What is JacketFlap

  • JacketFlap connects you to the work of more than 200,000 authors, illustrators, publishers and other creators of books for Children and Young Adults. The site is updated daily with information about every book, author, illustrator, and publisher in the children's / young adult book industry. Members include published authors and illustrators, librarians, agents, editors, publicists, booksellers, publishers and fans.
    Join now (it's free).

Sort Blog Posts

Sort Posts by:

  • in
    from   

Suggest a Blog

Enter a Blog's Feed URL below and click Submit:

Most Commented Posts

In the past 7 days

Recent Comments

Recently Viewed

JacketFlap Sponsors

Spread the word about books.
Put this Widget on your blog!
  • Powered by JacketFlap.com

Are you a book Publisher?
Learn about Widgets now!

Advertise on JacketFlap

MyJacketFlap Blogs

  • Login or Register for free to create your own customized page of blog posts from your favorite blogs. You can also add blogs by clicking the "Add to MyJacketFlap" links next to the blog name in each post.

Blog Posts by Tag

In the past 7 days

Blog Posts by Date

Click days in this calendar to see posts by day or month
new posts in all blogs
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Iliad, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 10 of 10
1. Homer: inspiration and controversy [Infographic]

Although a man named “Homer” was accepted in antiquity as the author of the poems, there is no evidence supporting the existence of such an author. By the late 1700s, careful dissection of the Iliad and Odyssey raised doubts about their composition by a single poet. Explore more about the “Homeric question” and the influence of these epics in the infographic below.

The post Homer: inspiration and controversy [Infographic] appeared first on OUPblog.

0 Comments on Homer: inspiration and controversy [Infographic] as of 1/1/1900
Add a Comment
2. A reading list of Ancient Greek classics

This selection of ancient Greek literature includes philosophy, poetry, drama, and history. It introduces some of the great classical thinkers, whose ideas have had a profound influence on Western civilization.

Jason and the Golden Fleece by Apollonius of Rhodes

Apollonius’ Argonautica is the dramatic story of Jason’s voyage in the Argo in search of the Golden Fleece, and how he wins the aid of the Colchian princess and sorceress Medea, as well as her love. Written in the third century BC, it was influential on the Latin poets Catullus and Ovid, as well as on Virgil’s Aeneid.

Poetics by Aristotle

This short treatise has been described as the most influential book on poetry ever written. It is a very readable consideration of why art matters which also contains practical advice for poets and playwrights that is still followed today.

The Trojan Women and Other Plays by Euripides

One of the greatest Greek tragedians, Euripides wrote at least eighty plays, of which seventeen survive complete. The universality of his themes means that his plays continue to be performed and adapted all over the world. In this volume three great war plays, The Trojan Women, Hecuba, and Andromache, explore suffering and the endurance of the female spirit in the aftermath of bloody conflict.

The Histories by Herodotus

Herodotus was called “the father of history” by Cicero because the scale on which he wrote had never been attempted before. His history of the Persian Wars is an astonishing achievement, and is not only a fascinating history of events but is full of digression and entertaining anecdote. It also provokes very interesting questions about historiography.

The Iliad by Homer9780199645213_450

Homer’s two great epic poems, the Odyssey and the Iliad, have created stories that have enthralled readers for thousands of year. The Iliad describes a tragic episode during the siege of Troy, sparked by a quarrel between the leader of the Greek army and its mightiest warrior, Achilles; Achilles’ anger and the death of the Trojan hero Hector play out beneath the watchful gaze of the gods.

Republic by Plato

Plato’s dialogue presents Socrates and other philosophers discussing what makes the ideal community. It is essentially an enquiry into morality, and why justice and goodness are fundamental. Harmonious human beings are as necessary as a harmonious society, and Plato has profound things to say about many aspects of life. The dialogue contains the famous myth of the cave, in which only knowledge and wisdom will liberate man from regarding shadows as reality.

