Sappho’s invisible poetry
The literature of ancient Greece was the foundation of modern Western culture, yet we don’t know much about it, aside from the fragments which have survived into modern times. We … Continue reading
So far from home: Richard Francis Burton
Richard Francis Burton lived from 1821 to 1890, and for almost all of that time he seems to have been driven by a furious energy which prompted him to both … Continue reading
Heroes: what they do for us
Cultural heroes come and go but the qualities they stand for often remain the same. Just as ancient societies purged themselves of contamination by discharging it upon the body of … Continue reading
Helen: the journey from Sparta to Troy
The story of Helen of Troy can probably never be unravelled. It has both a political and a religious dimension, and has been passed down through a series of literary … Continue reading
Goddess, princess, whore: Helen of Troy
I found Bettany Hughes very beautiful and couldn’t take my eyes off her in this program as she explored sources of information about Helen of Troy, a reaction that seems … Continue reading
Painfully funny: some films of Coline Serreau
Coline Serreau is an extraordinarily talented French film director who has also worked in theatre and television. She is the daughter of actor/stage director Jean-Marie Serreau and writer Geneviève Serreau, … Continue reading
The sadistic marquis
The Marquis de Sade (or Compte de Sade, Donatien Alphonse François, 1740-1814) has been remembered for 200 years as the first sufferer of that perversion which takes sexual pleasure in … Continue reading
