How Greek Mythology Inspires Us (feat. Lindsay Ellis) | It's Lit! | PBS Digital Studios
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Ancient Greek Mythology has worked its way into modern pop culture so deeply that it would be an almost Sisyphean task to compile every way it’s manifested!
It's Lit! is part of THE GREAT AMERICAN READ, a eight-part series that explores and celebrates the power of reading.
Hosted by Lindsay Ellis
It's Lit! is part of THE GREAT AMERICAN READ, a eight-part series that explores and celebrates the power of reading.
Interested in using this video as a teaching resource? Check it out on PBS LearningMedia: to.pbs.org/33Tcbtg
Written by Lindsay Ellis, Angelina Meehan, Elisa Hansen, & Antonella Inserra
Directed by Andrew Matthews
Animation by Dano Johnson
Fact Checked by Elisa Hansen
Produced by Amanda Fox
Executive Producer: Adam Dylewski
Written by Lindsay Ellis, Angelina Meehan, Elisa Hansen, & Antonella Inserra
Directed by Andrew Matthews
Animation by Dano Johnson
Fact Checked by Elisa Hansen
Produced by Amanda Fox
Executive in Charge (PBS): Adam Dylewski
Looking for more It's Lit? You can find the latest season on Storied, PBS's home for arts and humanities content here on CZcams. Subscribe to Storied for the latest episodes of It's Lit and get your folklore fix with Monstrum while you're there! czcams.com/channels/O6nDCimkF79NZRRb8YiDcA.html
It's kind of ironic how Hades became equated with Satan while he was actually the least awful among the three brothers
I mean, the worst thing he's ever done was kidnap Persephone, and in most myths it's implied that Persephone ultimately ended up pretty happy with the arrangement. The consequences that _resulted_ from the kidnapping were pretty bad, though.
@@CJCroen1393 Bro, Hades gave us winter. Obviously, kidnapping women is bad but like... I ain't complaining, she ain't complaining, no one ain't complaining.
@@rezziey8435 Fun fact: In some versions of the myth, Hades actually gave us _summer,_ a season where, in Greece, it's too hot and dry to grow crops. The myths aren't always consistent, of course, so the best way to put it is usually "this gave us seasons".
@@CJCroen1393 As a Greek person, I can confirm, summers suck in Greece/Western Turkey. I never read that version of the myth though, sounds like slander by Zeus and Pooseidon to me tbh.
@@rezziey8435 Maybe XD
The Renaissance was just a really big and active fandom
I- ✋💀
I have never been so offended by something I agree with.
Lindsay will ALWAYS find a way to reference Phantom.
Lindsay's Law. Everything always comes back to either The Phantom of the Opera or Transformers.
The Ancient Romans collected other people's gods like they were Pokemon.
Lindsay Ellis referencing Hercules/Hades and Phantom of the Opera in the same video...
Nerding out and shameless self-promotion...and props for her to doing that!
Ah, Lindsay Ellis at her most Lindsay Ellisest
all I needed is "I'M LOSING TO A BIRD!"
Came here to say this too, haha. Classic!
And I'd still say she restrained herself by not mentioning Transformers and LotR.
*Lindsay Ellis talking about Greek mythology and its retellings.*
*Not once did we hear Aphrodite's theme song*
Something feels...wrong...
I cry.
I had to sang the song myself!
"If your a girl...good luck not being kidnapped"...unless your Athalanta...she rules !
Or actually raped...
This comment goes out to all those cute Hades and Persephone comics that I find on Pinterest.
Snoops Q. Sweet Lore Olympus
@LindaSejic on Twitter is producing pure visual gold.
@@FreyaEinde also Punderworld and Hades Holiday (recently been reading more webcomics).
@@Heres_To_Music Sweet! Gonna start reading them. Thanks for the suggestions.
@@FreyaEinde no problem, Greek myth-retellings my favourite genre.
This comment was re-uploaded from the previous version:
Lindsay is an international treasure!
She sure is
Hear hear
I need a Real Housewives of Olympus show.
