via Zoom on Tuesday, July 26, at 11:00 a.m. EDT. Read more
The Book Club selection for April 2022 is the Symposium of Xenophon. Like Plato, Xenophon portrays Socrates and others in discussion within the setting of a symposium, or dinner / drinking party. Discussion will start and continue in the Forum, and we will meet via Zoom on Tuesday April 26 at 11 a.m. EDT Read more
In part 1, we looked at dreams as represented in Homeric epic. In part 2, we continue our exploration with some passages from tragedy, comedy, history, philosophy, and lyric poetry, representing different types of dream, whether direct messages or coded symbols. Read more
"[Socrates] said that he often heard it stated that of all possessions the most precious is a good and sincere friend. “And yet,” he said, “there is no transaction most men are so careless about as the acquisition of friends. For I find that they are careful about getting houses and lands and slaves and cattle and furniture, and anxious to keep what they have; but though they tell one… Read more
The Anabasis by the Athenian soldier, historian and philosopher Xenophon, describes the events of 401 BCE when ten thousand Greek mercenaries joined the army of Cyrus, the younger brother of the Persian King Artaxerxes, in Cyrus’ attempt to supplant his brother as king. This post provides a brief historical context to that work. Read more
