Hesiod stands at the beginning of the anthology. 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, andContinue reading “The Use of Myth”
Tag Archives: Pericles
Better Angels
Uncle Jim pointed to a recent article in Science discussing Steven Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined (2011). I gave the book a quick read and found it a simple gloss on the benefits of global integration; hopeful homilies of an academician sheltered from the possibilities of violence. Pinker’s general thesis isContinue reading “Better Angels”
Protective Arts 