Mythology and philosophy were the two pillars that established early society. Without them, the world would have remained an infinite wilderness of cracks and crags with darkness all around; mythology and philosophy brought light to an otherwise abysmal landscape, and it was good. Early humanity gathered round the fire to dispense their didactic tales about […]
Missing the Mark: Representation in Storytelling Read More »
My students often blush at the irony of the image of Odysseus’ marriage bed for Odysseus himself hardly deserves the appellation “faithful” – but is there more to it than meets the eye?
It is not hard to sympathize with Simone Weil’s famous claim that “the true hero . . . of the Iliad is force.” The Prologue announces the action of the poem to be Achilles’s “wrath” and its repercussions, which include myriad d’algea—a “myriad of pains”—heaped on the heroes. And there are, indeed, a myriad of
What Should We Do with the Violence in the Iliad? Read More »
We need models. We need teachers to show us how to live. And some of the best teachers are those which have never breathed, have never taken on flesh, have never had the urgency of a real death. Some of our best teachers are fictional characters. This is what Leland Ryken means when he says
Advent Like Telemachus: Homeric Lessons for Celebrating Advent Read More »
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” – C.S. Lewis
Dulce Domum: The Longing for Home in Literature (and Our Hearts) Read More »
The question of how Christians should engage culture is one which garners diverse opinions from people of faith. Many argue that we should participate in our culture. Sometimes, this means conceding to whatever has been deemed fashionable by society. Then there are those who do not see the value of engaging with culture, echoing Tertullian’s
What The Gospel of Mark and The Odyssey Tell Us About Cultural Engagement Read More »
When book five begins we find ourselves in the same place where book one began: Olympus, where the gods are in session. And, as in book one, we listen as Athena pleads Odysseus’ case. “Father Zeus . . . “ she says, “be one whose thought is schooled in justice.” And justice, she claims, demands
When last we rode with “thoughtful” Telemachus, he and Peisistratos, Nestor’s son, were on their way to the home of “glorious” Menelaus and Helen (she for whom his father was fighting when he went missing). As book four begins – and we come to the end of the portion of the Odyssey typically known as
