classics

• 
• SOURCE: Bloomberg
  12/19/2020
  

  How Ancient Rome Defeated Donald Trump

  Veteran war correspondent Tom Ricks has written a new book on the influence of Greece and Rome on the American founders, and discusses how this year's election reflects that influence. 

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• 12/20/2020
  

  The Plague in Ancient Athens: A Cautionary Tale for America

  by Fred Zilian

  The United States in some respects has fared better under COVID than Athens did during the plague that accompanied the Peloponnesian War: a vaccine is in sight, and our head of state survived the day's most feared disease. But in both cases, disease showed the strains and cracks of a society and political system that will be difficult to repair.

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• 11/8/2020
  

  The End of an Era? Athens After Empire

  by Ian Worthington

  “Hellenistic” Athens may not shine as brightly as Classical Athens, but it has lived unfairly in the shadow of its famous predecessor. It’s time it emerged from that shadow.

• 
• SOURCE: The Baffler
  10/28/2020
  

  Grin and Bear It: On the Rise and Rise of Neo-Stoicism

  by Hettie O'Brien

  "Stoic practices may allow us to live more easily in the world as it is. But politics is as much about conflict as consensus, and depends, at least in part, upon people getting angry."

• 
• 10/11/2020
  

  The Battle of Salamis Opened the Door for Ancient Greece’s Golden Age

  by Fred Zilian

  September marked the 2,500th anniversary of the Battle of Salamis, where the Greeks won a surprising naval victory over Persian forces, thwarted their efforts to conquer Greece, and set the stage for the golden age of Athenian civilization. 

• 
• SOURCE: Zocálo Public Square
  9/23/2020
  

  What Would Cicero See In American Governance Today?

  by Edward Watts

  "The United States now approaches the tipping point between a republic governed by law and the polity of violence, governed by mutual fear, that Cicero described over two millennia ago."

• 
• SOURCE: Chronicle of Higher Education
  7/14/2020
  

  When Plague Is Not a Metaphor

  by Hunter Gardner

  It's not always a blessing when current events make a researcher's specialty suddenly and urgently relevant. 

• 
• 5/10/2020
  

  The Real Thucydides Trap

  by Waller R. Newell

  Classical histories are in vogue as explanations for the Coronavirus-fueled tensions between the United States and China. A political science scholar argues that an influential theory gets Thucydides backwards.

• 
• SOURCE: Slate
  

  The Plague That Killed Athenian Democracy

  by Robert Zaretsky

  Want to know how disease can permanently alter a society? Read Thucydides.

• 
• 3/22/2020
  

  Our Stories Will Carry Us to the Future. Can They Save Us Now?

  by David Farrier

  To avert a climate disaster, science is essential, but we also need stories. We know ourselves first and foremost in the tales we tell.

• 
• SOURCE: The Conversation
  3/12/2020
  

  Plagues Follow Bad Leadership in Ancient Greek Tales

  by Joel Christensen

  Zeus observes in Homer’s “Odyssey,” as I’ve translated it, “Humans are always blaming the gods for their suffering / but they experience pain beyond their fate because of their own recklessness.”

• 
• SOURCE: The Conversation
  3/12/2020
  

  Why a Roman Philosopher’s Views on the Fear of Death Matter as Coronavirus Spreads

  by Thomas Nail

  Instead of worrying about what may happen after death, Lucretius advises people to focus on keeping their bodies healthy and helping others do the same.

• 
• 9/1/19
  

  Sparta and the Collapse of Greece

  by Jennifer T. Roberts

  Why the Peloponnesian War went on longer than is commonly thought. 

• 
• SOURCE: National Geographic
  8/26/19
  

  The Vandals sacked Rome, but do they deserve their reputation?

  Their name is synonymous with destruction, but the group may not deserve such a harsh legacy.

• 
• SOURCE: Inside Higher Ed
  3/4/19
  

  The Trouble With Classics Continues

  New video shows exactly what was said during a heated discussion at the annual gathering of classicists in January. Does it change anything?

• 
• SOURCE: Guardian
  7-7-17
  

  Women are making the classics their own

  by Emily Wilson

  Now, at long last, we are beginning to see an outpouring of translations of Greek and Latin texts by women.