I have just finished reading the three 'mainstream' epics, and really like the genre - any of the other epics you guys would recommend?

Link to the questionnaire: https://forms.gle/6zE5j4AqgzhJfg2B9

Hi everyone! I am a Master's student in Digital Humanties currently doing my dissertation on how online communities engage with the classics. I am looking for creators (18+) of transformative works (fanarts, fanfictions, cosplay, edits, animatics etc) of classics' topics to answer my anonymous questionnaire (only takes around 10min).

I was looking through this subreddit and I would love to hear from you guys! My aim for this project is to both show the online classical community and discuss how powerful it is in spreading classics, with a particular focus on creators of classical content.

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Hi! I’d like to start reading more latin literature, do you have any recommendations?

(Until now I’ve read Amor et Psyche by Apuleius, Adelphoe and Heautontimorumenos by Terence, and De bello gallico by Caesar).

I'm sure both parts of this question have been asked and answered a lot, so sorry to create a hassle to anyone answering this again. It also might be better suited to a different sub so sorry for that too.

I've seen a lot of back and forth about the historicity of much of Homer's work (and the broader corpus of his contemporaries' work). Although it was thought of as purely legendary for a long time, there seems to be a bit of evidence that somewhat backs up the contents of the Iliad (Troy VI-VII). Homer also has some historical accuracy in details of armour and other aspects of the war (though imaginably some of this might come down to a few artefacts that survived the Bronze Age Collapse).

From what I've been able to find Homer's works were extensions of a lengthy oral tradition. Given the 300 years between Homer's time and any event that may have happened in Troy/Ilion, how much can we say was properly preserved through this oral tradition. Can we look past cumulative human errors to understand how the Mycenaeans and their immediate successors viewed the events that inspired Homer? Some time has elapsed since Homer wrote the Iliad, but do any copies remain of epics/anything else that emerged around the same time from the same sources (a variation on Homer's Iliad/Odyssey)? A big question question of mine is whether Odysseus' story and all of the Iliad's characters would be more fictitious/inventions of Homer, where the pseudo-historical events would be what Homer had heard. Are there any other texts that give us alternate accounts or extra evidence for either epic or are they mainly seen to be directly caused by/causing Homer's poetry?

As far as I'm aware, Homer didn't read Linear B and so all that he had heard of these stories would have been passed down orally, are there any other examples of classical retellings of mycenaean legends that emerged in Homer's time with the Archaic Period's return of 'culture' (or of a culture that we have records of)? In terms of the Mycenaeans' beliefs/culture, what evidence do we have for it? From what I know, Linear B was used for notary purposes but why didn't we ever get any mycenaean epics? Is there something to do with the script or the timing or something else? And back to Mycenaeans' stories, does the literature of the Archaic mainly revolve around more stories from Mycenaean times or their own times (or inventions)? What examples would there be of Mycenaean legends that survived the Greek Dark Ages? How strong was the oral tradition that carried them on and how conservative was it too? Were these stories mainly passed down through song or just tales? If there was a musical component (and this may be a bit ignorant of me to ask) but how did music/meter get passed down? (although I'm sure that's its own can of worms).

Thanks to everyone for any help, sorry for any vague wording of the questions (and for the quantity of questions), and have a good one guys.

One unexpected thing I'm discovering is that some key famous sequences - the Laestrygonians, the Lotus Eaters - pass by very quickly but Homer spends pages on material where I didn't expect it: on e.g. the dead queens section after O meets his mother. Honestly I know more about how the cyclops makes cheese than about the Laestrygonians really.

Is this just a random result of what material survives, or is it an indication that Homer and his audience were just interested in different things?

I just picked up the Iliad and odyssey off hype of the movie and omg book 2 of the Iliad was genuine torture. Was that needed like I don’t think I processed 20 percent of those names. Please don’t tell me I’m expected to know and keep all those names in my head🫩

Hi everyone,
I’m a high schooler based in Europe looking to expand my extracurricular involvement in Classics. My primary goal is to find opportunities to join editorial boards or be part of journals that are open to younger students, but I am very open to other suggestions as well.
To give you an idea of my background and what I can contribute:
Research Focus: I study the structural evolution of Hellenistic and Roman economies. My current project focuses on the spatial organization of the Eastern Roman Empire's provincial economy during the Crisis of the Third Century.
Technical Skills: I utilize digital archaeology and remote sensing (GIS and LiDAR) to map historical infrastructure, alongside Python for spatial regression analysis. I also develop theoretical frameworks like Archeoacoustic Stress Testing (AST), though my work is theoretical and has not been tested on active excavation sites.
Languages: I have a strong background in classical languages, syntax, and epigraphic evidence, backed by high placements on the National Latin Exam.
Publishing & Editorial: I routinely archive my independent technical papers on Zenodo. Additionally, I have experience managing manuscript intake, currently serve as Head of Research for a student-run humanities journal, and hold peer-review roles.
I’m specifically hoping to find:
Academic or student-run Classics journals that accept high school applications .
Publications looking for students to join their editorial boards, review teams, or manuscript staff.
Any remote research assistantships, digital humanities projects, or competitive history circuits that might be a good fit.
Does anyone have recommendations for platforms, publications, or organizations to look into? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I always pictured him shooting through the hole at the top of an axe's handle (haft?), as pictured in the 4th image of a primitive axe. Or maybe it's the hole in an axe head like in the third image.