Greek Lives by Plutarch9780199540051

Plutarch wrote forty-six biographies of eminent Greeks and Romans in a series of paired, or parallel, Lives. This selection of nine Greek lives includes Alexander the Great, Pericles, and Lycurgus, and the Lives are notable for their insights into personalities, as well as for what they reveal about such things as the Spartan regime and social system.

Antigone, Oedipus the King, Electra by Sophocles

In these three masterpieces Sophocles established the foundation of Western drama. His three central characters are faced with tests of their will and character, and their refusal to compromise their principles has terrible results. Antigone and Electra are bywords for female resolve, while Oedipus’ discovery that he has committed both incest and patricide has inspired much psychological analysis, and given his name to Freud’s famous complex.

Heading image: Porch of Maidens by Thermos. CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.

The post A reading list of Ancient Greek classics appeared first on OUPblog.

0 Comments on A reading list of Ancient Greek classics as of 11/7/2014 7:27:00 PM
Add a Comment
3. The Odyssey in culture, ancient and modern

Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey recounts the 10-year journey of Odysseus from the fall of Troy to his return home to Ithaca. The story has continued to draw people in since its beginning in an oral tradition, through the first Greek writing and integration into the ancient education system, the numerous translations over the ages, and modern retellings. It has also been adapted to different artistic mediums from depictions on pottery, to scenes in mosaic, to film. We spoke with Barry B. Powell, author of a new free verse translation of The Odyssey, about how the story was embedded into ancient Greek life, why it continues to resonate today, and what translations capture about their contemporary cultures.

Visual representations of The Odyssey and understanding ancient Greek history

Click here to view the embedded video.

Why is The Odyssey still relevant in our modern culture?

Click here to view the embedded video.

On the over 130 translations of The Odyssey into English

Click here to view the embedded video.

Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His new free verse translation of The Odyssey was published by Oxford University Press in 2014. His translation of The Iliad was published by Oxford University Press in 2013. See previous blog posts from Barry B. Powell.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Subscribe to only classics and archaeology articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.

The post The Odyssey in culture, ancient and modern appeared first on OUPblog.

0 Comments on The Odyssey in culture, ancient and modern as of 7/31/2014 10:08:00 AM
Add a Comment
4. Characters of the Odyssey in Ancient Art

Every Ancient Greek knew their names: Odysseus, Penelope, Telemachas, Nestor, Helen, Menelaos, Ajax, Kalypso, Nausicaä, Polyphemos, Ailos… The trials and tribulations of these characters occupied the Greek mind so much that they found their way into ancient art, whether mosaics or ceramics, mirrors or sculpture. From heroic nudity to small visual cues in clothing, we present a brief slideshow of characters that appear in Barry B. Powell’s new free verse translation of The Odyssey.



Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His new free verse translation of The Odyssey was published by Oxford University Press in 2014. His translation of The Iliad was published by Oxford University Press in 2013. See previous blog posts from Barry B. Powell.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Subscribe to only classics and archaeology articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.

The post Characters of the Odyssey in Ancient Art appeared first on OUPblog.

0 Comments on Characters of the Odyssey in Ancient Art as of 7/17/2014 11:07:00 AM
Add a Comment
5. Scenes from the Odyssey in Ancient Art

The Ancient Greeks were incredibly imaginative and innovative in their depictions of scenes from The Odyssey, painted onto vases, kylikes, wine jugs, or mixing bowls. Many of Homer’s epic scenes can be found on these objects such as the encounter between Odysseus and the Cyclops Polyphemus and the battle with the Suitors. It is clear that in the Greek culture, The Odyssey was an influential and eminent story with memorable scenes that have resonated throughout generations of both classical literature enthusiasts and art aficionados and collectors. We present a brief slideshow of images that appear in Barry B. Powell’s new free verse translation of The Odyssey.



Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His new free verse translation of The Odyssey was published by Oxford University Press in 2014. His translation of The Iliad was published by Oxford University Press in 2013. See previous blog posts from Barry B. Powell.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Subscribe to only classics and archaeology articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.

