Bitter Almonds
January 14, 2014
Hyacinthus was a beautiful boy from Amyclae (near Sparta) who was loved by the god Apollo. According to the usual story, Apollo killed him accidentally with a discus throw – misdirected, deflected, or diverted by a jealous rival (Zephyrus, the west wind); this was the foundation myth of the important Spartan festival of the Hyacinthia. …
Out with the New (New Comedy, that is)
December 20, 2013
Announcing, at last, the publication of Menander in Contexts, the book of the Nottingham conference of July 2012, containing sixteen papers on the comedies of Menander seen in the contexts of the society and thought of his day, of earlier literature, and of subsequent receptions and responses. My edition (with introduction and commentary) of one …
Connected
October 22, 2013
In last week’s post, I asked: “How does Menander connect a Japanese warlord, a world chess champion, a British prime minister, a Native American chief, and a song about a lamp-post?” The answer will be found in Mario Lamagna’s chapter, “Military Culture and Menander”, in my forthcoming edited volume Menander in Contexts (London: Routledge, 2014). …
Connections
October 15, 2013
“Menander is a vital connecting link. He connects the society of classical Athens … with the era of Hellenistic kings and of mercenary armies; he connects, too, the language of classical Athenians with that of later Greeks; he connects the arguments and theories of medical men and [philosophers of Aristotle’s school] with the life and …
Very Brief Comic Quiz – the answer
August 16, 2013
Of the six assorted celebrities named in my Very Brief Comic Quiz three weeks ago, the one who won’t have an entry in the Encyclopedia of Greek Comedy is William Shakespeare. There is no good evidence that Shakespeare ever had any direct contact with Greek comedy, though he was certainly familiar with Roman comedy (in …
Very brief comic quiz
July 26, 2013
Having been appointed editor of the Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Greek Comedy, I have been drawing up the list of entries. Which one of the following is NOT going to have an entry? Claudius (Roman emperor) Niccolò Machiavelli Pablo Picasso Franz Schubert William Shakespeare Mikis Theodorakis The answer will be given when this blog comes back …
Paradoxical, or maybe not
June 4, 2013
In which classical Greek drama will you find these passages in praise of warlike achievements? 1. “Now, Spartans, do you not remember when Pericleidas the Spartan once came here to Athens and sat at our altars supplicating the Athenians – deathly pale in his scarlet cloak – begging for an army? You were hard pressed then …
Lysistrata at the Lakeside
May 2, 2013
Take a look at the Nottingham Evening Post review of last week’s production of Lysistrata, and at the thoughts of a member of the cast.
Thoughts of a serial translator
April 10, 2013
Here … is the text of the plenary lecture I gave at the annual conference of the Classical Association at Reading last Wednesday. Next year’s conference is in Nottingham. It will be a bit later in April, and we hope the weather will be better! Alan Sommerstein
National Theatre film
March 27, 2013
Take a look at the National Theatre’s five-minute film, An Introduction to Greek Comedy and Satyr Drama (with Sean McEvoy, Edith Hall, Laura Swift, and Alan Sommerstein) at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-BvMbfkxcc .
