The Lyric Poets

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”

Katabasis

Neil Gaiman’s Sandman recasts Orpheus as the son of the Dream King, but otherwise leaves the ancient tragedy intact. In the television adaptation, Orpheus survives as an immortal, severed head, speaking calmly, prophetically, and with the explicit wish for death. He is neither alive nor dead, suspended between worlds. Gaiman uses this image to exploreContinue reading “Katabasis”