Category: Classical Diversions

A collection of posts relating to the ancient and classical world.

Reminiscing on self

Publisher: McNally Editions (March 12, 2024)

In an LRB piece (Vol. 46 No. 17 · 12 September 2024) coming out of the publication earlier this year of a new edition of the classicist Jane Ellen Harrison’s Reminiscences of a Student’s Life: A Memoir (first published in 1925 towards the end of her life), Mary Beard ponders the Harrison life stories as told by her, to be retold by others until the varied accounts thereof fused to be the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Or perhaps not. And if not, who cares, for Harrison’s life was remarkable in every way irrespective of questionable veracity, mischievous embellishment or the self-interested spin. Harrison knew that a woman of her time had to control their own narrative or no one else would – or worse, could easily find itself appropriated by a … bloke!

This is not the first time Mary Beard has considered Jane Harrison. She too is of course a fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge, where Harrison studied, was rejected by, and returned to – to become the archetype for generations of women academics. And, Professor Beard in fact hunted through archival material for her own book, The Invention of Jane Harrison (Harvard University Press) in 2000. (A review from the time at The Guardian can be read here.)

If written words are not enough, the LRB also included a conversation with Mary Beard about her article in their podcast (available on their website or embedded below from Spotify) where Harrison is stylized as ‘the cleverest woman in England’ (of that time).

I too have mentioned Jane Harrison before – here and again here, for instance, in respect to her being one of a particular group of intellectual women who happened to live for a time on Mecklenburgh Square in London, and as written about by Francesca Wade in her book Square Haunting (2020). Another of those was of course Virginia Woolf, and the Woolfs attendance at Harrison’s funeral (on 19th April 1928) is recorded in a 21st April 1928 diary entry that I make note of here. This, an event that does not appear to have moved VW terribly much but, just as she has afforded others who touched upon her world, her memorializing of Harrison is other – for her, a guest appearance in A Room of One’s Own. And what a memorial that is; one that assures a recognition beyond her time into the present.

The First Lady of American Classics: Remembering Edith Hamilton – Antigone

The First Lady of American Classics: Remembering Edith Hamilton – Antigone
— Read on antigonejournal.com/2024/03/remembering-edith-hamilton/

Possibly Edith Hamilton (here her Wiki entry) is one of those extraordinary American women renowned only on their home turf and amongst those steeped in Classics education. Whatever, I only came across Hamilton by chance a few years ago whilst reading Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones in which the feisty young protagonist is given a copy of Mythology to read by a teacher, and finds solace in those ancient myths – and refuge from the cruel realities of poverty and despair in the Mississippi Delta.

An epic evening

During the UK leg of her book tour at the end of last year, Emily Wilson accepted the London Review of Books invitation to present her Iliad translation. And they found a wonderful discussion partner for her in Edith Hall. And complimented by a thespian pair conjured from amongst the embarrassment of riches which is the theatrical talent of a nation – Juliet Stevenson and Tobias Menzies. Stellar, I say! Such an evening could only happen in London.

Conway Hall, London, on 2 October 2023.

Thalia Potamianos Annual Lecture Series

And, should you ask: And what is that? I do quote:

Established in June 2020, the Thalia Potamianos Annual Lectures Series seeks to create a stimulating environment to draw the academic community and the public to the Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Every year, a highly distinguished, internationally renowned scholar is selected to conduct research and develop programs on a topic relevant to the Gennadius Library. The research will culminate in a minimum of three annual public lectures, which will be delivered in Athens and the United States.

This program is being made possible by a generous grant from Gennadius Library Overseer Phokion Potamianos. Mr. Potamianos named the series in memory of his grandmother, a distinguished Greek biochemist, scientist, and philanthropist.

American School of Classical Studies at Athens

And, of particular interest to me, is that the current presenter is Dr. Emily Wilson. As per the schedule below, the first lecture was held in October in Athens, and the next two are in the US next year. (Of course, very timely considering Emily Wilson’s new Iliad translation!)

LECTURE SCHEDULE

2023–2024 Schedule for The Myth, Magic, and Mystery of the Ancient Greeks

Lecture I: The Vulnerability of Heroism

Tuesday, October 3, 2023 – ATHENS, GREECE
7:00 p.m. EEST (Greece) / 12:00 p.m. EDT (US)
Cotsen Hall, Anapiron Polemou 9

Lecture II: Destiny, Tradition, Choice

Wednesday, January 24, 2024 – GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY (Washington, DC)
6:00 p.m. EST (US)
Gaston Hall, located inside the Healy Hall Building, 37th & O Streets, NW

Lecture III: The Wisdom of Stories

Wednesday, May 8, 2024 – NEW YORK CITY
6:00 p.m. EDT (US)
St. Bartholomew’s Church, 352 Park Avenue (between 50th & 51st Streets)

I embed here a video of the first lecture; and I will so do again with the remaining of the series – and in a more timely fashion.

