Tag: Ancient Greece
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Review: The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood (2005)
Written by Fiona Macrae. Published as part of the Canongate Myth Series, Margaret Atwood’s 2005 novella, ‘The Penelopiad’, recounts the events of the ‘Odyssey’ from the perspective of Penelope. Fiona Macrae discusses how Atwood’s play on the conventions of Greek epic poetry creates a more nuanced female protagonist.
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Remembrance in Fifth-Century Athens
Written by Fiona Macrae. The wearing of a poppy has become an important symbol for remembering those who gave their lives in battle. Fiona Macrae explores such acts of commemoration in Classical Athens and what parallels can be drawn with our own society.
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The Dark Earth: Hittite Influences on Sapphic poetry
Written by Etta Coleman. Although Sappho’s lyric poetry continues to receive a great deal of attention from scholars, remarkably little about her Eastern influences has been discussed. Etta Coleman explores the manner in which Hittite culture permeates Sappho’s work.
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Dido’s Lament: A Study of Dido’s Final Words
Written by Fiona Macrae. The legendary founder of Carthage, Dido has captured imaginations for a millennium. Here, her final words are explored in their many incarnations, from Virgil, to Ovid, to Purcell.
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All that Glitters is Gold: Museology and the Mask of Agamemnon
Written by Tristan Craig. The excavations of Mycenae from 1876 have been the subject of controversy for over a hundred years. A so-called ‘Mask of Agamemnon’ was discovered, but it’s origins are still questioned, and the methods of excavation remain under scrutiny.
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Penelope
Writen by Hazel Atkinson. Known for her unwavering fidelity, Penelope did not lose hope that her husband, Odysseus, would return from the Trojan War, despite the decades that passed. This fictional piece relates the story through the eyes of the legendary Queen of Ithaca.
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In Greek they say ‘daimon’: Dionysus in Anne Carson’s translation of the Bakkhai
Written by Justin Biggi. Euripides’ ‘Bakkhai’ is widely hailed as his most eminent work, with its central protagonist, Dionysus, receiving a great deal of attention in modern academia. Anne Carson’s treatment of the god in her recent translation draws attention to the ‘othering’ that has pervaded centuries of scholarship.
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Classics in Conversation
The 5th and final part of “Classics in Conversation” discusses the potential to further globalise the discipline and what the future might hold for prospective students in the field.
Retrospect Journal 