In 1862, at twenty-one, my great-great-grandfather John Hodges Wadhams left Goshen, Connecticut, to seek his fortune in the West. In 1992, almost exactly 130 years later, I began keeping seriously the journal of my own early adulthood. John was the son of an old Connecticut farming family. Church, town, party, father and Civil War suppliedContinue reading “The Court of Final Appeal”
Tag Archives: arete
Atalanta
Atalanta intrigues me. She is the only female to compete among the heroes on their terms. There are female warriors, of course, the Amazons, and Medea, a constant reminder of the older, earthbound powers women can summon. But Atalanta stands not as an opponent or enchantress, but as a peer. Who is Atalanta? She isContinue reading “Atalanta”
Elitism and Aristocracy
Aristo– is a word-forming element meaning “best,” or “of the aristocracy,” from Greek aristos “best of its kind, noblest, bravest, most virtuous”” (of persons, animals, things). In its Greek form, aristos denoted that which was excellent in kind, noble in bearing, virtuous in conduct. It was not yet the title of a class. The aristoi were thoseContinue reading “Elitism and Aristocracy”