Update: January 27 – Well, the first lecture has disappeared so herewith the second – though it may also have a limited life!

Update: February 2 2024 – Ditto the above! Time zone disparity didn’t allow for a live watching of the second lecture, and so I belatedly began to look at it a couple of days ago, only to get distracted and now the second lecture is also gone!

Update: May 21 – Gladly managed to watch the final lecture delivered in NYC last week (just in time!). From what I saw at least, these lectures were for a much more learned audience, but even a lay person/aged fan-girl such as I could garner rewards – and especially in this last one which focused on narrative and story-building. The juxtaposition of Pandora (from Hesiod) and Helen (from Homer); the former presented as a passive participant in her own story and the latter speaking in her own voice.

I don’t know why these recordings had such a ‘limited release’; should they return I will embed them again – but I fear not. Schade! I do wonder whether Dr. Wilson is not looking towards publication. I have noticed of late that very many lecture series are ending up in book form. That’s okay … I guess!

A hero on my doorstep

The god’s have favored me, and Emily Wilson’s new translation of Homer’s The Iliad has arrived promptly from across the wide Atlantic seas. And glorious it is indeed!

Too promptly I could say because my plan of action has not yet been settled upon. But a menu heading is a start! See My Iliad Reading at the top of the page

By the way, I have shifted the completed My Odyssey Reading; now to be found under Classical Diversions in the main menu.

The Iliad by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson review – a bravura feat | Homer | The Guardian

Six years on from her translation of the Odyssey, Wilson revels in the clarity and emotional clout of Homer’s battlefield epic
— Read on www.theguardian.com/books/2023/sep/27/the-iliad-by-homer-translated-by-emily-wilson-review-a-bravura-feat

There are sure to be many in the next days, weeks, so as I come across new reviews I’ll directly post them (if possible) – and comment later if I think necessary . This from Edith Hall, who hardly needs an introduction – but here’s one anyway.

According to Emily Wilson

It is 26 September 2023 and Emily Wilson’s translation of Homer’s The Iliad is published today.

pub. W.W. Norton (2023)

To whet the appetite, some of the first reviews:

No, they have not been thoroughly read, but I can say the headers and quick scans of each suggest – more than suggest – high praise, and sung in unison. Which would delight the Muses no end. Emily Wilson, herself, seemed particularly taken with The Bulwark (not known to me – looks really interesting, but mostly sub. based) piece. As she tweeted:

Beyond the book, gossipy even (and adventurous: wouldn’t you like an assignment that takes you to Ithaca? And not that one in the Empire State), is Judith Thurman’s piece for The New Yorker “How Emily Wilson Made Homer Modern”. An entertaining read, though the “modern” of the title, if one is to understand correctly Wilson’s comments in the above thread where she makes a point of voicing her displeasure at a simple reception with the claim of “modernizing Homer”, is probably misplaced. Also, Charlotte Higgins’ piece in The Guardian a couple of weeks ago writes of the the technical choices Wilson contended with in her translation of the Iliad that culminated in today’s publication.

And at Lit Hub, Emily Wilson in conversation with her friend, Madeline Miller, reveals further insights into her methodology as a translator, the psychological depth of Homer’s poetry and into her character interpretations – also a great read:

Enduring Epics: Emily Wilson and Madeline Miller on Breathing New Life Into Ancient Classics

And, finally, a diary entry unto myself: BBC Radio 4 Start the Week on Monday, 2 October – “The Iliad and the right to rule”. Adam Rutherford and his guests EMILY WILSON, Mary Beard and Ben Riley-Smith “explore the battle for power and the right to rule”.

I look forward so much to reading, reflecting upon, living with, this Iliad just as I did a couple of years ago with the Odyssey ‘according to Emily Wilson’ so to speak – a year long project that gave me great personal pleasure. But, first, I must get the book! And that seems easier said than done at the moment – in Germany at least!* But it does mean I can mull over a good (and doable) reading (and writing) schedule without undue haste. Until then.

*Reluctantly in the end I accepted Amazon delivery out of the US in a couple of weeks.

‘The Iliad may be ancient – but it’s not far away’: Emily Wilson on Homer’s blood-soaked epic | Classics | The Guardian

Following her acclaimed translation of the Odyssey, Wilson has turned to Homer’s other, darker poem. She explains how she got stuck for six months – and why it speaks to today’s era of conflict
— Read on www.theguardian.com/books/2023/sep/09/the-iliad-may-be-ancient-but-its-not-far-away-emily-wilson-on-homers-blood-soaked-epic