Now You Know Classics

The Iliad & Odyssey from Argus’ POV 😭💔

So next week I’ll be in Marathon & Athens.

Besides the Acropolis, where should I go?

Hi :D

Hello!

Thank you for all this I can’t wait to dive in :D I’ve always found it interesting that Shakespeare was so similar to ancient theatre regarding tragedy. I know he was famously very inspired by ancient stories but I mean how past eras contrast to today where most people prefer happy endings (not me)

Never knew that!

If you’re a teacher, professor, researcher, communicator, student or even just a fan of Classics, Classical Studies, Mythology, Ancient History / the Ancient World…

Please say hello! I want to follow you!

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Any lovers of mythology and ancient history here? 🙋‍♂️

This is generally thought to be a Euripidean invention, and could have been a step too far in terms of final act drama for Athenian audiences.

This aspect of the story has become one of, if not *the*, most well known.

It shows how myths were malleable and ever-adapting.

All we know is Sophocles came second, and Euphorion, son of the famed Aeschylus, won.

It’s also believed that one reason for its initial “poor” reception was Medea’s committing filicide at the end of the play.

Euripides’ play Medea is one of the most enduring, famous and celebrated pieces of dramatic theatre from the ancient world.

It’s still being performed today, almost 2500 years after it was written.
When it debuted, it came third in a contest. Out of three entries.
The other two are lost to time.

In one variant or another, they were said to have been placed among the stars as constellations.

Καταστερισμοί (Katasterismoi) is Greek for “constellations”.

What do Perseus & Andromeda, Andromeda’s parents Cepheus & Cassiopeia, Callisto & Arcus, Phaethon, Chiron, Orpheus and even the famous ship the Argo all have in common?

Catasterisation.

His veneration can be traced to within a century or so of his death, but the more fantastic aspects of his legend, such as his famous battle with the dragon, didn’t appear until much later, in the medieval period.

He was martyred during the last of the great Christian persecutions during the late third or early fourth centuries.

Happy St George’s Day. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Little is known for certain of his early life but according to tradition, St George was a Cappadocian Greek (Cappadocia is in modern-day Turkey) soldier in the Roman army and even served in the Praetorian Guard under Emperor Diocletian.

April 21st is the day typically assigned to the founding of Rome, all the way back in 753BCE.

So happy 2777th birthday to the Eternal City!

Twins fathered by Ares (Romulus & Remus were sons of Mars, Ares’ Roman equivalent), they were exposed in the wild, suckled by a she-wolf and raised by a shepherd. And went onto become kings in Arcadia.

A lot of us are likely familiar with the story of Romulus and Remus, the mythical brothers who founded Rome in the 8th century BCE.

But you may not have heard of Lycastus and Parrhasius.

Though mentioned during Ptolemaic Egypt in the 3rd century BCE, they seem to have been fairly obscure until their regular inclusion in medieval bestiaries.

An onocentaur was the upper body of a man with the rear end of a donkey - only without the donkey’s front legs.

Weird!

We’re likely all familiar with centaurs - the upper body of a human attached to the front of a horse. They’re one of the most recognisable creatures from mythology.

But how many of you have heard of an onocentaur?

But in 217 while on campaign against Parthia he was assassinated aged 29, by a soldier under his command, and by several Praetorians, urged on by Macrinus, the prefect who would succeed him on the throne.

Caracalla was known as a soldier-emperor, heavily favouring the army over the disgruntled senatorial class. He built the Baths of Caracalla in Rome and passed an edict in 212 which gave Roman citizenship to all free men in the empire - a radical reform for the time.

In 209, Caracalla’s younger brother Geta was also made co-emperor, but shortly after their father’s death in 211, Caracalla had Geta killed, scrubbing his image from public record - a process known as damnatio memoriae.

On this day in 217, emperor Caracalla is assassinated, age 29.

At just 10 years old, he was elevated to co-emperor with his father Septimius Severus, as Commodus had alongside Marcus Aurelius a few decades prior.

#mythology #folklore #greekmythology

Helios therefore is sometimes likened to the Egyptian sun god Ra, who travels the sky in a boat during the day, and the underworld at night.

Both Helios and Mithra are often depicted with a solar crown, and Ra carries the sun on his head.

Mithra was one of the 3 judges of the dead and so associated with the underworld. While Helios was not one of the Greek judges, his nightly journey back to the east is sometimes said to have been via the underworld in a golden cup. Helios temporarily gifts this cup to Herakles during his labours.

Both gods were also associated with cattle, as we see Helios demand punishment of Odysseus in the Odyssey for the latter’s men eating his divine cattle.

Mithra was an ancient Iranian deity who to the Romans was Mithras. Like Helios, he drove a chariot which pulled the sun across the sky, and his all-seeing persona made him the overseer of contracts and oaths.