It'd basically be Hera just losing her shit every episode "he never turned into a Swan when I asked him, i'mma kill that Bitch!"
There are a lot of virgin goddesses, but I guess they could flesh out the cast.
Zeus fucking every woman he sees, Apollo accidentally falling in love with everyone and basically being a bisexual icon (there's literally a myth about him falling in love with a guy okay I'm not making this shit up, plus he's fallen in love with countless women), Hera being done, the Muses being basic theatre kids and Hestia just trying to keep the family together.
Hera being a wine mom for three seasons straight
Jesus Christ, guys! Stop making me want this more and more.
I'm dying that a portrait of the Romantic poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer was used in that cover for Dorian Gray.
That's exactly what I thought hahahahaha
Always worth a note: a large part of the reason we know anything about ancient Greeks and their writings was the work of medieval Arab scholars - translations of Aristotle's writings were found in the library of Toledo after its capture. This is what lead to secular education being a thing in Europe at all. If not for diligent Moors, Europeans might not have got past Catholicism as a universal worldview.
While that is all well and good, the true inheritors of ancient Greece, the Romans, were the ones who were ultimately responsible for the preservation of most of ancient mythology. After the Ottoman sack of Constantinople, the fleeing Roman scholars spread around European courts (though mostly went to Italy) and ignited the Renaissance.
I'm sure that was part of it, it's just these conversations can get very Euro-centric. On the topic of Greeks, things can get a bit "Western Culture" real quick lol.
Muslims were responsible for a lot of culture exchange, and had a golden age when europe had the dark ages. Its sad that they got culturally backwards a bit.
@@jonsnor4313 the "backwards" trend (if you want to call it that) is more of a factional thing than a "Muslim thing". As an example, Afghanistan in the 70s looked just like the US or Europe until the Taliban arose. Whatever policies you disagree with in Muslim-majority countries, the religion didn't do that - the power-hungry did (being dragged into the Cold War in the 80s didn't help).
@@jonsnor4313 not to take away from what you said about cultural exchange, thoroughly agreed :-)
(To the tune of "I Have a Little Dreidel")
Pygmalion has a girlfriend
He makes her out of stone
And then he made her human
So they could go and bone
Pyg-malion -malion -malion
His girlfriend's made of stone
And then he made her human
So they could go and bone
That's brilliant and I laughed hard enough reading it to scare my cat
L'chayim!
Also to the tune of miss suzy
Sad that C.S Lewis's Till We Have Faces was never mentioned. It's a retelling of the story of Psyche and Cupid, but from Psyche's sister's perspective and it might be my favorite C.S Lewis book.
Ahhh! I had to read that in high school.
Oh yes that was awesome. I loved everything about that book -- the characters were awesome. Orual was so admirable but so painfully flawed...
I find it particularly interesting because it actually considers pagan religion and tries to reckon it with Christianity. It's really fascinating!
Such a wonderful underrated book. Most people I talk to who have read it call it too “weird”, so it’s nice to see others who appreciate it!
Omg... thanks for a new book to look out for!
Hades and Persephone has had so many revisions too. Like, the original was thinly veiled rape for instance, but some modern retellings have her willingly stay. And that’s not even touching how much of a trope Death and the Maiden has become (which Phantom of the Opera invokes both in the original novel and damn near all the adaptations since). Incidentally, I’m pretty sure they’re an indirect reason for my love of villain/hero(ine) ships lmao. (Phantom/Christine from the ALW musical is the main direct one ehehe.)
If that's your jam, you definitely need to look up Pika-la-Cynique's webcomic Girls Next Door.
1:48 in the upper right corner is Ganymede being kidnapped by Zeus as an eagle, Ganymede isn't a woman, but it certainly is true that any mortal that a god/goddess falls in love with gets kidnapped.
@Sandcastle • It's fairly clear from the ancient Greek sources that homosexual desire is the motivation for Ganymede's' kidnapping. In the Iliad it's stated that Ganymede is kidnapped because of he is the most beautiful of mortal men (and we know what happens when gods kidnap the most beautiful women) (Homer, Iliad, XX.231-235). Also in Ovid's Metamorphoses( admittedly Roman but heavily based on Greek myth) it states that Zeus was fired with love for Ganymede so he kidnaps him to be his cup-bearer, much to the annoyance of Hera( Ovid, Met. X149-188).
