The new translation of The Illiad is darn good.
Quote from: splitbeing on February 23, 2024, 04:47:24 AMThe new translation of The Illiad is darn good.You talking about ' A Song of Achilles"? Bought that awhile back. Only read a little, haven't got back to it.
Something I love about the ancient Greco-Roman world is the role of the Gods in everything such that people did not experience guilt as we do today. Remorse, sure. Regret, sure. But crippling psychological guilt complexes as we see today weren't a thing because the wills of the gods were accountable for things psychologically. You payed the price for it, but not ever in your head the way folks do today. Nietzsche and others have written about this in eye opening ways. For me anyway.
Just read a trilogy written under the banner of Isac Aisimov. It was called Robot City. Each book was written by a different author but with a forward to each by Isac. I was a bit disappointed as the read was far below Asimovs Foundation series.
X 2, Tim! Have you tried the Emily Wilson translations?I didn't read song of achilles, but I did read Calypso. Liked it well enough, but haven't had the inkling to reread it.I am keeping my fingers crossed for an Emily Wilson Aenead and De Rerum Natura.
Carl, you would enjoy "The Wolf Age" The vikings, the anglo-saxons and the battle for the North Sea Empire. by Tore Skeie.
A friend invited me over to watch the new Shogun television series. I have mixed feelings about it. He and I have read the book together a couple times. The book is excellent. I prefer the original tv rendition to the new one and prefer the book to both.
I have been battling through a book by Joseph Silk of the University of California .Title: The big bang the story of the creation and evolution of the universe. All theory derived from observations in current times and laws of physics as we know them. Temperatures of 10 billion degrees. A grand nuclear explosion. [ question. What was there to explode?] Neutrinos and antineutrinos and quasars and so it goes on. I am still mildly befuddled by the machinations of minds greater than mine.And the sheer size of the milky way and it is one of billions of galaxies .Whakamiharo ahau.
Democritus lost his mind over this problem, possibly tearing out his eyes and never staying in one place too long.The Hellenicly cool Epicurus, who lived in his Garden with friends happily on low income, shrugged and simply said "one swerved." When those of Democritean spirit would say in frustration, "what caused it to swerve?" Epicurus would calmly reply, "well, it swerved itself."Many philosophers walked away and made fun of Epicureans from then on. Others even millenia later say that Epicurus was the first with the gaul to introduce the notion of will into philosophy.