The Vulgar Eclectic

Tag: classical antiquity

  • Phaedra by Seneca

    I read Thyestes by Seneca a couple weeks ago and then decided to try another of his plays, this time reading Phaedra. I’m very pleased I decided to read another one, as I enjoyed Phaedra a great deal. Here is the little reaction to it I wrote: I finished reading Phaedra, a play written around…

  • Thyestes by Seneca

    I read Thyestes by Seneca (translated by E. F. Watling), a tragedy written in the first century AD. This is the first play by Seneca I’ve read, having only read his letters to Lucilius Junior in the past. Euripides, one of my favorite writers, wrote a play with the same title some 500 years earlier.…

  • Pharsalia by Lucan, video

    I just posted the first video I’ve made for The Vulgar Eclectic. Here it is:

  • Pharsalia by Lucan

    “No, it will be the match we always have— Liberty pitted against a Caesar“ I recently finished reading Pharsalia (written about 65 AD) by the Roman poet Lucan, translated by Jane Wilson Joyce. This is an epic in ten parts written in verse in the tradition of Homer and Virgil. Unlike those poems, however, Pharsalia…

  • Carmina Achilochi: the Fragments Of Archilochos

    I read this collection of poems by the Greek lyric poet Archilochus back in January of 2021 and wrote a very brief reaction: I just finished reading Carmina Archilochi: the Fragments Of Archilochos, translated by Guy Davenport. Archilochos was a 7th Century Greek poet and soldier. This book was really fun to read and felt…

  • Orestes by Euripides

    I finished reading Orestes by Euripides (408 BC), translated by Philip Vellacott. I love Euripides and this play is no exception. It is beautifully written and was exciting and dramatic to read, but also encourages prolonged reflection. The ending of the play left me a little confused, as did the moral nature of many of the…

  • Ostracize

    I finally added the first installment of little etymology curiosities…here it is: I learned about the origins of this word when reading Plutarch. In one of his biographical sketches (I don’t remember which), he explains how ancient Greeks in Athens would periodically vote to kick someone out of Athenian society. Individual citizens did this by…

  • An old book jot…Sappho

    This is a reaction I typed up after reading a collection of the poetry of Sappho. I finished reading this back in May of 2021. I’m going back and adding these sorts of reactions to the “book jots” section of the website. I thought I’d throw it up as a post, too, even though it’s…

  • The Ancient World

    I finished reading The Ancient World: A Beginning by T. R. Glover (1935). This is an overview of the history of the ancient world, focused on the Mediterranean region and primarily Greek, Jewish, and Roman culture. It touches lightly upon surrounding areas and peoples, including Asia Minor, Egypt, and Persia. There is a mention here…

  • The Suppliant Women

    I finished reading The Suppliant Women by Euripides (first performed in 423 BC), translated by Philip Vellacott. The events of this play occur shortly after Polyneices’ attempt to wrest the throne from his brother Eteocles, as told by Aeschylus in Seven Against Thebes. Besides being another fantastically written play by Euripides, The Suppliant Women explores…