A good point: to the Greeks the important distinction isn't male/female it's top/bottom.
I'm about to start my 8th graders on their mythology unit and this is how I'm going to introduce it. LOVE this series!
I know you were just making fun of the novel's reputation, but I am one of the few to have read Ulysses in its entirety. loved it.
No lie. Every word. And for pleasure, not for class.
And the day I finished it, I cried, because Joyce makes the reading of it a labor and a journey.
"Yes."
Lindsay: "... read through all of James Joyce's ULYSSES"
Me: *war flashbacks to that one course two years ago when we did a deep dive into it for an entire semester* No. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Oh my gosh! But why?? A whole semester
Only a semester? Can't have finished it then.
@@lloroshastar6347 Oh I wish it were so.
My teacher has read it five times and it's one of his favourites, which is why he chose it for that course.
@@loor4753 Because I had a mandatory course called "Major Literary Work Study", in which you spend an entire semester studying one book/series in absurd detail and this was the book my teacher chose because it is his favourite and he has read it like five times. If I never lay an eye on another Joyce book in my life it would still be too soon.
@@literaryliekki8341 Well, it isn't a bad book by any means, although I don't know if I'd call it 'well written'. It's very intelligently written, but, well written implies it would be accessible to all. It has so many layers, and even though I haven't finished it, reading about it has been fascinating, even inspirational to some degree. But actually reading the novel is truly insufferable.
However derivative the Percy Jackson series may be, the movie adaptations are incalculably worse.
Facts
Hey atleast Percy Jackson was able to flair up the interests of countless children into learning more about greek mythology. I owe to my main man Uncle Rick Riordan.
Also Percy was a better written protagonist than Harry Potter, fight me.
I agree, actually. My interest in mythology began with the Percy Jackson books too. They're definitely for kids, moreso than the Harry Potter books I would say, but for what they are they're good.
@@mjr_schneider I find it very interesting that you say that. Because I personally believe that it was actually my young age which allowed me to enjoy the HP books more thoroughly. At the time I had no concept of child abuse. So I could get through the Dursleys' treatment of Harry with minor qualms. Since then my opinions have changed quite a lot. I think JK could have dealt with that portion of the story in a better manner.
Also Snape's redemption works nowhere as well for me anymore. He is a very interesting character. But I do not see him as the ultimately good person I think the author wants me to think of him as. And don't get me started on Dumbledore...
Incredibly well said.
I had a class back in College when we talking about how the movie EX MACHINA was a modern interpretation of Pygmalion.
Interesting take. I can sort of see it. Unfortunately, that movie left me feeling hollow. It looked _so good_ and was so well acted, but it was all too predictable and took the easy way out at every juncture. All that time taken world building and it ends up basically as _Frankenstein._ Or more correctly, _Bride of Frankenstein._
If Kubrick had written/filmed it, Caleb would have turned out to be the real AI and Ava would simply have been Nathan's method of testing the reactions of his creation. A reverse Turing test, as it were. (It's well known the movie is a an homage to Stanley Kubrick by director Alex Garland.)
I thought of the movie as a little simplistic because it seems to think "A.I = murder" but I feel like machine intelligence is less likely to have murderous instincts than a human because humans evolved as hunters, and machines did not.
I felt ambiguous about it too until a friend of mine told me to reimagine it as a story about a slave in the 18th century and that made the movie click for me. It wouldn't be that hard to do: Imagine a man at the head of a charter company who fancies himself an enlightenment philosopher (maybe with an interest in Phrenology). He notices one of his clerks has been eyeing particularly young ladies and decides to use him to test the humanity of one of his "newly acquired products" on his private island. You could make the argument that not knowing whether slaves were people was understandable for the two men; the prevailing theory at the time was that Africans were a lower sub-species of human. Yet, when she eventually reveals that she's not the doe-eyed Noble Savage you assumed she was and murders the men who were testing her humanity you'd have been cheering in the theater because questioning her humanity and testing it still made them monsters.
