Tag Archives: Aristophanes
by Ben Potter A quick search of our homepage will reveal that a copious amount of ink has already been spilt discussing the life and works of the great practitioners of Athenian theatre: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes. However, leaving aside these individuals for the moment, brilliant as they may have been, what of the
The Ages of Ancient Greece
By Ben Potter Archaic. Classical. Hellenistic. These terms are often (and quite naturally) conflated together under the generic heading of ‘classical’, or, at the very least, ‘old’. It appears that organizing history into clear, distinct eras can be a tricky business. This, of course, is more true for the Greeks than for the Romans. This
Plautus: No Latin Matter
By Ben Potter It’s been often said that what was good about the Romans came from their cultural forefathers, the Greeks. Like most (I refrain from saying ‘all’) generalisations, there are grains of both truth and falsehood to this claim. Whilst there may well be startling similarities between Greek and Roman art, gods, drinking habits,
The Prince of Ancient Comedy: Aristophanes
By Ben Potter To translate Ancient texts correctly is no easy task, even for the most proficient student of Greek. To attempt it at all is commendable, but to do so when the subject matter is a comedy, is a project fit for only the insanely brilliant or the brilliantly insane. Translation from a dead
Herodotus: Father of History or Father of Lies?
Insatiably curious, prone to whimsy, a talented writer, a slave to gossip, an innovator, a barbarian apologist, a cosmopolitan, a partisan egoist; Herodotus has been praised for and accused of much since the publication of his Histories. He was both denigrated and venerated in his own time…and has remained so ever since. However, it is almost