The post Scenes from the Odyssey in Ancient Art appeared first on OUPblog.

0 Comments on Scenes from the Odyssey in Ancient Art as of 7/10/2014 8:59:00 AM
Add a Comment
6. Gods and men in The Iliad and The Odyssey

The Ancient Greek gods are all the things that humans are — full of emotions, constantly making mistakes — with the exception of their immortality. It makes their lives and actions often comical or superficial — a sharp contrast to the humans that are often at their mercy. The gods can show their favor, or displeasure; men and women are puppets in their world. Barry B. Powell, author of a new free verse translation of Homer’s The Odyssey, examines the gods, fate, divine interventions, and what it means in the classic epic poem.

Fate and free in The Iliad and The Odyssey

Click here to view the embedded video.

What role do the Gods play in The Iliad and The Odyssey?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Who is Hercules and how does he play a role in The Odyssey?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Greek Gods versus modern omnibenevolent God

Click here to view the embedded video.

Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His new free verse translation of The Odyssey was published by Oxford University Press in 2014. His translation of The Iliad was published by Oxford University Press in 2013.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Subscribe to only classics and archaeology articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.

The post Gods and men in The Iliad and The Odyssey appeared first on OUPblog.

0 Comments on Gods and men in The Iliad and The Odyssey as of 1/1/1900
Add a Comment
7. A map of Odysseus’s journey

Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey is a classic adventure filled with shipwrecks, feuds, obstacles, mythical creatures, and divine interventions. But how to visualize the thrilling voyage?

The map below traces Odysseus’s travel as recounted to the Phaeacians near the end of his wandering across the Mediterranean. Odysseus’s ten-year trek began in Asia Minor at the fallen city of Troy (the green marker) following the end of the Trojan War. His ultimate destination: his home in Ithaca (the red marker). Click the markers for information on each step of his journey. It is important to note that the 14 locations plotted on this map have been widely debated by both ancient and modern scholars.

Barry Powell, translator of a new edition of The Odyssey, asserts that the currently agreed upon location of the Island of the Sun (#11) is in fact modern-day Sicily. However, the characters in The Odyssey are in “never-never land,” and consequently, the locations plotted cannot be deemed entirely accurate.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His new free verse translation of The Odyssey was published by Oxford University Press in 2014. His translation of The Iliad was published by Oxford University Press in 2013.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Subscribe to only classics and archaeology articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.

The post A map of Odysseus’s journey appeared first on OUPblog.

0 Comments on A map of Odysseus’s journey as of 1/1/1900
Add a Comment
8. Ray Bradbury’s robots, and more

 

I’m behind on everything around here, even linking to my New York Times Magazine mini-columns. Recently I’ve written about: plans to turn the old Miami Herald building into a casino; the (partial) realization of Ray Bradbury’s dream of robot teachers; and, courtesy of Madeline Miller and Plato, The Iliad as love story between Achilles and his man Patroclus.

Bradbury’s comments about robot teachers appeared in a 1974 letter to Brian Sibley. And his short story, “I Sing the Body Electric,” about a girl and her electric grandmother, inspired one of my favorite old Twilight Zone episodes — favorite even though it gave me nightmares — and a mini-series (clip above).

Add a Comment
9. The Map of your Mind


From time to time I audit Master’s courses at the local university.  While formal education normally derails my intellectual pursuits, I am a total nerd.  I can’t resist it.  I love homework.  Not to mention classroom discussions.

In a recent lit class I had the kind of professor who had nothing to say, but used every four-syllable word in the SAT study guide to do it.  I forgave him his skullet.  The tie-dyed shirts. The way he held his chalk like a reefer.  But I simply could not get over the way he squinted his eyes, held the chalk-joint like he was about to hit it and said, “The vivacious exposition effectually saltates off the page!”