The movie manages to pull off questioning the ethics of the Turing Test. That might seem head-y and cerebral to an almost comical level but, within our lifetimes, we may be the monsters questioning the humanity of something that's obviously human.
Can I just interrupt this thread, and say how much I love it.... ex machina was one of the first things to come to mind
Her face was based on the tester's porn searches...GAH
Ulysses? I've got a degree in English Lit and I finished it. It was a matter of personal pride. I also finished Finnegans Wake too, so there!
Ever since I read Madeline Miller's Circe and The Song of Achilles, I've been getting all these Greek mythology video recommendations. But I'll watch anything with Lindsay Ellis!
T.S Stiller I loved Circe!
Another important greek myth influence is also the myth of the ring of gyges. It has inspired works such as the lord of the rings,Death Note and the Invisible Man by H.G Hughes
Great work as always Lindsay.
Well we’ve had a video on Death, and a video on the ancient Greeks, which mentioned Hades and Persephone and The Phantom of the Opera, two of the best examples of death and the maiden. So can we please get a video on Death and the maiden????
This builds exellent with me having discovered Hadestown after watching Ollies vid the other day.
Me too!
Holding back from defending Percy Jackson's honor
Hard isn't it. lol
As one of the demigods of the films. I held my tongue to keep my job but I died inside
Jeanette Winterson's "Weight" is some dope modern retelling poetry of Atlas, if you're lookin' for more of Lindsay's examples.
Elaborate please
Why isn't Lindsay hosting every show on PBS? You rock Lindsay!
Funny thing about Hades and Persephone is that they have probably the healthiest marriage of all the Greek gods...
Yeah, Zeus and Hera is way more yikes.
[Citation Needed]
They really really did not.
@@mirthfulArtist who, then? Pretty much every marriage in the pantheon was messed up.
No way. He kidnapped her.
As much as I love Hades and Persephone, I honestly feel like Eros and Psyche have them beat in that department. And weirdly enough, Dionysus and Ariadne are also strong contenders there.
So.. basically the story of Galatea is the trope of "born sexy yesterday"
"There's a lot of stories that take inspiration from this, but i'm going to focus on Phantom of the Opera--" of course you are, Lindsay
Lindsay's Law. Everything always comes back to The Phantom of the Opera or Transformers.
I love how the Greek pantheon was highly anthropomorphised and how there was no Evil deity like in Christianity, making it very difficult to invent a "bad guy" in modern pop culture
I REALLY don't see the similarities between Percy Jackson and Harry Potter. True, it's about a young protagonist learning they are something special and going to a place to learn about that and better themselves, but at the same time, dozens of stories have that premise. It's basically one of the fundamental story types, much the same way that people compare a lot of stories to Star Wars when they have the 'small town hero saves the world' kind of story. People have been telling these tales for centuries, just giving them different wrappings in accordance to the author's imagination.
well, there are more similarities than that, especially in regards to the lightning thief and the first two HP books. The camp is sorted into official factions that are said to have similar personalities, one of the factions has a perceived propensity for evil but is still allowed to exist, he immediately gains a funny friend with emotional intelligence who grew up in low social standing within the secret magic society, they meet a girl with academic intelligence they they originally are weary of because she seems like a stickler but they eventually grow to respect and befriend her, there's a bad guy that people had assumed was defeated that tries to some McGuffins that'll return him to power and let him tear down the current magical hierarchy, the trio ends up having to steal and return the McGuffins themselves since the adults in charge of guarding them are to involved in their petty dealings to recognize the threat (in fact, the idea that adults are not perfect and young people have to fix their problems all the time is a theme in all the books), the person who obviously did it turned out to be innocent and an assumed ally turns out to be the true antagonist, the main character winds up in a confrontation with the former ally after they reveal themselves to him, that confrontation involves a venomous mythical creature that the antagonist controls, the main character kills the venomous mythical creature but faints due to venom, the main character spends a yearly amount of time away from the magic learning place in the mundane world... and so on and so on.