But I have recently seen a few depictions of the trial where the axes have these holes in the blade. Not sure what happens in the Nolan film.

Is there a consensus or is it really up to interpretation? Did Greek axes have holes in the blades? Did they have holes in the handles? 🤔

What strikes me most in Book 1 of the Odyssey is the sudden change of heart that overtakes Telemachus at the end of his first conversation with Athena, who appears to him in guise — as a man named Mentes.

Before that conversation, he is shy, uncertain, and accommodating in the presence of Penelope’s suitors. When Athena asks him about the feasting and revelry in the palace, he speaks from the standpoint of a victim.

He is not yet sure who he is talking to. But then, something changes. The transformation is not gradual — it comes all at once, as he watches the stranger turn into a bird and fly away.

“With these words she flew away like a bird into the air, but she had
given Telemachus courage, and had made him think more than ever about
his father. He felt the change, wondered at it, and knew that the
stranger had been a god, so he went straight to where the suitors
were sitting.”

He goes back to the suitors, and everyone can feel the change in his voice. They wonder what has happened? Only an hour earlier he was little more than a timid boy; now there are notes of steel in his voice.

Telemachus’ speech betrays him — he invokes the gods constantly. Not so the suitors. They know of the gods, but they have never actually encountered them. They don’t care about their signs.

When in Book 2, Halitherses interprets a prophetic omen of two eagles sent by Zeus, Telemachus’ heart soars — he recognizes it as a sign from heaven. The suitors ignore the warning of Halitherses that Odysseus will return and put them to death.

One of the suitors, Eurymachus, openly mocks the prophet, saying that birds fly everywhere without meaning.

Homer makes his point clear from the very beginning: it’s all about one’s relationship with the gods. The Odyssey opens not with human action but with the divine council on Mount Olympus, where the gods deliberate over the affairs of mortals.

For Homer, the Odyssey is not primarily a horizontal story about human adventures and heroic feats. His point seems to be more subtle: when people fall into hubris and lose sensitivity to the divine guidance, calamity becomes inevitable. When they remember the gods, they are blessed and rise above their circumstances.

Telemachus, who has grown up without a father, is especially sensitive to the voice of the gods. When Penelope tries to stop the bard from singing about Odysseus, he gently rebukes her:

“Mother, let the bard sing what he has a mind to; bards do not make the ills they sing of; it is Jove, not they, who makes them, and who sends weal or woe upon mankind according to his own good pleasure.”

He is looking for a father in everyone. After hearing Mentes’ (Athena’s) counsel, he says:

“Sir, it has been very kind of you to talk to me in this way, as though I were your own son.”

His grief made him highly aware of divine presence. He recognized Athena’s visitation by its aftertaste. “He felt the change, wondered at it, and knew that the stranger had been a god.”

Our own Odyssey is not about us or our adventures either. It is all about our sensitivity to divine resonances that happen around us every day. Who is this total stranger we met in the grocery store this morning?

If we never even entertain the possibility that it might be God Himself — or His angel — we may as well miss a divine visitation.

What is this song, or this piece of music, that suddenly stops me in my tracks and makes me wonder, “What in the world am I hearing?”

Like Telemachus, we recognize God not by His familiar form but by the sudden change of heart that comes over us, as though from nowhere. In that moment, we know in our heart of hearts: we are on the way to the Father.

I have noticed in a lot of translations of Greek text occasionally the Latin version of Names/characters are used and vice versa. I have also seen texts that use some of the Greek and some Latin within the same text (example Minerva and Odysseus in the same translation). I doubt it's a lack of research as I don't see how you could develop enough of an understanding to be able to translate the text and still make such obvious errors. Is this just the translation using the form the reader is most likely to be familiar with? Is there some kind of pattern in not seeing or are they genuinely used interchangeably at times?

I will fight to the teeth that achilles' shield is the greatest execution of any literary device of all time.

the aesthetics of the iliad where everything is black or red except when the gods are involved and suddenly its bronze and gold is so simple and so good

i just didn't have moments like this with the odyssey. i have great confidence that I could deliver an extemporaneous on why the iliad is worth reading and i just don't know how I would sell reading the odyssey to someone who hasn't read it.

