Maybe an actual penguin would've done a better job 🤷‍♀️

Yes this is the post with which I’m choosing to return to this app. Completely forgot it existed 😅

They use the Bassae frieze as a framing device, which is informative in its own right while providing a solid foundation for discussing language, architecture, academics, and culture. The best Very Short Introduction I’ve read so far! (Pictured below is a section of the Bassae frieze.)

Beard and Henderson do a fantastic job of outlining the importance of classics and its influence throughout history. Their writing is super approachable, free of jargon, and is clearly written with a new classics reader in mind. (3/4)

This year, I’m trying to work my way through the Western canon starting from the top. Given that I’m most familiar with 20th century lit, I needed a primer on ancient classics to accompany my odyssey (😉), and this one was perfect. (2/4)

I’m reading Volume II now and it’s genuinely a bit anxiety-inducing. But I still can’t wait for III and IV 😅

Glad to have come across this just as I’ve been thinking recently that I’d like to read more about nuns. Definitely checking it out!

P.S. The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll in Hollyberry and Dogwood Heather.

That’s pretty much exactly my experience thus far—I’m having fun, but the emotional resonance is lacking for me. And I too am not a huge Odysseus fan 😅