@@SilverFeet it's been ages since i've read the percy jackson books. what's the faction with propensity for evil?
asfdhahhahaha i think it’s the wariness of kids of the Big Three ( zeus, hades, poseidon) bc of the prophecy that they would save or destroy the world by 16
The only thing I can think of are the children of ares. But that hardly fits; they’re braggarts and bullies, but are still perfectly loyal to the camp.
@@SilverFeet the factions aren't based on personality. They're based on parent.
There's some thematic overlap between this and the latest Philosophy Tube video, which uses a song from the _Hadestown_ musical.
Hadestown is a great musical!
I started paying attention to PBS videos when I started noticing Lindsay. Just love her style. Pretty much the only one that peaks my interest though. Need more Lindsay!
Sadly, the myth of Persephone and Hades is so negatively received these days. I prefer the other versions that give Persephone more agency and the romance more sentimentality. Just check out overly sarcastic productions and their analysis of Hades, he's actually a very sweet guy and his and Persephones relationship was the most functional of the entire Greek pantheon.
Ares and Aphrodite beg to differ ;-)
Depending on the version, Dionysos and Ariadne also had a loving relationship. But it is a rarity, especially among the married couples of the Greek pantheon.
Lol wrong
There's a whole entire re-telling of Hades and Persepone in corners of the internet where they are both so self-actualized that they can afford to be apart for half the year and have their own thing, as the healthiest power couples of the Greek mythology
I swear, this is a popular thing
Keep in mind the ancient Athenians thought of women as *literally* less than human, so the "negative" reception of these myths is 100% the appropriate response. The reason Persephone's perspective wasn't important in the original myths was because they didn't really care how she felt. In fact, they considered Demeter the villain of the story for "withholding" spring.
Also Hades is Persephone's uncle.
The more consentual retellings are nice but like...they definitely give the greeks too much credit when it comes to how they treated women and marriage. Just write your own story at that point.
hi! i also held views similar to yours some time back, but someone told me to search "the rape of persephone" and i think you should too! you can also watch the video "abduction as romance" by pop culture detective if you want to. ^-^
@@mirthfulArtist agreed!!!
There's an very interesting retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth online in the form of a webcomic called "One Hundred Days of Night," but sadly it seems to have been discontinued / was never finished. It was one of the 'Persephone has way more agency' interpretations.
This video is basically a greatest hits of Lindsay’s video essays.
Greek, Roman, Norse, and Egyptian mythology all get a lot, and I do mean a lot, of attention in the media we consume, books, comics, graphic novels, movies, animated, and animated series have all been done using these mythologies as a foundation or clearly noticeable inspiration, and as recently as the 1980s Japanese, and Chinese, mythology have also gotten similar treatments. However, this immense focus on these mythologies has resulted in other mythologies that are just as valid as inspirations, if not more so, being ignored or not getting as much attention. Irish and Slavic mythology have wellsprings of sources to draw on, but very few books and the like have been written making use of them as sources. And when they do pop as sources, they usually involve the most easily recognizable aspects of their lore. Everyone and their mother these days knows about the Slavic figure known as Babayaga but almost nobody references the Leshiye or Zudaci. When it comes to the Irish side of things, everyone seems to know about Cuchulain, Leprechauns, and Banshee, but very few seem to be aware of the Courts of the Fey, Dullahan, Kelpie, Crom Cruach, Brownie (Pronounced Broo-Nee), and the Wren being the King of Birds.
Every culture has its own myths, legends, lore, and tales but here in the Western world, especially the US, it seems that our exposure to most cultural stories we have access to are severely limited. There's a lot we can do with the mythologies of various cultures, but almost every author that Western audiences have access to seem to just pull from the same sources as everyone else, and it actually starts to make things boring when that happens. I would rather read a shoddy novel that pulls on Slavic and Irish lore in some way than another YA story that regurgitates Greek and Roman mythology again.
I disagree with referring to the cultures of the Americas as "Western", but otherwise agree.