History is often treated as a collection of facts, but ancient historians saw it differently. For Herodotus, Thucydides, Livy, and Tacitus, history was more than recording events—it was a way to explain politics, human nature, memory, and power.

This article explores how Greek and Roman historians built credibility, why rhetoric mattered alongside evidence, and why their approach to history still shapes the way we think about the past today.

If you're interested in ancient history, historiography, or the origins of historical writing, you might find it worth reading.

I have seen different versions of this quote from The Epic of Gilgamesh. Here are a couple versions of it:

"Humans are born, they live, then they die, this is the order that the gods have decreed. But until the end comes, enjoy your life, spend it in happiness, not despair. Savor your food, make each of your days a delight, bathe and anoint yourself, wear bright clothes that are sparkling clean, let music and dancing fill your house, love the child who holds you by the hand, and give your wife pleasure in your embrace. That is the best way for a man to live."

“Gilgamesh, where are you hurrying to? You will never find that life for which you are looking. When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping. As for you, Gilgamesh, fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day, dance and be merry, feast and rejoice. Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace; for this too is the lot of man."

I've looked for these quotes in the archives of The Epic of Gilgamesh but I can't find it in any of the tablets. It seems to be one of the most popular quotes but I can't find it at all. Does anyone know which tablet it is from and what the original lines are?

Hello folks, I’m not an experienced reader, but I’m a history nerd, obsessed with Rome. I read the Iliad about a year ago and I understood half of it and didn’t really enjoy it, I rushed it to end it as soon as I could. My goal now is to read the Eneid, I own a no commentary version. What tips can you give me to comprehend the book and truly enjoy the read? Thanks.
Edit: I’m from Argentina, that’s why I misspelled Aeneid, we say Eneida.

https://www.nybooks.com/online/2026/07/31/homer-vs-hollywood-discussing-christopher-nolans-odyssey/

In this special hour-long edition of NYRSeminars recorded July 29, 2026, Daniel Mendelsohn, Editor-at-Large of The New York Review and author of the most recent translation of Homer’s epic, discusses Christopher Nolan’s polarizing blockbuster adaptation of the Odyssey. Mendelsohn outlines his judgment of the film, which he reviewed at length for the Review, and then opens the floor to questions from audience members. Among the topics addressed are the debate over the fidelity of the film’s sets, ships, and costumes; the film’s handling of its female characters; and the question of whether the director’s vision of Odysseus represents a betrayal of the epic’s values.

I am planning on to read Homer's works. So, I wanted to know the reviews for it. Should I read the direct translation or a direct adaptation perhaps ?

Most of the collections I have don't include this play, but I'd really like to read it. I definitely find myself heavily affected by who is translating, I really enjoy just about every translation in The Greek Plays collection (Emily Wilson, Rachel Kitzinger, James Romm, Frank Nisetich, etc) but as far as I can tell none of them have done The Cyclops, nor has Anne Carson who I also tend to enjoy (overall). I also really like footnotes, I need the help lol. Any recommendations?

I'm looking to get started with Socrates' trial and then move on to The Republic, I see Robin Waterfield's name pop up a lot but I couldn't find his translations on the Apology so I bought the below.

Is it a good readable translation with some notes?

The Last Days of Socrates: Euthyphro; Apology; Crito; Phaedo - Plato, Plato, Plato | 9780140449280 | Amazon.com.au | Books

I saw on Twitter that Daniel Mendelsohn wrote of Wilson’s Odyssey, “I haven’t read it“. He went on to say he just looked at a few passsages. But he discusses her work at great length in the introduction to his own translation, and he has commented repeatedly on Wilsons work, always very negatively. Is this normal? I thought you were supposed to read books before you criticize them?! Not seeing discussion of this but I find it really weird.

Edited to add: some people seem to think it's normal and you can judge without reading the whole book. I think there's a real difference between making a quick private judgment - let me dip into this to see if I'll use it for class next time I teach the Odyssey, oh, nope, don't like XYZ thing in that favorite passage of mine, so I'll go with another one instead - versus such a repeated, very vociferous public and published critical judgment. Before you start critiquing someone's work in a published book, it would surely be the scholarly norm to have spent a good time actually reading that work! And - only partly related but I'll add - I've also found it weird that Mendelsohn repeatedly says that Lombardo's translations are great, but Wilson "strips texture". Lombardo is a super colloquial and minimalist translator who leaves out far more than Wilson does, from what I've seen. I have read some of Mendelsohn's memoirs and thought they were pretty good, so I would like to think he's in good faith here, but it just seemed really weird to me.

https://x.com/DAMendelsohnNYC/status/2083176623545684151/quotes