Themes

I’d feel grateful, honored, and fortunate to have more programs like this at the library. I am feeling very inspired. — Brooklyn Public Library

There can be no doubt that Homer’s epic story of Achilles and the Trojan War is one of the greatest works in literature. The Iliad has had a profound influence on every generation since it was first performed by ancient Greek bards in the Mediterranean over 2,500 years ago. The themes that articulated the human condition in ancient drama were transmitted and interpreted by later poetry and literature. A play becomes ‘classical’ because we recognize after a time that it transcends the culture it was created for. It has the power still to provoke that central question of what it means to be human. On Apollo’s temple at Delphi, the famous maxims “Know Thyself” and “Nothing in Excess” could also be said to articulate the essence of the lessons drawn from classical drama. Page and Stage uses these two axioms as the basis for thematic units to guide the entire program: Know Thyself explores issues of identity and self discovery, and Nothing in Excess examines the theme of crossing boundaries – social, political and cultural. A third thematic unit, From Homer to Hip-Hop looks at how ancient drama has been translated and adapted to the page, the stage, and the screen. This unit will explore how the themes of classical drama become magnified, diminished and reinterpreted across generations and cultures. Finally The Trojan War: History or Myth? connects the Iliad with archaeology, art history, and historical information to pose the exciting question: Did the Trojan War really happen?

From Homer to Hip-Hop: Reinventing the Classics

All versions of Greek texts available today are adaptations; there are no original texts. This unit examines how artists have reinvented ancient texts to articulate their own messages. Have they helped shape the humanistic thinking of contemporary culture? What connections do we find between modern texts and themes found in classical literature? Find out more >

Know Thyself: Issues of Identity

In ancient Greece the search for identity was foremost an exploration of the individual’s responsibility to society. Is the state more important than the family? What happens when the rule of law conflicts with individual personal morality? The Iliad masterfully explores the conflicts within these questions and suggests that, as Socrates said, “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Find out more >

Nothing in Excess: Crossing Boundaries

The Greeks believed that boundaries must be marked, but true catharsis occurred when the bard led an audience into unknown territory. Homer encapsulates the importance of boundaries by depicting men and women in an epic struggle where even the gods are pulled into conflict. These myths of struggle, revenge, political upheaval, and gender role reversal retold on stage are still relevant today. Find out more >

The Trojan War: History or Myth?

Prior to the 1850′s, the consensus among scholars was that the Iliad was purely a work of fiction. Since that time, vast amounts of research have made it clear that the barding tradition of singing the epic poem, the Iliad, is actually a mythological reflection of Greece’s cultural memory. In connecting the Iliad with archaeology, art history, and historical information we pose the exciting question: Did the Trojan War really happen? Find out more >