The Greeks chose, as their founding story, not triumph but rupture. The Iliad opens with epic anger: leaders divided, an army stalled, a coalition nearly undone before it reaches the walls of Troy. The ancient Greeks did not ground their civilization in harmony, but in the conditions that make order fragile; pride, rivalry, misjudgment, theContinue reading “The Illiad”
Tag Archives: paideia
Elite Competition
Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage,Black and murderous, that cost the GreeksIncalculable pain, pitched countless soulsOf heroes into Hades’ dark,And left their bodies to rot as feastsFor dogs and birds, as Zeus’ will was done. Begin with the clash between Agamemnon–The Greek warlord–and godlike Achilles. So opens the Illiad. Homer focuses our attention on the combatants: this isContinue reading “Elite Competition”
The Western Canon
It all started with an apple. Overlooked and uninvited to the wedding, Eris hand-grenaded a golden apple labeled “For the fairest” among the goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Each thought it was intended for her and, ever-competitive, they all demanded a judgement for the apple to be awarded.[1] Zeus, in his wisdom, was not aboutContinue reading “The Western Canon”
Protective Arts 