Because I am addicted to 4.0’s, I dutifully attended his office hours for requisite brown-nosing, and it was here that he finally became worth my $500 (get your minds out the gutter, fellow bloggers!).  I had no cohesive theme in my endeavor to compare Homer’s Iliad to some essays from the Vietnam War.  Professor Skullet leafed through my books and said, “I see you’ve partaken in underscoring innumerable passages.”

“You mean I highlight a lot?”

“Indeed.”

And then, for the first time since the semester began, he said something: “Peruse the highlighted text. It’s the map of your mind.”

What advice. Pages and pages of seemingly unrelated prose all pointed to the same theme: my position on war.  A position I could never really articulate before.  My highlighting taught me what I was learning.

And furthermore (this is where I bring it all back to writing, folks) I found that I had been drawn to snazzy sentence structure, unlikely pairings of words and various characterization tricks.  Highlighting helped me define what writing techniques I was ripe to experiment with.

I highlight/underline all my reading now for this purpose.  It teaches me more than any homework or classroom discussion could, irresistible as they are.  How do you decide what your writing needs?


12 Comments on The Map of your Mind, last added: 4/21/2010
Display Comments Add a Comment
10. Ancient Greece: Mycenae

Paul Cartledge is A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture in the University of Cambridge, and Fellow in Classics at Clare College, Cambridge.  His book, Ancient Greece: A History in Eleven Cities, illuminates the most important and informative themes in Ancient Greek history, from the first documented use of ancient-greecethe Greek language around 1400 BCE, through the glories of the Classical and Hellenistic periods, to the foundation of the Byzantine empire in around CE 330.  In the excerpt below we learn about the city of Mycenae.  Read Carltedge’s other OUPblog posts here.

‘I gazed on the face of Agamemnon’ – so runs the abbreviated headline-grabbing version of a message telegraphed in November 1876 by an overexcited and deeply mistaken Heinrich Schliemann, self-made Prussian multimillionaire businessman turned self-made ‘excavator’, to a Greek newspaper.  For an amateur driven by the ambition to find the real-life counterparts of Homer’s characters the identification was not just seductively tempting but inescapable.  For the Mycenae of Homer’s epic Iliad was adorned with the personalized, formulaic epithet ‘rich in gold’, and Agamemnon was the great high King of Mycenae, by far the most powerful of the regal lords who banded together to rescue the errant wife of Agamemnon’s brother Menelaus from the adulterously fey clutches of Paris (also know as Alexander), a prince of the royal house of Troy. Schliemann had of course already dug there too, indeed could rightly claim to have found at Hissarlik overlooking the Dardanelles on the Asiatic side the only possible site of Homer’s Troy – if indeed there ever was a precise and uniform, real-world original of that fabled ‘windy’ city.  But what he and his team of Greek workmen had in fact discovered at Mycenae, in one of the six hyper-rich shaft-graces enclosed within a much later (c. 1300 BCE) city-wall, was a handsome death-mask of a neatly bearded, compactly expressive adult male datable c. 1650 BCE, well before any sort of Homeric Trojan War could possibly have taken place.

More soberly, accurately, and professionally, if also just a little romantically, Mycenae is the major Late Bronze Age city in the Argolis region of the north-east Peloponnese that has given its name to an entire era: the ‘Mycenaean’ Age.  This is thanks to a combination of archaeology and Homer, mainly the former.  As we have seen, archaeology and philology between them tell us that in about 1450 BCE Cnossos was overwhelmed by Greek-speaking invaders from the north.  These warrior communities had evolved a culture based, like that of Late Bronze Age Crete, on palaces.  But whereas the ‘Minoan’ culture looks to have been strikingly peaceful or at least harmonious, the palace-based ruler of Mycenae and other mainland Mycenaean centres north and south of the Corinthian isthmus (Thebes, Iolcus, Pylus) were notably bellicose and like to surround themselves with huge walls (those of Mycenae were over 6 meters thick).  Whether or not the rulers themselves were literate, they had their archives kept for them in the primitive bureaucratic form of Greek script know prosaically as L

0 Comments on Ancient Greece: Mycenae as of 1/1/1900
Add a Comment