Identity appears first. Between roughly 700 and 500 BCE, something kindles in the Greek world before it bursts into flame. The later blaze is short lived. Very short. If one is severe with dates, it runs from the Persian victory in 480 BCE to the Spartan demolition of the Long Walls in 404 BCE. AboutContinue reading “The Lyric Poets”
Tag Archives: Aristotle
The Use of Myth
Hesiod stands at the beginning. He is the first to write down stories that had been circulating for centuries. His account is not a moral arc in the way the Hebrew tradition would later tell its story. Hesiod is part farmer’s almanac and part chronicler. This is how the seasons work, and this is whoContinue reading “The Use of Myth”
The Discipline of Fear
All Hallows’ Eve was my friend Chris Adams’ favorite holiday. He loved its costume and horror that was the foundational décor of Halloween. He made annual pilgrimages to Salem, Massachusetts, drawn to its haunted history. He understood Halloween as America’s truest folk rite: a night when the nation remembers that it was founded on superstitionContinue reading “The Discipline of Fear”
Protective Arts 