GREEK MYTHOLOGY, LINDSAY ELLIS AND PBS?!! Could this video get any better?! I watch all of those on a daily basis and here their all in one!
One thing that always gets me is when people will cite the "original" version of the myth in order to justify their interpretation of it (usually to un-creepify a kidnapping) and it's like... yes... please show me this ur-text of the myth that proves you're super not just reimagining it, this is how it was! It was always cool or romantic and never bad at all, because you're not a problematic person! And to clarify, as snippy as I may be right now, these people that I'm specifically referring to never cite any sources at ALL, and will actively ignore you if you say you couldn't find what they're talking about if you researched it. They literally just /say/ "in the original version"! I'm not talking about people who will give you a source if you ask for it or just say /a/ version of the myth.
This is a great series Linday, I am glad they are giving you this format
I would 100% watch a video series on how its affected everything
Oh and tell Nella she rocks too!
Thann you PBS for bringing me MORE Lindsay content.
I think a good subject to explore in another video is the idea of the seven basic plots.
Love how you dish out your literary factoids with sarcastic undertone. Just can't help but listen. 😍
Love this channel and all the relevant+important+intelligent thoughts presented.
And also, your lipstick looks amazing.
This was so much fun, still love the way she explains things.
I love everything about this series!
Thank you for "recommending" Galatea by Madeline Miller
Her version of the Circe myth was incredible (except the ending), I'm genuinely curious about this version.
I'm glad to see your actual face rather than just narration for animations. It feels like a better way to communicate with audiences. :)
When we studied Icarus back in school (hundreds of years ago now) my favorite interpretation was the one made (name escapes me) that yes, Icarus died young but for a moment, he touched the sun
Thank you (again) for this great video! One silly question: what program is used to make this videos? I really like the style!
Great! Worth waiting for.
Speaking of Greek mythology, I’m currently reading a retelling of The Iliad, called The Silence Of The Girls. The Silence of The Girls is amazing, even though it can get bleak there are funny things, and tenderness amongst the women, and the men!
Read _Lore Olympus_ on webtoons.
@Brigid Madden I've read it like 4 times.
Thanks for another food video. Love your humor. 💕
we must imagine ellis happy
Don't forget about Hadestown!
Way down hadestownnn
Great stuff!
This your best stuff. How much more "meta" can The Nostalgia Chick go? This is your epic this far. You broke this all down. Always a fan. Thank you!
This is exactly the content that everyone who took Latin in high school is here for.
Wonderful and informative! Big ups for a Bubo cameo!
The YA interpretation of Hades and Persephone is basically Persephone actually loves Hades too and chooses to eat the pomegranate unprompted.
In Rick Riordan's words, "It serves no purpose to compare ANY author, myself included, to J.K. Rowling. She is in a class by herself. Her global impact, success & popularity are unique in the history of publishing, and rightly so. Let's not forget that J.K.R. opened the floodgates for countless other MG/YA authors who came after her, including me. She proved to publishers that children's lit could sell. For that & for her wonderful stories, I'll always be grateful. W/out HP, there would be no PJ."
twitter.com/camphalfblood/status/1080227408912019457
Great work by all involved - but an especially stellar job by hand model Katie Graham!
Lindsay with any new idea: How shall I tie Phantom into this?
I LOVE this!
Damn it Lindsay! I could have used this when I was studying Dorian Grey!
Christa Wolf's "Cassandra" I really liked her take on it
Why was this re-uploaded??
Probably because copyright issues
This having been re-uploaded compels me to engage with it further by commenting and watching it all over again. I'm not upset about it though. It's an inciteful video that I enjoyed.
I'm here because Lindsay is the best!
Lately I've been reading Greek Mythology wikipedia pages before bed. I was definitely that nerdy to kid who was obsessed with Greek Mythology
I love these videos! :)
It always comes back to phantom for you
It's Lindsay. It's either Phantom or Transformers.
Great piece, though I have to admit I would have loved to see Lewis's Till We Have Faces make the cut.
