Ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) have been domesticated for thousands of years. Unfortunately, we do not know the first civilization that decided to take on the challenge of living and working with ferrets. It is thought that the domestic ferret is a descendant of the European polecat (Mustela putorius putorius) and/or the Steppe Polecat (Mustela eversmanni). ...
Ancient Greek was never a homogeneous language like many modern “standardized” languages. The language of Homer’s poems was not the same as that of Leonidas of the famed 300. These different dialects were used not only by separate political entites, but also within each state, they were used for different genres of literature. The main ...
Ancient Greek society was surrounded by new innovations in all aspects of knowledge. They made discoveries in the fields of mathematics and science while creating new styles art and architecture. Philosophers spread wisdom and knowledge throughout society, while literature and drama flourished. New forms of government were formed as well. Several of these concepts are ...
I was shocked to discover recently that a sizable portion of creative writing students do not get parody. Of about 100 high school juniors and seniors, only an odd dozen or so were able to explain what constitutes satire or parody. Fewer still were able to write a piece of parody or satire. Interesting. Given ...
Punctuation is simple. Right? There are clear rules to follow. Right? There is never any doubt of when to use a period (well, hardly ever). Question marks are entirely unambiguous in their meaning. Exclamation marks, parentheses, colons, and even semi-colons have reasonably well defined rules. There are some choices, for example the decision to use ...
The Medicis were huge patrons of the arts. They are responsible for virtually all of the Italian Renaissance art in a way. Their money supported many famous artists and they were not afraid to show it off. It all began with Pope John the XXIII who chose the small Medici bank to handle the papal ...
The life of Aristophanes spanned the last half of the fifth century B.C. and extended into the fourth century B.C. The exact dates of his birth and death are not known. He was an Athenian citizen, and wrote comedies for the education and entertainment of his fellow citizens. Aristophanes wrote most of his plays during ...
The final days of Socrates are rather dramatic. He was accused of religious offenses and corrupting the youth. At his trial, he intelligently defended himself, but was condemned to death. His friends were ready to help him escape, but he decided to submit to Athenian law, and drank the hemlock. Plato gives us the contents ...
Aristophanes, an ancient Greek author, specialized in writing comedies, of which several survive till this present day. One of them has the same title as an Alfred Hitchcock Film, namely “The Birds.” Since I do not own a copy of the Greek original, the following summary is based on an English translation by R.H. Webb, ...
The ancient Olympics got its start as a religious ceremony whose origins are veiled in mythology. On the other foot, the Olympians were ALL out in the open. The Greek tradition of athletic nudity began at the Olympic Games in 720 BC, possibly introduced by those whacky Spartans. Sparta men were no strangers to disrobed ...
