The genie grants you a wish. What is it?
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Oh no, I read the myth of Midas, I’m not falling for that one.
PROMPT: Genie
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Category Archives: Classical Mythology
PROMPT: Fictional Animal
Daily writing prompt
If you could pick any fictional animal to be your lifelong companion (like a Pokémon or fantasy pet), what would it be?
None of the fictional animals I’m aware of (e.g. Dragons, Minotaur, Hydras, Werewolves, Fu-Lions, etc.) would make good “lifelong companions” as they would not be conducive to a life that was long. Perhaps the kind of foxes one sees in Chinese and Japanese folklore, though those relationships also usually end poorly (not to mention being weirdly sexual.)
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“Leda and the Swan” by William Butler Yeats [w/ Audio]
A sudden blow: the great wings beating still
Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed
By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,
He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.
How can those terrified vague fingers push
The feathered glory from her loosening thighs?
And how can body, laid in that white rush,
But feel the strange heart beating where it lies?
A shudder in the loins engenders there
The broken wall, the burning roof and tower
And Agamemnon dead.
Being so caught up,
So mastered by the brute blood of the air,
Did she put on his knowledge with his power
Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?
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Mermaid [Lyric Poem]
So many miles of coastline,
of rocky coves and outcrops.
Where none can see a straight line,
and water sloshes and slops.
Oh, might one miss a mermaid
hidden among the inlets,
so snug in stone palisade -
a lair of shells and torn nets?
If you say that you've seen one,
I'll not call you a faker.
I rather think it's great fun
to flirt with claims, wiseacre.
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BOOK REVIEW: The Translations of Seamus Heaney by various [Trans. by Seamus Heaney / Ed. by Marco Sonzogi]
The Translations of Seamus Heaney by Seamus HeaneyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
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Release Date: March 21, 2023 [for the reviewed edition]
I’d read Heaney’s approachable yet linguistically elegant translation of Beowulf long ago, and was excited to see this collection of his translations coming out. The one hundred pieces gathered make for a diverse work, from single stanza poems to epic narratives and timed from Ancient Greece through modernity. The pieces include works from well-known poets such as Baudelaire, Cavafy, Dante, Brodsky, Horace, Sophocles, Ovid, Pushkin, Rilke, and Virgil. But most readers will find new loves among the many poets who aren’t as well-known in the English-reading world, including Irish and Old English poets. I was floored by the pieces by Ana Blandiana, a prolific Romanian poet who’s a household name in Bucharest, though not so well-known beyond.
I’d highly recommend this anthology for poetry readers. Besides gorgeous and clever use of language, the power of story wasn’t lost on Heaney and his tellings of Antigone (titled herein as “The Burial at Thebes,) Beowulf, Philoctetes (titled “The Cure at Troy,”) and others are gripping and well-told.
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BOOK REVIEW: Classical Mythology: A Very Short Introduction by Helen Morales
Classical Mythology: A Very Short Introduction by Helen MoralesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
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This book examines the mythology of ancient Greece and Rome, reflects upon how these myths have come to be understood and used in the modern world, and proposes how these understandings may represent partial or incorrect views – in some cases. This approach can be seen from the book’s opening chapter, which investigates how Europa (a figure primarily known for being raped by Zeus) came to be namesake of the continent where classical mythology developed. In later chapters, there’s an exploration of how partial or erroneous understandings of Classical Mythology have been applied to psychoanalysis (ch. 5,) sexuality (ch. 6,) and New Age practices such as astrology and goddess worship (ch. 7.)
I learned a great deal from this book. I particularly enjoyed the discussion about what might have been if Freud had picked a different mythological figure to fixate on, other than Oedipus. How the famed psychiatrist might have extracted lessons that better stood the test of time than those that came about in reality.
While there’s not a great deal of room in a book such as this to explore the full scope of classical myths, the author does use a variety of myths – often well-known stories that don’t require a great deal of backstory – to make the book interesting and thought-provoking.
If you’re looking for a book on Classical Mythology, particularly one that discusses how it (for good or ill) appears in today’s world, I’d highly recommend this brief guide.
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