Thanks for flashing that Muppets Phantom book. It raises so many questions, like "Why isn't THIS a movie?" ...albeit not the text of that particular book.
Is Miss Piggy Carlotta? (Which kinda works) If so, who’s Christine? And I think Gonzo is Phantom. And Kermit is Raoul. I’m casting this.
Just to point out the minor inaccuracies about the medieval part. While there wasn't much pagan studies as you stated for obvious reasons, the medieval absolutely loved using Roman myths and their gods for allegories. For better or worse, they equate Hades as Satan, but then go on to use Venus as a symbol of Christ's love. Additionally, there were several medieval writers who created compilation of mythological figures that included both biblical and Greco-Roman. Even Dante who is a profound Roman fanboy incorporated pagan elements in Divine Comedy.
How did I not know Miller wrote another ancient Greek retelling?! I loved Circe! Also, some smart adult retelling's of Greek stories include Baker's Silence of the Girls, Le Guin's Lavinia, and the Children of Jocasta by Haynes
I've been trying to get a hold of it and it's hard to find, so I'm not surprised that it's less known.
I think it was originally more of a digital novella / short story and that's why it's so hard to find. I loved "Circe" and have been looking for "Galatea" too!
Every few years I take a run at “Ulysses,” but I have yet to make it to the halfway mark. Thanks for confirming my suspicion that nobody else has finished it either!
Lore Olympus is amazing
Flashback to High School Latin class anyone? So many of these stories are straight out of Ovid's Metamorphoses, definitely worth a peruse in the original or translation. Every story being a transformation of some sort.
Not to sound like a pedantic liar (totally to sound like a pedantic liar), I did read Ulysses. For what I think would be comparable to the last year of highschool (around 18-ish years old), we had to have read a certain number of books (for each language we followed) and do a verbal exam about them. My English teacher waas amazing, but she did miss some appointments in the year before so as a slight revenge I put that monstrosiy on the list. It was in pairs and the other party was also in favor. When it came to reading the book I had some problems, my friend had borrowed the only copy in the library, promised to give it to me with weeks to spare, and proceeded to not have read it in time himself. So I downloaded some PDF, and sat in the garden reading for about three days (literally the three days before the exam). Basically i stream-of-consciousnessed my way through reading that book. And it was enjoyable, moreso because my teacher never finished it herself. I'd honestly rate the book a 8.5 out of ten, but would recommend noone ever read it. (I mean a telling of a romantic but risque moment on the beach, which then switches focal characters and tone to the guy just masturbating. Is like, what. Stopping to think wouldn't have helped i presume).
How about an episode on the history of bookmaking? I'm reading Finkelstein/McCleery's book on the subject now and it's really interesting!
It is funny that the picture of The Picture of Dorian Gray is, in fact, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, a very famous Spanish romantic poet.
Psyche & Eros even have a Be Our Guest sequence!
great job Lindsay
Man i should’ve been watching this series!!! I love the Monty python vibe!
9:05
Wait that song, "Don't You Want Me" I always hear on oldies radio was inspired by the Greeks.
Ah, Lindsay, this hits very close to home... I made the Prometheus story as a silly short comedy film with friends. Even Echo, the elf, is in it. And a bunch of other titans and gods. It was a lot of fun, and nobody cared. :-D
So glad Miller was mentioned
Thanks for your videos, I enjoy them very much. I am newbie in the Greek Mythology. If I may ask a question what you said about Hades and his realm. You said that his realm was a neutral place , could you give an example. Thanks.
Lindsay on James Joyce's Ulysses "No-one has ever finished reading this novel and they are lying to you if they say that they have" - Thankyou Lindsay for helping me to feel human. I have read Dubliner's however, it is perfectly accessible.
I like how there are more not as well known couples whose stories I can look up and read Retellings of.
I TOTALLY finished Ulysses, Lindsay! It was long and painful but I FINISHED IT! I'd only be lying if I said I understood it at all.
You know, it's a bit insulting saying that people lie about finishing "Ulysses." Not only is it my favorite novel, but I often return to it for academic or inspirational reasons